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Learning the law, living by the Spirit
The reason for rules is relationships. Jesus makes great sense out of these good principles in Matthew 5:38-42. Learn from the Law Remember that New Testament Christians are bound by the moral law of the Old Testament. Sin is sin in any century and has no expiration date. Therefore, prohibitions against transgressions like murder, adultery and perjury still stand today, especially for followers of Jesus Christ. However, Old Testament ceremonial and civil law has been "fulfilled" by the Lord Jesus Christ and the New Testament. What we learn from the law Jesus cited in this section of the Sermon on the Mount involves morality and civility, and the Lord only expounded upon the latter. You may be surprised by both the proper Old Testament and New Testament interpretations. In the Old Testament, this command condemned the sin of assaulting or murdering an unborn child. In our sophisticated society, we call it abortion. In any age, it is morally wrong. The civil penalty in Exodus, according to the extent of injury or death, was "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth." The same penalty for other types of assault and murder were exacted elsewhere in the law. Assault and murder by any names in any age is morally reprehensible. The civil penalty is up to the judge. An individual Israe-lite could not retaliate. Moses or the judges had to weigh the value of an eye, a tooth or even a life and determine what justice demanded. There were no eye or tooth extractions and there was not always capital punishment. It was a civil matter for the civil magistrate to decide. Enter the Pharisees, who set themselves up as judge and jury in Israel. They turned and twisted the law of God to excuse any act of revenge or retaliation. They were hypocritical legalists who enjoyed a good stoning. Jesus said again, in effect, don't be like them. learn from the law. But, live by the spirit. Live by the spirit To live out this law by the spirit, according to Jesus, requires at least four things: "do not resist," "turn the other [cheek]", let others "sue" and "borrow," and "go with him [the extra mile]." To turn Jesus' commands into literal rules to live by would miss the point and create a new breed of Pharisee. Christ taught that relationships are more important than rules, yet his rules lead to happier and healthier relationships. "Do not resist" does not demand pacifism, as Tolstoy, the Quakers and many others have interpreted through the years. Thank God for policemen who resist criminals, for soldiers who resist enemy combatants and for a friend who breaks up a fight. "Resist" is literally a legal term which means to press one's case in court. Believers may use the court to press for what is fair, but never for what is punitive and excessive. As a rule, Christians don't take people to court. As far as turning the other cheek, well, even Jesus didn't literally do that. But, neither did he retaliate in kind. Jesus was not a pacifist, but he was never vengeful. The slap spoken of here is not an injury, but an insult. As a rule, Christians don't fight back at people who insult us. Allowing others to "sue" and "borrow" involves money and material things, which according to Jesus, should not matter that much to the citizens of his kingdom. Again, fairness and common sense should not be thrown out the window. But as a rule, Christians don't fight about money or materials things that will one day perish anyway. Persian and Roman authorities had reserved the right to make their Jewish vassals physically carry mail, equipment, even crosses, up to one mile. Jesus taught when trapped in such a situation, go the extra mile. This one is easy to interpret, isn't it? As a rule, Christians are people who don't do merely what it expected of them, they do their very best - in church, in school, in the workplace and in the neighborhood. Living by these rules is not easy. It requires some help, or a helper. The holy spirit dwells in every Christian to enable us to live not by man's rules, not by our own rules, but by the rule of Christ in the heart. By the grace of God, the saving work of Christ, and the presence of the holy spirit, we can understand the Bible, walk in the spirit and practice the real righteousness God requires. Practice real righteousness Jesus' teaching in this part of the Sermon on the Mount recalls the words found in in Micah 6:8, "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?" We "do justice" by respecting the civil laws of our society and submitting to those whom God has placed in authority over us. We "love kindness" by being good neighbors. We "walk humbly with [our] God" when we don't lash out at others because of their sins, because we realize what great sinners we are before God, too.
God demands humility, charity and forgiveness, and God's people must live it. Thanks to Micah, and thanks especially to Jesus, now we know more about the law, about spiritual life and about practicing real righteousness.
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