The Beattitudes As Law & Gospel (Part 3)

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.  (Matthew 5:1, ESV)

  • God spoke all these words, saying,
  • I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  (Exodus 20)

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:  (Matthew 5:2, ESV)

  • You shall have no other gods before me.
  • You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You  shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
  • You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This  is the great and first commandment. (Matthew 22)

Kingdom Longing 

  • Matthew 5:3 - 6
    • Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    • Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
    • Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
    • 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  (Matthew 5:3–6, ESV)
  • You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
  • Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORDblessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
  • Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20)
  • And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22)

Kingdom Living

  • Matthew 5:7 - 10
    • Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
    • Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
    • Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
    • Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 5:7–10, ESV)
  • You shall not murder. 
  • You shall not commit adultery.
  • You shall not steal.
  • You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  • You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s. (Exodus 20)

The Cost of Yeshua Reconciling Us To Him 

    • Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  (Matthew 5:11–12, ESV)
  • Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”  Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”  The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.  (Exodus 20)
  • On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:40)

O LORD, Hear our prayer(s)! 


From Austin Pfieffer @ Salem Presbyterian (PCA) in Winston-Salem, NC 

  • I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
  • For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
  • Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
  • Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  (Romans 12:1–21, ESV)
  • Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
  • Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
  • Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.  (Romans 13:1–14, ESV)

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