Jesus talks about judging in the Sermon on the Mount, but does He really mean we cannot make an evaluation, a judgement, about anything or anyone? Before we miss quote Jesus on judging, maybe we should see what all of Scripture says, and how what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount fits into Scripture.

Jesus tells His disciples that they should not worry. There is a difference between concern and worry. One leads to constructive solutions and the other to anxiety, stress, negative outcomes, and a complete lack of positive solutions. When you realize, when you know, that the God who created everything loves you and wants to be your provision, there is no need to be worried.

In today's world, people are essentially empty, desperately lonely, painfully guilty, and filled with anxiety, however, there is reason for hope. Jesus is the hope of the world. He alone can fix this broken world and your brokenness. Do you know Him? Do you have hope in Him?

It seems like a weird shift to go from fasting to talking about where you store up your treasures, but Jesus makes this shift in the Sermon on the Mount. In our society where conspicuous consumption is the norm, Jesus speaks. Jesus makes it clear that there is a complete, a total, contrast of values between the Kingdom of God and the world. Discipling the flesh and establishing self-control through fasting, prayer, and giving, and destroying greed through radical generosity are some of the radical Kingdom values, seen in the transformed people of God, that Jesus preaches.

As Jesus Continues with the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches His disciples about three important disciplines of the Christian life: giving, prayer, and fasting. If you are going to have the kind of relationship Jesus had with the Father when He was on earth, then you must practice these disciplines. These disciplines touch on the very things society says are so important money and possessions, time and the busyness of life, and consumption in all of its aspects. But Jesus spends a lot of time on prayer, and in today's sermon how to pray is the focus.

Jesus calls His followers to radical love. He tells us to love our enemies and pray for those that treat us the worst. His call is radical. It's life changing. It's world changing.

As Jesus continues with the Sermon on the Mount, He talks about who His disciples should be, not about what they should do. They should be people of their word. In a world where trust is elusive, Jesus' disciples should always be true to their word. In world where everyone seems to be out to make other people pay, to set the record straight, to extract revenge, Jesus tells His disciples to turn the other cheek and leave revenge up to God.

Christ Jesus mediates a New Covenant, a New Testament, where you are not just purified outside, but inside. Where sin is removed, thrown into the sea of God's forgetfulness. Thus, you can stand holy, pure, clean, and righteous before the Father, in communion with Him, because Christ Jesus, your High Priest laid down His life for you.

As Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount, He hits on some pretty close to home topics. He shows us how, merely keeping the letter of the law is not good enough. We must be radically changed from the inside out by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and we must understand the kind of forgiveness and heal Jesus brings into our lives. So, we can be His agents of healing and forgiveness.

In the Old Testament people thought it was just about behavior and not about the heart. However, Jesus comes and makes it clear, it is about the heart. When the heart is right the behaviors will be right.

Jesus and the Law are not incompatible, in fact, both are necessary. Jesus came to fulfill the law, and in doing so, He enables you to keep the law through the power and life of the Holy Spirit in you. Because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is in you, and now, the Ten Commandments become the Ten Promises.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells His disciples that they are the salt and light of the world. What does it mean to be salt and light and are you being them?