The Sermon on the Mount.

Northclare

Can anyone put up a link which has a layman's interpretation of the sermon on the mount.

I was told The Sermon on the Mount is Christianity Simplified.

For me being a laid back kinda guy, I'd prefer to keep it simple.

dvae

not trying to be smart, but i would of thought that the sermon on the mount
would be pretty easy to understand. its Jesus himself talking to his disciples.
Jesus used a lot of illustrations so as to make it easer for us to understand.
i would suggest that you read it yourself, and post any questions on the parts
you are having trouble with.

Northclare

There's far too many versions,I'm sure Jesus had one version.

dvae

Northclare wrote: »

There's far too many versions,I'm sure Jesus had one version.

he had, and the full version can be found in Matthew 5-7

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5-7&version=NIV

philologos

The Sermon on the Mount is fantastic for showing what kind of lifestyle changes the Gospel the good news that Jesus came to save us from our wretched sin by dying in our place on the cross should produce.

Simple to understand difficult to emulate. Read a full Gospel don't cut your inquiry short with three chapters

Slav

Northclare wrote: »

Can anyone put up a link which has a layman's interpretation of the sermon on the mount.

I was told The Sermon on the Mount is Christianity Simplified.

For me being a laid back kinda guy, I'd prefer to keep it simple.

The Sermon is indeed the summary of Christianity although the Sermon alone is not enough to have the full picture: other texts are there for a reason but Matt 5-7 is probably the best starting point.

If you are looking for interpretations I would recommend this (very layman's) lecture:

Fr.Thomas Hopko: The Sermon on the Mount - part 1, part 2

During the first half an hour he talks not about the Sermon itself but rather about the whole canonical books but bear with him: it will start making sense.

Mind you that this guy is Orthodox so what he says is probably not fully compatible with modern Western theologies of Protestantism and Roman Catholicism if that's what you are looking for. Specifically, you won't find Penal Substitution there or any other Substitution for that matter.

antiskeptic

Northclare wrote: »

Can anyone put up a link which has a layman's interpretation of the sermon on the mount.

I was told The Sermon on the Mount is Christianity Simplified.

For me being a laid back kinda guy, I'd prefer to keep it simple.

It's Christianity Simplified for two categories of people. How you should pick it up depends on which category you belong to.

For those who have been saved it gives insight into the extent of the goodness of the Kingdom (realm, domain, character) of God where, for example, unkind words from one to another are so unbelonging that they could be considered as one would consider murder: an ugly abomination. Having been made citizens of that kingdom, Jesus is calling saved people to live as kingdom people should live. He is saying to the saved "this is what the kingdom is about and you are kingdom people - live congruent with what you are".

For those who are unsaved he raises an impossible standard of goodness - which is often understood to be a standard people should attempt to reach if they want to go to heaven. This is a misunderstanding however, since nowhere does Jesus suggest that trying your best is sufficient. It's "meet the standard or else damnation" The unsaved person who reads Jesus correctly here should realise that they haven't a snowballs chance of going to heaven since they fall short of his standard at every turn. What happens next depends on whether they take what he says anyway seriously or not.

transvestite

While some of the passages in this sermon have been considered sage advice by readers of varying beliefs, the sermon includes many passages which seem to contradict the claim that the author was wise beyond mortal men. Many people have pointed out that rather than being the ultimate instructions for how to live life, the sermon contains several passages that would typically qualify as bad advice and projects some philosophical positions that are typical of the era and not indicative of a wise, transcendent being.

As a whole, the Sermon on the Mount is, to put it bluntly, a bad sermon. Beyond giving some bad advice, it doesn't have any underlying theme. It is a hodgepodge of bottled wisdom. No section leads into another section, and often the advice within the sections are contradictory (Matthew 5:16 vs. 6:1 , Matthew 6:7 vs. 6:8-13 , Matthew 7:20 vs. 7:21-23 ). Some sections switch justification for the advice midstream: Matthew 6:25-26 suggest you don't need to worry about food because God even looks after the lesser animals, then later in Matthew 6:31-33 the suggestion is that God knows what you need and if you believe you will have them "added unto you". To sum it up the sermon is just incoherent ramblings.

PDN

It is a common mistake to view the Sermon on the Mount as a series of proverbs or platitudes. However, when viewed as what it was (a sermon rather than a discourse on philosophy) the structure can be clearly discerned.

A sermon is designed to bring the hearers to a particular conclusion. And that usually will be found at the end of the sermon. So, in the case of the Sermon on the Mount, that brings us to the passage about the house built on the rock or on the sand. Jesus says the life that is built on His words (the rock) will stand firm in times of trouble when the storm hits.

Once we understand that purpose, the rest of the Sermon becomes clear. It deals with the matters where people most often build their lives on faulty foundations - their ambitions and motivations in life, their sexual and marital relationships, their attitudes towards money, whether their religious acts are done out of show or out of love of God etc.

Northclare

In other words,what your saying is, if one lives their life by the teachings of "The Sermon on the Mount" they are most likely to live a life of less stress and have more empathy for others.

That quote about plucking out your eye etc...I think that means if your looking at people places or things in a sinful way,the next time maybe look in a different direction as in dont even entertain the sinful thoughts then those thoughts wont be entertained as in not acted out on,there's a lot of riddles and parables in that sermon isn't there.

PDN

Northclare wrote: »

In other words,what your saying is, if one lives their life by the teachings of "The Sermon on the Mount" they are most likely to live a life of less stress and have more empathy for others.

I think it's a bit more than that. Some of the hearers of this Sermon were going to face severe persecution, and that's pretty stressful! It's more a case that living your life by these teachings means that when trials and stressful situations come your way, then your faith (and your life) won't fall apart.

I think such a message is sorely needed today. Many Christians want to hear an easy-believism pop-psychology message that just says, "Believe in Jesus and think positive thoughts - then nothing bad will ever happen to you." The Sermon on the Mount is much more real. It says, "Crap happens to everyone. Now here's how you make sure you maintain your faith and integrity even when you're neck deep in it!"

That quote about plucking out your eye etc...I think that means if your looking at people places or things in a sinful way,the next time maybe look in a different direction as in dont even entertain the sinful thoughts then those thoughts wont be entertained as in not acted out on,there's a lot of riddles and parables in that sermon isn't there.

Very true.