The Commands of Christ – Part 3:
Honor God’s Law, Be Reconciled, do not Lust and Keep your Word
HOFC - Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios. For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org, or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of Faith Church
SERMON INTRODUCTION
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
SERMON SERIES
Part 1 – Make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you
Part 2 – Repent, follow Me, rejoice and let your light shine
Part 3 – Honor God’s Law, be reconciled, do not lust and keep your word
Part 4 – Go the second mile, love your enemies, be perfect and practice disciplines in secret
Part 5 – Lay up treasures in heaven, seek God’s Kingdom, judge not, but do not cast pearls
Part 6 – Aske, seek and knock, do unto others, choose the narrow way and beware of false prophets
Part 7 – Pray for laborers, be wise as serpents, fear not, and hear God’s voice
Part 8 – Take my yoke, honor your parents, beware of leaven, and deny yourself
Part 9 – Despise not little ones, go to offenders, beware of covetousness and forgive offenders
Part 10 – Honor marriage, be a servant, be a house of prayer and ask in faith
Part 11 – Bring in the poor, render to Caesar, love the Lord and love your neighbor
Part 12 – Await my return, take communion, be born again and keep my commands
Part 13 – Watch and pray, feed my sheep, baptize my disciples
Part 14 – Receive God’s power and make disciples
TODAY’S SERMON
Part 3 – Honor God’s Law, be reconciled, do not lust and keep your word
SCRIPTURE READING
Jesus is giving this command, to Preach, Baptize and Teach, to everyone who is a follower of Christ Jesus. Then to the disciples, and today to His disciples.
I. HONOR GOD’S LAW
a. Honor the Law and the Prophets Teachings
i. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 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.” Matthew 5:17-20
b. Not to Abolish, but to Fulfill
i. The Law and teachings of the Prophets are still in effect
ii. Why? Because this is the Word of God that reveals our sin
iii. When our sin against God is revealed, and we see there is nothing we can do, we realize we need someone to “save” us from the consequence of sin against God, the second death.
iv. Jesus comes to “fulfill” this, because He alone is the answer to our need!
v. The Law and prophets all point to HIM!
vi. For this reason Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, it is still needed today to reveal ones sin against God, and at the same time reveal the perfection of Jesus and His ability to save us from the everlasting cost of our sin against God.
c. The Law is here to stay, until heaven and earth disappear
i. Jesus tells us, the Law will remain in effect until heaven and earth pass away
ii. This takes place after Judgment (Revelation 21)
iii. “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:1-8
iv. when the old heaven and earth pass away and a new is created
v. Why is heaven and earth going to pass away?
vi. Because sin has touched them, after Judgment Day, all sin and evil are cast into Gehenna, the second death, for the rest of eternity, and just as we will receive our new perfect, sinless bodies, so shall there be a new heaven, a new earth, and new Jerusalem!
II. BE RECONCILED
a. “…if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:23-26
i. This verse is speaking of “gifts”, not tithes or alms.
ii. Tithes are commanded, alms are what you give to the poor, and gifts are blessings you give above the required tithe.
iii. God is saying, He does not want your gifts if you have done your brother wrong. You must make things right with him, or if you are taken to court, and thrown into prison, you “will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
iv. We can “make things right”, or we can pay the full price, the choice, as always, is ours to make, however we must accept full responsibility for the consequences of our choice.
b. Being Reconciled with our brother is a command
i. This command is specific, it states if you are the offender, you must fix things before you can approach the alter.
ii. If someone else is the offender, we talked last week, IF they repent, you must forgive them…however, they must confess and repent of their offense against you before you are required to forgive them.
iii. You may extend the grace of the Lord, and forgive them without their confession or repentance, though this is not commanded, a spiritually mature follower of Christ realizes it is the best way to live.
c. Forgiving the offender opens the door for you to be forgiven
i. First assuming they are the offender, secondly, assuming they confessed and repented
ii. Then you are commanded and required to forgive them
iii. “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15
iv. If they confess and repent, you must forgive. If they continue in their offense against you, they never truly repented, and forgiveness is not commanded.
III. DO NOT LUST
a. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matthew 5:28-30
b. The True Definition of Lust
i. Given to us here by Jesus, who was speaking to those who pridefully thought they were keeping all the Law, which is impossible, for the Law cannot save, but only reveal sin against God and the need for Jesus.
ii. Salvation, and Sin take place in our hearts long before the outward evidences are manifest.
iii. This is why Jesus pointed out that just because you cannot see a persons outward expression of sin, does not mean he has does not have sin in his heart, and in the same token, just because someone may be struggling with a sin, may not mean they are not saved, but Jesus is still doing a work in their heart making them a new creation.
iv. Therefore, we are told in scripture, “…for you alone know every human heart…” I Kings 8:39
v. We may be able to judge outward works, but we cannot know the heart of a person, whether they are saved.
c. Do I have to gouge out my eye and throw it away?
i. Obviously, the Lord is speaking figuratively here. Self-mutilation is not taught as a discipline or command anywhere in scripture.
ii. How do you “figuratively speaking” gouge out your eye if it is causing you to lust?
1. By removing it from the offense
2. If you’re a man who doesn’t want to look at half-naked women, stop going to the beach
a. Take down the girl posters and calendars in your garage
b. Stop watching movies that show this stuff
iii. Those who are unwilling to cut this stuff out of their life and lose one-part, will eventually succumb to the sin, and will lose their eternal life because of it.
IV. KEEP YOUR WORD
a. “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37
i. Why does anything beyond yes or no come from the evil one?
ii. Because there is only yes or no, anything else that is said is a “tool” used to convince or manipulate someone into trusting you.
iii. We represent God and His kingdom, there is only yes or no, do not try to convince, persuade, prove, influence, these are manipulative tools and can be deceitful, sometimes used as a lie, other times because the person doesn’t have the strength to say no, and that lack of boundaries will get us in trouble every time.
b. Yes or No…and Keep It!
i. More than just saying yea or no, we must stick to our word.
ii. As representatives of the kingdom, the Lord doesn’t go back on His word, and neither should we. Yes or no
iii. If you tell someone you are going to do something, then do it, otherwise you flip-flop, look indecisive, and foolish
1. “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-15
c. The Mature speak the Truth in Love
i. Our boundaries formed by God’s Word
ii. Truth spoken in Love
iii. Yes and No, without manipulation
iv. Do this, and the Body of Christ is built up, and will achieve unity in faith, and in knowledge of Christ, unmoved by outward circumstances and false teachings by cunning, crafty deceitful scheming people.
CONCLUSION
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus promises His us, while we are obeying His commands to preach, baptize and teaching others to obey His commands, He will be with us to the end of this age!
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