Dallas Willard - The Sermon on the Mount

[@donaldlichi2250]

Have always felt that Dallas “gets it right.” The goodness of God is vast and wide. Come to Him!

[@bobsacamano739]

I’ve only listened to the first 11minutes but will keep listening. He mentioned that the common way the sermon in on the mt is preached is that it’s the law preached full strength and this will drive you to Christ. It seems to me to be the opposite, to me. Most preachers love to preach that these are laws you can do (by a bit of Gods help and a bit of your effort, just try. And it’s this trying that saves you.) It’s my experience that it seems much more rare for the reformation view that the beatitudes are the gospel, and that Jesus is preaching the law after already pronouncing His people blessed, who then observe and guard His law trying to obey it, but will inevitably fail as they still have flesh, and are driven back to the gospel (the beatitudes). What do I guys think? I’m still working through all this.

[@samthemanB3]

I think the Sermon generally is preached as law, and basically something that we can't fulfill. (I've never heard of the beatitudes being gospel and the rest law; that would not make the sermon cohesive.)

[@bobsacamano739]

@@samthemanB3 I think it’s cohesive. I think this interpretation is a pretty standard reformation view too, but I haven’t heard it explained like this by many mainline evangelicals. Because the beatitudes are pronouncements. ‘Blessed are’, there’s nothing He is telling you to do to be blessed, just stating the condition or the nature of the blessed, and from Romans 4, I take to be ‘blessed’ to mean ‘in God’s mercy and favour, not having ur sins counted against u.’ And then right after are the similartudes, where again they are pronouncements of the condition of the elect, ‘you ARE the light of the world’ etc. There’s no requirement here, just statements of the elects nature and position. And here is the linch pin for me which makes me really think He is preaching Gospel in this first section of the sermon. Jesus then answers a question He somehow knows perhaps the Pharisees have in their heads based on what He has just said. He says: ‘don’t think I’ve come to abolish the law and the prophets, I haven’t come to abolish them but to fulfil them.’ The Pharisees would be thinking, ‘you’ve just said people are ‘blessed’ and not mentioned anything about it being due to keeping the law’. ‘I wander does this Jesus not even care about the law - sounds like he is abolishing it’. And hence His answer is in a way saying ‘but don’t worry, I’m not an antinomian, yes you still need to keep the law, but you just can’t be saved through the law. And you know what I’m also gonna be the only one who can actually DO the law! I will fulfil it! O, and if you think you can do what the law requires to be blessed/saved, then let me tell you what the law really requires..’ He then goes on to preach the law full strength. Explaining God requires perfect purity in mind as well as actions as the requirement to be saved by it. However He has already said that He, Jesus will be the one who fulfil it. Thank you Jesus! You did the law for me, and then died as my perfect sacrifice. Praise you Jesus. 🙂

[@alearninglife]

Did you ever finish watching the full video?

[@bobsacamano739]

@@alearninglife I hope so, was a while back now

[@queueball01]

Here are a few possibilities: Blessed are the meth-addled, for they shall inherit the kingdom of G-d. Blessed are the fat, for they shall find confidence. Blessed are the socially awkward, the introverted, and the shy, for they shall enjoy safe and congenial conversation. Blessed are the ugly, for they shall be seen for who they are. Blessed are the self-consciously uneducated and undereducated, for they shall be put to noble and useful tasks. Blessed are the also-rans and fifth-place finishers, for they shall find joy unexceeded. Blessed are you when you lurk about the fringes of society and slip anonymously into the back rows, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who toil in obscurity as convenience-store cashiers and jailhouse janitors in cultural backwaters, for to them belongs the kingdom of G-d.

[@jonnyw82]

I wonder why if Jesus was trying to proclaim the Kingdom was available for all He didn’t say “blessed are the Pharisees and Scribes, the self-righteous and prideful….