Extending back to the time of Moses there have been indications, preserved in the scriptures, that there would appear a unique individual who would represent the Lord’s interests and concern for His creation. A prophet like Moses, a king in the line of David, a Messiah who would deliver God’s chosen from the powers of darkness, would appear and establish God’s reign forever. (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; 2 Samuel 7; Isaiah, 9, 53) 

And low and behold, there He was. He’d gotten everyone’s attention, He’d started to select His disciples and now He was being pursued by huge crowds. All manner of diseased and infirm people had heard of Him and were seeking relief, relief for what ailed them and hope against what oppressed them. And He did heal many, but in the midst of all the tumult He gave them a declaration, an explanation of what their existence was really all about. His audience was primarily the Jews of ancient Israel; the unique people God had chosen and developed in order to bring salvation to the world. And Jesus positioned Himself on a hill and began to teach these people. In the end they much more than they were seeking. He referred to them as salt and light, stating that tasteless salt and hidden light is useless, ineffective. He declared that the law set down in the scriptures would be fulfilled, not circumvented, not manipulated; and that its fulfillment should reach beyond appearance into the very soul of all who embraced it.

This was the “Sermon on the Mount” where Jesus began to add substance to tradition, describing how people informed by biblical law should conduct themselves. (Matthew 5-7) The bar of proper conduct and action was extended far beyond prohibition against certain actions. Jesus insisted that the conduct of the heart was at issue. Anger, abusive speech, and contentions of various kinds needed to be addressed apart from the application of the letter of the law. It was the conduct of the mind and heart that needed to be addressed. Lust was tantamount to adultery, and brotherly kindness and consideration should trump the application of rights before the law. Ultimately God’s perfection was the bar that should inform proper human conduct. But the question to be asked here is: how was that to be achieved?

Jesus went on to describe the proper manner in which “religious” practices were to be engaged. The giving of alms, the engagement in prayer, and the practice of fasting were to be conducted as actions before God not others. Religion was an engagement with with God not a means of gaining notoriety. It was the inner life before creator God that needed to be considered. God was to be served in outward actions that were the result of a heart focused primarily on the Lord rather than on self. And focusing on the Lord, serving His interests, would provide a foundation for the soul that would dispel anxieties and establish trust, trust in the willingness of God to provide for all of our needs.

Jesus then went on to consider how we’re to understand ourselves before the Lord and in relation to others. Judgment needed to begin with self-evaluation, and God’s holiness shouldn’t be imposed on others but needed to be embraced by His followers. And trust in God our Father was the basis for making our way through life; looking to Him for all our needs while at the same time choosing His way over the way of the world. It wasn’t an easy choice, it was the narrow way that required faith and trust in God, placing oneself in His hands and following His lead no matter what the cost. And the way was compromised by treachery. Many would attempt to misdirect and deceive those who would attempt the journey. But their folly would be found out by those who were alert, those who didn’t accept everything at face-value but investigated and exposed the treacherous. Lip service, and even demonstrations of power, weren’t sufficient in themselves to qualify for acceptance. It was those who followed the Lord’s lead and submitted to His authority that would enter into His kingdom! This was the basis for a solid foundation for living.

The question to be asked is: now what? The people had been presented with an outline perhaps, an outline that reflected on the difference between true and false religion. It was a challenge to them—and to us—to find the true way of God, to follow His dictates, to learn His ways, to focus on the essence of faith rather than a facsimile that had no substance to it. But what were the means for answering this call? Were we simply to hear this instruction and respond to it? That seemed to be what was suggested in a recent sermon I heard. The focus was on the instruction regarding the log and the sliver in the eye. (Matthew 7:1-5) And the conclusion was that self-evaluation should precede an effort to criticize others. It’s a valid point that seems to dovetail with our tendency to dislike the behavior of others when it actually reflects our own poor behavior. What we think is acceptable conduct for ourselves isn’t so appealing when it’s portrayed before us by others.

However, what disturbed me about this message was that it seemed to leave us on our own in responding to this challenge. The basic idea was to examine yourself, identify the flaws in your own conduct and address them before you assess the flaws of others. Simple; it makes sense. The problem is that it’s not the Gospel. We’re not about the business of acting like Christians. To take the Sermon on the Mount in isolation is to misuse the text. In this particular instance I was only a visitor to this church and had never been there before; so I don’t know how this message dovetailed with the overall preaching scheme of the pastor. But what I’m pointing to is the tendency to interpret sections of scripture in isolation. In appearance it seems to be legitimate; Jesus got up on a hill and said this, it’s got to be true right? Yes it’s true, but it’s not the whole truth. This was the inauguration of the Lord’s ministry on earth. Jesus was making distinctions between the accepted forms and practices of the Jewish religion and the essential nature of belief in God. He was pointing to what was going to be provided on the cross: which is a “new creature” in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) God was going to create a circumstance in which He would come and dwell within us by His Holy Spirit, not occasionally but continually; and, in so doing, alter the human condition. (John 14:16-18, 26)

The tendency too often is for Christians to utilize the Bible in a piecemeal fashion. Organizing scripture in chapters and enumerating the sentences within the chapters is handy. It enables us to look things up, but too often it prompts a misuse of the text. We take sentences and sections in isolation and think we understand them, but that may not be the case. I’ve even heard people quote a phrase within a sentence in the Bible and, in so doing, distort the meaning of the sentence altogether. Hopefully the Pastor or Bible teacher, in your church, handles the text better than that; but as the example above indicates, that may not always be the case. And even if pastors were always proficient in their use of the text, it’s still the responsibility all who count Jesus as Lord, to incorporate effective Bible study into their daily and weekly routines. It doesn’t take rigorous scholarship to study the Bible. What it takes is diligence and a willingness to learn. And when questions arise regarding the Bible’s meaning, those with more training can be consulted. I would argue that Bible study really needs to be a kind of hobby for everyone; and, as the routine of study develops, it will become second nature to use the Bible’s content to evaluate everything that pertains to life.

However, it’s going to require determination for every one of us. Our current culture is inundated with information. Virtually everybody has a cell phone and it’s become second nature to constantly refer to it. We can find out through the phone the current news, current opinions, and current trends of thought that are constantly in flux in the hubbub of internet culture. And it’s powered by the engine of commerce, and the need for people to overcome the personal isolation that informs the human condition. The term, “everyone knows” validates much of the information that is counted as true. And in the presence of all this wafting electronic culture, the notion of regularly referring to an ancient text like the Bible can seem archaic, obsolete, and irrelevant even if we won’t admit it.

Each one of us must make a conscious choice to recognize and act upon the preeminence of the Bible in understanding everything pertaining to human existence. We’re lost without it. No matter how much we know or think we know about everything else, it’s the scriptures that will show us the way to life eternal, and illuminate our daily lives in a manner consistent with the will of God. And a basic understanding of how to handle the Word of God is within reach of everyone who can read and put forth the effort to study and think about the Bible’s content. Along with this, I’m encouraging your study of scripture to include meditation. Digital Bibles are great, and Bible programs that include search engines and other digital resources are helpful. However, over reliance on those sources can also work against the primary reason we study the Bible: which is to encounter the Lord. Ultimately we want to hear from God, and an effective way of doing that is meditating on scripture. We want to understand what the Bible is presenting to us, but we also want to hear from the Lord as we read and consider the text. The Lord has placed a wonderful resource at our disposal. The one who gives it priority in their lives will reap benefits both for this life and the one to come. Hallelujah!