Tag Archives: Sermon on the Mount

The “Only The Atonement Counts” Dodge

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This is the sixth post in a series of posts looking at the Sermon on the Mount. I’ve referred to a blog by Michael L. Westmoreland-White which brings up these specific points; he in turn credits John Howard Yoder and Glen Stassen. Westmoreland-White describes “dodges” to the Sermon on the Mount, ways in which people seek to get around applying it today. We’ll look today at the last dodge in the group: the “all that matters is the atonement” dodge. (I might note that he is specifically discussing pacifism, so his comments at times focus on how the Sermon is applied at a national level)

To some degree, I addressed this last dodge on Friday. Some feel that any talk of how Christians should live somehow cheapens Jesus’ sacrifice and turns Christianity into a works-based-salvation religion. I probably don’t have a lot to add to what I said on Friday; I strongly encourage you to read that post to understand my rejection of that outlook.

I will restate however that Jesus did not die to give Christians a free pass to live as they please. He died to allow men to be holy, men who can’t make themselves holy on their own. The proper response to such a sacrifice is loving obedience, not out of a desire to justify ourselves, but out of a desire to please the One who died to make us holy.

In the Old Testament, God marveled at the fact that His people couldn’t understand this point, that they would respond to His love and mercy by turning their back on Him. Maybe this is seen most graphically in the book of Hosea, where Hosea marries a woman who is continually unfaithful to him, with this relationship symbolizing the relationship between God and His people. Today God expects a similar loving response from the bride of Christ, not out of fear of divorce, but out of a loving desire to please her husband.

I have a few more thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount, but we’ve finished looking at Westmoreland-White’s article. I’d like to hear your reactions.

The Inner Attitudes Dodge

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This is the fifth post in a series of posts looking at the Sermon on the Mount. I’ve referred to a blog by Michael L. Westmoreland-White which brings up these specific points; he in turn credits John Howard Yoder and Glen Stassen. Westmoreland-White describes “dodges” to the Sermon on the Mount, ways in which people seek to get around applying it today. (I might note that he is specifically discussing pacifism, so his comments at times focus on how the Sermon is applied at a national level)

The fourth dodge mentioned is the “The ‘inner attitudes’ dodge.” Apparently advocated by John Calvin [Edit, January 11: Westmoreland-White makes this assertion, but I’ve been unable to find any evidence of this], this expresses the idea that Jesus’ teachings are not about our external actions, but merely about our internal attitudes. (Strikingly similar to some ancient Greek heresies, if memory serves) Even if we must kill our enemies in wartime, we can continue loving them, even as we do so.

As I said, this smacks of the kind of dualism that was popular in the ancient Greek world. Jesus was a living example of the need to couple actions with attitudes, and his teachings spoke of the same. Westmoreland-White says, “He tells us that we love our enemies by praying for them, seeking to do them good, stopping our worship to make peace. We confront those who backhand us (an act of humiliation) by turning the other cheek, so that they are forced to acknowledge our human dignity; we confront those who who would sue us poor for the very coat on our backs by stripping naked in the court of (in)justice; we react to the occupation troops who force us to carry their packs one mile, by carrying them two miles.” These are not mere attitudes, but actions that reflect an attitude.

It’s possible that the confusion arises from some of the Bible’s teachings about the futility of external acts that aren’t accompanied by man’s heart. That is a popular theme in the Bible. Empty rituals are just that: empty. However, the idea that we can somehow love others without acting upon that love is very foreign to the Bible. John said it well:

“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18)

Do you see anything defensible about the “inner attitudes” point of view?

The Public/Private Split Dodge

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This is the fourth post in a series of posts looking at the Sermon on the Mount. I’ve referred to a blog by Michael L. Westmoreland-White which brings up these specific points; he in turn credits John Howard Yoder and Glen Stassen. Westmoreland-White describes “dodges” to the Sermon on the Mount, ways in which people seek to get around applying it today. (I might note that he is specifically discussing pacifism, so his comments at times focus on how the Sermon is applied at a national level)

We’ve looked at the dispensational dodge and the preterist dodge. Today we’ll talk about the public/private split dodge. This approach says that yes, the Sermon on the Mount has moral guidelines for Christian living for the individual, but it says nothing about how countries are to conduct themselves. Again, Westmoreland-White is approaching this topic in the midst of a discussion of Christian pacifism, so his interest is to look at whether or not countries should be held to the standard of the Sermon on the Mount. According to him, this teaching was held to by Martin Luther and has been popular among Lutherans ever since. I’m not familiar enough with Lutheran teaching to confirm or deny that affirmation.

I’ve discussed this concept before, in the context of the idea of the existence of a Christian nation. As I’ve said, if such a thing could exist, I think that it would have to live up to Jesus’ teachings, including turning the other cheek and loving enemies. (Interestingly enough, I noticed that the people behind the Brick Testament picked up on this very idea: note this series of graphics)

I’d also say that I believe that Christians must continue to follow the teachings of their Master, even if they choose to put themselves in service to an earthly nation. The Sermon on the Mount still shows us what is right and what is godly. Again, I’m not talking about how to escape damnation; I’m talking about how to live as sanctified people.

Nations in the Old Testament, even nations not in covenant with God, were judged on several factors from what we see in the prophets: their treatment of their fellow man, their pride, and their willingness to acknowledge God. To some degree I have to think that God continues to look on countries in that same way. Even if they aren’t in covenant with Him, they are held to certain standards. And frankly, I don’t know when any nation has lived up to those standards.

I’d like to hear your thoughts. Are nations given a “free pass” as far as Jesus’ teachings go? Or are they expected to love enemies, turn the other cheek, etc.?

The Preterist Dodge

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This is the third post in a series of posts looking at 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. Westmoreland-White describes “dodges” to the Sermon on the Mount, ways in which people seek to get around applying it today. (I might note that he is specifically discussing pacifism, so his comments at times focus on how the Sermon is applied at a national level)

Yesterday we looked at the Dispensational Dodge. Westmoreland-White calls the second view “The Preterist Dodge,” though he throws Albert Schweitzer’s views into the mix, so I don’t know that he’s talking about what I know as preterism. Anyway, this view is the view that Jesus’ teachings were only meant for the first century, for a church that expected the Second Coming to happen within their lifetime. Those holding this view argue that the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount are unsustainable over a long period of time and were only intended for the few decades following Jesus’ death.

Again, how we deal with the Sermon on the Mount really does reflect with how we deal with Jesus himself. If you follow the above argument to its logical extreme, we not only throw out the gospels, but pretty much the rest of the New Testament. While I’m not a big fan of slippery-slope arguments, I do get nervous any time someone starts discounting parts of the Bible, especially if they can’t give me firm parameters on when to ignore what the Bible says and when not to.

The fact that Christians of every generation become convinced that the Second Coming is right around the corner is undeniable. If you don’t believe me, check the billboards around this country. That fact shouldn’t change Christian morality nor Christian theology. We should be living the same way whether Jesus returns tomorrow or returns long after we are dead.

What has changed, I think, is the fear factor. We’re afraid to follow Jesus’ teachings. I know I am! Don’t worry about tomorrow, turn the other cheek… those things can lead you to be poor and oppressed. And they don’t preach well in a society of affluence. But that doesn’t keep them from being true.

Again I say, I don’t see how you can call yourself a Christian and not follow the teachings of Christ. God fearer, maybe. Christian, no.

The Dispensationalist Dodge

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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.