This morning the text is Matthew 5: 28-38 where they said that Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you do not resist an evil person but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him, also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic give him your cloak, also. Whoever compels you go with him one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and to him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn him away. You have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, I say to you, love your enemy, bless those who curse , do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the sons of your Father, who is in Heaven. For, He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust.

“If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same thing? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.

Last week I interviewed a friend about his new book. In that interview, he said that the problem with Christians is that we like to be manipulated by political powers. They like to use us, and we like to be used, and it is a wonderful and awesome relationship. He said that the problem is that the kind of power we are called to have is not that kind of political power. We are called to live supernatural lives in a supernatural way that will bring supernatural results.

I’m going to give you a principal: there is a direct correlation between niceness and boredom. And in-so-far as we define righteousness as being nice, we will not change the world, we will bore them to death. I think it was Lateret who said the reason the Christian faith swept the entire Western world in the first three centuries was because they outlived and outthought everybody else. Most of the time Christians like to look back on the “good ole days”.

“We’re going to create a first century church.”

That would be nice but we miss the point. They were not “good ole days”, because of a regulartive principal: you can’t put new wine into old wineskins. They were not “good ole days” because of orthodoxy. There was no orthodoxy in those days. They were not the “good ole days” because everybody was obedient. Have you read the bible lately? They were as bad, sometimes worse, than we are. The “good ole days” were “good ole days”, because with abandon, people followed Christ with a righteousness that was perplexing and created questions on the part of pagans.

I love the coach’s comment to the press. He said, “We can’t win on the road. We can’t win at home. I can’t think of anywhere else to play.” I sort of feel that way about Christians and our impact on the world. We’ve tried political power, we’ve tried being nice, we’ve tried to be moral, we’ve tried to impose our morals on others, we’ve tried institutional political correctness and religiosity, and we’re losing the battle. We’re losing at home. We’re losing on the road and I can’t think of any other place to play. Well, maybe one other and that’s found in our text. So without any further chitchat, let’s dig in.

First, I would suggest that the kind of righteousness advocated by Jesus is perplexing, because it is more than required. Throughout the text Jesus said, “You have heard…but I say…”. Go the second mile, love your enemies, and then do it again and again and again. Find out what is right and double it, triple it, quad-triple it. That is perplexing righteousness.

My friend, Fred Smith, has recently become a friend of Chuck Norris and Fred says that Chuck Norris has become a Christian. If you watch that program on Saturday night you will find Christian themes that were not there here-to-for. At any rate Chuck Norris has started a martial arts ministry in some of the worst schools across the nation. They go in a bad high school, and require before anybody can participate, that they leave the gangs, make a commitment, and they become disciplined.

Chuck was telling Fred about a young man who had won a first-degree black belt. This meant that he was proficient in some areas. He was required to wear that black belt and he came to practice without it and was admonished for his lack of discipline. He apologized with these words, “Sir, I’m sorry, but my baby sister died last week and I put my black belt in her coffin.” Fred commented, “One gives the best one has to the one one loves the best.”

If I were into manipulation, I would use that story. A lot of folks do that, but it would miss the whole point. I would say, “Do you love Him? If you love Him give your best, read the bible more, witness more, study harder, reach out with compassion more…” but then we would be nice and that is not the point.

There are two kinds of legalism and both of them are quite dangerous. The first is characterized by my father, who, in reading this text said, “Son when they slap you on one side of the face you are to turn the other side of your face. After they slap you there you can get those suckers!” It’s the kind of legalism that says, “Just tell me the rules, and I will obey the rules and then I will sleep soundly at night.” It is to those people that Jesus addressed His words. In Luke 17, does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him. I think not.

“So likewise, you when you have done all those things which you were commanded say, ‘We are unprofitable servants, we have done only what our duty said to do’.” That kind of legalism is dangerous because of a false assumption that one can do what is required, and when one has done what is required one can rest comfortably in the arms of a righteous and holy God.

There is another kind of legalism and it is just as dangerous. It is the kind of legalism, that says work hard and pray hard and when you’ve done that, God will raise the bar and you will have to work harder and pray harder more. It is the kind of legalism that Wesley knew before he knew Him, and he wrote in his diary,

“Here-to-fore I have prayed one hour each morning, here after I will pray two hours each morning.” It was not enough. It would never be enough.

Both of those legalisms are from the pit of Hell and they smell like smoke. Now let me give you a principal that will help. The counting of a righteous act is in the counting a denial of the righteous act itself. To wit, there is a direct correlation between true and perplexing righteousness and the unawareness of its existence. That, of course, is the reason true righteousness is perplexing. It has no limits. It’s the kind of righteousness that says, “I will turn one cheek and then another, and then I will repeat the process and I will do it over, and over, and over, and over again.”

When I was in seminary (a very liberal one) everyone was concerned with the poor, and the oppressed. It was not concern from the heart, it was a political concern because we had been called and really believed we were supposed to change social institutions. Almost everybody I knew was going to have a ministry in the city, except me because even in those days I lacked compassion. Almost everybody I knew was going to have a ministry in the city to the poor and the oppressed. I sometimes read the alumni magazine from my graduate school of theology, and nobody is left in the city. They’ve all gone to the suburbs; they’re all in academia.

The last time I was in Boston I had a friend that I called. A friend of twenty-five years, and we had dinner in a horrible restaurant where the food was bad and the floor was dirty. It was in the middle of the ghetto and he didn’t even notice. He’s been there serving for thirty years, and he will be there until he dies. He doesn’t even know that he has sacrificed. He didn’t even know the restaurant was dirty and the food was bad. He didn’t even know, and I was shamed.

Secondly, I would suggest that the kind of righteousness advocated by Jesus is perplexing, not only because it is more than required, but it’s different than expected. Matthew 23:46, “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?” The trouble with niceness is that it never creates question. As I understand it, we are called to create questions for which we have answers.

A friend of mine has written, “In a day when most of us are tired, worn-out, thirsty and starving for life and joy and peace, maybe its time to become a child again? Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to quit college and take a year off, and go on the mission field. Maybe, it’s time to give up a secure job and go back to college, or leave a cooperation because the work is killing our soul. Give up the possessions that are possessing us. Maybe, it’s time to live the dangerous wonder of faith, take our shoes off, roll up our sleeves and have such a romp as no one has ever seen. Maybe, it’s time to play in the snow again.”

To love with abandon will sometimes be misunderstood, and you will be thought to be weird. Loving the unlovely, the poor, the whores, and the oppressed. Loving somebody who mows the lawn when you are trying to preach. THAT’S HARD!!! People won’t understand. Caring more about a soul than a doctrine will offend the orthodox. To find Jesus on the street will offend those who think that if you ever find Him, He’ll be in a church. Witnessing in a bar will cause the Pharisees to say, “You must avoid all appearance of evil.” A radical righteousness will seem… well, not very nice.

God will laugh with you. He will know that you have been faithful, because up-tight Christians will doubt your salvation. That’s perplexing righteousness.

Thirdly, I would suggest that the kind of righteousness Jesus is advocating is perplexing, because, not only is it more than required and different than expected, but it is riskier than imagined. Matthew 5:39, “But I tell you don’t resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other, also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, give him your cloak, also.”

Don’t resist evil? Jesus, are you crazy? The only thing that will cause things to get worse is for good people to do nothing. Are you out of your mind? We can’t stand on the sidelines and just watch. “Go the second mile…” Jesus, that’s dumb. They will think we are doormats, and wimpy Christians never make a good witness. “Turn the other cheek…” That’s simply not a proper way to react to a bully, after all God is concerned with justice.

Now, listen to me and this is very, very important. The only way a Christian can live the righteousness to which Jesus calls us, is to come to the point in our walk with Christ where we have nothing left to lose. That’s the great thing about grace, and it’s why I preach it everywhere I go. God is fond of me!!! If He is fond of me I don’t care what you think. If He is fond of me, it’s not important if you think I’m righteous. If He is fond of me, despite my sin, I can go to the bars and to the prostitutes and to the oppressed and to the up-tight Christians. I can say, “God is quite fond of me.” In short, when I’m free from my need to be thought righteous, only then am I free to be righteous.

Then, finally, this is better than the other three. The kind of righteousness advocated by Jesus, is not only more than required, different than expected, and riskier than anticipated, but it is stronger than predicted. Matthew 5:45, “Do all this, that you may be the sons and daughters of your Father in Heaven.” Wow, nothing better than that! When we celebrate our homecoming we will not celebrate because of our righteous acts, but because of the one for whom we do our righteous acts, who would love us even if we never did our righteous acts. That is the kind of righteousness that will burn paganism to rags.

Somebody tells about a mother, who was one morning, fixing pancakes for two little boys. Kevin was five and Ryan was three, and she found a reason to teach them a lesson. She said, “You know, boys, if Jesus were here, He would say, ‘You take the first pancake, I can wait’.” Kevin turned to Ryan and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus.”

I say to you…you be Jesus. The real Jesus. The one who blasted the religiously correct; who offended the up-tight Pharisees. The one who reached out and got dirt under His fingernails, and allowed nails to be driven through His hands. The one who forgave those who drove the nails. YOU BE JESUS. You think about that. -Steve Brown-

This message was adapted from a message given by Rev. Steve Brown. To find out more about Key Life Ministries, go to www.keylife.org or use our link at the top of the page.

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