Lifestyle Fitting Heaven

The Teaching on the Mount is widely recognized as the constitution of the kingdom of God since it most systematically and comprehensively defines the moral standards regarding the inner motives and external behavior of all citizens of that kingdom. “It describes what human life and human community look like when they come under the gracious rule of God.” Not a few, however, consider the standards of this constitution as dreamlike and infeasible for implementation in real life because of the fallen nature of man and the adverse surroundings. Undoubtedly, this view is partly true for no one could, in the strict sense, retrieve his lost innocence and identify himself with the first man before the fall.

What became impossible in Adam, though, now is possible in Christ through the miracle of new birth. We have to put it straight right at the beginning, “Apart from him, his Sermon is senseless idealism—an impossible, frustrating, ethic. It might even make you bitter and cynical.” The good news is that it has never been meant to be implemented without his grace, through which He provides all the assets for us to follow his instructions for godly living. In fact, “the gift of God precedes his demands,” and that gift is the regeneration of our spirits. Only a newborn man is capable of conforming to the norms of this teaching because divine commands require divine grace. Grace, however, never acts on its own; it expects in return our conscious, disciplined, and resolute response in order to release its power.

Moreover, it is clearly stated in the scripture that God “will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13 NKJ). I am fully convinced that if we have been called to be Christians, we can live as such! May we never forget that “His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3 RSV) for his “yoke is easy” and his “burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). This I call healthy idealism for it acknowledges, on the one hand, the human depraved condition, but on the other hand, it recognizes the divine benevolence and support while we are being mended back to the original ideal state and purpose of our Creator—first through regeneration and then through sanctification.

In my approach to these three famous chapters of the gospel of Matthew, I have tried to observe the most important hermeneutical principle in interpreting the Bible, namely, the scripture best interprets (the spirit of) the scripture. I have made every endeavor to pay careful attention to this hermeneutical rule for which reason the reader will come across multiple biblical references throughout the entire commentary that clarify the topics discussed.

Nevertheless, each attempt at interpreting the Word of God unavoidably brings along the interpreter’s personal uniqueness, and so should be. Indeed, all newborn Christians could contribute to the genuine disclosure of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, since God has given us the right of conscious and intelligent reading of his Word, as we know that it is “the Spirit of truth” who “will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13), as Jesus gave a promise to his followers before departing from them.

This commentary is also permeated with a good deal of homiletical tint because the interpretation of the Word of God cannot be a mere scholastic exercise that brings a little or no profit to the laity. All who teach the Bible have been called to “rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), which implicates the need of presenting it in such a way that it may correspond to people’s everyday life’s situations, that is, to be a down-to-earth teaching, and not a sophisticated tractate itching the ears of only few erudites. All teachings of Jesus, though exceedingly profound, are astonishingly comprehensible and accessible because they are not designed for “the wise and learned” but for the “little children” (Luke 10:21 BSB), who are innocent in heart and eager to embrace and comply with them. Yet, their tone is not mawkish, but didactic, admonitory, guiding, liberating, and, most notably, auspicious, for it puts all in eternal blissful perspective (provided we are on the right track).

The aim of this work is an in-depth survey of each subject introduced in the Teaching on the Mount with the intent for a deeper understanding of Jesus’ clear-cut demand of how a Christian life should be conducted. “In-depth,” of course, is a relative term in this case, for who can fathom “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom. 11:33 KJV). Even so, I very much hope that by the grace of God it will serve well to a great number of people who hate the dreariness of shallow religiosity and have determined to disciple and prepare their souls for the eternal approval of God. A tool as this one is for such.