My time in the word landed in Matthew 5 recently. This section of scripture has been titled "The Sermon on the Mount" and rightly so as Jesus is sitting down on a mountain teaching. Jesus is speaking to the crowds of people that had been following him from: Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan (4:25).
You can read Matthew 5 in its entirety just follow this link to Bible Gateway: Matthew 5
Jesus is restating the law and adding greater clarity to it. He is showing himself to these crowds as having words equal to God's in the Old Testament. Look at the way he speaks "You have heard it was said", "but I say to you". His words are authoritative, and he takes his audience from what was said in the giving of the law by God and increases it.
I was most convicted about my thought life, and heart towards others. It is not just your outer actions that incur transgression of the law, but what you act on in thought. This truth (that inward thoughts incur transgression) is sobering if you are not a believer in the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are looking to yourself as the means of being right with God it is impossible. The only person that had a perfect thought life is Jesus, and you must have His righteousness to be accepted by God.
The Gospel is powerful: Those that turn from their sins and place their trust in Jesus as the all sufficient savior of their soul receive something - His righteousness. I pray for the day that this message (the gospel) will be spoken to the indigenous tribal people in Papua New Guinea. How about you - have you heard the message of the Gospel?
Picture taken by: ccarlstead
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