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NASB | Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 6:33 "But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right--the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also. |
Subject: Should this be taken only personally? |
Bible Note: Hello Bill! I believe that the Sermon on the Mount is very applicable to Christians, but I would have to explain each and every verse to show you what I mean. We should not "pick and choose" what we want to believe and what we think requires obedience. I am not saying that we should observe all the laws of the OT, but we should follow that which is clearly stated by our Lord and in one instance clearly given to us in places of Scripture like the Sermon on the Mount. For example: You brought up the "Eye for an Eye" rule that is dealt with in Matthew 5:38.. I believe that this is a direct reflection of what our interpersonal relations should be with other people: relationships based on love and not revenge. However, my original question was more like this... Matthew 5:42 says, "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (NIV) With that verse in mind, consider the following scenario.. Let's say that I own a bank. As I am walking out of the bank to go to lunch, a man walks up to me in the parking lot and asks me for a loan for 1 million dollars. This man has also seen me in church and knows that I call myself a Christian. Therefore, the man says that I should not resist him or his request for a 1 million dollar loan based on Matthew 5:42. So, based on Matthew 5:42, am I required to uphold his request? (Based upon a 'corporate' view) Or should this only be applied in a personal way, since the money in the bank is really not my own but I am only a steward of that money? Therefore, if we are only to apply Matthew 5-7 in a "personal way", then does Romans 13 better define our interaction with government and how the government should act based upon the Bible? This is basically what I was trying to get at. Thank you for your answer! Nolan |