An Eye for an Eye

In this part of the sermon: Martin begins by reviewing the context of the Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing Christ's fulfillment of the Law and the call for a righteousness exceeding that of the Pharisees. He…

A young boy concludes his prayers by giving God the 'headlines' or main points. This illustrates the principle of praying with understanding and remembering the main things, which Martin applies to reviewing the Sermon on the Mount.

I was reading this past week in a little manual on practical helps for the Christian life, a section on prayer and illustrating the fact that we should pray with our understanding. They had the little story of a young lad who when he finished his evening prayers said as his conclusion, and now Lord, here are the headlines again. And then he gave the Lord the main points of his praying, gave the Lord the headlines, and said amen and went to bed. Well, it points out a principle that the little fellow knew what he was asking.

0:13 - 0:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But it's a crime to the high heaven that the clearest passage, perhaps in all the word of God, as to what we're to do in those situations has become the very seedbed of all forms of heresy and foolish teaching.

The example of a child sticking out their chin or ten-year-olds fighting in a schoolyard illustrates the innate human tendency towards personal revenge and retaliation.

We see it in the little child who very early in life sticks his chin out and says, You touch mine and I'm going to touch yours. You see it in the little ten-year-olds in the schoolyard standing there chest to chest and shoulder to shoulder. And one bangs the other fellow's shoulders and he gets banged a little bit harder and before long they're going at it head down, fists flailing. This matter of...

6:52 - 7:14 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He warns against misapplying this passage to state affairs, using an analogy of car repair manuals to illustrate the folly of seeking answers about government's role in the wrong…

A man with an engine problem consulting the transmission section of a car manual illustrates the folly of seeking answers about the state's role in justice from the wrong biblical passage (Matthew 5 instead of Romans 13).

He goes out to start it up Monday morning and something sounds funny. And he picks the hood up and sure enough it sounds like something in the engine that maybe a loose rod in there or bearing or something that's really in bad shape. So he's had a little mechanical experience so he gets out the manual that he sent to Detroit for that has the whole repair system of his car. And so knowing there's a problem with the engine he turns the index under the section on transmission.

14:06 - 14:35 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin clarifies that Christ is not providing a detailed catalog of actions for every wrong, but rather illustrating a fundamental principle. He critiques 'checklist morality' and…

Young people avoiding dancing (on a checklist) but engaging in necking (not on the checklist) illustrates the danger of 'checklist morality' over understanding and applying underlying biblical principles like fleeing youthful lusts.

On the checklist of most Bible believing churches for young people on the checklist is thou shalt not dance. And so young people say alright the preacher and parents say I should not dance I won't dance. But they'll go out and sit and neck in a car every Saturday night after a youth meeting.

18:16 - 18:34 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin meticulously examines the Old Testament passages containing 'an eye for an eye,' demonstrating that this principle was a legal guide for Israel's judges, intended to ensure…

The quote, 'people who are careless about the lives of others are usually very careful about their own skin,' illustrates how the fear of punishment (eye for an eye) acts as a deterrent to wickedness.

Punish the one who has sinned. Give him a taste of his own medicine. As one man said, people who are careless about the lives of others are usually very careful about their own skin.

32:19 - 32:30 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We are cursed in 20th century America and the curse has started in the church. When 50 years ago Bible teachers spread out across us and began to nullify the effect and the impact of the law of God as a restraining influ…

This analogy contrasts a saved person's internal constraint (loathing sin because it offends Christ) with the external restraint of God's law (fear of consequences) for those without grace, explaining God's dual approach to sin.

Here's a temptation to sin.

36:48 - 36:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We have been brought up in a thaw flabby effeminate pseudo kind of sentimental atmosphere that says well we just care too much for the criminal to punish him so what do we do? We punish dozens of others who are left at t…

A quote from a man who spent 33 years in prison, stating 'Imprisonment serves no useful purpose in a free society' and rejecting retaliation, deterrence, and rehabilitation, is used to highlight a flawed modern view of justice that contradicts God's purpose for government.

I read a very interesting article this past week in the Newark Evening News.

43:56 - 44:01 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We have been brought up in a thaw flabby effeminate pseudo kind of sentimental atmosphere that says well we just care too much for the criminal to punish him so what do we do? We punish dozens of others who are left at t…

The anecdote of two young men who committed premeditated murder, with one escaping justice due to a legal loophole, illustrates the lack of fear of punishment in society and the failure of the justice system to uphold God's law.

God says avenge the evil doer that others may fear. I'm convinced that these young thugs knew that if they carried a gun and shot somebody they'd be in the electric chair in six months a lot of them wouldn't care. But there's no fear anymore. You read just this past week of the two young men who in premeditated murder slew this woman to try to get her riches a relative of one of them and one of them has gotten off scot-free by a legal loophole he won't spend one day in prison.

46:33 - 47:02 Read in full sermon