The Savior’s Sermon: Live a Holy Life!

February 12, 2023 —

This week we continue reading through our Savior’s Sermon on the Mount in our Gospel Lesson. Jesus gives us a New Testament version of the commandments of God. Here we see how strict our perfect God really is. He isn’t interested in mere outward compliance to His Commands. He expects His people to keep them also in a pure heart.

In Catechism class we learned that the Law serves as a Mirror, which first of all Shows us Our Sin and leads us to repentance so we are prepared for the Gospel that Shows Our Savior. Once we know our Savior, we can then look at God’s Law in a new way, namely as a Guide for holy living. Only God can change our hearts so that we can look at the Commandments that way. And He does change our hearts through the Gospel!

Our Old Testament Lesson shows how a bad heart leads even someone close to God away from Him and into sin. It’s the story of David’s sin with Bathsheba. It started with him not guarding his heart, then falling into lust, which then led to adultery and even finally to murder as an attempted cover-up. Only God could fix David’s heart, and thankfully He did through his pastor Nathan proclaiming Law, and then Gospel to David. That led David to pray in Psalm 51 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

In our Epistle Lesson St. Paul reminds Christians to keep striving for sanctification, that is, growth in holiness of living. While we are saved by grace, we are saved for holiness to bring glory to God.

This Week’s Lessons:

2 Samuel 11:1–17,26-27

1 Thessalonians 4:1–12

Matthew 5:21–37   (sermon text)

Psalm 119