WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.620 So if you can turn with me to Matthew chapter 5, verse 17. 00:00:05.060 --> 00:00:07.160 We're reading up to verse 32. 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:12.620 Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:18.080 I've not come to abolish them, but to fulfil them. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:24.379 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:31.739 not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:38.579 Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments 00:00:38.579 --> 00:00:44.179 and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. 00:00:45.099 --> 00:00:51.179 But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:59.539 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, 00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:03.259 you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:08.739 You have heard that it was said to those of old, 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:13.760 you shall not murder and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:22.080 But I say to you that everyone who's angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. 00:01:22.740 --> 00:01:26.380 Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. 00:01:27.080 --> 00:01:32.840 And whoever says, you fool, will be liable to the hell of fire. 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:38.840 So, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there, 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:41.680 remember that your brother has something against you, 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:45.420 leave your gift there before the altar and go. 00:01:46.800 --> 00:01:52.040 First, be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. 00:01:53.140 --> 00:01:56.540 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you're going with him to court, 00:01:56.939 --> 00:02:01.159 lest your accuser hand you over to the judge and the judge to the guard 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:02.700 and you be put in prison. 00:02:03.759 --> 00:02:10.919 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you've paid the last penny. 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:18.939 You've heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery. 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:25.460 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:28.919 has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 00:02:29.859 --> 00:02:36.020 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. 00:02:36.620 --> 00:02:38.879 For it's better that you lose one of your members 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:42.379 than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 00:02:42.379 --> 00:03:04.060 It was also said, whoever divorces his wife, 00:03:04.460 --> 00:03:07.340 let him give her a certificate of divorce. 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:13.140 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, 00:03:13.980 --> 00:03:16.240 except on the grounds of sexual immorality, 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:18.620 makes her commit adultery. 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:23.520 And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:25.259 Good morning. 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:29.599 I'm not sure if you know this or not, 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.360 but the Tour de France finished a couple of weeks ago. 00:03:32.819 --> 00:03:34.640 I know we're all probably swept up in Olympic fever, 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:38.639 but a couple of weeks ago I was swept up in cycling fever. 00:03:39.359 --> 00:03:43.599 It was won by a 22-year-old called Tadej Podjaka, 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:46.199 who also won it last year. 00:03:47.119 --> 00:03:48.359 And it was a really good race. 00:03:48.859 --> 00:03:51.299 It was very interesting, lots of different things going on. 00:03:52.519 --> 00:03:55.719 But unfortunately, because the sport is cycling, 00:03:57.179 --> 00:03:59.299 and Tadej Podjaka was very impressive, 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:02.860 now the whole cycling world is busy questioning 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:06.180 just how he could be that impressive. 00:04:07.100 --> 00:04:08.980 No one can trust who he is. 00:04:09.900 --> 00:04:12.360 And the reason that no one can trust who he is 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:13.300 is because of this guy, 00:04:13.700 --> 00:04:15.640 the most famous cyclist ever. 00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:17.840 If you don't recognise him, 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:20.240 his name is Lance Armstrong. 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:21.980 And in the 2000s, 00:04:22.400 --> 00:04:24.439 he was not just the biggest name in cycling, 00:04:24.819 --> 00:04:27.500 he was also one of the biggest names in world sport. 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:29.459 He overcame cancer 00:04:29.459 --> 00:04:33.300 and went on to win a record seven Tour de France's in a row. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:37.699 It's a story that seemed almost too good to be true. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:39.779 And that's kind of the problem, 00:04:40.019 --> 00:04:42.019 because it turns out it was too good to be true. 00:04:43.139 --> 00:04:46.360 We know now that even though Lance Armstrong 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:49.680 said he was an incredible athlete 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:51.339 who triumphed against all odds, 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:55.620 he was actually taking illegal performance-enhancing drugs 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:58.720 to gain an unfair advantage over the other cyclists 00:04:58.720 --> 00:04:59.860 he was riding against. 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:03.459 To him, the laws of cycling 00:05:03.459 --> 00:05:06.280 were just there to be seen to be obeyed. 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:12.019 And he didn't care about things like sportsmanship 00:05:12.019 --> 00:05:13.459 or an even playing field, 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:16.079 the things that those laws were put in place 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:16.879 to try and create. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:20.639 He only saw the need to create a facade 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:22.579 of following them 00:05:22.579 --> 00:05:24.879 so that he could have the image 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:26.420 of being a heroic athlete 00:05:26.420 --> 00:05:27.860 that he wished to portray. 00:05:28.899 --> 00:05:31.459 And the reason that I bring up Lance Armstrong today 00:05:31.459 --> 00:05:33.659 is not just because I like cycling, 00:05:34.420 --> 00:05:38.060 but because today we're talking about the law of God 00:05:38.060 --> 00:05:41.860 and how the people at the time that Jesus was talking 00:05:41.860 --> 00:05:44.199 had misinterpreted it, 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:45.539 had misunderstood it, 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:47.379 and improperly used it. 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:51.459 And before I get into the Sermon on the Mount this morning, 00:05:51.819 --> 00:05:53.420 I want you to ask yourselves, 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:56.139 what does God's law mean to you? 00:05:56.899 --> 00:05:58.180 How do you follow it? 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.800 And what place does it have in your life? 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:05.800 Do you think that it's just like a good guide 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:07.000 to living a moral life? 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:10.419 Do you think it's a list of rules 00:06:10.419 --> 00:06:12.719 that doesn't have any application in your life? 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:14.560 Do you not think you need it 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:15.620 because you have Jesus? 00:06:16.840 --> 00:06:18.920 What do you think God's opinion 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:21.780 on the law of God is today? 00:06:24.200 --> 00:06:27.280 Because we're going to see today 00:06:27.280 --> 00:06:28.780 in the Sermon on the Mount 00:06:28.780 --> 00:06:32.040 that the law is not dead in God's kingdom, 00:06:32.400 --> 00:06:34.740 but it has been misunderstood 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:38.280 and that Jesus is ultimately here to fulfill it. 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:41.500 And Jesus doesn't mess about. 00:06:42.139 --> 00:06:43.639 So in the first line 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:45.519 in this part of the Sermon on the Mount, 00:06:45.659 --> 00:06:47.399 he gets into it straight away. 00:06:47.899 --> 00:06:49.459 He isn't here to get rid of the law. 00:06:49.719 --> 00:06:50.599 He's here to fulfill it. 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:51.459 Verse 17, 00:06:51.619 --> 00:06:52.739 the start of what we're looking at. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:54.019 Do not think 00:06:54.019 --> 00:06:56.519 that I have come to abolish the laws of the prophets. 00:06:56.919 --> 00:06:58.659 I have not come to abolish them, 00:06:59.039 --> 00:07:00.359 but to fulfill them. 00:07:02.599 --> 00:07:04.459 Up to this point in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:06.359 it would have been very easy 00:07:06.359 --> 00:07:08.159 for the people that were listening at the time 00:07:08.159 --> 00:07:10.019 to get the wrong idea about it. 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:12.819 The one thing that the majority of those people 00:07:12.819 --> 00:07:13.979 would have had in common 00:07:13.979 --> 00:07:15.939 is the understanding that Israel 00:07:15.939 --> 00:07:17.599 is the kingdom of God, 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:19.740 that God had chosen to be his people 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:23.079 and that God had chosen to live under his law. 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:26.060 Israel was meant to be the salt 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:27.359 and the light in the world 00:07:27.359 --> 00:07:29.479 and they were meant to be the one 00:07:29.479 --> 00:07:30.959 that was receiving God's blessings. 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:32.959 And all of a sudden, 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:33.939 in his first sermon, 00:07:34.459 --> 00:07:35.479 and that's what we looked at 00:07:35.479 --> 00:07:36.519 for the last two weeks, 00:07:36.939 --> 00:07:39.479 Jesus is turning the understanding of that 00:07:39.479 --> 00:07:40.120 on its head, 00:07:40.659 --> 00:07:41.819 saying that those blessings 00:07:41.819 --> 00:07:43.399 and those titles 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:45.479 could be extended to other people 00:07:45.479 --> 00:07:47.240 just by the attitudes that they had. 00:07:48.379 --> 00:07:49.319 And this would have been 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:50.779 pretty worrying, really, 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:52.079 for the people that were listening 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.500 because they had built their life 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:56.500 and the position in the community 00:07:56.500 --> 00:07:58.639 following what they believed 00:07:58.639 --> 00:07:59.599 was the law of God. 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:02.540 They may well have been sitting there 00:08:02.540 --> 00:08:03.060 at this point 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:05.360 thinking that Jesus was doing away 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:06.040 with everything. 00:08:07.180 --> 00:08:07.860 So Jesus, 00:08:08.060 --> 00:08:09.700 he talks directly to them 00:08:09.700 --> 00:08:11.120 about the law, 00:08:11.520 --> 00:08:12.520 laying it out plainly. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:14.680 He isn't here to abolish it. 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:16.680 The law is not gone. 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:18.600 But Jesus, 00:08:18.820 --> 00:08:21.439 he's almost like a boxer at this point, 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:21.920 I think. 00:08:22.379 --> 00:08:24.060 He kind of lulls his opponent 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:25.620 into a false sense of security. 00:08:26.340 --> 00:08:28.000 And then the next second, 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:29.100 he slips something in 00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:30.100 behind their defences. 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:31.680 He isn't, 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:33.200 the law isn't gone, 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:36.799 but he's come here to fulfill it. 00:08:37.779 --> 00:08:39.379 I didn't come to abolish the law, 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:40.279 but to fulfill it. 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:43.440 That's a whole different kettle of fish 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:45.820 to what they would have been thinking 00:08:45.820 --> 00:08:46.720 he was talking about. 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:47.500 What does that mean? 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:50.220 And the answer comes 00:08:50.220 --> 00:08:52.299 when we ask the question, 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:54.799 what is this law 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:56.419 that Jesus is referring to? 00:08:57.599 --> 00:08:59.599 Is it the Ten Commandments? 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:02.039 Like, that's the most obvious answer, right? 00:09:02.359 --> 00:09:04.599 The list of ten rules 00:09:04.599 --> 00:09:06.459 that God laid out 00:09:06.459 --> 00:09:07.459 at Mount Sinai. 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:10.139 That would be probably 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:11.219 the most obvious answer. 00:09:11.579 --> 00:09:12.759 Is it something else? 00:09:12.779 --> 00:09:14.279 Is it the extended list of laws 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:15.379 that's laid out in Exodus, 00:09:15.579 --> 00:09:16.519 Leviticus and Numbers? 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:21.419 But Jesus says in verse 18 00:09:21.419 --> 00:09:24.259 that not one iota 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:26.100 of the law will pass away. 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:29.240 But later on in the New Testament, 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:30.480 in Acts chapter 10, 00:09:31.319 --> 00:09:32.799 those old food laws are abolished. 00:09:32.860 --> 00:09:33.419 So, you know, 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:34.579 I can have a bacon and egg roll 00:09:34.579 --> 00:09:35.100 for breakfast. 00:09:35.819 --> 00:09:38.220 And we don't have an altar here at church 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:39.779 for taking sacrifices. 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:41.759 So at least some part 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:43.579 of that ceremonial law 00:09:43.579 --> 00:09:45.059 that's laid out in those parts 00:09:45.059 --> 00:09:49.000 of the Bible has gone away today. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:51.079 How does that not create 00:09:51.079 --> 00:09:52.019 some sort of contradiction 00:09:52.019 --> 00:09:53.539 with what Jesus is saying here? 00:09:56.239 --> 00:09:57.599 When Jesus says 00:09:57.599 --> 00:09:59.519 that he will fulfill the law 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:00.979 of the prophets, 00:10:01.959 --> 00:10:04.000 he is referring to the entire 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:04.979 Old Testament, 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:06.959 from Genesis to Malachi, 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:09.079 not just one part of it. 00:10:09.739 --> 00:10:10.939 In the Old Testament, 00:10:11.779 --> 00:10:12.719 God lays out 00:10:12.719 --> 00:10:14.979 not just those laws, 00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:16.239 he lays out 00:10:16.239 --> 00:10:17.299 what his kingdom 00:10:17.299 --> 00:10:18.059 will look like 00:10:18.059 --> 00:10:20.479 and how he will bring that about. 00:10:21.219 --> 00:10:22.359 And Jesus is saying 00:10:22.359 --> 00:10:24.139 that he is the one 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:24.819 that will do it. 00:10:26.179 --> 00:10:27.259 He is the one 00:10:27.259 --> 00:10:27.979 who lives 00:10:27.979 --> 00:10:29.000 according to the laws 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:29.979 laid out in Exodus, 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:31.019 Leviticus and Numbers. 00:10:31.359 --> 00:10:32.759 He fulfills the prophecy 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:34.139 spoken by the prophets. 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:35.879 And he fulfills 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:37.500 the sacrificial obligations 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:38.679 of the law 00:10:38.679 --> 00:10:39.639 that lay out 00:10:39.639 --> 00:10:41.379 how people who sin 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:43.019 can become right with God. 00:10:43.019 --> 00:10:45.679 And that's the part 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:46.840 that the Jewish leaders 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:47.620 who were listening 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:49.600 didn't get right. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:51.579 See, they would have been 00:10:51.579 --> 00:10:52.199 nodding along 00:10:52.199 --> 00:10:54.079 when Jesus was saying 00:10:54.079 --> 00:10:55.439 he didn't come to abolish the law, 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.200 but ultimately 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:58.660 misunderstood it 00:10:58.660 --> 00:11:00.060 because they didn't see 00:11:00.060 --> 00:11:01.200 how it points 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:01.840 to Jesus. 00:11:03.140 --> 00:11:04.400 They see the law 00:11:04.400 --> 00:11:06.380 as a list of things to do, 00:11:06.460 --> 00:11:06.960 a checklist 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:08.660 of what makes them Jewish, 00:11:09.180 --> 00:11:11.220 but not as an expression 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:12.240 of who God is 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:14.280 and what God's perfect kingdom 00:11:14.280 --> 00:11:14.960 will look like. 00:11:16.280 --> 00:11:16.800 Now, 00:11:17.020 --> 00:11:18.260 I should mention here 00:11:18.260 --> 00:11:19.740 that Jesus doesn't say 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:21.160 all of this right here 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:23.299 and now in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:11:24.439 --> 00:11:25.620 But I think it's important 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:27.199 for us reading today 00:11:27.199 --> 00:11:28.059 to understand 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:30.419 that Jesus is emphasizing here 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:31.679 that the law is not dead 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:33.919 and he is not abolishing it. 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:36.019 When Jesus says 00:11:36.019 --> 00:11:37.379 not one iota will change, 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:39.459 he means that God's character 00:11:39.459 --> 00:11:41.179 and God's plan 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:42.719 will not change. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:47.320 A show that I love watching 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:47.940 on YouTube 00:11:47.940 --> 00:11:49.860 is Antiques Roadshow. 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:52.040 You may have heard of that. 00:11:52.160 --> 00:11:53.259 I don't think I've ever actually 00:11:53.259 --> 00:11:54.180 watched a full episode 00:11:54.180 --> 00:11:55.019 of it on TV, 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:57.360 but I love watching the moment 00:11:57.360 --> 00:11:59.120 where someone brings 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:01.120 a family heirloom 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:01.960 on the show 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:03.500 and finds out 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:04.300 that it's just 00:12:04.300 --> 00:12:05.379 an incredible piece 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:06.259 of art or history. 00:12:07.220 --> 00:12:08.360 To me, 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:09.139 it just seems like 00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:10.160 such a wholesome moment. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:13.399 Take a case. 00:12:13.500 --> 00:12:14.679 This was in 2001. 00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:17.379 This guy had this gold camera. 00:12:17.659 --> 00:12:18.559 It looks pretty nice, right? 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:20.219 And he thought 00:12:20.219 --> 00:12:20.779 that it might be 00:12:20.779 --> 00:12:21.519 slightly valuable. 00:12:22.439 --> 00:12:23.579 Well, turns out 00:12:23.579 --> 00:12:25.120 it's a gold Lexica 2 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:25.939 Lexus camera. 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:27.879 It's one of four 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:28.719 ever made 00:12:28.719 --> 00:12:30.240 worth hundreds 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:31.679 and thousands of pounds. 00:12:32.579 --> 00:12:33.539 So he thought 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:34.199 he had something 00:12:34.199 --> 00:12:35.159 that looked pretty nice 00:12:35.159 --> 00:12:36.559 and may have had 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:37.480 a little bit of value. 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:38.980 What he had 00:12:38.980 --> 00:12:40.120 was something 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:41.340 of infinitely 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:41.940 more value. 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:45.220 And I want to ask you now, 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:47.340 how do you value 00:12:47.340 --> 00:12:48.120 the Old Testament? 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:50.779 How do you treat 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:52.500 the law of the prophets 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:53.740 and what it has to say? 00:12:55.659 --> 00:12:56.420 I don't think 00:12:56.420 --> 00:12:57.240 there's anyone here 00:12:57.240 --> 00:12:57.740 at Grace 00:12:57.740 --> 00:12:59.860 who dismisses 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:00.500 the Old Testament. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:01.180 Right? 00:13:01.220 --> 00:13:01.940 I don't think anyone 00:13:01.940 --> 00:13:02.800 would say out loud 00:13:02.800 --> 00:13:03.659 that it's not important. 00:13:05.580 --> 00:13:06.740 But do you place 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:07.659 the same value on it 00:13:07.659 --> 00:13:08.060 that you do 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:08.719 the New Testament? 00:13:10.659 --> 00:13:11.699 In your own study 00:13:11.699 --> 00:13:12.219 of the Bible, 00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:13.500 do you ever skip 00:13:13.500 --> 00:13:14.139 or skim over 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:14.799 the Old Testament? 00:13:16.119 --> 00:13:17.159 Have you ever thought 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:18.059 that there's 00:13:18.059 --> 00:13:19.359 an Old Testament God 00:13:19.359 --> 00:13:21.199 and a New Testament God 00:13:21.199 --> 00:13:22.319 and that somehow 00:13:22.319 --> 00:13:23.659 he's different 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:24.699 between the two? 00:13:26.500 --> 00:13:27.419 Have you ever looked 00:13:27.419 --> 00:13:28.479 at some of the principles 00:13:28.479 --> 00:13:29.399 and values 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:30.199 of the Old Testament 00:13:30.199 --> 00:13:30.779 and thought 00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:31.819 that you don't need 00:13:31.819 --> 00:13:32.959 to worry about those anymore? 00:13:35.119 --> 00:13:35.899 We're going to get 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:36.879 specifically to some 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:37.620 of those in a moment 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:39.000 but I think 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:39.980 that while I've been 00:13:39.980 --> 00:13:41.000 wrestling with this 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:41.600 in my head 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:43.659 as part of preparing 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:44.480 for this sermon, 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:45.899 I've realised 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:48.379 that I need to know 00:13:48.379 --> 00:13:49.639 my Old Testament better. 00:13:50.820 --> 00:13:51.779 It's where God 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:53.039 lays out who he is, 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:54.279 it's where God 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:55.259 points us to Jesus 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:57.039 and it's a signpost 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:58.000 for what his kingdom 00:13:58.000 --> 00:13:59.139 is going to look like. 00:14:00.460 --> 00:14:01.360 Jesus here 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:02.740 isn't saying 00:14:02.740 --> 00:14:03.580 that the law 00:14:03.580 --> 00:14:04.200 just contains 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:04.899 some truth. 00:14:04.899 --> 00:14:06.139 He's saying 00:14:06.139 --> 00:14:06.679 that the law 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:08.220 is the truth. 00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:11.079 If Jesus 00:14:11.079 --> 00:14:12.059 was to abolish it, 00:14:12.539 --> 00:14:13.319 it would be 00:14:13.319 --> 00:14:14.519 a fundamental betrayal 00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:15.259 of who he is 00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:15.699 as God 00:14:15.699 --> 00:14:17.459 and I don't want 00:14:17.459 --> 00:14:17.779 to make 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:18.860 a similar mistake 00:14:18.860 --> 00:14:20.360 to what the Jewish 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:20.939 leaders did 00:14:20.939 --> 00:14:21.620 at the time 00:14:21.620 --> 00:14:22.980 by not seeing 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:23.419 the law 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:24.199 in its fullness 00:14:24.199 --> 00:14:25.220 and with its 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:25.980 full value. 00:14:27.879 --> 00:14:28.939 And if like me, 00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:30.179 that's already 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:30.559 something 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:32.059 that you sort of 00:14:32.059 --> 00:14:32.699 weighed down 00:14:32.700 --> 00:14:33.460 by a little bit 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:35.100 and buckle up 00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:35.660 because we're 00:14:35.660 --> 00:14:36.140 about to get 00:14:36.140 --> 00:14:36.600 to some of 00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:36.820 Jesus' 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:37.500 toughest words 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:37.980 on sin. 00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:40.080 So the second 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:40.980 point that Jesus 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:41.560 is making 00:14:41.560 --> 00:14:43.140 to the audience 00:14:43.140 --> 00:14:44.320 is that they 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:45.360 don't take sin 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:46.020 seriously 00:14:46.020 --> 00:14:47.440 because sin 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:48.060 comes from the 00:14:48.060 --> 00:14:48.400 heart. 00:14:48.860 --> 00:14:49.600 It's not just 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:50.040 your outside 00:14:50.040 --> 00:14:50.660 actions. 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:53.600 What does it 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:55.080 mean that 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:55.680 someone's a good 00:14:55.680 --> 00:14:56.100 person? 00:14:57.500 --> 00:14:58.379 As I've said 00:14:58.379 --> 00:14:59.040 a couple of times, 00:14:59.080 --> 00:14:59.520 I watch a bit 00:14:59.520 --> 00:15:00.020 of sport. 00:15:00.800 --> 00:15:01.140 Lately, 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:01.460 I've been 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:01.919 watching a bit 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:02.240 of rugby 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:02.799 league as 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:04.399 well and 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:05.179 there's some 00:15:05.179 --> 00:15:05.659 pretty rough 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:06.259 characters in 00:15:06.259 --> 00:15:06.639 it to be 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:06.939 frank. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:08.080 But you 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:08.799 constantly hear 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:09.460 the phrase, 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:10.460 oh, but he's 00:15:10.460 --> 00:15:11.120 a good bloke. 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:12.879 What is that 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:13.319 standard? 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:14.860 What's the 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:15.319 good bloke 00:15:15.319 --> 00:15:15.759 standard? 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:18.340 What do you 00:15:18.340 --> 00:15:19.240 think the 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:19.939 average person 00:15:19.939 --> 00:15:20.679 on the streets 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:22.460 thinks that a 00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:22.980 Christian's 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:23.539 standard is? 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:25.419 What do they 00:15:25.419 --> 00:15:26.580 think that we 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:27.559 think we should 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:28.319 be doing or 00:15:28.319 --> 00:15:28.639 following? 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:30.679 What do 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:31.120 they think 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:31.720 God's 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:32.319 standard for 00:15:32.319 --> 00:15:33.080 behaviour is? 00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:35.899 When Jesus 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:36.500 was talking, 00:15:36.899 --> 00:15:37.240 there was a 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:37.779 pretty clear 00:15:37.779 --> 00:15:38.340 standard that 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:38.960 was set in 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:39.519 the community 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:40.419 and that was 00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:40.960 the laws, 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:41.819 the Pharisees, 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:42.799 the law as 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:43.580 the Pharisees 00:15:43.580 --> 00:15:45.120 saw, taught 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:45.639 and modelled 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:45.919 them. 00:15:47.100 --> 00:15:47.939 But just like 00:15:47.939 --> 00:15:48.360 they didn't 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:49.840 understand what 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:50.539 the law 00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:51.279 pointed to, 00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:52.700 they didn't 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:53.419 understand the 00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:54.279 fundamental nature 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:55.720 of sin and 00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:56.539 Jesus confronts 00:15:56.539 --> 00:15:56.960 that attitude 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:57.799 directly in 00:15:57.799 --> 00:15:58.460 verse 20. 00:15:59.419 --> 00:15:59.879 For I tell 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:00.600 you, unless 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:01.439 your righteousness 00:16:01.439 --> 00:16:02.419 exceeds that 00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:03.460 of the scribes 00:16:03.460 --> 00:16:04.199 and Pharisees, 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:05.319 you will never 00:16:05.319 --> 00:16:05.960 enter the 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:06.399 kingdom of 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:06.620 heaven. 00:16:08.379 --> 00:16:09.139 He's saying 00:16:09.139 --> 00:16:10.080 here that to 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:10.519 enter the 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:10.919 kingdom of 00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:11.679 heaven, you 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:12.199 actually need 00:16:12.199 --> 00:16:13.000 to be more 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:14.080 righteous than 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:14.639 the scribes 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:15.379 and Pharisees. 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:16.299 And to the 00:16:16.299 --> 00:16:16.779 scribes and 00:16:16.779 --> 00:16:17.600 Pharisees listening 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:18.539 right now, that 00:16:18.539 --> 00:16:18.960 would have been 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:19.620 like a complete 00:16:19.620 --> 00:16:20.159 slap in the 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:20.720 face, right? 00:16:21.319 --> 00:16:22.419 They dedicated 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:23.120 themselves to 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:23.700 following that 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:24.639 law and they 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:26.360 derived power and 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:27.039 standing in the 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:27.840 community from 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:28.139 that. 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:30.379 But what 00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:30.639 they had 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:31.319 actually done 00:16:31.319 --> 00:16:31.639 and what 00:16:31.639 --> 00:16:32.220 Jesus is 00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:32.720 going to 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:33.580 expose here 00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:34.580 is that over 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:35.580 many years, 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:36.199 possibly over 00:16:36.199 --> 00:16:36.860 generations, 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:38.139 without even 00:16:38.139 --> 00:16:38.779 realising they 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:39.299 were doing it 00:16:39.299 --> 00:16:40.840 maybe, they 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:41.580 cherry-picked 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:42.600 different parts 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:43.139 of the law. 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:44.659 They'd bent it 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:46.100 and interpreted it 00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:46.980 to suit their 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:47.720 own needs. 00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:50.860 Jesus is saying 00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:52.580 here that the 00:16:52.580 --> 00:16:54.320 law reveals God's 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:55.320 perfect standard 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:56.899 and he's calling 00:16:56.899 --> 00:16:57.560 his people to 00:16:57.560 --> 00:16:58.360 live in his 00:16:58.360 --> 00:16:59.620 image and share 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:00.399 that perfect 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:00.820 standard. 00:17:01.980 --> 00:17:02.680 And using three 00:17:02.680 --> 00:17:03.580 examples, anger, 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:04.480 lust and divorce, 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:05.680 he shows how the 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:06.539 Pharisees have made 00:17:06.539 --> 00:17:07.299 the law about 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:08.460 their outer actions 00:17:08.460 --> 00:17:09.819 instead of the 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:10.579 orientation of 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:11.059 their heart. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:11.980 And in the 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:13.380 process, they've 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:14.299 made it so they 00:17:14.299 --> 00:17:15.220 don't take sin 00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:16.180 seriously enough. 00:17:16.180 --> 00:17:17.600 You can see it 00:17:17.600 --> 00:17:18.000 in the first 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:18.700 example here, 00:17:19.060 --> 00:17:20.360 verse 21 to 22, 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:20.740 anger. 00:17:21.380 --> 00:17:22.039 You have heard 00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:23.000 that it was said 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:24.259 to those of old, 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:25.480 you shall not 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:26.299 murder and 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:27.039 whomever murders 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:27.640 will be liable 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:28.220 to judgment. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:31.340 But I say to 00:17:31.340 --> 00:17:32.980 you that 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:33.700 everyone who 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:34.519 is angry with 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:35.320 his brother will 00:17:35.320 --> 00:17:36.039 be liable for 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:36.400 judgment. 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:37.680 Whoever insults 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:38.400 his brother will 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.080 be liable to 00:17:39.080 --> 00:17:40.120 the council and 00:17:40.120 --> 00:17:40.779 whoever says 00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:42.080 you fool will 00:17:42.080 --> 00:17:42.740 be liable to 00:17:42.740 --> 00:17:43.160 the hell of 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:43.460 fire. 00:17:45.060 --> 00:17:45.860 It's pretty 00:17:45.859 --> 00:17:46.339 clear here, 00:17:46.379 --> 00:17:46.599 really. 00:17:47.879 --> 00:17:48.519 You've been 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:49.819 told that the 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:50.519 outward action 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:51.399 is what condemns 00:17:51.399 --> 00:17:53.319 you, but it's 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:54.159 the inner action, 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:56.539 the inner attitude 00:17:56.539 --> 00:17:57.740 that Jesus 00:17:57.740 --> 00:17:59.179 condemns, because 00:17:59.179 --> 00:18:00.159 that's how someone 00:18:00.159 --> 00:18:00.899 truly feels. 00:18:01.779 --> 00:18:02.359 It's more or less 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:03.799 the same ideal in 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:04.699 verse 27 for 00:18:04.699 --> 00:18:05.019 lust. 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:06.439 You have heard 00:18:06.439 --> 00:18:07.439 that it was said 00:18:07.439 --> 00:18:08.199 you shall not 00:18:08.199 --> 00:18:08.799 commit adultery, 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:10.339 but I say to you 00:18:10.339 --> 00:18:11.039 that everyone who 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:11.679 looks at a woman 00:18:11.679 --> 00:18:12.599 with lustful intent 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:13.959 has already committed 00:18:13.959 --> 00:18:15.019 adultery with her 00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:16.139 in his heart. 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:18.299 The heart of the 00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:19.019 law is not that 00:18:19.019 --> 00:18:20.099 someone's cheated 00:18:20.099 --> 00:18:21.099 on their wife or 00:18:21.099 --> 00:18:22.000 committed an 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:22.740 improper sexual 00:18:22.740 --> 00:18:23.059 act. 00:18:23.639 --> 00:18:24.759 It's the lustful 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:25.940 intent that 00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:26.799 creates those 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:27.379 acts and from 00:18:27.379 --> 00:18:28.599 which those acts 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:30.019 come that Jesus 00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:30.720 condemns. 00:18:31.579 --> 00:18:32.220 And it's the same 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:33.079 again with divorce. 00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:34.619 You've created 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:35.400 a tradition within 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:36.119 your interpretation 00:18:36.119 --> 00:18:37.639 of the law, but 00:18:37.639 --> 00:18:38.940 God's standard is 00:18:38.940 --> 00:18:39.440 higher. 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.460 what's important 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:44.320 to God is not 00:18:44.320 --> 00:18:45.200 what someone looks 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:46.000 like from the 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:46.539 outside. 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:48.420 It's where their 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:49.620 heart truly lies. 00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:50.759 And there's two 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:51.940 very good reasons 00:18:51.940 --> 00:18:52.820 for this to be the 00:18:52.820 --> 00:18:53.200 case. 00:18:54.660 --> 00:18:55.900 Firstly, very 00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:57.400 practically, we're 00:18:57.400 --> 00:18:59.160 guided, how we 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:00.519 act is guided by 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:01.519 our desires. 00:19:02.420 --> 00:19:03.480 If we harbour 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:04.519 anger or lust 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:05.340 towards someone, 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:06.740 it will change the 00:19:06.740 --> 00:19:07.559 way we act towards 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:07.779 them. 00:19:08.859 --> 00:19:10.039 Sometimes in ways 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:10.579 that we might not 00:19:10.579 --> 00:19:11.319 even be conscious 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:11.639 of. 00:19:11.980 --> 00:19:12.519 Take anger. 00:19:13.139 --> 00:19:13.779 So you might not 00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:14.779 outright attack 00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:15.440 someone or get in 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:16.059 a fight with them. 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.019 But the hatred in 00:19:19.019 --> 00:19:20.759 your heart may see 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:21.779 us exclude them, 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:22.960 undermine them, 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:24.159 go behind their 00:19:24.159 --> 00:19:24.879 back on things, 00:19:25.019 --> 00:19:25.679 and over a long 00:19:25.679 --> 00:19:26.440 period of time, 00:19:26.619 --> 00:19:27.579 that anger, if not 00:19:27.579 --> 00:19:28.799 dealt with, will 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:29.879 destroy that 00:19:29.879 --> 00:19:30.379 relationship. 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:31.599 It will murder 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:32.700 that relationship. 00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:34.899 Or lust. 00:19:34.900 --> 00:19:35.900 lust. 00:19:35.900 --> 00:19:38.040 It's lustful 00:19:38.040 --> 00:19:39.460 thoughts that start 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:40.660 the slide into 00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:41.340 further sin. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:43.140 The kind of sin 00:19:43.140 --> 00:19:44.960 that will affect 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:45.720 those around us, 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:46.420 maybe in small 00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:46.680 ways. 00:19:46.759 --> 00:19:47.840 Maybe it's making 00:19:47.840 --> 00:19:49.420 someone feel very 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:50.320 uncomfortable to be 00:19:50.320 --> 00:19:50.840 around you. 00:19:51.340 --> 00:19:52.259 Maybe it's making 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:53.140 someone be really 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:53.940 self-conscious of 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:54.780 their bodies and how 00:19:54.780 --> 00:19:55.300 they're feeling. 00:19:56.080 --> 00:19:57.240 To actions that can 00:19:57.240 --> 00:19:58.259 completely destroy 00:19:58.259 --> 00:19:59.380 relationships, ruin 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:01.120 lives, and traumatise 00:20:01.120 --> 00:20:02.420 people for years. 00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:05.080 This is why the 00:20:05.080 --> 00:20:06.019 heart is important 00:20:06.019 --> 00:20:06.840 in God's kingdom. 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:08.460 Because the heart 00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:09.900 affects how we 00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:10.539 treat others. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:13.340 Secondly, it's 00:20:13.340 --> 00:20:14.220 also a matter of 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:15.539 justice for a God 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:16.620 who is perfectly 00:20:16.620 --> 00:20:17.100 just. 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:19.759 If the standard is 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:20.300 what is in your 00:20:20.300 --> 00:20:21.400 heart, then there's 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:23.160 no excuse and no 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:25.100 ability to hide or 00:20:25.100 --> 00:20:26.100 obscure your actions. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:28.300 In society, we know 00:20:28.300 --> 00:20:29.060 that people will try 00:20:29.060 --> 00:20:29.740 and get away with 00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:31.400 things they should be 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:32.080 called to account 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:32.399 for. 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:33.480 And when that 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:34.919 doesn't happen, we 00:20:34.919 --> 00:20:35.699 can't stand that 00:20:35.699 --> 00:20:36.519 sense of injustice. 00:20:37.679 --> 00:20:38.980 Just as an example, 00:20:39.159 --> 00:20:40.859 like a week ago, I 00:20:40.859 --> 00:20:42.240 went to a pub with 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:43.039 some colleagues from 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:43.919 work for lunch on a 00:20:43.919 --> 00:20:44.179 Friday. 00:20:44.859 --> 00:20:45.599 Of course, we all 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:46.480 had our masks on. 00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:49.359 But at the pub, they 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:50.299 were handing people a 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:51.379 glass of water at the 00:20:51.379 --> 00:20:52.579 door so people could 00:20:52.579 --> 00:20:53.500 take off their masks 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:54.220 and claim they were 00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:55.019 drinking the entire 00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:55.639 time they were in 00:20:55.639 --> 00:20:55.980 the pub. 00:20:57.859 --> 00:20:59.000 So by the letter of 00:20:59.000 --> 00:20:59.919 the law, that's okay 00:20:59.919 --> 00:21:01.240 because you're allowed 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:02.039 to remove your mask 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:02.440 to drink. 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:04.559 But I think everyone 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:05.500 here in this 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:07.380 congregation would 00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:08.720 agree that it 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:10.019 completely misses the 00:21:10.019 --> 00:21:11.680 point and the reason 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:12.620 that that law is in 00:21:12.620 --> 00:21:13.019 place. 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:15.180 And I know that 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:15.799 there's probably at 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:16.559 least a few people 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:17.440 here, by the murmurs 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:18.740 I just heard, they'll 00:21:18.740 --> 00:21:19.759 probably email me 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:21.160 afterwards asking what 00:21:21.160 --> 00:21:21.880 pub it is so they 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:23.079 could go and tell the 00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:24.140 authorities about it. 00:21:24.140 --> 00:21:27.560 It's that sense of 00:21:27.560 --> 00:21:30.100 injustice that drives 00:21:30.100 --> 00:21:31.300 the cycling world to 00:21:31.300 --> 00:21:33.060 distrust every cyclist 00:21:33.060 --> 00:21:34.380 that stands out from 00:21:34.380 --> 00:21:34.820 the pack. 00:21:37.380 --> 00:21:39.140 You shouldn't be able 00:21:39.140 --> 00:21:40.660 to get out of God's 00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:42.500 perfect law with a good 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:42.780 lawyer. 00:21:44.780 --> 00:21:46.180 And Jesus uses the 00:21:46.180 --> 00:21:47.300 three examples of hate, 00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:49.120 lust and divorce to show 00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:50.680 that society at the time 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:51.840 that claimed to be 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:53.939 following God's law had 00:21:53.939 --> 00:21:55.500 moved away from the 00:21:55.500 --> 00:21:56.519 intention for it. 00:21:58.039 --> 00:21:59.279 And moving away from 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:00.119 the intention of the 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:01.399 law is moving away from 00:22:01.399 --> 00:22:03.339 the character of God, the 00:22:03.339 --> 00:22:04.439 heart of who God is. 00:22:05.799 --> 00:22:07.059 And given that, I think 00:22:07.059 --> 00:22:08.220 it's important to ask 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:08.959 ourselves the same 00:22:08.959 --> 00:22:09.359 question. 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:11.679 What do you think our 00:22:11.679 --> 00:22:12.980 society would say the 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:13.980 standard for those three 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:14.579 acts is? 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:16.619 With anger. 00:22:16.619 --> 00:22:19.099 I think most people in 00:22:19.099 --> 00:22:20.019 society would say that 00:22:20.019 --> 00:22:21.399 anger can be justified if 00:22:21.399 --> 00:22:22.159 you've been wronged. 00:22:24.899 --> 00:22:25.979 I think anger is 00:22:25.979 --> 00:22:27.099 something our society even 00:22:27.099 --> 00:22:28.500 glorifies sometimes. 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:30.839 When our society sees 00:22:30.839 --> 00:22:31.759 someone doing something 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:34.759 wrong, I don't think 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:35.819 people just say it's 00:22:35.819 --> 00:22:37.719 okay for people to be 00:22:37.719 --> 00:22:39.219 angry at them and hate 00:22:39.219 --> 00:22:39.459 them. 00:22:40.019 --> 00:22:41.139 I think people cheer them 00:22:41.139 --> 00:22:41.799 on for it. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:44.779 With lust, the standard 00:22:44.779 --> 00:22:46.039 our society sets is that 00:22:46.039 --> 00:22:47.159 everything's okay as long 00:22:47.159 --> 00:22:47.980 as it's consensual. 00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:49.359 Pornography, sexual 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:50.359 fantasy, sex before 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:51.659 marriage, having multiple 00:22:51.659 --> 00:22:52.720 sexual partners, it's all 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:53.259 on the table. 00:22:54.139 --> 00:22:54.759 And divorce. 00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:56.379 We live in a society of 00:22:56.379 --> 00:22:57.379 no-fault divorce. 00:22:58.019 --> 00:22:59.399 And there's actually a 00:22:59.399 --> 00:23:00.339 very good reason for 00:23:00.339 --> 00:23:01.619 having an easy way out of 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:02.799 marriage, particularly in 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:03.899 abusive relationships. 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:05.720 But the point is that 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:07.240 God's perfect standard of 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:08.659 marriage just does not 00:23:08.659 --> 00:23:10.680 fit with the society we've 00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:11.059 created. 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:13.779 And you guys might be 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:14.399 sitting there a little 00:23:14.399 --> 00:23:15.319 smugly at this point 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:16.980 because we don't do 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:17.679 these things, right? 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:19.119 Because, you know, we're 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:20.099 all good little Christian 00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:20.839 boys and girls. 00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:23.639 But what are the standards 00:23:23.639 --> 00:23:25.240 that we set at our church 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:25.539 here? 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:29.000 Because I think that we 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:30.039 can be a lot like the 00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:31.339 very people that Jesus was 00:23:31.339 --> 00:23:33.299 talking to in the Sermon 00:23:33.299 --> 00:23:33.779 on the Amount. 00:23:34.139 --> 00:23:35.419 Not outwardly and 00:23:35.419 --> 00:23:37.200 obviously living a life of 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:39.859 sin, but moulding God's 00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:41.879 standards to suit our needs 00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:43.440 and thinking that we can 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:44.200 get away with it. 00:23:45.760 --> 00:23:48.540 For anger, do you let 00:23:48.540 --> 00:23:50.280 yourself be bitter with 00:23:50.280 --> 00:23:51.040 others that you know? 00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:54.020 Do you vent about people 00:23:54.020 --> 00:23:54.860 behind their backs? 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:56.720 You know, it might not 00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:57.960 necessarily be a person. 00:23:58.220 --> 00:24:00.140 It might be something at 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:02.160 the workplace, a career, a 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:03.460 situation in your life that 00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:04.400 you feel stuck in. 00:24:06.100 --> 00:24:07.680 Do you let resentment and 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:09.120 anger build up about that? 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:11.500 How do you deal with 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:11.979 conflict? 00:24:12.879 --> 00:24:13.739 What do you do when 00:24:13.739 --> 00:24:14.739 something doesn't go your 00:24:14.739 --> 00:24:15.019 way? 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:16.399 Do you vent? 00:24:16.639 --> 00:24:18.159 Do you blow your lid? 00:24:19.459 --> 00:24:20.699 Do you harbour resentment 00:24:20.699 --> 00:24:21.899 to authority and people in 00:24:21.899 --> 00:24:22.199 power? 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:25.299 What about lust? 00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:28.239 What person here today would 00:24:28.239 --> 00:24:29.359 let their internet search 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:30.939 history unfiltered go up on 00:24:30.939 --> 00:24:31.399 that screen? 00:24:32.739 --> 00:24:35.339 What person here today would 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:37.739 volunteer their unadulterated 00:24:37.739 --> 00:24:39.099 thoughts about other 00:24:39.099 --> 00:24:39.639 men and women? 00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:44.219 And as I said, Jesus isn't 00:24:44.219 --> 00:24:45.779 specifically talking about 00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:48.059 these sins because they're 00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:49.519 any better or worse than 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:50.099 other sins. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:51.859 He's just using them to make 00:24:51.859 --> 00:24:53.319 a broader point about the 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:54.099 nature of sin. 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:55.679 They're just things that the 00:24:55.679 --> 00:24:56.719 people listening at the time 00:24:56.719 --> 00:24:57.779 would have instantly related 00:24:57.779 --> 00:24:58.079 to. 00:24:59.439 --> 00:25:00.719 What are the sins that you 00:25:00.719 --> 00:25:01.759 tolerate in your heart that 00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:02.179 you shouldn't? 00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:05.099 What are your blind spots? 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:07.899 In what ways have you moved 00:25:07.899 --> 00:25:09.259 God's standard so that you 00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:10.199 feel acceptable? 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:12.699 Is it trying to gain popularity 00:25:12.699 --> 00:25:13.399 and attention? 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:16.579 Is it how you spend your time 00:25:16.579 --> 00:25:16.980 and money? 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:21.500 Is it your own pride? 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:24.939 Your feelings of your own sense 00:25:24.939 --> 00:25:25.519 of accomplishment? 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:30.220 I don't know what your heart is 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:30.579 like. 00:25:31.379 --> 00:25:32.799 That's something you know. 00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:33.920 That's kind of the point here. 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:37.339 But by the way that Jesus goes 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:39.500 through sin after sin in his 00:25:39.500 --> 00:25:42.139 sermon, not just this week but 00:25:42.139 --> 00:25:44.480 he'll do it next week too, I feel 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:44.980 convicted. 00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:48.120 I can just hear Jesus saying 00:25:48.120 --> 00:25:49.440 that he doesn't want his 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:51.500 followers to just look like good 00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:52.819 little Christian boys and girls 00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:56.539 who seem to be following a list 00:25:56.539 --> 00:25:59.099 of instructions but actually have 00:25:59.099 --> 00:25:59.940 corrupt hearts. 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:04.480 Because for God to bring about his 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:06.519 radical kingdom, the kingdom that 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:09.120 he outlined at the start of this 00:26:09.120 --> 00:26:11.519 sermon, it needs to start with 00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:13.099 people's hearts being oriented 00:26:13.099 --> 00:26:13.639 correctly. 00:26:16.419 --> 00:26:17.779 And that brings me to my third 00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:18.059 point. 00:26:19.199 --> 00:26:21.039 Because while it's a good thing 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:22.939 that God's standard is perfection 00:26:22.939 --> 00:26:25.419 because it means he is properly 00:26:25.419 --> 00:26:27.659 truthful to what he says and it 00:26:27.659 --> 00:26:29.179 means that he is perfectly just, 00:26:30.459 --> 00:26:33.119 we can't completely reach that 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:35.059 standard no matter how much we try 00:26:35.059 --> 00:26:35.699 to do so. 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:38.740 Which is why Jesus needs to 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:40.519 fulfill the law, not us. 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:43.420 And the key verse here once 00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:45.099 again, verse 17 and 18. 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:47.279 Do not think that I have come to 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:48.700 abolish the laws of the prophets. 00:26:49.379 --> 00:26:51.059 I have come to fulfill them. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:53.500 For truly I say to you until 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:55.720 heaven and earth pass away, not an 00:26:55.720 --> 00:26:57.859 iota, not a dot will pass from the 00:26:57.859 --> 00:27:00.779 law until all is accomplished. 00:27:02.920 --> 00:27:04.599 As I said before, Jesus doesn't 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:06.420 explicitly lay all this out in this 00:27:06.420 --> 00:27:06.799 passage. 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:09.039 But the reason he is dwelling on the 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:10.700 law, the reason he is dwelling on the 00:27:10.700 --> 00:27:12.779 standard is to show that that 00:27:12.779 --> 00:27:14.399 standard is not going away. 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:17.960 And while we should be living like 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:19.399 we're trying to be in his kingdom, 00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:21.240 no one truly does. 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:22.299 No one truly can. 00:27:23.099 --> 00:27:24.680 We don't fulfill the law. 00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:26.700 We need someone else to fulfill the 00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:27.359 law for us. 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:30.299 And that someone, he says, is going to 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:30.700 be him. 00:27:33.139 --> 00:27:34.759 As it says later in the Bible, in 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:36.539 Romans 3, 21 to 24. 00:27:36.539 --> 00:27:39.159 But now the righteousness of God has 00:27:39.159 --> 00:27:41.039 been manifest apart from the law, 00:27:41.420 --> 00:27:42.940 although the law and the prophets bear 00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:43.680 witness to it. 00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:46.220 The righteousness of God through faith 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:48.500 in Jesus Christ for all who believe. 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:50.099 For there is no distinction. 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:52.119 For all have sinned and fall short of the 00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:54.559 glory of God and are justified by his 00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:56.720 grace as a gift through the redemption 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.480 that is in Christ Jesus. 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:02.960 Jesus is setting up the groundwork in the 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:05.880 Sermon on the Mount that even though we 00:28:05.880 --> 00:28:07.940 can't be right with God by our own 00:28:07.940 --> 00:28:11.039 actions, he lived the life we couldn't. 00:28:14.460 --> 00:28:17.579 With a heart perfectly oriented towards 00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:19.880 God and through Jesus' death on the 00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:23.140 cross fulfilling the law, being the 00:28:23.140 --> 00:28:25.779 perfect sacrifice for our sins, that 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:28.500 perfect life, that perfect heart becomes 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:31.160 our perfect heart, our perfect life. 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:35.359 We have access to the righteousness that 00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:38.200 Jesus earned through trusting in him. 00:28:39.019 --> 00:28:40.480 And that isn't a contradiction. 00:28:41.059 --> 00:28:43.619 As it says, the law and the prophets bear 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:44.639 witness to this all. 00:28:45.379 --> 00:28:47.579 They set up the salvation for all who 00:28:47.579 --> 00:28:48.079 believe. 00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:50.920 As Jesus even says at the start of the 00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:52.759 Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the 00:28:52.759 --> 00:28:54.619 poor in spirit, who don't rely on 00:28:54.619 --> 00:28:56.680 themselves but look to God. 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:01.940 So what does Jesus want that to look 00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:02.660 like for us? 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:05.500 What does trying to follow Jesus but 00:29:05.500 --> 00:29:07.000 trusting him look like? 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:10.640 I think that even though we have the 00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:13.000 righteousness through faith, that Jesus 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:14.660 is alluding to here in the Sermon on the 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:18.000 Mount, you can't read what he has here to 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:21.279 say and conclude that God's law, Jesus' 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:24.779 standard isn't important to how he wants 00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:26.779 his people, the people in his kingdom, to 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:27.079 live. 00:29:28.980 --> 00:29:32.559 While we trust in Jesus, we need to try and 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:35.500 orient our heart to the things he values, 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:38.000 the things he blesses at the start of the 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:39.240 Sermon on the Mount. 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:43.460 We need to orient our hearts away from the 00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:45.119 things our society values. 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:49.279 From this sermon, two pretty clear ones are 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:50.799 anger and lust. 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:55.160 Ultimately, we need to have a heart of 00:29:55.160 --> 00:29:55.519 love. 00:29:56.180 --> 00:29:59.680 As 1 John 4 says, God is love and that is 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:02.220 where those blessings come from. 00:30:02.680 --> 00:30:05.279 A God of love, a God of justice. 00:30:06.899 --> 00:30:09.359 As Matt said last week, we're ambassadors 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:13.619 and God doesn't just put this high standard 00:30:13.619 --> 00:30:15.619 in place because he wants to be harsh. 00:30:15.619 --> 00:30:18.239 He puts it in place because he knows what 00:30:18.239 --> 00:30:19.019 humans are like. 00:30:19.739 --> 00:30:22.199 He knows that if people don't fix how they 00:30:22.199 --> 00:30:24.619 feel in their heart, they'll never be able to 00:30:24.619 --> 00:30:26.519 properly fix how they live outwardly. 00:30:27.919 --> 00:30:31.500 And while we trust in Jesus, he says that by his 00:30:31.500 --> 00:30:33.319 spirit, he is renewing our hearts. 00:30:33.879 --> 00:30:36.659 He is helping us as we struggle to orient 00:30:36.659 --> 00:30:39.359 ourselves towards what his kingdom will be. 00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:44.179 However, when we fail, and we will, we can live 00:30:44.179 --> 00:30:46.959 safe in the knowledge that Christ has fulfilled 00:30:46.959 --> 00:30:48.079 that law for us. 00:30:48.879 --> 00:30:53.599 We can be freed from that guilt and freed of the 00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:56.599 ultimate judgment that is due to us by God at the 00:30:56.599 --> 00:30:59.879 end of time because Jesus has paid that price for 00:30:59.879 --> 00:31:00.219 us. 00:31:01.439 --> 00:31:04.939 The law is not dead, but Jesus fulfills it. 00:31:05.579 --> 00:31:06.119 Let's pray. 00:31:06.119 --> 00:31:12.599 Heavenly Father, thank you for your words many, many 00:31:12.599 --> 00:31:13.159 years ago. 00:31:13.799 --> 00:31:16.500 Thank you for how you are a God that loves us. 00:31:17.159 --> 00:31:19.579 And thank you that you are a God of justice. 00:31:21.439 --> 00:31:25.739 Lord, we thank you for the standard that you set and how 00:31:25.739 --> 00:31:27.359 it creates a perfect kingdom. 00:31:28.699 --> 00:31:31.219 And we ask for your forgiveness for the times when we 00:31:31.219 --> 00:31:32.339 don't do that. 00:31:32.399 --> 00:31:34.359 We don't follow that standard. 00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:40.740 And Lord, we thank you that Jesus, your son, did and that 00:31:40.740 --> 00:31:45.799 he does fulfill the law so that we can one day live with 00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:48.859 you and be in a relationship with you. 00:31:50.079 --> 00:31:50.599 Amen. 00:31:50.599 --> 00:31:50.699 Amen.