matthew 5 bible study notes (continued)

Bible Study Notes
March 7, 2010

The Importance of the Law
17 "Don't think that I have come to destroy the law of Moses or the teaching of the prophets. I have not come to destroy them but to bring about what they said. 18 I tell you the truth, nothing will disappear from the law until heaven and earth are gone. Not even the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will be lost until everything has happened.19 Whoever refuses to obey any command and teaches other people not to obey that command will be the least important in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys the commands and teaches other people to obey them will be great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 I tell you that if you are no more obedient than the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

v. 17: God’s laws were given to help people love God with all their hearts and minds (like how a parent/guardian gives us rules to abide by). By Jesus’ time though, the laws had become just a confusing mass of rules. Does this sound familiar to you??
Jesus is trying to get us back to the law’s original purpose!

V. 20: Jesus is saying, we need to be active in our faith and religion (unlike the Pharisees were).


Jesus Teaches About Anger
21 "You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, 'You must not murder anyone.[a] Anyone who murders another will be judged.' 22 But I tell you, if you are angry with a brother or sister,[b] you will be judged. If you say bad things to a brother or sister, you will be judged by the council. And if you call someone a fool, you will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 "So when you offer your gift to God at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there at the altar. Go and make peace with that person, and then come and offer your gift.
25 "If your enemy is taking you to court, become friends quickly, before you go to court. Otherwise, your enemy might turn you over to the judge, and the judge might give you to a guard to put you in jail. 26 I tell you the truth, you will not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.

Anger: v.25 & 26
-We’re held accountable even for our attitudes!

What is anger??

What does it do to you (spiritually, physically, emotionally.....)
-Is it allowing you to fully worship God?
-Is it hardening your heart?
-Is it making it harder for you to love?

How can we re-work this emotion for God? (This was a good point brought up by a youth member!) She uses her anger to help her, instead of focusing it on "getting even" or hurting that person or herself, she uses it to add to her character. How can you do this?

God gives us emotions for a reason, we get angry for a reason, but when you get angry— are you turning to God to take it away and make something useful from it?

If we are sacrificing half-heartedly, then we are not giving Him our all. God wants from us a pure heart and mind, He wants a whole person.


Jesus Teaches About Sexual Sin
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You must not be guilty of adultery.'[c] 28 But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, in his mind he has already done that sin with the woman.29 If your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. 30 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Lust:
What do you get from this besides "don’t lust"?

Does Jesus really mean cut out your eye? Or do you think maybe He’s trying to warn you of how sin can take over and effect you if we leave our sins unchecked....?


Jesus Teaches About Divorce
31 "It was also said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written divorce paper.'[d] 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife forces her to be guilty of adultery. The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if she has sexual relations with another man. And anyone who marries that divorced woman is guilty of adultery.

Divorce:
-Marriage (in God’s eyes) never ends.

-One Bible we were using for this scripture said instead of "divorce" "to put them away".

What is so important about marriage?

- These days a lot of people seem to think that marriage is something that can be taken lightly. Our generation shows us "chick flick" movies where after the couple falls in love, it’s happily ever after and life is just perfect. What we don’t see is the hardships that come with marriage. It’s a relationship... it’s something that has to be worked on and it isn’t always easy. That’s why Jesus stresses the importance....it shouldn’t be taken lightly. He created marriage to last forever, and while He does say there are some instances where divorce is acceptable, He strongly disagrees with divorce in general.

Now, this might be a hard section (especially for those of us with divorced parents). However, I think that these verses are important, because I think what Jesus is trying to get across to us is that before agreeing to a "forever" contract with someone, you need to be careful. You need to realize that it’s not happily ever after all the time, it’s just like any other friendship, it takes work. BUT the work is someti mes what makes the whole thing worth it!

If you or your family has gone through a divorce, you know how it hurts. It tears a family apart. My parents were divorced when I was in middle school and I saw what it did to us as a family and to my parents individually. It causes a pain that God doesn't want us to have to feel. God is trying to talk to us about divorce and is against it, because of what it does to us.

Hopefully we can finish up chapter 5 this Sunday! Please join us for it! (Remember, Bible Study is at 9AM at the church!!!)

Please feel free to discuss more about this in the comment section! That's why it's there. And if you want to further discuss something with me, email me, call me, or seek me out after chruch, before, whatever. I'm here to help you with whatever I can!

much love,
your youth pastor,
kellie