The Sermon on The Mount is Not About Evangelism!

I'd like to point out a critical piece of insight regarding the Sermon on The Mount.  You made have heard me say it before, but evangelism is not the purpose of the Church; it's a mandate!  That's a big difference.  It's not the difference between good and bad, it's just a matter of staying on Track with the purpose God has given us.

It's interesting that in Revelation, none of the Churches are commended or chastised ofr anything having to do with Evangelism. In Ephesians 4, only one of Christ's many gifts to the Church (His Bride) are for evangelism.  The purpose for that and, and all the other gifts, is not evangelism in itself though.  It is something much bigger and separate!

Back to that in a second.  Jesus gave His Sermon to a large group of His Disciples and everything in it challenges them to think contrary to their previous religious system and to the World.

1Corinthians 2:6-14 tells us that the unspiritual mind will never understand spiritual truths.

Romans 1:15-32 tells us that the unrighteous will suppress the truth and approve of wickedness.

Matthew 7:12-14; 24:3-14 tells us that the unrighteous will always outnumber the righteous and that the righteous will suffer at their hands.

The Sermon Jesus gives to His Disciples is a guide for them on how to live in the Church so that others whom God has called to redemption will see it and be drawn to it.  Not to be a light to the Lost!!  Now back to the purpose of the Church.

God's Purpose as given in Ephesians 4 is so that the Body all together will be raised up in maturity and unity of faith and able to minister.  Evangelism is part of that, but it is a gift to enable that, not the purpose.  This is huge for us today, because the purpose of the Church summarized is to become the mature Bride that will be presented to the Groom when He returns to her.  

The Sermon on The Mount is a sermon about how to live within the Church to reach maturity.  We need to hear this today because many of our local bodies are so focused on reaching out and looking great, that they are not being faithful to God's purposes for them.  We need to get back to the internal attention of sanctification talked about in Jesus' sermon so that we are preparing the Bride to meet Him.  If we're honest, here in the West, we typically have Fit Minds and Fat Bodies (puffed up with knowledge without true humility and Christ likeness is our personal private lives) or we have Fit Bodies and Fat Minds (lazy minds that are hidden by programs and business that don't prepare us in maturity and faith to meet our Savior).

Lets get back to work building a Mature Bride...(that's not the same thing as having a bunch of people who have all the answers to all the Bible questions because they attend all the studies.)  Are we a mile wide and an inch deep, or a mile deep and possibly wide?  Be encouraged, but be honest for others sake.

With you for His glory,