Eternity Is at Stake

In our series on Matthew’s Gospel, we’ve been getting a high overview of the Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7).  And it has revealed that Jesus’ community of disciples (i.e., the church) is a Christian counter-culture:  our beliefs and values and attitudes and actions differ dramatically from those of the world around us.

Jesus intends for us to stand out in society as “salt” and “light”; he aims for us to embrace God’s commandments in our hearts as much as in our deeds (e.g., no hate, no lust, no retaliation); and he calls us to release worry and live with assurance that our Good Father will provide for us as he does for the birds and lilies.

But as we track Jesus’ line of thought in his Sermon, there’s a shift that comes at 7:13.  From there to the end, the Teacher directs our attention to ultimate things; the focus turns from how to live to what’s at stake.  Jesus delivers a sobering word:  those who are on the path to eternal life and not destruction are the ones who demonstrate their faith by a lifestyle of devoted obedience.

In short, heaven and hell take center stage in 7:13-27.  So, if you have the idea (or you know anyone who does) that Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is basically a positive ethical rule for good behavior and nothing more, banish that thought.  In the final chapter of this discourse, Jesus elevates himself as the definitive speaker of ultimate truth, and he points out ever so clearly that eternity is on the line in how any and all respond to him.

Pray that God will give us humble hearts to fully embrace Jesus’ weighty words.  Pray also that the Father will impress upon us the names of unbelievers to pray for and reach out to—lost loved ones and friends who at present are in grave danger of eternal destruction.  “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (7:13-14).