The Sermon on the Mount

Winston Churchill is reported to have said on one occasion: "What a happy world this would be if we all lived according to the Sermon on the Mount!" And it certainly would be, but it has been historically demonstrated that, due to the depravity of human nature, man can no more practice the Sermon on the Mount consistently than he can consistently obey the Ten Commandments. Nor will he be able to until the Holy Spirit takes control and causes him to do so.

God promised His people Israel:

I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues, and you will be careful to obey My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be my people, and I will be your God (Ezek 36:27-28).

Though these verses do speak of the Holy Spirit Who indwells us as believers today, He is not causing us to walk in His statues now. We can choose to "walk by the Spirit" and thereby "not carry out the desire of the flesh," but it is a choice we make — put off the old and put on the new. Nor are we dwelling in a bountiful land that God promised to us. A land was promised to Israel, not to us. This passage is written to Israel and is referring to the future Millennial kingdom. We must always remember that all Scripture is for us, but not all Scripture was written directly to us or about us. So be careful when reading other people's mail!

What about the Sermon on the Mount? Of course it is for us (2 Tim 3:16)!  For one thing, it shows us what it looks like when we are walking in our new natures. But was the Sermon on the Mount written about us or addressed directly to us? Is it meant specifically for us, "the one new man" which Paul designates as "the body of Christ" (Eph 2:15-16; 4:12)? When we look at progressive revelation, we must conclude that the answer is "no." Because Christ, while on the earth, was born under, and taught law with establishing the kingdom in view, then it too, refers to the Millennial kingdom that is yet to come.  It will be during this time that God will cause men to walk in His statues, to obey the precepts and principles taught in the Sermon on the Mount.

God did not give revelation all at once. It was always "order on order, line upon line, a little here, a little there" (Is 28:9-10). Comparing Exodus or Matthew with Ephesians, for example, it is evident that God has dealt differently with men of different ages, according to their knowledge of Himself. There has been development and progress, historically, in the knowledge of God and His purposes. Therefore, when we look at the progression of Scripture, we see that there is no contradiction between the Sermon on the Mount and Paul's epistles. There are contradictions, however, if we directly apply both of them to ourselves today. But when we come across seeming contradictions, we may rest assured that God never contradicts Himself; we just aren't observing the principle of progressive revelation.

To give you an idea of where I'm coming from, let's first consider the subject of the Messianic kingdom itself: (1) The kingdom was promised in the OT times (Jer 23:5). (2) It was proclaimed to be at hand during our Lord's earthly ministry (Matt 4:17). (3) It was offered at Pentecost, after the death and resurrection of Christ (Acts 3:19-21). (4) It was rejected as the book of Acts shows (Acts 7:54-8:3; 28:2-28). (5) It was postponed and is being held in abeyance until a future time (Matt 23:39; Rom 11:25). (6) And finally, when Jesus Christ returns to judge and reign, the kingdom will be established on earth and Israel will live in the land promised to them (Rom 11:26). Then, for the first time since the fall of man, this world will become a place of true peace, prosperity and blessing.

The establishment of the kingdom of Christ on earth is the very goal of OT prophecy, but the epistles of Paul explain how the prophetic program was interrupted by grace. Therefore, the true condition of this world today can be understood only as we recognize progressive revelation in Scripture.

Moreover, those who recognize Scripture's progression do not need to "spiritualize" plain predictions of prophecy and thereby much of the OT. Instead, they see how prophecy was steadily fulfilled literally, right through the resurrection of Christ and Pentecost, but then its fulfillment evidently stops. The Tribulation and the signs of Christ's return did not appear, nor did He return to reign. Many explain that the early persecutions of Christianity were the prophesied Tribulation and that Christ is reigning today over "spiritual" Israel, the Body of Christ. But I don't see that Scripture teaches that the Church has replaced Israel; unless, that is, you "spiritualize" certain passages.  To me that is not just "spiritualizing" Scripture, however, but arbitrarily altering it, and thereby compounding the confusion which already exists in the Church today.

So where do we, the Church, fit into all this? We fit in right between Israel's final rejection of Christ and His kingdom and the coming Tribulation and His return to earth to judge and reign.