Chart: God's Revelation of Himself to Mankind

The purpose of this diagram is to show the progression of God's revelation of himself to mankind beginning with nature and culminating in Jesus Christ.

Index for Sermon on the Mount Lesson Series
(Matthew chapters 5, 6, 7)

[Link to Blue Letter Bible, Matthew chapter 5, KJV]
[Link to Blue Letter Bible, Matthew chapter 5, ESV]

Matthew 5  

Living Blessed Series

Lesson 1 Blessed are the "poor in spirit." (verse 3). 

Lesson 2 Blessed are those who mourn. (verse 4).

Lesson 3 Blessed are the meek. (verse 5).

Lesson 4 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. (verse 6).

Lesson 5 Blessed are the merciful. (verse 7).

Lesson 6 Blessed are the pure in heart. (verse 8).

Lesson 7 Blessed are the peacemakers. (verse 9).

Lesson 8 Blessed are the persecuted. (verses 10-12).


The Word and the Testimony

Lesson 9 "Shine". A study in Christian witness. (verses 13-16).

Lesson 10 "It Still Matters".  The relevance of God's Word. (verses 17-20).

Greater Righteousness Series 

Lesson 11 Greater Righteousness: "The danger of anger." (verses 21-26).

Lesson 12 Greater Righteousness: "The dust of lust." (verses 27-30).

Lesson 13 Greater Righteousness: "Marriage and Divorce." (verses 31-32).

Lesson 14 Greater Righteousness: "Oaths and Honesty." (verses 33-37)

Lesson 15 Greater Righteousness: "Better than getting even." (verses 38-42).

Lesson 16 Greater Righteousness: "Love you enemy, too." (verses 43-48).

[Link to Blue Letter Bible, Matthew chapter 6, KJV]

[Link to Blue Letter Bible, Matthew chapter 6, ESV]

Matthew 6

The Secret Life of Successful Christians Series

Lesson 17 The Secret Life: Giving (verses 1-4).

Lesson 18 The Secret Life: Understanding Prayer (verses 5-8).

Lesson 19 The Secret Life: Practicing Prayer (verses 9-15).

Lesson 20 The Secret Life: Fasting (verses 16-18).

Lesson 21 The Secret Life: Knowing What to Treasure (verses 19-21).

Lesson 22 The Secret Life: Replacing Worry With Trust (verses 22-34).

[Link to Blue Letter Bible, Matthew chapter 7, KJV]

[Link to Blue Letter Bible, Matthew chapter 7, ESV]

Matthew 7

The Public Life of Successful Christians Series

Lesson 23 The Public Life: Compassion not Condemnation. (verses 1-5).

Lesson 24 The Public Life:Stewardship of Spiritual Treasures. (verse 6).

Lesson 25 The Public Life:Pursuing the Good. (verses 7-12).

Lesson 26 The Public Life:Deliberately Choosing the Narrow Way. (verses 1-14).

Lesson 27 The Public Life:Wary of Deception. (verses 15-27).

The Radical Teachings of Jesus Christ: Lesson 6 - Blessed are the Pure in Heart

 The Radical Teachings Of Jesus Christ

In Matthew 5 Jesus gives us a list of personal “attitudes” that will cause us to be “blessed” or “happy”. These are directly counter the usual humanistic way of thinking. 

Radical Concept #6

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." [Matthew 5:8 KJV]

Definition of “pure”.
Physically: “purified by fire” or “like a vine cleansed by pruning and so fitted to bear fruit.”
Ethically: free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt.
Free from what is false. Sincere or genuine. Blameless, innocent.
Unstained with the guilt of anything.

What is the ultimate revelation of God to mankind?

After a person comes to know Jesus Christ, do the previous levels of revelation remain active in the believer? 

What role do they continue to play in the believer’s life?

"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." [2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV]

"Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:" [1 Timothy 1:19 KJV]

Will the conscience of every believer be the same? What factors will affect this? 

"For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed [are] pure; but [it is] evil for that man who eateth with offence." [Romans 14:20 KJV] 

"Unto the pure all things [are] pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving [is] nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled." [Titus 1:15 KJV]

Is it possible for a conscience to create/maintain guilt that does not correlate to Divine judgment? Explain.

Is it possible to “fine tune” your conscience? How?

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure heart fervently:" [1 Peter 1:22 KJV]

In what way will a “good conscience”, or pure heart, manifest itself in the life of the believer?

"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and [of] a good conscience, and [of] faith unfeigned:" [1 Timothy 1:5 KJV] 

"Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." [2 Timothy 2:22 KJV] 

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world." [James 1:27 KJV]

From where does the believer’s purity come?

"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." [John 15:3 KJV]

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." [1 John 1:9 KJV]

What is the connection between purity and seeing God?

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." [1 John 3:2-3 KJV]

The Public Lives of Successful Christians: Part 5 - Wary of Deception From Within

Wary of Deception From Within

(15) "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (16) You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? (17) So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. (18) A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. (19) Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (20) Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (21) "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' (23) And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' (24) "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (25) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. (26) And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. (27) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." [Mat 7:15-27 ESV]

Aware of the Threat
It is usually fairly simple to identify people who live in opposition or apathy toward Christ.  These individuals and groups often make the headlines of Christian magazines and websites, but they do not pose the only (or perhaps even the greatest) threat to the Church. 

Definition: 
A “prophet” is a person appointed by God to speak for God.
A “false prophet” pretends to be a prophet, but really isn’t.  A false prophet may truly believe that he or she is sent by God.


In this passage, Jesus warns us to be on the lookout for subversive forces within the body of Christ, representing themselves as the spokesmen of God. This warning goes beyond the fallibility of human nature. “Horizontal grace” between believers should take care of that. Jesus is referring to individuals who come into the “flock” of God’s people for the express purpose of consuming them for their own benefit. Here are some examples of how this can manifest itself:

• Manipulating a crowd for personal monetary gain.
• Recruiting members of one congregation to join another congregation.
• Discouraging the faith of believers.
• Providing “alternatives” to Biblical ministry or doctrine.
• Attempting to “buy” their way into ministry.
• Defying Godly leadership within the church.
• Teaching that Christianity is “one of many truths” in the world.

Jesus tells that we will “recognize them by their fruits”. A more contemporary way of saying the same thing is “if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, odds are, it’s a duck.”


Fruit of the True Ministry Gifts [Read Eph 4:11-16 ESV]

• What are the five ministry gifts?

• For what purpose were they given?

• When will their relevance end?

• What is the evidence of ministerial success?

The Big Surprise II
Last week we used this heading for the “religious lost” who will find themselves shut out of heaven someday. Jesus makes it clear that this will not just be a phenomenon of the rank and file of the Church. False prophets will find themselves in the same predicament. 

The Dismal Defense

On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'

They assume, it seems that the Lord will be impressed by the same things that impress men. On that day the Lord does argue with them about the validity of their claims. It is possible that they did the things that they claim to have done; yet, they were not Christ’s. 

Jesus is not impressed with our sermons or miracles. His concern is whether or not we left the Body of Christ (the Church) in better shape than we found it. Were we contributors and participants or just in it for what we could get out of it? Did we leave damage in our wake as we passed through?

The Foundation Matters
We can spend a lifetime building our lives (and/or ministries) in Christ’s name, but if they are not founded on the gospel the will someday fall. The foundation of any life or work for the Lord is so critical. Regardless of apparent “success” that which is hidden from view, the foundation,  is most important in eternity. Any work, any ministry, that is not founded upon the word of Jesus will not stand in eternity.

The Public Life of Successful Christians: Part 4- Deliberately Choosing the "Narrow Way."

The Public Lives of Successful Christians

Deliberately Choosing the Narrow Way

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” -Matthew 7:13,14 esv

We live in a society that has be  come pluralistic, believing that all religions are equal in their ability to take people to God. Many believe religions are “like the spokes of a wheel with God at the center.” While this theory makes for a good story it has one major problem when viewed from a Christian perspective; it contradicts the Bible.

Definition: Pluralism- “...the theory that many religion, with their different and even inter-religiously contradictory concepts and practices, can be appropriate or even equally true or adequate modes of expressing our experiences of God, That is the notion that there is no single true religion or no religion that is truer that or morally preferable to any other religion.”[1]

The exclusive nature of salvation is a direct teaching of Jesus.  We find this same teaching in the following passages:

1.            John 14:6                  Jesus refers to himself as “the way the truth and the life”

2.            Acts 4:10-12              the name of “Jesus of Nazareth” is exclusive for salvation.

3.            Hebrews 2:3              rules out the possibility of any other escape.

4.            Hebrews 6:4-8          reveals the hopelessness of the apostate.

5.            Luke 13:23-30          Jesus answers in the affirmative when asked if only a few will be saved.

Religion is not Salvation

Many people want a religious experience so that they may, in some way, know God, but salvation is through a “narrow gate”. It allows no baggage. If we are to be saved, we stand bare before an all knowing God. Possessions, positions, and all of our self worth become irrelevant. We stand before Him a sinner, condemned and helpless. We plead for clemency on the basis of his mercy through the sacrificial death of his Son Jesus Christ.

We cannot buy our salvation, for we are too poor. We cannot demand it, for we are too weak. We cannot scheme out way to eternal life because we are too simple. The only option other than a road to hell. That is the option provide by God, salvation through Jesus.[2]

One Life

There is a point in a person's existence at which salvation is no longer an option. Death is the gate keeper of eternity.[3] The fate of your soul is sealed at death.[4]

The Big Surprise

Being religious is not the same thing as being saved. Hell will be filled with religious unsaved people. Ceremony and knowledge are not the evidence of salvation. Obedience is.

 And someone said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them,  "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.'  Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'  But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!'  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.  And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. [Luk 13:23-29 ESV]

One of the most awful parts of hell will be that its residents are aware of the happiness being experienced by those who are saved.[5]

The exclusiveness of salvation is not one of nationality or ethnicity. It is one of faith. The redeemed are from every nationality.[6]

Conclusion

The exclusive nature of salvation leads to sobering conclusions.

1.            The love of God is manifest through Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation.

2.            My Savior is a unique and wonderful Person, to be loved above all others.

3.            The destination of all the unsaved, whether religious or not, is eternal damnation.

4.            The unsaved can only be saved if they hear the gospel. (Romans 10:14,15).

5.            Knowing all of this, I have an obligation to give the gospel to those around me. (2 Corinthians 5:11).

To see the final lesson in this series, click HERE.

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[1]Clark/Geisler, Apologetics in the New Age.  (Baker) 1990. p 241.

[2]Hebrews 9:26

[3]Hebrews 9:27

[4]John 5:24-30

[5]Luke 16

[6]Revelation 7:9-10, Romans 10:11-13