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Amen.
If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join me in Matthew
chapter 5 this morning.
As we continue on in our study of Matthew, we are looking at specifically the greatest
message ever preached in the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount has, previously before this, has called everyone to the kingdom.
He is the king.
He is called into the kingdom through repentance.
And now in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is giving instructions.
Jesus is giving descriptions that if you were kingdom people, this is who you are.
You see, there are certain people during that time that thought to be religious means that
this is what you do.
But Jesus is saying that these actions come from not what you do, this is not a man-made
creation, but that this is the fruit and the evidence and the work of God in who you are
and the work coming through you.
If in the Beatitudes at the beginning of this, if this is Jesus' introduction to the Sermon
on the Mount, then Jesus' foundation of what he'll continue to preach off of for a couple
more chapters is found where Jesus talks about salt and light.
The foundation of the message.
Salt, this is how you are to live.
Light, this is the message that you share.
And Jesus connects these together.
Our message of hope is lived out in our life of hope.
Because you and I, as Christians, as followers of Jesus, we are people of hope.
We know hope.
We've seen hope.
We've experienced hope.
And as Jesus shares this in the midst of an audience that is oppressed, as Jesus shares
this in the midst of an audience who is persecuted, he's reminding them, here's who you are.
You are blessed in God.
God, now go live and be the reflection of this.
Be salt, be light.
The truth of who you are from who you've surrendered to.
And now Jesus has moved to some topical studies.
He's addressed anger.
He's addressed lust.
He's addressed divorce.
And today we will look at, as my Bible has the title, oaths and retaliation, but I would
like to look at it as truthfulness, even in difficult circumstances, and serving even to difficult
people.
Does the gospel penetrate parts or all of your life?
And if the gospel doesn't penetrate just parts of your life, it should penetrate all
of your life, every aspect, every fiber, every part of who you are, and therefore this is
what we see.
So let's start.
Let's read verses 33 through 37 of Matthew chapter 5.
Jesus says,
Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you should not swear falsely, but
shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.
But I say to you, do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
or by the earth, for it is the footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great
king.
And do not take an oath on your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Let what you say be simply yes or no.
Anything more than this comes from evil.
Jesus begins in this part of what we're going to look at, of talking about what it means to
live a life of truth.
To live a life of truth.
To not just be a truth teller, but to be a person of truth.
I think all of you in here would agree with me about this statement.
Maybe sometimes you disagree with me, and that's okay.
But as I give cultural commentary, maybe you would agree with me on this one.
Today we live in a day marked with lies.
And I don't have to point to politicians to prove this.
I'd like to point to one of the most precious things God's ever created.
A child.
When you had a child, and they started to talk, did you have to teach them to lie?
Or did you have to teach them to tell the truth?
Right?
One of my favorite ones was, as Easter time's coming, Emma's always had an affection for chocolate.
She's always loved chocolate.
She's looking at me.
Sweetie, do I have permission to tell this?
All right.
I got like an angry yes, so we're going to take that as a yes.
You're supposed to tell the truth.
All right.
And so we're living in Aiken at this time, and Emma has gotten from the Easter bunny, she's gotten a solid Easter bunny.
Chocolate Easter bunny.
Like one like this big.
And Aaron and I, Emma's probably like three, maybe four years old.
So if you've had a three-year-old in your house before, you know how exhausting that could be.
Imagine having two of them in your house, and we all still pray for the fries, because they had three of them in the house, right?
At the same time.
And the house got quiet, and we saw Grayson.
And he's playing, and he's doing his thing, you know.
We can't find Emma.
So we start looking around the house.
Can't find Emma.
We begin to panic.
We look out in the yard.
We can't find Emma.
We go into her room.
We start searching.
And we open the closet.
Now, this is Easter Sunday.
And we look at Emma, and there's an empty wrapper, and there's like a chocolate explosion all over her face.
And not with stern voices, not out of a threat of being punished, because parents, I believe if you give your kids candy, they should do their best to eat it all that day.
Because that's what I do, right?
We say to Emma, Emma, did you eat all of your chocolate Easter bunny?
No.
And as much as we try to appeal to her, that, sweetie, the evidence says different, right?
What was in her was like, it's better to lie and just go down with this thing than it is to tell the truth in this moment, right?
Like, from a very early age, all of us, we have a propensity to lie.
Now, in a culture that lies, here's what we've done.
We don't like to say, well, you're a liar, or I'm a liar, or I tell lies, or you tell lies.
So, we've even found, like, in our verbiage, in the words that we use, we try to clean this up a little bit.
So, we say things like, I mean, maybe from time to time I tell a white lie.
Maybe from time to time I tell a half-truth.
Maybe from time to time I just fib a little bit.
Maybe I'm prone to exaggeration, but I'm not going to tell a lie.
We even call it when we're talking with our kids that you've told a tall tale, or they're just telling a story.
And maybe one of the ones that I'm thinking about, and I think that today I maybe hear this more than at any other time in my life.
Well, you know, it's just the truth as I remember it.
But the truth is, all of these, when they're not the truth, when they're not the full truth, is a lie.
And we all know that it's wrong.
In fact, you can travel all over the world, and while things may change from culture to culture,
determining what is right and determining what is wrong.
I didn't know this until this week.
I did some research online.
And every country in the world, those who we would say align with our values,
and those who we would say do not align with our values,
every country in the world has perjury as a law.
So here's the thought conclusion that I came from.
Every country in this world says this,
it's okay for politicians to lie to you, but you can't lie to them.
Every country, every people of all time are trying to figure out not how do I tell the truth,
but how do I twist the truth in order to favor myself.
During the time of Jesus, oaths were common.
We see oaths made in the Old Testament,
and without getting into a five-hour study about what the Old Testament does or doesn't say concerning oaths,
let's establish that oaths were common.
Covenants were common.
Promises were common.
God made them to his people,
and God's people made promises to him.
Oftentimes, when God's people made promises to God,
they were prefaced by a phrase similar to,
and on the name or by the name of the Lord,
and then the promise was made.
Establishing God as the witness of the oath of the truth of the promise that was communicated in the moment.
I don't think here Jesus is just dealing on surface level,
telling everyone,
no more oaths.
We will see testimony continues to ring true.
God in the fullness of his word,
and we believe God in the fullness of his word is Christ,
continues to make promises to his people.
I think what we see here in oaths,
that it's not the action of giving an oath,
it's the heart of the oath giver.
It's the heart of the oath giver that is there.
You see, during Jesus' day,
everyone there, the people of Jesus' day,
including rabbis,
had developed systems of loopholes,
so that they could tell lies,
they could make promises,
and then as a result of the loophole they've created,
they could then go back on their word,
or go back on the truth by telling a lie.
They would say things like,
I swear by heaven,
I swear by the earth,
I swear by Jerusalem,
I swear by my own head,
I swear by as long as I live.
And as long as they didn't invoke the name of God in the moment,
then the teaching of the day was it was right for them to lie,
or to break the promise that they had just sworn to.
I don't know if kids still do it this day,
but I remember growing up, right?
It was, well, I've got my fingers crossed, right?
This is kind of what the rabbis are doing here.
So, Jesus comes,
and he says,
let's not be marked by the people who do these pointless,
these senseless oaths.
Look back at verse 37 with me.
Remember,
kingdom characteristics of who you are,
of who God's called you to be.
He says,
let what you say be simply yes or no.
Anything more than this comes from evil.
Jesus is telling his audience,
be a person of truth.
Live a life of truth.
So, that seems simple, right?
Let's talk about what this life looks like.
Number one, it begins in honesty.
Don't lie.
Be an honest person.
Be a person who tells the truth.
Be a person who tells the truth,
whether it benefits you or whether it hurts you.
Be honest.
Well, but who should I be honest with?
What if others are trying to con me?
What if others are trying to trick me?
What about in this moment?
Like, but where am I honest?
Well, here's what I think,
very simply what we'd see from this.
Number one is be honest with yourself.
Be honest with yourself, right?
One of the things that I love from scriptures
is God's word always calling us to do certain things like,
don't think of yourself more highly than you ought.
Pray for and seek for God to expose the sinfulness of your heart.
I think to be a person of truth, it has to begin with being honest with yourself and with being honest with ourself in the moment where the flesh begins to come up and we want to lie,
where we have the desire to lie in and out the first step of honesty is being aware that we're sinners.
We have to be honest with ourself, number two, we have to be honest with others.
We have to be honest with others.
Tell the truth.
Tell the truth when it benefits you, tell the truth when it doesn't benefit you, tell the truth when it's neutral.
Be a person of truth.
Be honest with others.
Here we go.
Confession time.
A few weeks ago, I was headed to an appointment.
And I woke up late.
And I was going to be late.
And on my way to this appointment, because I live in Lexington, South Carolina, I ran into what?
Traffic.
And I went and I sat down with a person.
Now, I'm going to tell you, I was more late because of the traffic.
But I was going to be late regardless.
Because I woke up late.
Here it is.
I get there.
Hey, man, I'm sorry I'm late.
You know how bad traffic is, right?
I lied.
I didn't want them to think that I didn't value this appointment.
That I didn't value this meeting.
I didn't want to say I overslept.
I did not want to make myself look bad.
And in doing so, I lessened the name of God.
Which is sin that I need to repent of.
Be honest with others.
Number three.
Be honest with God.
He already knows.
Can I tell you what honesty with God is?
Agreeing with God.
It's agreeing with God.
God already knows how big of a sinner that we are and how much we desperately need his grace.
How comical is it that we have to sometimes feel like we need to convince God that he's so worthy that we are on his team.
And we are on his side.
We need to be honest with God.
So what does it mean in life's truth?
Honesty.
Number two.
Integrity.
Define integrity this way.
Simply do what you say you will do.
Do what you say you will do.
What does it mean to be a man, a woman of God, and a person of integrity?
Ask yourself this question.
Are you a person people can depend on?
Are you a person that your word means something?
Are you a person who says if you are going to do something that you are going to do it?
Can people depend on you?
And then the second question with this is as they depend on you, can they depend on you for your best?
Can they depend on you for your best?
So they're depending on you to do a job?
It doesn't matter how hard the day is.
I'm going to do my best.
Because the Bible tells us that when we work, when we serve, when we're doing this, we're not even doing it for them.
We're doing it for the Lord.
So can they depend on you and can they depend on you for your best?
It's not an excuse.
It's not a reason.
It's not a justification for why we can't.
You depend on me.
I've given you my word.
I will do it.
And then it continues on, not only in honesty and integrity, but what it culminates to is goodness.
To be a person of truth is to be a person of goodness.
That our words should be good.
That our words should be holy.
That our words should communicate righteousness.
That our words should communicate truth.
Not just about the moment and the situation, but they communicate the truth of God.
Is how we live reflected in the words that we say, reflective of the gospel we claim?
Do we communicate the beauty and the effectiveness of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Here's where I tell you the conflict that happens with so many Christians, so many churches, and folks, so many pastors.
So many pastors.
Is that when we're not honest, when we don't have integrity, when we go to claim the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, why should they believe us?
If truth does not mark who we are, then who are we when we try to proclaim who Jesus is in their life?
If I will lie about everything for my benefit, why would I not also lie about this for my benefit?
Folks, let what you say be simply yes or no, because you are of Christ and you are of his kingdom.
So Jesus continues, and he talks about retaliation next.
And again, as we look at this, we see that it's more, right?
It's more than just don't swear to oaths.
It's be people of truth.
And in this, it's not just don't retaliate, but it's to live a life of sacrifice.
Now, in this teaching, Jesus is going to give us four examples of what a life of sacrifice looks like in the life of a person who's not responding in the flesh.
Jesus is looking out over a group of people that feel afflicted, oppressed, that feel beat up and persecuted.
And he's going to look at them and say, I want your response to not be that of retaliation, but I want your response to be one that is reflective of the gospel and the compassion of Christ.
So, four different examples that he gives us.
Look with me in verse 38.
He says,
If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him, the other, also.
Okay.
If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them and give them the other side, also.
But, Bo, the Bible says, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
They slap me, I get to slap them.
Well, that's what the rabbis taught.
Well, see, in this, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, it's about the governmental law.
It's what God had given his people to establish so that justice could be found in the laws.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is what is given so that government could not oppress people.
And it's what just governments continue to operate by.
So, for instance, it's why you don't get life in prison for speeding.
It's why you don't get community service for murder.
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.
Jesus isn't speaking about the judicial system.
Jesus is instead speaking to those who seek their own retribution in a world that God has placed them and called them to live.
To reflect the life of Christ.
So, number one, what we see in here is a life of sacrifice is a life of peace.
A life of sacrifice is a life of peace.
I don't know if you've ever been slapped before.
But let me tell you, it doesn't feel good.
It doesn't feel good.
And I'll be honest with you, being slapped is not just how can I physically hurt you.
But being slapped, specifically publicly, is how can I publicly embarrass you.
You see, during the time of Christ, much like today, to slap someone was not to just inflict physical pain.
But it was to humiliate them.
It was a physical way of insulting another person.
And so here's what Jesus says.
His words.
He says, when someone slaps you, turn the other cheek.
Be willing to endure further insult for the sake of the gospel.
Here's the picture that he paints.
If I'm going to slap you in the time of Christ on the right cheek, I'm backhanding you.
And Jesus says, so you take the insult.
And then now that they've exposed themselves for who they are and what they're capable of.
For the sake of the gospel, you're willing to take the insult again.
Now, I don't like it.
I don't like it.
In my sin tendencies, if you cut me with your words, I've already thought of a thousand more ways that I could cut you back.
And in my sinful flesh, that's what I want.
But Jesus says, for the work, for the sake of the gospel, you rise above the moment and reflect the one who humbled himself.
In the Beatitudes, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
A wise man a few weeks ago was doing a Bible study on this, and he reminded me that what it means to be meek is not to be weak.
What it means to be meek is strength restrained.
It's not what can I do in the moment.
It's what's reflective of God that I should do.
You see, when Jesus died on the cross, he experienced every form of pain.
Emotional pain as well as the physical pain.
He was beaten, yes.
He was nailed to a cross.
Yes, all of these things happened.
He had a crown of thorns shoved on his head.
Absolutely, the physical pain was there.
But in every moment, being mocked.
If you could call down angels to save you, but look at you now.
And in this, praise God, what Jesus displayed and what Jesus brought was peace.
It was peace.
So, life of sacrifice is a life of peace.
The second thing in here, look at verse 40.
If anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
A life of sacrifice is also a life of grace.
It's a life of grace.
Particularly with men during the time of Jesus, when they got dressed, they put on two pieces of clothing.
They put on their tunic and they put on their cloak.
Now, their tunic was both their undergarment and their first layer of their outer garment.
It was an inner garment, so to speak.
It was made of thin wool or linen.
And while it was valuable, it was not as valuable as the cloak.
In fact, during the time of Jesus, right, where we couldn't cash app and Venmo and pay by tapping our phone, right?
That came a little bit later, during the time of Paul.
Just kidding, right?
Right?
People would often, if they needed to pay for something, they would go, they would take off their tunic,
they would wrap up in their cloak, and they would pay for that item with their tunic.
Courts would oftentimes, when someone was sued for a lesser matter, would order that someone pay with their tunic.
It's where we get the phrase, that someone would give you the shirt off their back.
So Jesus says, if anyone would sue you, now here's the thing, if anyone would bring legitimate charge,
this suing is not a false piece.
There's a conflict, there's a moment, and you realize in this moment,
you've got to give up something.
And what you owe them is your tunic.
Jesus says, let them have your cloak as well.
You see, Jesus is saying that grace seeks to not meet the minimum,
but grace seeks to live and respond abundantly.
That it's not just about making it right, but it's about blessing.
It's not just about retaliation.
Well, you get yours and I get mine.
Jesus is saying, if this is what you owe, give them this.
Let this be what marks you.
Shower them not with what you have, but shower them with what you have, not what you're capable or just simply responsible for.
Jesus says, and this is what grace does, that grace goes beyond, that you and I live in such an abundant grace of God that we don't understand.
Understand, it's not that salvation has saved us.
It's that our salvation in Christ has saved us, is saving us, and will continue to save us.
And every sin that we have, every single one, is covered fully and completely by the blood of the Lamb.
Thank you, Jesus, for the blood applied in the areas that I'm aware and in the areas that I'm not.
Thank you, Jesus, for your grace.
The third that he gives, verse 41.
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
So Jesus has called us to peace.
Jesus has called us to grace.
And now Jesus says, if you're going to live a life of sacrifice, it's a life of service.
Why was Israel oppressed?
Israel was oppressed because Rome was there.
And every time that Israel dealt with the Roman officers and Roman laws, it was meant and designed to remind Israel who their occupier was, who their master was, and it was the Roman government.
I've read a couple things.
I'm not sure, so I'll tell you both of them real quick.
It doesn't matter.
It just helps prove the point.
But there was a law that was in state here that said that if a Roman soldier, and some people say any Roman official,
but that if a Roman soldier or a Roman official was carrying something,
and they walked and there was a Jewish person who was there,
and that the Roman person no longer wanted to carry the item that they were carrying,
regardless of how small it was or how large it was,
that they could not ask you if you would carry it,
but that they would demand that you carry it.
Now, it didn't matter if your wife was getting ready to have a baby.
It didn't matter if you were headed to a wedding.
It didn't matter if you had a work appointment that you were getting to.
At any point in time, a Roman official, a Roman soldier could come to you and say,
it doesn't matter what you're doing.
It doesn't matter how important that is.
I want to require you to carry this item.
So carry it.
And you were obligated.
You were obligated to carry it for up to one mile,
but you were legally not obligated to carry it any further.
Here's what Jesus says.
When it comes to serving,
there are things that we will feel that we are obligated to do.
And here's what Jesus says.
Don't just go the mile.
Go the second.
And keep going, and keep going, and keep going.
You see, we serve.
We don't just do what's required.
That we look at those, even those who oppress us.
And we continue on.
Does it benefit?
Does it reap a reward?
No.
But Jesus says,
live a life of service.
Who are you serving?
Now, I hope right now,
as followers of Jesus Christ,
there are names that are popping into your head.
My concern for you is the same concern that I have for myself.
Oftentimes, those who I serve,
sometimes in a selfish way,
it benefits me.
And so my service for them
is not out of a heart of sacrifice.
It's out of a heart of greed.
So who's the oppressor?
Who's the persecutor?
Who's the one who brings harm and hurt to your life?
And here's what Jesus is saying to you today.
Serve them.
But God, do you know?
Serve them.
But God, do you understand?
Serve them.
Lastly, verse 42.
Jesus says,
give to the one who begs from you
and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
What we see here is that a life of sacrifice
is a life of generosity.
It's a life of generosity.
So we see peace.
We see grace.
We see service.
We see generosity.
Jesus could have said,
give them a meal.
Jesus said,
give them finances.
Give them time.
Jesus breaks it down and says,
be a person who is generous.
Well, with who?
Well, with the one who begs
and the one who borrows.
Are you generous?
Do you live your life open-handed
or closed-fisted?
Do you live your life to bless others
or to be blessed?
Jesus calls us
in who we are
to live lives
of generosity
that reflects
the generous
heart
of God.
You see,
when we
came to God,
we had
nothing to give.
We had nothing to give.
We had no righteousness
that was of our own.
We had no goodness
that was in
and of us.
And Jesus says,
all that you have
to give me
is sin.
And I take it.
And Jesus says,
and I'm going to be
generous with you.
I'm going to be
generous with my blessing.
I'm going to be
generous with my person.
I'm going to be
generous with my presence.
I'm going to be
generous with my spirit.
I'm going to be
generous with my salvation.
I'm going to be
generous with my grace.
I'm going to be
generous.
Well, Jesus,
do you know that
we're going to take
advantage of that?
I don't know about you,
but I take advantage
of those things
all the time.
I'm not a good steward
with what he blessed me with.
I begin to think
arrogantly about who I am
and that I've arrived.
Like, I begin to just
butcher and butcher
and butcher
all of the things
that Jesus gives me.
And so what does he do?
He gives me more
and he gives me more
and he gives me more.
To be a person
of sacrifice
is to live
with your hands
open.
God,
all
that I have
is yours.
Use it for your name
and use it
for your kingdom.
I'm going to ask
the worship team
if they'll
come back
onto the stage.
Ask the prayer
encouragers
if they'll go ahead
and get in place.
Here's why this,
here's why all of this
matters so much.
When it comes
to salvation,
when it comes
to eternity,
what do you want?
What do you want?
Do you want
what you've deserved?
Do you want
what you've earned?
Do you want
what you've worked toward?
Or,
or,
do you want
Christ
to give to you
what you do not
deserve?
Do you want
the peace
that you do not
deserve?
Do you want
the grace
that you do not
deserve?
Do you want
the service
that you do not
deserve?
Do you want
the generosity
that you do not
deserve?
Folks,
I can tell you
what I want.
I do not want
God to be fair
with me.
I do not want
God to give me
what I've earned.
I do not want
God to give me
what I've worked
for.
I don't want
God to give me
what I've pursued.
What I want
is for God
in the truth
of the gospel
to give to me
in sacrifice,
that it's
sacrifice of
his son
to come to me
and to richly
overflow
in my life.
Folks,
to be
kingdom
citizens.
It's because
of who
we are
in Christ.
Christ.
why are we
stingy with what
we have not
earned?
Would we go
and share
people of truth
to share truth?
Why would we
not,
as Christ
has sacrificed
for us,
be willing
to sacrifice
for others
so that they
may come
to know
the Lord?
would you pray
with me?
Lord,
we thank you
for your goodness
and your grace.
Jesus,
we thank you
that you came
and in the truth
of your word
share with us
everything that is
needed,
everything that is
possible
so that salvation
could come
to us.
God,
may we be
people of truth.
May our word
mean something.
May what
out of our mouth
comes out of our mouth
reflect
the heart of God.
May we be people
of yes
and know
because we're
reflective
of who Christ
is.
God,
may we turn
the other cheek.
May we go
the extra mile.
would we give
of all
that we have?
Would we
live life
as open-handed,
reflecting
to serve
not just
those
who we
deem
deserve
or those
who you've
put in our life?
we ask
all these
things
and Jesus
let me pray.
Amen.
That's it
for this week's
message.
Be sure to check
back next week
for a new episode
and in the meantime
you can visit us
online at
willowridgechurch.org
or by searching
for Willow Ridge
Church on
Facebook,
Instagram,
and YouTube.
Thanks again
for listening.
Thank you.