Matthew 5:48 (NLT)

But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus finishes his teaching on various sins (anger, contempt…) and then he drops this bombshell? Perfect? It seems that everything he has said up to this point is made impossible. No one is perfect. Only Jesus. Well, let’s think about this.

The word “perfect” from the bible language means, “complete.” “You are to be complete.” This completion is ongoing. Notice, “you are to be.” We are moving toward completeness as we are opening ourselves up to Jesus. As we are intentionally and willingly volunteering to be obedient to his teaching. To work on the sins we have looked at from Matthew 5 is enough for a lifetime. So is perfection possible? Come back tomorrow.

“Love your enemies.” Here we have the climax of what Christian life together can look like if we develop into the type of people who can do these things. Let’s review.

If we become the type of person who is centered on Jesus we don’t need to be angry when we feel personally attacked. We understand that there isn’t anything we can do out of anger that can’t be done better without anger. Jesus is not talking about a gut response, he is focusing on anger we allow to simmer and it ends up as contempt.

Contempt is the end result of anger unchecked and it is especially harmful. In contempt, we are treating a person as a non-person and Jesus always cares for people, no matter what. So, in contempt we find ourselves directly opposed to the will of God. When we become the kind of people who are not controlled by anger or contempt, we can deal with obsessive passions in our daily life, in particular obsessive sexual fantasy.

With Jesus greater than our anger, contempt, and obsessive lust, care and graciousness in our most intimate relationships becomes possible. No where is this more important than in our relationship with our spouse. We become the kind of people who can truly have his/her best interest at heart.

This attitude of graciousness moves outside the immediate family and we become transparent and real in our dealings with others. We don’t need to try to persuade or manipulate others to agree with our point of view or do what we want them to do. We simply make a request.

In our dealings with others we will be wronged, but we are always anchored to Jesus so lasting harm does not affect us. We can choose to trust Jesus will do what is exactly right by them. This carries on to those who choose to work against us. Those who “hate” us. We truly will their good and pray that God will work in their lives, as well as our own.

Now, if we can become this kind of person in our Christian communities, other Christians will become this kind of person to us. Together, we become a powerful example to the transformation that can happen through Jesus. We become an attractive influence on potential disciples who will want to know more about Him because they know us.

In a society that thrives on vengeance, Jesus says, “Turn the other cheek.” Don’t retaliate. Don’t lash out at someone who wrongs you. What planet does Jesus live on? First, what he is not saying.

Jesus is not giving a formula for government policy. In our public realm, we are to seek justice. Fairness. Government is in place to reward the good and punish evildoers (Romans 13).

Jesus is not giving instruction for Christians to allow themselves to be exploited and abused. “Turn the other cheek,” does not mean to be co-dependant to an abuser. To consider yourself not worthy of Christ’s love, to be forced to take your mind off Jesus is sinning against yourself. As an individual Christian, we are called to freely forgive as long as it doesn’t force us to sin.

Christians are to become the kind of people who don’t need to take offense. People who are not offendable. When you are connected to Jesus, you deal with others in a freeing way. You are not so concerned about your “rights” as you are your relationships with other Christians. You can forgive and seek to restore relationship with someone who has wronged you. This can only be done under the power of the Holy Spirit. And if someone won’t seek your forgiveness, you don’t try to get even with them. You remember, regardless of what someone does to you, God will do exactly what is right by them.

Words are essential. Jesus is called, “The Word” (John 1:1). Words create all of existence. God spoke all energy, matter, space, and time into being. “Then God said…” So, where does this leave us?

Be careful with your words. Jesus tackles verbal manipulation next in his list in the Sermon on the Mount. Simple, clear, unambiguous language is called for in our relationship with each other. No trying to get your way by tripping someone up with what you are saying. No trying to persuade using verbal tactics. In modern terms, disciples of Jesus don’t use “spin” to get their way.

Matthew 5:37 (NLT)

Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.

How different than the way society operates. Whole businesses are, in part, based on nuances and extreme language. It is only too obvious to mention the political season we are in. Or who will ever forget this quote, “It depends on what your definition of the word, ‘is,’ is.”

In the middle of all of this bombardment of “words weapons” Jesus says, “Stop.” Disciples don’t need to fret about words. When your life is centered on Jesus, you are perfectly safe to “just say, ‘No,’ or, ‘Yes,’ for that matter.” I don’t need to try to get you to see my way using technique. I can be open to you so you can clearly see where I am coming from. If we don’t agree, fine. Let’s stay in relationship we will discover what Jesus is up to down the road. When you aren’t anxious over what is being said or left unsaid you are able to live within the strengths of your best true self.

God set up the building block of society from the beginning.

Genesis 2:24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

Marriage is the original plan. A coming together for the purpose of building each other up to be the person God intends for you to be. “Complementarity” is the technical term. God intends for wives to “complete” their husbands and husbands “complete” their wives. Every married couple knows this instinctually. In a healthy marriage one always realizes the debt one owes to the “gut level” influence of his/her spouse.

Marriage is also the bond of trust that protects the basic family that God declared, “very good.”

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and told them, “Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”

Our most sacred cause is to raise children who continue to fulfill God’s destiny of caring for the world until Jesus brings in the “new heaven and the new earth.” This is God’s first command.

The most intricate relationship combined with the most sacred trust given to us by God? Now we know why divorce is so devastating. Divorce is declaring God wrong on his most basic plan.

Jesus acknowledges the devastation of ripping apart the very fabric of God’s original building block of life. Divorce? He says, “No.” And he gives means to stay together.

The very foundation of the Christian life, giving yourself for the sake of the other, is what it takes to stay together. Following Jesus, you become the kind of person who wouldn’t think of splitting what God joins. Faithfulness is the DNA of being a disciple and a spouse.

Matthew 5:28

But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Christians have done some strange things because they misinterpret this passage. In particular the term, “lust.” The false thinking goes, when you are attracted to a woman you are looking at, you are committing a sin. Monks in medieval times would brag about not seeing a woman for decades, as if it was an admirable thing. Some would even boast of not seeing their mother or sister for years.

I would argue, this is not what Jesus is getting at. “Lust” is not simple physical attraction. The closest English translation from the original Greek (epithumeo) of this Bible passage is, “to obsessively long for.” In other words, “to fantasize about.”

“Whoever excessively fantasizes about a woman has already committed adultery…”

It’s not as if the monks couldn’t have had a strong imagination without having women present. So let’s get practical.

If you are a married man, you can look at attractive women, just keep your thought life on the wife. If you are single, be attracted, by all means, just don’t produce running movies of women in your mind starring you and them, NC 17. Obviously, for women the same holds true in reverse. Married, keep mind on mate, single, no fantasizing.

Now, it is also true that you don’t need to up the odds for fantasy. So, watch what you are watching. Don’t put yourself in situations where obsessive longing is more likely to occur.

“Raca.” This is a word from the bible that wasn’t even translated when it appeared in the King James Version. In Matthew 5:22 we read

and whosoever shall say to his brother, “Raca,” shall be in danger of the council.

“Raca” means, “empty one” or “worthless.” It is a term of utter contempt. Contempt is the finishing touch of anger. You are so mad at the other person that eventually he/she has no worth for you. We see this contempt all around us, in particular during the time of elections as we are experiencing now. No wonder this is called, “The Silly Season.”

The immaturity of adult public figures is astounding. The contempt that is shown is amazing. What used to be termed, “polite society,” is no more. So, for Christians, it is especially important not to fall into the world’s trap of contempt. We are called to:

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. (Philippians 2:3)

Why is contempt so dangerous? Because you become the type of person who cannot love. Cannot will the good of another. Jesus says if you love him you will do what he says (John 14:23). What he says is, “Love others.”

Contempt is also dangerous because it is so addictive. It makes you feel so superior. By having utter contempt for someone it must mean that you are personally so much better. It places you in the absolutely worst situation possible to ever grow in faith.

Jesus starts the list of sins that harm our relationships with anger. This is appropriate. Anger is at the center of most of our trouble. When we let anger have a home in our lives we suffer tremendously. Aggressive behavior and rage are rooted in anger. So is depression. Depression is anger swallowed.

The solutions for anger read more like excuses for anger. You have been victimized. You have a right to be angry. Let your anger out. Don’t let it fester inside. But, the only real solution for anger is to become the kind of person who doesn’t get angry.

When Dallas speaks of anger, people almost get, well, angry at him. He makes this statement.

“There is nothing you can do out of anger that can’t be done better without it.”

“But, what about Jesus when he drove out the moneychangers?” you ask.

“I trust Jesus with the anger. I don’t trust us. There are many things I trust Jesus to be able to handle that I don’t trust people to do.”

So, how does one become the kind of person who doesn’t get angry? You can’t attack this directly. “I will not get angry!!” doesn’t work. No, you become the kind of person who realizes your worth comes from your relationship with Jesus. When you are slighted or verbally attacked by someone else, it’s not the end of the world. You are in a perfectly safe place focused on Jesus. I like to take the big picture. In any given situation, one hundred years from now, what difference does it make? And there’s always, “Count to ten…”

The trouble with much sin is it becomes a habit. Then it seems so desperately hard to break. If you take the section of the Bible, commonly called, “The Sermon on the Mount,” Matthew 5, there is a list of sinful behavior Jesus is talking about. It seems to go in progression. Dallas claims that the order Jesus uses is on purpose. There is a process for the ability to overcome the sin as one moves from anger onward. Here are the sins.

Anger Matthew 5:21-22

Contempt 5:22

Lust 5:27-28

Divorce 5:31-32

Verbal Manipulation 5:33-37

Revenge 5:38-42

Hate 5:43-44

This list of sin covers the human condition quite well, don’t you think? Especially as it deals with our relationships with others. Now, the whole idea is to not try to follow Jesus’ teaching directly here. “I will just stop myself from getting angry,” and so on. Matthew 5 is specifically meant for how we are to live as Christians in community with other Christians. The assumption is we can break the cycle of these sins under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. These are not a set of rules for any person to follow. These are descriptions of what life can look like when, working with the Holy Spirit, you become the kind of person who will not give in to the sin mentioned.

I will comment on each one of these sins this coming week.

You don’t have to sin. You don’t have to turn away from God. There is a false modesty that challenges following Jesus. “Woe is me.” The idea that, “I can’t help it; I just have to sin,” creeps into everyday life. It’s as if you almost relish that you get to be a “bad” girl or a “bad” boy.

Well, God has one thing to say to this way of thinking. “Grow up.”

Yes, we are sinful human beings. O.K. so what? We can get better. In fact, we can become the kind of people who will not be challenged by certain sins any more. You can learn not to gossip, for instance. Not to speak ill about someone behind his/her back. It is possible to hold your tongue. How? By practicing encouragement. By finding ways to speak well of people to their face. By considering someone from the perspective of Jesus. When Jesus looks at him/her, what does he see?

Just because you are a sinner, doesn’t mean you have to sin.