Page 49 - Biblical Ethics Course

principles of Jesus Christ go to the very root of the matter, they have an intensely practical application to our
moral life.

Jesus Christ, as Representative Man, accepted the responsibility of exhibiting on the human plane the absolute
holiness of God; He lived up to God’s standard in every detail of holy living and holy speaking and holy working,
and His claim is that through the Atonement He can put us in the place where we can do the same. By these
words of Christ, we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all
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blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.

We shall come to find that being “not under the law, but under grace” does not mean we are so free from the
law that it does not matter now what we do; it means that in our actual lives we can fulfil all the requirements of
the law of God. The holiness which God demands is impossible unless a man can be re-made from within, and
that is what Jesus Christ has undertaken to do. Jesus Christ does not merely save people from hell, he makes
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totally new moral men.

The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)
Matthew 5–7 is the first block of teaching material in Matthew, dealing with the ethics of the
kingdom. In Matt 4:17 Jesus summarizes his message: “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand”;
Matthew 5–7 shows in greater detail the repentant lifestyle that characterizes the people of the
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kingdom.

John MacArthur outlines the sermon of mount as follows:
1. Righteousness and happiness (5:1–12)
2. Righteousness and discipleship (5:13–16)
3. Righteousness and the Scriptures (5:17–20)
4. Righteousness and morality (5:21–48)
5. Righteousness and practical religion (6:1–18)
6. Righteousness and mundane things (6:19–34)
7. Righteousness and human relations (7:1–12)
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General Principles
The sermon on the mount contains material shows the kingdom man and his manner of life. The sermon
describes how members of the kingdom of heaven should live. God’s righteous standards are to be
implemented. The ethics of the kingdom thus refer to the accomplishment of God’s will in every area of life. A
believer who does not live like a disciple of the kingdom is worth about as much as tasteless salt or invisible light
(Matt 5:13-16). The believers’ task is to seek first his kingdom and its righteousness (or justice), then all their
needs will be met (Matt 6:33.).

Character precedes conduct (Matt 7:16–20). Recognition of the forgiveness God gives enables us to forgive
others (Luke 6:36; Matt 18:23–35). The greater righteousness Christ demands is not an entrance requirement to

21 Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1996), 1.

22 Oswald Chambers, Biblical Ethics (Hants UK: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1947).

23 Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press, 1993), Mt 5:1–12.

24 John MacArthur Jr., ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997), 1390.

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