We’re going to be looking at what Jesus has to say about living out God’s plan for your relationships. In our current message series, 40 Days with Jesus, we’re going through Jesus’ famous teaching in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Relationships were invented by God. People were created so that we could have a relationship with God and with one another. Relationships bring much blessing into our lives, but also sometimes conflict and pain. How can your relationships be everything that God intends them to be? The answer is by understanding the principles of God’s Word and then applying them to your life with the help of the Holy Spirit.
It is the Holy Spirit that illuminates God’s Word and shows us how to practically apply it to our lives.
Matthew 5:19 (NIV) … whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
In order to teach God’s Word, you have to understand what it says. However, that’s not enough. God desires for each person to understand, teach and practice God’s Word. What did Jesus call those who understand and teach God’s Word, but don’t practice it? Hypocrites. We don’t want to be hypocrites but devoted followers of Jesus. Jesus goes on to say
Matthew 5:20 (NIV) For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
You see the religious teachers of the day appeared to have it all together. They thought they understood God’s Word and they taught it to others. Yet, Jesus says here that these teachers weren’t even saved. Why? Because, as we’ll see, their so-called righteousness was only in outward appearances. In their hearts they were not right with God, they were hypocrites. The teachers did not practice what they taught.
Managing outward appearances with no change of heart just doesn’t work. But isn’t there just a touch of the truth there? Don’t we sometimes say one thing, but think quite another in our hearts? What if the thoughts of our hearts came out, rather than the words we want others to hear? Let’s remember as we go through Jesus’ teaching that God wants our outward actions and words to reflect a pure and honest heart within.
In this section of Matthew 5, we will see Jesus teach on 6 aspects of relationships. In each aspect, Jesus begins by saying, “You have heard … And I say to you.” What people had heard had to do with outward actions. Jesus deals with heart attitudes.
Listen to my message “Jesus on Relationships.”