Is it possible today to live by the Sermon on the Mount? Many folks seem to think so. Even the world today pushes its liberal agenda, thinking its anti-God programs fulfill the message Jesus gave in Matthew 5-7.

The Sermon on the Mount is also provided in the other three Gospels, but not as completely as in Matthew. One Bible teacher stated years ago that he believes Jesus pointed out all ten of the commandments and not just the two that are shown in the Scripture. This makes sense because the apostle John says:

“And there are also many other things Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen” (John 21:25).

For example, it is obvious that He healed many, many more people than are listed in Scripture, definitely thousands. With a casual reading, it is evident that all who came to Him, and there were thousands, He healed them all.

That being the case, it is obvious to me that the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount is not provided for the reason the apostle John stated in John 21:25 above, but the largest section of it is provided in Matthew 5-7.

After carefully reading Matthew 5-7, how can anyone possibly think they live by that Sermon? Beats me … but they sure do.

Folks, living by the Law of Moses is hard enough (in other words, we can’t). The Sermon on the Mount takes the Law to the nth degree. Living by the Law would be like trying to carry a car on your back for a twenty-mile run. Living by the Sermon on the Mount would be like trying to carry Earth on your back. It ain’t gonna happen, at least not now. I’ll return to this thought later.

In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus says, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Even in our society, anyone who commits murder will be dealt with by our governmental justice system. Yes, I realize that isn’t always so, but that is the way it is supposed to work. In other words, one who commits murder should be put to death, even though this is rarely the case in our society. However, God says:

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6).

“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:12).

“If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 24:17).

“If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death at the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. ‘Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death” (Numbers 35:30-31).

“Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen'” (Deuteronomy 27:24).

Now back to the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:21-22 (shown above). The Sermon on the Mount is so much more stringent than the Law; we are found guilty if we have one wrong THOUGHT toward another person.

So, can any of us truthfully say we have never murdered someone? Hopefully, we have never done so by a physical action, but what about our thoughts? Where do we stand when it comes to what we think? How many times have we been guilty of murder by the Sermon on the Mount definition? Maybe we kept the Law in that regard, but have we kept the Sermon on the Mount in that regard?

Now let’s see what Jesus says about His second example from the Ten Commandments … adultery.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;

but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

Now obviously, this applies to both sexes, male and female. Maybe we all can puff our chest out and brag that we have never committed adultery, but again, what about those thoughts that crossed our mind?

Can any of us, if we’re honest, truthfully say that we have never, not even once, had the wrong thought toward someone of the opposite sex? (I’m not even going to address the homosexual situation. I’ve done so before, and it is clearly and without argument a vile sin against God.)

With all the garbage that comes over the television, theaters, magazines, Internet, etc., it is very difficult for a decent person to avoid what is shoved in our face. Even aside from that, can we truthfully say we have never once had that unclean thought? Again, the answer is obvious, whether we’re talking about murder (above) or adultery in this passage.

Especially the Pharisees of Jesus’ day were very proud of their supposed ability to keep the Law, but Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, tells them about a higher Law, a Law that will be observed at a later time. The Sermon on the Mount is all about the Kingdom age (the Millennium or 1,000-year reign of Christ).

If we fail in one point of the Law, we are guilty (Romans 3:9-20, 23; James 2:10). If we even THINK the wrong thought toward another person, we are guilty. In other words, we break the Law of Moses by our ACTIONS, and we break God’s higher Law by our mere THOUGHTS.

At this time, we break both laws. We may keep some or most of the Law of Moses in the here and now, but it is impossible for anyone to keep any of the Law of the Kingdom age that Jesus is revealing. Anyone who makes such a brash statement that they keep the Sermon on the Mount is, I kindly say, a fool. Does that mean we might as well ignore the Sermon on the Mount for daily living? Of course not, no more so than we should ignore the Law of Moses, even though we are no longer under the Law, but under Grace.

No one but Jesus has ever kept the Law of Moses and the Sermon on the Mount, but here is the good news. All who belong to Jesus in the Kingdom age will keep the Sermon on the Mount. I believe that those who are born on the earth during the Millennium will also be able to thru Jesus, if they are saved during that time. All who are born on the earth during the Millennium who do not come to Jesus to be saved will be judged by the Law of the Sermon on the Mount.

Remember that Jesus said when referring to that time:

“AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father” (Revelation 2:27).

“And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne” (Revelation 12:5).

“From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15).

The Millennial Kingdom is a wonderful time to anticipate, for those who belong to God. Just think, IF the Rapture occurred today, the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ could be only a mere seven years or so away.

Then it will be a time when the world will be properly governed by Jesus Himself. FINALLY, it will be run, not by politicians and despots, but by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then, we can truthfully say (those who belong to Jesus) that not even a sinful THOUGHT is ours. That old sin nature that now haunts us will no longer be around.

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com

Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com

Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html

The Bible states it as, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

The Scripture goes on to say, “Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it. But the correction of fools is folly” (Proverbs 16:22).

And, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 16:25).

And, “An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire. A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends. A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good. He winks his eye to devise perverse things; He purses his lips and brings about evil” (Proverbs 16:27-30).

Our pride, individually and collectively, knows no bounds. Since September 11, 2001, nearly twenty years ago, our national slogan has been “Build Back Better,” as Jonathan Cahn so lucidly wrote concerning Isaiah 9:10 in his book The Harbinger.

“The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”

Pride is one of those sins that God hates, and it really doesn’t matter on which side of the aisle you stand. Our leadership and our country as a whole are up to their necks in pride. Of the seven sins mentioned in Proverbs 6:16-19 that God hates, pride came in first place.

Alexis De Tocqueville stated in the 1800s in Democracy in America the following:

“I looked throughout America to find where her greatness originated. I looked for it in her harbors and on her shorelines, in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and in her gold mines and vast world commerce, but it was not there. It was not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her success. America is great because she is good, and if America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

At this very moment, we are in a very dangerous position with God as a country. I love my country and shudder to think what is ahead for it. Am I a prophet? Absolutely not. Can I see into the future? Again, no, I cannot, but I can read, and when I read the holy Word of God, the Bible, it is clear that we are under God’s judgment.

No country has ever been opposed to God and won. He may not move in our time frame, but He will move. Unfortunately, we have not just opposed God, but we are attacking Him in every way Satan can devise.

Jesus said, “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:47-48).

No nation has ever been as blessed by God as we have, except Israel. Take just a minute to consider the agonies Israel has experienced over several thousand years because of their rebellion against God, and their judgment will not end until the close of the Tribulation.

We have not known true hardship as a country, but it is coming. God will use a much bigger hickory switch on us than other nations because we should know better. He has warned us, but we have not listened. So now, it’s time for the woodshed.

The greatest problem in our nation is not political or social. Our greatest problem is the insurmountable apostasy throughout our land.

Cole Richards, President of The Voice of the Martyrs, has stated, “The first step in becoming an ambassador is to set aside one’s personal agenda. It is important to remember that God does not come into our lives to help us achieve our goals. That kind of human-centered teaching may be popular, but it is not biblical. We are meant to spend ourselves in seeking God’s glory (not our own), achieving His eternal purposes (not our temporal goals) and bearing witness to His truth (not our opinions).” [The Voice of the Martyrs, Hated and Empowered Ambassadors for Christ, Page3, Paragraph 4]

Dr. J. Vernon McGee has said, “Now I am going to say perhaps the strongest thing you have ever heard: If a so-called church has a man in the pulpit who denies the Word of God, denies the deity of Christ, and denies that He died for sinners, it is not a church. It is a brothel – a spiritual brothel! I didn’t say that; God says that right here. This is the strongest language you can imagine, and you can understand why Hosea was not elected ‘Man of the Year’ in Israel at that particular time. He didn’t win any popularity contest in his hometown, you can be sure. He is telling his people, ‘You have become a brothel as a nation. You’ve turned to idolatry and have turned from the living and true God.'” [Thru The Bible Commentary Series, The Prophets, Hosea and Joel, Hosea 3:3 comments, page 43]

Thank God for the many faithful churches with pastors who are faithful to God’s Word, but they are so few among so many. Most of our churches have turned against the God they say they worship. To the contrary, they worship many idols and not the true God.

We are a nation of prideful people, and we have come to this point by turning our backs upon God. We think we can solve all our problems by more laws, education, money … our own efforts, in other words. We are corrupt to the core and the greatest contributor to other nations of our sinful deeds.

Every avenue in our lives is centered around, “What’s in it for me?” The Lord says through the apostle Paul when speaking of the Tribulation, “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

One of the many signs for the Tribulation is a great outpouring of apostasy. The fuel for apostasy is pride, and it is running on a full tank.

Our churches and seminaries are producing spiritual pygmies who are nothing but idol worshipers and spiritual harlots.

The Lord Jesus Christ will return soon, and many will be left behind due to the apostasy that surrounds us all. As I previously said, pride fuels apostasy, and our pride knows no bounds. Whether we consider the political arena, sports, entertainment industry, business world, or the average person on the street, few have any time for God.

There is no hope for us as a nation, but there is the promise of eternal life with the one and only true God for any individual who will swallow that pride and come to the cross in humility, seeking forgiveness.

Jesus said, “… Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com

Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com

Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html