Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Luke 18:9-14 I love this story. It is the story that I go back to time and time again It warns me against the presumption that leads to arrogance and lack of love. It tells me of my God who has mercy. 1   It warns us against presumption The first character is the Pharisee. He had status and respect in the community. He was a good man. And it is important that we do not forget that he had made some life-style decisions which cost him significantly. He fasts twice a week (much more than the law requires). He tithed. He gave away a tenth of everything that he had. Just think for a moment what that would mean for your giving? Everything you receive, you give one tenth away. And when he says that he is not a robber, or an evildoer or an adulterer, we can take him at his word. He was upright, obedient to the law of God and self-controlled. And remember that Jesus said in Matthew, that unless our righteousness exceeded that of the Pharisees we could not be But what we also see is t...

Matthew 5:21-26 Last week we looked Matthew 5:17-20 . There Jesus tells us that the Old Testament law and prophets really matter. 1. They are all about him. He is the fulfillment of the law. The law and the prophets point to him. And because the law is about him, he is the one whose interpretation of the law is the right one.  In other words, Jesus stamps his authority on the law, he makes it his own. He shows the direction that the law is pointing in, and thereby – in places – he intensifies the law, and in other places – he annuls the law 2. They matter because obedience to his interpretation of the law and the prophets, is essential. When everything is accomplished, when the Kingdom of God comes in its fullness - that is when obedience as a requirement becomes unnecessary. We will then choose to live God’s way. But until then, obedience can be a delight, but it is also a duty. And now, in these next verses, Jesus looks at what it means to obey the law He deals with 1...