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The Eighth Sunday After Trinity
The Sermon on the Mount, 3rd Sermon
July 21, 2002

TEXT: NKJ Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 " You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

TEXT: 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

There are many references to peace in God’s Holy Word—for example Paul teaches

NKJ Romans 14:19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

Pursue peace through edification—teach others the things of God—that they might also understand–and thus bring peace through knowledge—this is pleasing to God

Those who are of one belief—would have nothing to argue about—nothing with which to disturb the peace among themselves

God wants all of us to help others come to the same level of knowledge about our Savior Jesus Christ

NKJ Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head -- Christ --

Paul also teaches that we must bear with one another—knowing that there would be times when we may disagree—know that there is only one Spirit—one Savior—one body—and therefore one doctrine

While some are learning that their understanding may not be Scriptural—we must all be tolerant until the Holy Spirit makes their understanding right—but all the while maintaining peace

NKJ Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Bearing with one another in love—keeping the unity of the Spirit

A peacemaker is certainly one who loves his neighbor—one who loves his fellow Christians

But we are to maintain a unity of the Spirit—the Holy Spirit—the One who teaches us all things—the same Holy Spirit that gave us the gift of understanding—the gift of salvation

NKJ 1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

Paul again teaches us—this time he wants us to understand that Christians have peace through understanding—and that the Bible is not intended to be complicated or confusing—but simple

NKJ 1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

God wants all things in good order—not in some sense of confusion—our peace comes from our understanding of the simple truths of God’s Word

Those that complicate the Word or cause commotion in the church to serve their own purposes—are not teaching God’s Word—but are workers of evil

NKJ Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

Pursue peace—true peace—the simple truths and you will be blessed by God—blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God!

TEXT: 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

The devil cannot stand to see anyone enter the kingdom of God—and he will do everything to persecute—tempt—or otherwise distract you from seeing clearly the way to salvation

That’s why Paul says if you are a Christian—a believer—be prepared to be persecuted

NKJ 2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Jesus also taught us that there would be persecution for all believers

NKJ John 15:20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

Our persecution will be for righteousness’ sake—we will be persecuted because we believe Jesus is the Son of God—sent here to die for our sins—to be resurrected for our salvation

TEXT: 12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

More words written to strengthen His disciples—and us—and to provide us comfort in time of need

When Peter and the other disciples were called before the council of the Pharisees for preaching the Good News—they indeed rejoiced and were comforted at their persecution

NKJ Acts 5:41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

They were rejoicing because they remembered the words of Jesus on that mountain top

The devil becomes angry when we speak the truth of the Word to others—he persecutes us through those of this world

And just as the Apostles rejoiced in that persecution—so must we

TEXT: 13 " You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Having finished the Beatitudes—Jesus continues with the teaching of the 12

Jesus calls the 12 the salt of the earth—why salt? Salt was used to preserve food so it would not go bad

We see many examples of slat being used in the Old Testament—it was used in Jewish sacrifices

NKJ Leviticus 2:13 'And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.

NKJ Ezekiel 43:24 'When you offer them before the LORD, the priests shall throw salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.

Mark records these words of our Lord—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit

NKJ Mark 9:49 " For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50 "Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

How can one have salt within themselves—except that salt be the preserving power of the Word

Just as salt can preserve foods such as meat—so also the Word preserves the heart of man

So then the salt is not the Christians—but it is the Word—which when it is spread about by Christians—preserves those who hear it and are provided the understanding of salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit

So again we consider the words of our text “You are the salt of the earth;

Here’s how we are to understand Jesus’ teaching—Everything that is born on this earth is useless, it is rotten and corrupt before God

The Christians shall be a salt of the earth—spreading the Word to all who will listen—thus salting everything in the world

When the world—and its wisdom hear the Word—it stings like salt in a wound—and they—the men of this world—reject the stinging truth of the Word

We Christians must maintain our saltiness by constantly keeping ourselves in the Word

And it isn’t enough to preach the Gospel—we have to rub that salt in their wounds—pain their consciences—by pointing out the error of the ways of the world—the evil ways

but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

If a message is being preached without the Word of God in its truth—then the “salt” is no longer salty—and it—the false teachings—should be trampled and crushed—as well it will be in the Last Day