Sermon on the Mount - Integrity and Value

Jesus has been giving Man glimpses of the Kingdom of God in His Sermon on the Mount.    He is planting God’s way of thinking (the seed) into those who are carnally minded, to convert them into being spiritually mindful.  Because His Words are infinitely preserved, the seeds of the Word of God will bring a continual harvest amongst those who read and hear them.  Jesus is preparing the soil in their hearts to receive the rebirth by His Spirit; the baptism of the Holy Spirit that will come after His resurrection.

Unlike mind sciences religions, God’s thoughts do not require that a person ignore what he sees, senses, or perceives in order to have good thoughts.  The next part of the Sermon on the Mount begins at Matthew 6:1.  Jesus is planting seeds into His listeners about their position under God, His value of them, and how to arrange their own values so as to have a good and godly life.  For sure, troubles will come.  However, the Seeds of God will not grow up into plants of denial or manipulation of circumstances.  Instead, they will grow up into trees of faith wherein many will rest.

Beginning with Matthew 6, the Lord speaks to the multitudes about putting integrity before self-interest.  The carnal man judges himself by what others approve or disapprove and therefore does his works to be seen of men.  But the spiritual man does his works before God, to be evaluated by Him alone (1 Cor 2:15).

 Jesus took three practices of faith- giving, prayer and fasting – and contrasted doing these things before men for their praise, and doing them “in secret,” or not being “obvious” about them.  The Lord’s approval gives unseen rewards.  However, because men wanted physical rewards, the practice of many religious leaders was to do these acts in obvious (public) ways.  Then they would have a reward from men that they could see.  But doing unseen works develops an inner integrity in a man, wherein he will pray, give, and fast if no one sees him, and have his reward within himself.  This builds integrity, a standard by which to live by.

When Jesus talked about material possessions He was dealing with those things that have value to men, including money.  Again, He links our actions to our heart, stirring us to consider what we choose to place the most value on; earthly possessions, or the spiritual things of God’s Kingdom.  In speaking about our heart, Jesus tells us that “the eye is the lamp of the body.” (Mt 6:22).  We learned in the prior section of the Sermon on the Mount that sin can enter the body through our eyes because of lust.  The eye is our doorway to desire, which resides in our heart.  If our heart desires to look, it will look.  If our eye desires to see evil, we must intervene or, as Jesus tells us “If your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” (Mt 6:23)  We must train our eyes to be full of light and avoid evil desires by training the heart to value the kingdom and His righteousness above carnal, tangible, and immediate pleasures.

Paul tells us that our heart has “eyes” also.  He prays that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you . . .” (Eph 1:18).  Inner knowing, and understanding come from having good eyes, eyes that are full of light.  Valuing and seeking after the kingdom of God is the prerequisite to having good eyes, whereas valuing and seeking after carnal rewards will fill the heart with darkness.

To have light remain in our hearts we must not only value the Kingdom of God but we must have a singleness of heart, evidenced by putting the Kingdom first.  Those who think they can value both the Kingdom and money equally will end up hating the requirements both place on their lives, for they will be pulled in two different directions at the same time.

The last section I will cover today is an admonition not to worry.  If we look at God’s initial instructions to Man, he was to keep the garden and its animals, and fill the earth with more people.  Though God was Man’s partner, the first Man Adam broke faith with God through disobedience.  There are men throughout history that re-established faith in God, but for the most part men have made their place on this earth through self-determination.  Jesus tells His listeners that Man’s place is not alone, but that they are more valuable to God than all they care for.  Their responsibilities were not meant to cause anxiety, and Jesus invites them into a partnership with God, based on faith and evidenced by trust.

Man’s position is under God, not alone.  Men can partner with God in this life if they will set their priorities on what God values.  How can men trust in what God values?  Because God values men.  Amen.