Matthew 7: The Sermon on the Mount (42)
Pray Psalm 15.1, 2.
LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart…
Sing Psalm 15.1, 2.
Arlington: This Is the Day the Lord Has Made
LORD, who may dwell within Your tent, or on Your holy hill?
All those who keep Your covenant and walk within Your will.
All they who with integrity work peace and righteousness,
forever in God’s house shall be forgiven, kept, and blessed.
Read Matthew 7.1-29; meditate on verses 13 and 14.
What difficulties in your journey lie ahead this week? Commit them to the Lord.
Prepare.
1. How do you see this part of the sermon pointing to various ends of the Christian life?
2. How does Jesus liken the Christian life to a journey in these verses?
Meditate.
We may think of the ends of Christian life in various ways. First, end refers to the terminus of our lives, our final disposition and estate. The sermon on the mount begins with those who enter the Kingdom (the beatitudes) and ends with all people coming before the judgment throne of the Lord. Having entered the Gate of the Kingdom through Jesus, we travel all our lives the difficult path of seeking the Kingdom and righteousness of God, building everything on the solid Rock of our Lord Jesus Christ, eager to see and be received by Him at the end of our days.
At all times, the end of life in the Kingdom—our normal orientation—is to participate in God, to know Him and be known by Him and to abide in Him each day. This we do increasingly through His Word and prayer. The sermon on the mount teaches us how to pray so that we may connect truly with our Lord (Matt. 6.1-10), and instructs us to pray continually to maintain that participation (Matt. 7.7-12). It establishes the Law of God as the sine qua non of life in His revelation (Matt. 5.17-19). By His Word and prayer we abide in the Lord and know Him working in us for true righteousness. And true righteousness is the end of our lives—our purpose and our journey’s end—as citizens of the Kingdom of God. We expect to see increasing fruit of righteousness in our lives as we continue along the difficult path that leads to our eternal dwelling with God and complete righteousness in Jesus.
Christians live toward these ends of their calling to the Kingdom of God in everything. We are always seeking to abide in the Lord, to bring forth the fruit of righteousness in all our ways, and to keep pressing on to the day of our standing before the Lord where, because of Jesus, we reach our eternal dwelling place with Him. Thus, the sermon on the mount provides a precis and overview of what it means to know, love, and serve Jesus—to be His disciples to the end (Ps. 119.112).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Anytime ends appear, means are required to get there.
The goals need methods to be achieved.
Jesus taught to enter the process by “the narrow gate” (Matt. 7.13).
He explained that many enter through a wide gate, a broad way, a seemingly easier way;
but the slippery slope along that path made the slide into destruction a simple one.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14.12).
The proper means to a glorious end are bound up in God’s grace, love, mercy, forgiveness, and law.
“LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments” (Ps. 119.166).
Each and every Christian who has ever entered through this narrow gate, has been given a momentous work to do (Eph. 2.10), within that pathway, in our own Personal Mission Field.
The narrow gate may seem constraining to some; but glory be! Can you imagine all the work we’d have to do if it was any wider? We should be exceedingly grateful for the narrow scope of our ends and means!
Jesus said of His Own ends and means,
“For I have come down from heaven,
not to do My Own will,
but the will of Him Who sent Me” (Jn. 6.38).
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives and
recovery of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed;
to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Lk. 4.18, 19; Is. 61.1, 2).
Paul suggested these as grand means to our ends:
“For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God,
Who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
But concerning brotherly love…
you yourselves are taught by God to love one another…
but we urge you…that you increase more and more;
that you also aspire to lead a quiet life,
to mind your own business, and
to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,
that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and
that you may lack nothing” (1 Thess. 4.7-12).
“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter” (Ps. 118.19, 20).
“Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life…
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven…”
—you were one of the few who found it (Matt. 7.14; 5.12).
Ends that do justify the means.
Reflect.
1. What means has God given you to realize the end of knowing and abiding in Him?
2. How faithful are you in using those means? Where could you improve?
3. Why is the narrow way “difficult”? What difficulties do you expect to encounter along that way? Are you ready for them?
He said “whoever does the will of my Father” shall enter, not whoever does my will. Why? Nothing is insufficient if they do the will of the Father. What he did say was itself a very difficult thing to accept in view of their weakness. He implied that to do his Father’s will is to do his will. There is no other willing of the Son than the will of the Father. John Chrysostom (344-407), The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 24.1
Pray Psalm 15.3-5.
Pray for the week ahead. As you rest in the Lord in prayer, envision all that you’ll be doing in the coming week, and commit it to the Lord in detail, calling on Him for grace and strength.
Sing Psalm 15.3-5.
Arlington: This Is the Day the Lord Has Made
Let truth from every heart proceed, and slander disappear:
Thus shall we know God’s grace indeed and feel His Presence near.
No evil to your neighbor speak, nor turn against your friend:
Thus shall you know the hope you seek—God’s Presence without end.
Let every sinner be despised; but those who fear the LORD
Shall honor have before our eyes, according to God’s Word.
All they who keep their word in faith, though suffering may ensue,
Shall know the favor of God’s grace, His Presence ever true.
No greed and no injustice shall they do who seek the LORD;
But on His mercy ever call and stand upon His Word.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column looks at David as a visionary leader. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
