"Where is the gospel in the Sermon on the Mount?"

The title of this post comes from a question that one of my friends placed on Facebook. I'm answering it here due to the length of the response. I wanted to give this careful consideration because my students at Sayers Classical Academy are currently memorizing Matthew 5.

Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount primarily to His disciples (Matt 5:1b): those who were already committed to following Him. Though His words were certainly intended to benefit the larger crowd as well (Matt 5:1a)-especially through bringing the conviction of a right understanding of the Law to bear upon them (Matt 5:21-48)-the focus on those who were already disciples meant that Jesus was not focused on evangelization in this sermon. Furthermore, the full revelation that the good news would involve His death, burial, and resurrection had not yet been given, and so the gospel-in a clear and specific way-was not revealed in the Sermon on the Mount. The closest thing that we have to a gospel word in the sermon is Matthew 5:17, as Jesus pointed to Himself as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. For those looking for Scripture to be fulfilled-and for those brought low by the Law-this is a word of good news.

Two Important Petitions, Re: Planned Parenthood

Since before he was elected president, Mr. Barack Obama has been bold in aligning himself with Planned Parenthood and in supporting "abortion rights" in general. It is not that surprising then, that as the Center for Medical Progress has been releasing undercover videos "documenting its 30-month undercover sting operation concerning Planned Parenthood's trafficking in fetal body parts," the Obama Administration has been exceedingly slow to respond. "Thus far, the White House has stated its belief, based on statements from Planned Parenthood, that the videos are deceptive and illegally obtained, but it has admitted it has not watched the videos." Currently, there is an active petition directing the Obama Administration to actually watch these videos. Yes, it is incredibly sad that it would take a petition to move our president to examine the gruesome facts concerning an organization that receives so much federal funding, but the White House has committed to responding to any petition that gets 100,000 signatures within 30 days on the "We the People" website.

I ask that anyone reading this would take a moment to sign the petition HERE.

An even more important petition (and one that has many more signatures at this time) directs the Obama Administration to "Order the Attorney General to Investigate Planned Parenthood's Sale of Aborted Baby Parts." I only mention this petition second because it might be easier (in some way) for an administration spokesperson to make some excuse as to why they can't have the Attorney General conduct an investigation into Planned Parenthood. However, it might be difficult for the President to explain why he can't watch a few videos.

Please take a moment to sign the other petition HERE.

Moore, re: Trump

The following quote is from Dr. Russell Moore, President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Moore was responding to a question by Anderson Cooper about whether the majority of evangelicals might vote for Donald Trump.

"This is someone who has been running a casino industry that I would argue is predatory on the poor, someone who has left two wives and divorced them (broken up those families). I think then to step back and say, 'I don't have anything I can think of that I need forgiveness for' [as Trump seemed to indicate during a talk at the Family Leadership Summit on July 18th] is problematic. I think that raises many questions."

[HT:: Denny Burk]