Values for Decisions: Their source and use

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1. Where are you on the spectrum between the traditionalists (Pharisees) and the liberals (Sadducees) and how does that affect your choices? 2. What is right and wrong about the activist (Zealots) approach? 3. What are the differences between the laws in the Bible and the values in the Sermon on the Mount? 4. What is the relationship between doing and being right? 

You will discover that many of your troubles stem from the fact
that you live by values that are in conflict with those of the Sermon on the Mount.
Consider 60 values such as caring, forgiveness, generosity, service & trustworthiness.

Unit 1. Out of Trouble, an Introduction (this course)	Matthew 4-8
2, 3. Eight Ways to the Good Life (this course)	Matthew 5:1-12, 13-20
4, 5. Living with Difficulties	Matthew 5:21-32, 33-48
6, 7. Giving, Praying and Fasting	Matthew 6:1-4, 5-18
8, 9. Priorities: The Good and the Best	Matthew 6: 19-24, 25-34
10, 11. Reaching out the Wrong & Right Way	Matthew 7:1-6, 7-14
12. Good Words versus Good Actions	Matthew 7:15-23
13. Toward a New Value-system	Matthew 7:24-27 & summary

You will learn to change your thinking, treasure the empowering counsel of Christ, and escape the troubles that come to those with wrong values. The Sermon on the Mount is the center of a values-system that leads out of trouble.

1.0 Trouble and Values, Matthew 4-8

1.1 TROUBLE

When Jane talked about her troubles, she talked about the things that afflicted and distressed her. Her troubles were the dangers looming in her path and her needs that had gone unfulfilled. Her troubles were her pains, her difficult disputes. She was sometimes in trouble with her bank and often with the people around her. The more importance she placed on the person or thing, the deeper she felt the troubles. The things that touched her personally easily troubled her. Usually disasters half-way around the world among unknown people troubled her very little.

The word trouble comes from the Latin "trubidare," meaning confused. For Jane, it was easy to get confused and into all kinds of trouble. She needed help getting out of trouble and staying out of trouble.

1.2 VALUES

Jane values her health. Looking in her dictionary, she found that values have been defined as principles, standards or qualities that are desirable and worthwhile. Personal values are then the internal qualities of character that guide her behavior. They are her thinking that tags some things as important and others as unimportant. For example, because Jane values her health, she tries to improve and maintain her health and at the same time avoid ill health. Thus if she becomes mentally confused and abuses her body, she would be in trouble and could not be said to value her health.

Each person has a private life and a public life, an Inner Man and an Outer Man. There are at least three possibilities in the following Values Model:

1. The Inner Man = Outer Man. "What you see is what you get." The values of the Inner Man are lived out in the Outer Man. A true person.
2. The Inner Man > (is larger than the) Outer Man. The behavior of the Outer Man does not live up to the values of the Inner Man. The Outer Man knows better, but lives a limited life.
3. The Inner Man < (is smaller than the) Outer Man. There is a shriveled Inner Man putting on a good front in the Outer Man. The Sermon on the Mount addresses these people with small values. They may appear good and follow a form of religion without having peace in the Inner Man. These Jesus calls to repentance.

1.3 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus sat down on a hill in Galilee and talked to his disciples and the large group of people who followed him at that time. One of the disciples, a former tax collector called Matthew, was there and later recorded the sermon. Thus we today have in the Bible a record of that first written-out sermon of Jesus.

The sermon comes to us in the context of Jesus' call as presented in Matt 4:10, 17, 19: You shall worship the Lord your God, and only Him shall you serve...Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand... Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Men everywhere are called to WORSHIP (upreach) , to be CHANGED (inreach), and to SERVE (outreach). For this, Christians are empowered by the Holy Spirit. The inner man of love, as emphasized in the sermon, forms an outer man that is characterized by loving actions.

Around 30 A.D., the Jewish nation was in trouble. Their country was occupied by the Romans. Their religion was formal and dominated by sects like the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots. Their values were confused. The first group centered on the laws and tradition, the second on liberalism, the third on separation from society, and the last on activism. Jesus had a message for them all: "Your way of making good choices should not be based primarily on laws, or present thinking, or geography, or power, but on an attitude of love toward God and man." The same message holds true for people today.

In a way, the Sermon on the Mount says to you: "The people around you may value other things, but for you, who want to stay out of trouble, the passages here are important." It is not a list of laws, or a philosophy, or a map on where to live, or a how-to-manual. Rather it describes the best quality of life and guides you to it.

If possible, look up some of these general Internet resources:  Spurgeon | The Desire of the Ages | Also:
1. Review the setting for the sermon as found in Matthew 4 and 8.
2. Read the whole sermon as found in Matthew 5-7.
3. Circle 15-25 memorable passages that stand out for you.
4. Memorize some of the most pertinent passages.
5. As you go through the course, read and study the indicated texts in each lesson.
6. For each lesson, make a list of relevant Bible keywords.

Respond to the True-and False questions. They may also serve as a basis for further thinking and discussion. The questions are based on the above Bible passages.

1The theme of Jesus' preaching was "Regret your sins and change."
2The people came to the mount mainly to listen to a sermon.
3Liberals have a tendency to philosophize many rules away.
4I am satisfied with my values and see no need to improve.

 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: You will subject each passage to four discussion questions. Some questions deal with observations, usually starting with who, what, where, or when. Others will deal with why or how. There will be some questions that will look for meaning and interpretations. Many questions will concern themselves with practical applications.
1. Where are you on the spectrum between the traditionalists (Pharisees) and the liberals (Sadducees) and how does that affect your choices?

_________________________________________________________________________

2. What is right and wrong about the activist (Zealots) approach?

__________________________________________________________________________

3. What are the differences between the laws in the Bible and the values in the Sermon on the Mount?

__________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the relationship between doing and being right?

__________________________________________________________________________

1.4 The LearnWell List of 60 VALUES

Write in, where applicable, the verse from Mathews 5, 6 or 7.

1.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lloyd-Jones, D. Martin, 1959, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, WM. B. Eerdsmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI. Order this book from www.amazon.com. Enter the book title in their title search. (required reading for students taking this course for college credit. Available also on CD-ROM.)

MacArthur, John F., 1985, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Matthew 1-7, DMH Books, Winona Lake, IN.

White, Ellen G, 1896, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, Hagerstown, MD, Review and Herald Publishing Association, online. (required outside reading for students taking this course for college credit. )

2 The Beatitudes, Matt 5:1-12

2.1 THE BEATITUDES IN CONTEXT

Only the outer man is visible to others. But there is an inner man that controls the outer man. That inner man is defined by values, motives and beliefs. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, was very concerned with the inner man. The beauty of the inner man is characterized by the Beatitudes. These eight sayings are one entity, not eight characteristics from which we can select and choose. They are presented in order of development, starting with the most indispensable one. With Christ's help, I repent of all my values that hinder my inner beauty.

That inner beauty shines forth in close relationships that are both open and supportive. Says Blair Justice of the University of Texas (Modern Maturity, 40R-5, Sept-Oct 1997, p 45): "The willingness to disclose our deepest feelings to another person has an effect on the central nervous system that affects the cardiovascular and immune system...Much benefit can be had from a warm, close relationship with just one other person...It is very stressful on the body to constantly repress feelings." Men want mainly side-by-side activity-based friendships, women desire face-to-face  talk-based contacts (Rosemary Blieszner, Modern Maturity, 40R-5, Sept-Oct 1997, p 45). The inner man wants a life and a way to come out.  

The values of this section include humility, gentleness, development, helpfulness, purity, peacefulness, and perserverance. Determine to live in a climate that fosters these values.

2.2 VALUES for the WISE

Linda was a well-trained nurse administrator. She was very effective and got her work done. But she rubbed many people the wrong way. Humility was not in her vocabulary. And without that Beatitude for beginners, she was in trouble. As she started to see herself in light of the Sermon on the Mount, she was changed and her new humility became her passport out of trouble.

CONSIDER and compare your version with the Klimes Paraphrase, Matt 5:3-10:

Blessed are the humble............... because of them is the kingdom of the heavens.
Blessed are the mourners............... because they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the gentle..................... because they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are the spiritually hungry, because they shall be filled.
Blessed are the helpful................... because they shall be helped.
Blessed are the purely motivated,.. because they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers.......... because they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are the honest victims....... because of them is the kingdom of the heavens.

LIFE-VALUES, LIFE-VALUE SUMMARIES, AND OPPOSITES: Treasure these 8 life-values, review what they may mean to you, and consider how you can avoid the corresponding wrong values.

Humility	Emptying of Selfishness	Pride...
Regret for Harm Done	Seeking/Granting Forgiveness	Callused...
Gentleness	Sensitivity to God & Others	Pushiness...
Desire for Spiritual Growth	Alive to Opportunities	Self-satisfied...
Helpfulness	Receiving/Giving Gifts	Harmfulness...
Purity of Motives	Honest Purposefulness	Deception...
Peace	Mutual Harmony Building	Complaining...
Turning the Other Cheek	Others before Self	Revenge...

BIBLE RESULTS STUDIES: The following six assignments are for all texts studied and are presented here as a guide for students who take this course for college credit. They lead you from an in-depth examination of the Bible text to a study of related texts and their meanings. The online Blue Bible is a rich source for careful analysis of the words in the text. Each Bible section was written to impact our lives and to result in some change in the person, worship to God, and/or service to others. You are invited to discover these hoped-for results, to find how they can be achieved, and to verify if they were achieved. Select your passage and follow the 6 steps. Visit the Internet Bible Research CyberCenyter.

Keywords__________________________________________________________________

1. BIBLE TEXT: In-depth Word-study	4. What results are expected? (Application)
2. BIBLE CONTEXT: Cross-references	5. How are these results achieved?
3. BIBLE CONCEPTS: Meaning of texts	6. How are these results verified?

Respond to the True-and False questions. They may also serve as basis for further thinking and discussion. The questions are based on the above Bible passages.

1The Sermon on the Mount tells us what to do to gain happiness.
2Without the first Beatitude, all others are ineffective.
3Following these 8 values may get you into short-term trouble.
4These 8 internal life-values result in a blessed internal and external life.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What is the spiritual progression within the Beatitudes?

________________________________________________________________________

2. How do the eight life-values fit into each other in everyday life?

_________________________________________________________________________

3. In what way is peace more than the avoidance of conflict?

_________________________________________________________________________

4. What freedoms, if any, come along with the Beatitudes?

_________________________________________________________________________

3 Salt, Light, & Law, Matt 5:13-20

3.1 LIGHT, SALT and the LAW in CONTEXT

God made man in love, and in love he has made all provisions for eternal life. The law states the minimum levels of outward behavior that marks Christians on the way to eternal life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spells out the values and motives of the inner man that lead to a life that is not in conflict with the law. Jesus looks at the characteristics of the inner man before he looks at the behavior of the outer man. The beauty of the inner man shines to God's glory in the acts of Christians. It permeates and preserves all his or her activities. I repent of my clouded life that did not glorify God.

The values of this section include service and obedience. Develop life-goals that focus on these values, and write them out in your life-plan.

3.2 SALT AND LIGHT

Harry had that gift that made everybody comfortable. He was not wealthy nor learned. But he had a rich inner man. He was a transmitter of the love of God. So everything he touched, every word he uttered, was empowerd by that love that freely flowed to others. And his friends praised his God.

Consider and compare your version with the Klimes Paraphrase, Matt 5:13-16.

You are the salt of the earth, but salt that has lost its saltiness, is no good. You cannot make it salty again...
You are light for the world...So let your light shine for people, so that they will see the good you do. Then they will glorify your heavenly Father.

3.3 THE INFLUENCE

Salt permeates food to make it taste better and to preserve it, light makes everything visible. People with life-values influence their surroundings to the glory of God.

3.4 LAW

Consider and compare your version with the Klimes Paraphrase, Matt 5:17-20.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets, I did not come to abolish them, but to live by them fully and freely. I tell you the truth. While heaven and earth stands, nothing in the law can be changed, until all is completed...If your righteousness is no better than that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

MacArthur (p. 287) outlines five basic principles that apply to the above text. 1) The spirit of the law is more important than the letter. 2) The law is both positive and negative. 3) The purpose of the law is to glorify God. It is not an end in itself. 4) Only God sees the heart and can judge. 5) The law is the standard for living. Becasue it is impossible for men to fulfill the law, God Himself has provided fulfillment through His Son.

WAY BEYOND THE LAW

Laws, and God's Ten Commandment Law in particular, are the minimum requirements that establish a pattern for orderly living. People who break laws are to be punished. But just complying with laws does not make a person a good person. Above the laws are values and ethics.

The Sermon on the Mount does not set aside the old laws, nor does it establish new laws. Keeping laws is generally a matter of external behavior and compliance. The Sermon on the Mount deals with the internal attitudes and values that control external behaviors. People act on the basis of what is important to them. And most important is the interdependent love-and-trust relationship between individuals and their God, and between people.

BIBLE RESULTS STUDY.

Keywords__________________________________________________________________

Respond to the True-and False questions. They may also serve as basis for further thinking and discussion. The questions are based on the above Bible passages.

TRUE   FALSE  Long ago, salt was used extensively to preserve and flavor food.
TRUE   FALSE  The light of technology has improved the life-values of people.
TRUE   FALSE  The sermon deals, in part, with the abolishment of the law.
TRUE   FALSE  The sermon deals, in part, with changes in the 10 Commandments.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What sets of laws are mentioned in the Bible?

_________________________________________________________________________

2. How can you become better than the Pharisees?

_________________________________________________________________________

3. What is significant about the presence or absence of salt and light?

_________________________________________________________________________

4. In what areas of life have you (or Christians) exerted the least salt and light?

_________________________________________________________________________

Ethics Connection - What is Ethics?