We’re looking at how people work to get around applying Jesus’ teachings to their lives, especially the Sermon on the Mount. I’ve referenced a blog by Michael L. Westmoreland-White that got me to thinking about these specific points; he in turn credits John Howard Yoder and Glen Stassen.
The first “dodge” that Westmoreland-White points to is the Dispensationalist Dodge. This simply says that Jesus’ teachings were given not for the age of the church, but for the future realized kingdom. In our fellowship, with a generalized rejection of pre-millenialism, it’s more common to hear the argument that Jesus’ teachings were meant to tell the Jews how to live during those 3 years of his public ministry; after his death on the cross, those teachings became null and void. You especially hear this from people who don’t want to have to wrestle with Jesus’ teachings about divorce.
As regards the pre-millenial view, as Westmoreland-White says, even if we accept their viewpoint about the coming Kingdom, much of what is described in the Sermon on the Mount doesn’t fit such a time period. The problems with strife between brothers and sin in general shouldn’t be present after Jesus’ return. It just doesn’t make sense. (I wrote an earlier post about the chronology of the Kingdom, if you’re interested in discussing that).
As for the “these teachings only applied to Jews” or “these teachings only applied before the cross” views, neither of those fit with the reality of what the gospels are. Just because they are placed before Acts in our New Testament, doesn’t mean that they were written before the events in Acts took place. The gospels are Christian literature, written by Christians for the use of the church. Do they contain Jesus’ teachings just as a novelty? “Look at the tough things Jesus said while he was here.” Why would Christian writers go to such lengths to preserve Jesus’ teachings if they weren’t relevant to their readers?
If we want to be called Christians, we must strive to follow Christ’s example and Christ’s teachings. Not as a means of salvation, but as a means of being who we were called to be. Can I believe in Christ and not believe that his teachings about how we should live represent the best way to live? Can I say that I follow Christ, yet show no concern about living the way he said we should live?
We won’t do it perfectly. Surely we all know that. But only by striving after that goal can we be truly transformed into his image, by the power of God’s Spirit.