Sermon on the Mount: Conclusion
So, uh, I know it took me forever, but i finally finished this series. Here’s my conclusion, which is probably far different from my original angle in the introduction, since it’s been so long since I started. But hopefully you maybe got something out of all my rambling–I know I did. If you have any ideas for what project I should start next, I’ll try to be better about getting it done in a reasonable amount of time.
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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. 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. 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. 7:24-27)
In our postmodern world so many people try to make religion out to be just a matter of personal preference and subjective conviction, and that’s it. Our culture views religion as a nice addition to life to keep things flowing well, or to bring comfort in distress, or to find a place to connect, but otherwise irrelevant to life. But Jesus makes it very clear: whether or not you believe the Gospel is a matter of life and death. Jesus has spent his Sermon the Mount slowly, methodically building: first laying the foundation that no one can be saved by the Law, then setting up the framework that justification is a matter not of deeds but of the heart, then putting up the walls and roof with the exclusive claim that only by dying to self and receiving a new heart can a person find salvation in Him. And now, Jesus brings home the point of why a house must be well built–it’s because the storm’s a’comin, and if you miss the foundational truth that JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY, then you gonna get blown to kingdom come (no pun intended).
Some people question if the Gospel preached by Paul about Jesus is the same one that Jesus preached. But I think the Sermon on the Mount, when understood in its larger context, puts that debate to rest. Jesus is emphatically proclaiming the gloriously good news that Man is under God’s wrath but incapable of pulling himself out, and the only way of getting out of the dilemma is a heart change which only God can bring, and the only one who can cause that change is God Himself, through Jesus his Son, by the power of the Spirit. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. This is the Gospel that Jesus preached.
