Jesus defines sin as departure from the Kingdom in act and thought. The old law said: do not commit murder, but Jesus made the murderous thought the sin – before the act. Adultery, the act – He sets back into the lustful look.
Failure to fulfil an oath – to the abolition of all swearing of oaths.
From limits on revenge – (an eye for an eye, etc) to turning the other cheek.
Matthew 5:38-39 Your forefathers were told: Love your neighbour, but hate your enemy, I tell you: love your enemies – do good to those who hate you.
In this discourse, Jesus was describing how life will be in His Kingdom. People say that Jesus and His Kingdom are impractical idealism, it won’t work, impossible. But the fact is that every departure from these laws, principles and attitudes of the Kingdom, had turned out badly and will always turn out badly. The problems of our modern world are caused, in most part, by breaking these Kingdom Laws.
Life is designed to be lived in one way and one way only, in God’s Kingdom way. So Jesus is telling it like it is, leaving it to people to find out by trial and error to see that Jesus was right. Break these Laws and principles and you become broken, sin against God and you hurt yourself.
Take the six things that Jesus mentions: He sets murder back from the deed to the attitude – hate. Hate makes the hater abhorrent to himself and to others. The adulterer succumbs to temptation and causes families to break up. Oath taking produces more lies, a really truthful person does not need an oath, an untruthful person will not heed an oath. Does revenge mean avenge? Can two wrongs make a right? Can Satan cast out Satan? Can anyone, by acting like the devil, get the devil out of people?
The only way to get rid of evil, is to overcome with good and love overcomes hate.
The way of the Kingdom is difficult, but the other way is disaster and spiritual death.
The Righteous Christian wins, because being a Christian is the victory. He is in the Unshakeable Kingdom and that is the victory.
Hebrews 12:26-29 …now He has promised ‘Once again I will shake the earth and the heavens[Haggai 2:21-22 : a description of the coming Lord’s Day of vengeance and wrath] The words ‘once more’ indicate the removing of what can be shaken, that is: created things, so that what cannot be shaken, may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God with reverence and awe, for the Lord is a consuming fire.
God has two hands – the hand of Grace and the hand of Judgement. If you refuse His Grace, then you must take the Judgement. You may rebel, wriggle and try to evade it by denying that there is a God and saying there is nothing after death, but we are His creation, He will reward and punish as He decides.
Matthew 5:48 There must be no limit to your goodness, as your Heavenly father’s goodness knows no bounds. Reference: The Unshakeable Kingdom, Stanley Jones. ;
The Prophetic Word 