Gospel Of Matthew Guidelines For Church Life Look At The Book! Gospel Of Matthew Guidelines For Church Life

A Unique Feature Of Matthew The gospel of Matthew is the only gospel which uses the word EKKLESIA – the church. The word appears 115 times in the entirety of the New Testament, but only twice in the gospels – both in Matthew. Matthew 16:18 – “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” Matthew 18:17 – “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

Concerning Proper Behavior Matthew recorded much about proper behavior in the church. Jesus spoke much that he recorded to highlight proper kingdom behavior. Let’s examine some of the highlights of church life revealed by Christ through Matthew’s gospel.

Love Is Essential To Christian Life All Christianity hinges on two commands about love. Matthew 22:36-40 -- “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Love Is To Be Unrestrained Matthew 5:43-48 --“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The Hierarchy Of Love Matthew 10:32-39 -- “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

The Danger Of Declining Love Matthew 24:9-14 -- “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Righteousness Central To Behavior Not “Showy” righteousness, but genuine. Matthew 5:20 -- “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The Pharisees and scribes had assumed the mantle of Moses. They believed themselves to be pure righteousness. They were sadly mistaken. Just as today, many who think they are righteous are only pretending.

Six “You have heard…” Statements To illustrate a superior righteousness, Jesus takes six commonly held and repeated teachings to task. Matthew 5:21-48 You shall not commit murder/No anger You shall not commit adultery/ No lust You shall give a certificate of divorce/ No divorce except for adultery You shall not make false vows/ No vows at all Eye for eye, tooth for tooth/ Don’t resist evil person Love neighbor, hate enemy/Love enemies and pray for them

Amazing Statements in the Discourse Matthew 5:29 – “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell….” Matthew 5:37 – “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes,’ or ‘no, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.” Matthew 5:42 – “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:46 – “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?”

Eight Woes To Illustrate Righteousness Matthew 23:13-32 Vs. 13 – Woe for shutting off kingdom of heaven and not entering themselves (by their teachings, customs). Vs. 14 – Devouring widow’s houses and pretension in prayers. Vs. 15 – False teaching in making proselytes Vs. 16 – Blind guides with false vows Vs. 23 – Tithing herbs while ignoring weightier matters.

Eight Woes To Illustrate Righteousness continued… Vs. 25 – Attention to trivial things like washing outsides of cups, but ignoring the inside of the person and its self-indulgence. Vs. 27 – Beautiful on outside, but inwardly full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Vs. 29 – Adorn the monuments of the prophets, but remain murders and a brood of vipers in their hearts. “…How shall you escape the sentence of hell?”

Evangelism Fundamental to the Church Matthew 16:18-20 – “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.” Binding and loosing speak of the work of the gospel.

Matthew 18:15-18 Binding and loosing in church discipline “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

God’s Love For The Lost Matthew 18:12-14 – “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” God expects us to love and reach the lost.

A Plentiful Harvest Matthew 9:36-38 – “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

The Great Commission Matthew 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

We Are The Church Built Upon Christ Will we love as Christ loves us and so prove to be His disciples? Will we live righteously – not in pretense, but in genuine holy living? Will we reach out in the name of Christ to lost sheep in our world?