Is the Sermon on the Mount for Today?

Can you think of any time when Jesus Himself resisted evil or instructed His disciples to? Be careful now I wouldn't ask you if I did not know.

 

That's it. You cannot think of anything else?

 

Didn't Jesus resist the Pharisees in Matthew 23? He told the disciples to take swords along with them in Luke 22. Paul defended himself as well by warning of consequences if he were harmed.

The problem with your personal interpretation is you think you can apply it to everything in every situation. It's just not true. Your view is extreme and beyond the scope and context of that passage.

 

You are taking that to mean non-violence, which is not what it means. It is referring to personal retaliation, not self-defense against criminal activity. When Jesus says that we are to love our enemies, he is not telling us to love the enemy at the expense of our family's safety and well-being.

The context of the passage has nothing to do with the military and it has nothing to do with protecting our families. It is about not retaliating against offenses to personal honor, not retaliating with law suits for minor personal offenses, not to retaliate when we are persecuted. It is about not taking out revenge on others, but to extend the love of Christ.

It is NOT intended to mean that if our family is in danger from an assailant that we are to simply hand them over to said assailant. That is not loving your enemy, nor is it loving one's family. It is a dereliction of Christian, manly duty before God and you will face judgement before God for mistreating your family in that way. I would not want to be in your shoes if you give your family over to an assailant.

You have a very sloppy, extremist, irresponsible and sinful approach to this matter. It is, at its heart, very unchristian and is not in keeping with Scripture.

Pacifism is a secular, worldly concept. You are trying to pencil a sinful, worldly concept into the Bible and so far, no authentic Christian is buying into it.

 

But they did resist.

 

You are confusing how we are supposed to respond to persecution vs. how we respond to criminal activity

 

I am working off of the Scripture YOU are providing.

 

Scripture?

 

There is a huge difference between being non-violent ,resisting evil, and restraining evil doers.

I am basically a non-violent person, yet have the understanding of restraining and the techniques/training and authority to restrain children when and if necessary.

I can defend against evil and not be violent either in intent or in physical.

One who engages in violence has the intent to harm, not to restrain, or to resist, but to return some measure of just retribution.

Such retribution is for God to assign, not for me.

 

Now you are narrowing the goal post. You don't even remember your own words in this thread

 

Perhaps I missed the moving of goal posts. Would you put the post numbers that you are referring too?

 

Yes and No. I just checked out Scofield on this and while he did say something similar I think you've missed the idea of what he was truly stating. The morality issue of the Sermon on the Mount must still be seen in New Covenant believers but we do have God's grace now to enable the spiritual carrying them out. Jesus was talking still about the law during that period of time.