This morning, we're continuing our study through the Sermon on the Mount in a series that's entitled, What if Jesus was right? And for several weeks this fall, we're walking through the greatest sermon ever preached, with the understanding that Jesus not only provided the way of salvation, But he also provides us the way to live. And that we are called to be salt and light in this world. Well, this morning's message is entitled, How Far I Too Far? Because we're talking about relationships and, and last week we shared that as people of God's kingdom, as, as the people of God, as believers, as Christians, we are called to be salt and light in the world. And we shared that how can someone taste and see that God is good unless we are both salt and light in the world? Well, today marks really two weeks of topics, where Jesus is gonna give us 6 case studies. We're gonna cover 4 today, and we're gonna cover the other 2 next week. And it's where the rubber meets the road. See, it's one thing to actually say, hey, be salt and light. It's another then go ahead and tell you exactly what salt and light looks like. You see, as believers, we're called to live differently. We're called to live out this love of God in a practical way and in our relationships. And so today, where the rubber meets the road, we're getting real, real life, real issues, real conversations. And while today's message could feel heavy, uh, it's my prayer that it's also going to be honest. It's also going to be helpful. And it's also gonna be hopeful. And so at the end of this morning's services, we're gonna have a time of prayer. And I wanna contend for the relationships in this church and in this community. And so we're gonna have a time of dedicated prayer at the end of the service. And so whether it's you personally, or there's people in your life that you wanna pray for, uh, specifically, we're gonna spend some time doing that collectively as a church. But for right now, if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. That when it comes to our relationships, we have to stop asking, where's the line and start asking what does love require. We have to stop asking, where's the line and start asking what does love require. And that comes from this idea that we love rules, we don't necessarily love principles. Right? In the Old Testament, there's over 600 commands. And so in the context in which Jesus is giving the Sermon on the Mount, people are saying, OK, just give me the rules. Just give me the syllabus, just tell me where I can stay in the lines, and I'm good. And then Jesus says, I don't want you to simply to follow the rules. I, I wanna have a relationship. I want, I want the literally the heart behind the behavior. I, I want to transform your entire life from the inside out. So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open up to Matthew chapter 5. We got a lot of scripture this morning, uh, but I really believe that the power really comes from the word of God. And so we wanna go through it together and ask God to move in and amongst our midst. So we're in Matthew chapter 5. We're, we're jumping into things here in verse 17, and it reads this, Jesus is speaking, he says, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I've not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven, for I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, who will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Now, Jesus is doing a few things in this passage. It's really gonna set up our deeper conversation, both today and next week as well. And, and that he's really setting us up to believe and hold on intention to truths. One, is that God takes sin very seriously. You will reap what you sow. God has not mocked, and He's called us to be holy. So one, God takes sin very seriously. And 2, there is hope and redemption available for all. Both are true, that we have a God who is both filled with truth and grace. He is a God of justice and mercy. That's why he comes along and he says, I have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. So to abolish in this passage means to dismantle, dissolve or destroy. To fulfill is to bring something to its intended culmination or purpose. So think about restoring an old piece of furniture or restoring a beautiful antique car, that it's to bring back to its original intention and purpose. And so the Sermon on the Mount really has a, has this flavor of a mixture of much of the Old Testament. Now he's literally preaching on a mountainside to a group of everyday ordinary people. And much of what he says sounds a lot like the law or a lot like the Torah, which was really the 1st 5 books of the Bible. It, it, it sounds a lot like Moses, so Jesus is the greater Moses. And then he also makes reference to the prophets. So for example, he makes reference to Jeremiah 31, in which he says, I'm going to place the Torah, to place the law on the hearts of my people, or he makes reference to Ezekiel 36, in which the prophet promised that God was going to give his people a new heart and a new spirit. And so it sounds like the Torah, it sounds like wisdom literature, like Proverbs. It sounds like the prophets. It sounds like Greek philosophy. It sounds like something new. And it doesn't negate what is old, but rather brings it to completion. So, he goes further. And so, he's saying in verse 20 that in order to inherit the kingdom of God, that you have to be more righteous than the most righteous people that you know in that time. Which is impossible. And it is And what he's saying here is that life apart from Jesus, life apart from the Holy Spirit, you will not live out to perfection. But with the power of the Holy Spirit, with the redemption and the forgiveness and the grace that is available to you through the gospel, That he is calling us up, and he's calling us out, and he's giving us a picture of what does it mean to be salt and light in our community? What does it mean to be salt and light in our relationships? So the Sermon on the Mount is not just a list of more rules, but rather, he's giving us a picture of who we're called to be. And how it impacts our everyday lives. He doesn't just want the rules, he wants the relationship. And so he follows this pattern. Again, we're gonna look at 4 today, and then we're gonna look at 2 next week. And all 4 kind of follow a similar pattern. So he's gonna say, you've heard it said. So he's making reference to the Old Testament. I now tell you, so he's gonna give fulfillment to that. He's go deeper, and then he's gonna give you a picture. And in some cases, this is an extreme picture, because he wants you to understand the value of it. Because there is both urgency in dealing with your sin. And there's redemption possible through Jesus, right? So let's jump into this 4K studies, all very practical. Here we are 2000 years later, and they still directly apply to our lives. Let's jump into the first passage, first case study, Murder and anger. Whoa, aren't you glad you came to church today? What does the Bible say about this topic? Verse 21. You've heard it said. To those of old you shall not murder. And whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says you fool, that phrase there is, is raqqa, which means you empty one, or really like devaluing someone to the point of, you don't even exist in my mind. He says we'll be liable. To the hell of fire So if you are offering your gift to the altar and then remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. Be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, at least, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge and the judge to the guard and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. We see this progression. You've heard it said, don't commit murder. I'm telling you, don't have hate in your heart. And it's so serious, you need to deal with this in your relationships before it's too late. See, before there's murder, there's anger. And before anger, there's contempt. And so while it's easy to say, hey, don't murder. Don't take a life. Jesus goes a step further and says, I'm not telling you just to not take a life. I'm telling you to value life. Because if you have contempt in your heart for someone else, that's similar to the bitterness that can eat away your soul. Right. It's like drinking poison yourself and expecting the other person to be hurt. And contempt is a very dangerous place to be. Because it's like, it doesn't matter. It dehumanizes the other person. And broken relationships come on the other side of apathy. But God say no, don't have contempt in your heart. Deal with that contempt. Why? Because even if they've hurt you, or even if you've hurt them. They have value in the image of God. No, it's not downplaying what is wrong. In fact, it references that the justice system. He say, no, you better deal with it before it deals with you. But not just a list of rules. Well, I didn't cross this line. OK, but how do you think about this person? How do you treat this person? How do you speak of that person in public and in closed settings? Are you devaluing them? I have this $20 bill in my pocket. And uh it's one thing where you have a $20 bill. But if you ever, OK, imagine if it's not a $20 imagine it's a $1 bill, uh, and you go to the vending machine, you ever go to the vending machine, and the bill is folded and it won't quite go in? You know what I'm talking about? Where, where you go in and you're like, you put it in like, yes, and it was. And then you start to question your life choices of like, how bad do I want that Snickers bar. But then once I start, I'm committed. I'm like on the table and I'm like, black. Anyone tracking with me? OK. All right. I don't judge me for a Snickers bar. Some of you're like, wow. OK. Sometimes when the bill's folded, like it doesn't work like it should, right? Now, imagine if I had a $20 bill, and I crumple it up. I'm like, oh, who wants this, right, does anyone want this still? Yeah, and a few people hands go up like, if, yeah, I'll take it. Why? It still has value. Why? Because the value is associated in how it was made, not how it was treated. Some of you are crumpled up a little bit. Some by your own doing. But maybe because someone else did it to you. But what God is telling us here is that you still have value. The person that hurt you still has value. God won't be mocked, justice will be had, but understand, don't hold the person in contempt that Jesus died for. It's not good for you. It's not good for them. And it doesn't allow you to be salt and light in this world. It doesn't say don't have boundaries. It doesn't say that there won't have consequences. It's actually saying, deal with your sin before the consequences get too great. So it's easy to say, well, I didn't do fill in the blank. But if you had contempt in your heart. I think at some point we've all had that. And if you're saying you don't, you just lied and broke another commandment, right? So why is that important? Because crumpled or not, we all have value before God. So when it comes to our relationships, we have to understand that love chooses compassion over contempt. Have you broken a relationship so bad that you have contempt for that person? Have you been hurt so bad that you have contempt for that person? Are you willing to give that brokenness to God? God, help me to see that person as you see them. Because I can't hang on to bitterness. I can't hang on to bitterness and be salt and light at the same time. We have to turn that over. Jesus goes deeper. He goes after the heart. Next case study, adultery and lust. It's a fun Sunday to come after your first, it's your first time, right? I just thought we're gonna say, Jesus loves me this I know. Hm But aren't you glad though that the Bible talks about real issues, real conversations? That we need to be able to have them in church, cause they're impacting our relationships, whether we acknowledge it or not. Let's keep reading. Verse 27. You've heard it said That you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it's better for you to lose one of your members than your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better for you to lose one of your members than your whole body to go into hell. Now that's some extreme language, right? Why is that so extreme? Because relationships matter. There was a day and age that it was predominantly male run. In that men were, were living, say, oh, I followed the rule, but then doing whatever they wanted. And so Jesus comes in and says, no, no, no, it's not about following this particular rule, and I can get this close to the line and still be OK. You say, no, I, I'm going to transform your heart from the inside out. So he's not saying just acknowledging someone, that person, that guy, that gal is attractive or not, but rather, it's, are you objectifying the person for your own personal desires? The sustained gaze and intention for purpose of your craving, that destroys relationships. We live in a culture that not only accepts it, but promotes it. And actually lust and anger have similar sur uh kind of control centers and symptoms underneath. You see, anger and hate dehumanizes the person through hate. They don't exist. They're, they're the enemy. So it doesn't matter how I speak or think of them. Lust dehumanizes the person for desire and craving. It says in James 1:13 to 15, So let no one say I am tempted by God. Each person is tempted when he is lured by his own desire. And that desire gives birth to sin, and sin, when followed down that path leads to death. What Jesus is saying here is, it's not that anger and, and murder are the same, but anger and contempt and hatred leads you on that path when lived out at the extreme ends in murder. And we say, well, I didn't go there. I'm OK. Well, same thing, no, you've already started down that path. The same way in adultery, and, and brokenness and cheating starts with that selfish, lustful desire. Where you objectify somebody made in the image of God for your own personal craving. And we say it's common and it is. But it doesn't excuse it all the more so why Jesus has such strong language. Does he say like, is he actually telling us to physically cut out your eye, or to chop off a limb? No. Although there are actually movements in history to try to do that. But then the problem with that, the reason I say it doesn't actually mean that is because then you almost make the eye or the chopping off the limb as a thing as opposed to the God that you're trying to honor. It's kind of like in settings where, so for example, in Catholic settings or others, they, they have a practice of time of confessional. Let me ask you, what is the purpose of confessional? The purpose is to bring into light what is hidden and giving it to God for the purpose of redemption, healing, reconciliation. But as humans, how, how often do people treat confessional? Well, I confessed it, so I'm good and I move on. OK, but you never actually dealt with the root, the heart of it. Now, I don't stand up here and judge with that because we're all human, we're all broken humans. 20 years in ministry, it scares me because I look at it, I don't know a lot of pastors who lost their ministry because of logistics. I've read a lot of news stories about pastors who lost their ministry because of uncontrolled anger or uncontrolled lust. Also, how many relationships do you know that were broken because of one or both of those things? And they hurt because you've been made for relationship. OK. Here's what this means here when it comes to relationships. Love does not use people, love honors people. And we gotta deal with the sin when it comes up right away. My, my poor sister-in-law had a little bit of a scary evening the other day, where over the course of one day, I had 4 fully grown rattlesnakes in her porch on her front door. Now, there's probably like 2 or 3 people like, oh, cool. Most of us would be a little freaked out about that, right? I don't like seeing spiders, let alone. The thing that's rattling. And like two of them were trying to make other rattlesnakes right in front of her door. She called someone, they helped and then they moved on and, and got it taken care of. OK. You know what she didn't do though? She didn't open her front door and say, oh, that's cool. Come on in. Would you like some coffee? Would you like to meet my cat? No, like, it's a rattlesnake at your door. You got to deal with that. Right? But we don't do that when it comes to our sin, do we? We, we not only accept it, we're like, oh, well, it didn't bite me this time. We invited in. We see how close we can get to the line or we cross it, and we come back and we cross it and we're like, I'm telling you, That's what breaks relationships. We're just saying that there is nothing better than you, right? Oh, nothing better than you. But do we believe that? See, I think that's the key as well, that when we deal with this, that we gotta be direct. We gotta be honest, we gotta confess it. Because God wants more for our life. And that I think so often we, we focus on the sin. We're like, OK, don't sin, don't sin, don't sin, don't sin. And then we sin. Like if I sit here and tell you, whatever you do, don't think of a purple elephant. Whatever you do, don't think of a purple elephant. Do not think of a purple elephant. What are you thinking about? Purple elephant. And if I'm with teens, they go, oh, green elephant, move, got him. It's a technicality here. If we play with sin, we're going to get bit. Right? And I can tell you anytime, and if you've been in this position and you've sinned or you've made mistakes or you've gone through this. You end up feeling shame and empty inside. Why? Because it's, it's breaking the relationship. It's not what God wants for you. It's not what God wants for me. So when you think about this, understand that we're not objectifying people. We're not using people for our cravings. We're honoring people as Sons and daughters of God. That's why we gotta stop asking the question, where's the line and start asking the question, what does love require? Third case study, here we go. Because it goes even further into it, relationships, talks about marriage and divorce. And Jesus says, it was also said, whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual morality, makes her commit adultery. Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Now, to understand some context here. Because it's obviously a heavy one. But in their day, only the man could file for divorce. And they were filing for any and all reasons. I mean, if, if they didn't like the food, they go, oh, OK. New marriage. They were discarding people, which is an extreme version of what we just talked about. And yet what is marriage? Isn't it interesting that marriage is the first relationship established in the Bible, in Genesis 1 and 2, between one man, one woman. And it's the first thing that Satan attacks. Right. Marriage is so important. We have to stop treating relationships, they're like they're playthings, they're, they're hats we take on and, and take off. We live in a culture that says sleep with who you want, do whatever you want, move in together, do all these things. And they said, no, your relationship matters to God. It's a connection of your soul. And that when you do get married, it's not about like, man, we struggled when we were dating, but when we get married, we'll be fine. Just so you know, once you get married, now Satan's coming for you, even more so. Why? Because that relationship will shape the core of who you are. And it's a covenant relationship. Now what does the Bible say about divorce? We don't have time to do like a deep study. I'm happy to have further conversation after service if you're interested, but just some general guidelines or principles here. As it talks about, uh, rules for divorce or guidelines for divorce in Deuteronomy 24, mentions it here, also commonly talks about it in Matthew 19, talks about, uh, really this. For sexual morality. Um, and then also Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, really an acceptable version of divorce from, uh, uh, abandonment, typically unbeliever from a believer. Um, some argue too, and I, I would, I would second that, that where there is abuse or things of harshness within that covenant destroying type behavior. And then it doesn't necessarily say, never get married again. I mean, if they have biblical ways of getting divorced, and then, then that means there's unbiblical, but then also, it talks about those things so that you're presenting someone to be married again. So in this case, in this context, Men were just leaving their wives for whoever they wanted. And just completely disregarding their value as people. And Jesus comes in and says, don't do that. And so there's this idea that a marriage is not just a contract that you sign up for and, and, and just like we get a spam and emails, we just click unsubscribe. It, it is a covenant relationship before God. Now There is redemption that is possible. There is hope and healing that is possible. But as Tim Keller puts it, that if you've gone through a divorce, in many ways it's like amputating a limb. Many people survive that and do, and we live in a culture where that happens. But you're never the same. Right. You're never the same through it. Why? Because it reaches the, the innermost parts of your soul. And so what Jesus is saying here as he's building this discussion, is saying, OK, the world will say don't murder. I'm telling you, don't have contempt and don't hate. The world is saying don't just have adultery. I'm telling you, don't have lust in your heart and objectify people. I said, OK, marry who you want to marry, don't get married, doesn't matter. Like, no, she says, like, no, your, your body is a temple. Marriage is holy before God, and it's a covenant before man and God. That what he's saying here is that love fights for faithfulness. Now, if you've been on the other side of something broken, hang with me. Just give me another 5, 10 minutes, OK? Cause God speaks to that too. But right now in this moment, understand that God values marriage. Values relationships and values covenant. And if you've been in one or been through brokenness, you understand the pain that comes. Why does that pain come? Because it's so important. And God speaks to that. The next case study he talks about is oaths and truth telling. He goes further. He says again, you've heard it said. That to those of old that you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord that you have sworn. But I say to you, do not take an oath at all, either by heaven or for it is the throne of God. Or by the earth, or for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is a city or of the great king. Did not take an oath by your head, for one cannot make a hair white or black. Let what you say be simply yes or no. In the original language, it's, it's this idea of, uh, let's your yes, yes, or no, no. Like there's like this, no like direct translation, but it's, it, it really is saying, let your yes be yes, let your no be no. He says anything more than that comes from evil. And what he's saying here. Is that love does not manipulate. Love is honest. And at that time, people were circumventing the rules. Right? I'm not lying. OK, but you're just kind of telling the truth. Or you're telling your version of it to try to get what you want. Or what was happening is people are borrowing credibility from somebody else. I swear on my kids or on my grandmother or like, well, you don't like your grandmother, right? But that's why I swear on her. No, like, like, we throw something out there, right? And the reason we have to throw something out there is because we are borrowing credibility from another relationship or situation, which if we were just people of integrity, If I say I'm going to do something, I do it. If I say I'm not going to do something, I don't do it. Then that should be enough. But here's the thing, and this is where we start to feel this conviction. That all of us at some point have had contempt or hate in our heart or lustful thoughts or feelings in our heart, or speak in a way that's manipulating to benefit ourselves. And maybe you're not married or maybe you're not divorced, but you've thought about a way to break a relationship or to cheat on a relationship or to go through or even not value the relationship at all. Jesus says, like, that's not the kingdom. In the morning, I'm a, uh, I love coffee, uh, milk. I feel like milk has a certain, like you need it with certain things, like pancakes or like chocolate or I'm like, I don't just drink milk. I just drink milk, that feels weird as an adult. Loved it as a kid, chocolate milk was awesome, the little cartons. We need to get back to the cartons. You know what I mean? Like, I need the paper thing that you need, that you can't open and you just rip and then you taste paper while drinking milk. That feels like school, OK. So I'm more of a juice guy. It's it's easy, simple. But I, I need that pulp-free juice. You know what I'm talking about? Like if I wanted pulp, I would just eat an orange. Like I don't want juice and to be drinking juice and all of a sudden there's stuff in there, right? OK. Why do I say this? When we speak, we need to have pulp-free speech. We need, we, we need to stop adding little things in there. To try to manipulate the situation. And I'm saying this not as like, oh, you better, I'm saying that we better. Cause as humans left to our own desires, our own sinful cravings, it's easy to be lustful, to be hateful, to be judgmental, to manipulate, to not value relationships. But Jesus says, not, not for you. Not for God's people. Jesus tells us that when it comes to relationships, we need to stop asking, where's the line? And start asking, what does love require? Now We had some real combos today, some real topics. I could tell by how silent it's been. So it's natural to then ask the question, OK, what do I do when I mess up? Some of you hear me talk about anger and you're like, ah, I just blew up this morning. Some of you hear me talk about lust and you're like, man, I've messed up. Some of you carry the pain of a broken relationship or a broken marriage. Some of the pain that maybe you've caused. Some of the pain that maybe someone's caused you. It could have been last week, last month. It could have been 30, 40 years ago. We carry that. Some of you haven't been as truthful. Maybe at work, maybe at friends, and you try to manipulate. And after hearing all this, you might be wondering, OK, what actually happens when I cross the line? Remember, two things are true. One, God takes sin very seriously. And 2, there is hope and redemption. For while all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life. And the Bible is filled with story after story after story of somebody falling short and God taking them back in. Our, our main people in the Bible had major mess ups. Noah, we love to praise the ark, was found out, passed out naked by his family because he was drunk. Moses leads the people to the promised land, had to flee the land in the first place because he killed somebody. David, a man after God's own heart. Started a relationship in the worst possible way, broke every command. Lust, lying, adultery, murder, cover up. But the difference is, when he was confronted, when it came forward, there's this incredible prayer. In Psalm 51. And And yes, there was earthly consequences. He, he lost a lot of stuff because of that. Understand that there's consequences for our choices. But ultimately David would be restored. And actually from that lineage of even his mistake is in the line in the story of even Jesus. One more story to share and then we'll close. In John chapter 8, there was a woman who was caught in adultery, and I find it fascinating. That, uh, these men bring this woman out before Jesus to, to trap Jesus. What are you going to do with this situation, right? And I love it because they say, we found this woman caught her in adultery. Last time I checked, adultery involved two people. But only her made the mistake, right? So, so they bring her out. Jeez, what are you gonna do? He kneels down. Gets on the sand, starts writing in, in the sand. We don't know exactly what he writes. Maybe. It's her name of who God sees her to be. Maybe it's the names of the people who sin. Maybe it's the sins of the people around. But we see the response of Jesus in someone's lowest possible moment. And we see this in verse 7, it says, and they continued to ask him. And Jesus stood up and said to them, let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. And once more he bent down and he wrote on the ground. And when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones. And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. And Jesus stood up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? And she said, no one, Lord. And then notice this phrase, two truths in both of this phrase. So therefore, He says, neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on sin no more. You see, grace forgives your past and transforms your future. He says, go and sin no more, meaning like he takes sin very seriously. Grace doesn't leave you how grace finds you. He does call us up and calls us out to change our behavior, to change how we speak, how we live, how we think. But also, the fact that he says, neither do I condemn you. How could Jesus say that? Jesus could forgive her sin because he knew he was going to the cross to die for it. And by saying neither do I condemn you, he actually was condemning himself to the cross. He who knew no sin became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. I'm not sure where you are today. I'm not sure if you've broken rules, if you've, if you've sinned, you're struggling, you're battling, or if somebody sinned against you and you're hurting and you're lost. But what I do know is that we have a God who has forgiveness and grace and love. And that we need to be a church that is salt and light in the world that contends for our relationships. And so we need to honor God. With how we speak to one another, to what we do, what we think, how we live. For his glory And that grace is available to all of us. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, I just thank you for who you are. God, thank you for what you've done. God help us to stop asking the question, where's the line and start asking, what does love require? Help us to honor you and our relationships. Help us to glorify you and, and to surrender everything to you. We contend for the relationships in this church and in this community. And so whether it's a personal battle, whether it's a loved one that we're worried about, God, I pray that we lift up these relationships to you. It's in your son's name we pray. Amen.