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Matthew 5

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1 And seeing the crowds, He went·​·up into the mountain; and when He had sat·​·down, His disciples came to Him.

2 And opening His mouth He taught them, saying,

3 Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

4 Happy are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 Happy are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Happy are they who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be·​·satisfied.

7 Happy are the merciful, for they shall have·​·mercy.

8 Happy are the clean in heart, for they shall see God.

9 Happy are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

10 Happy are they who are persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

11 Happy are you when they shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say every wicked saying against you, telling·​·lies, on account of Me.

12 Leap·​·for·​·joy and rejoice, for your reward is much in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt become saltless*, with what shall it be salted? After·​·that it is·​·of· no ·use, except to be cast out, and to be trampled by men.

14 You are the light of the world. A city that is laid·​·out on a mountain cannot be hidden.

15 Neither do they light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the lampstand, and it shines for all who are in the house.

16 So let your light shine in·​·front·​·of men, so·​·that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.

17 Do not suppose that I have come to undo the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to undo but to fulfill.

18 For amen I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass·​·away, one yodh* or one little·​·horn shall not pass·​·away from the Law, till all things come·​·to·​·pass.

19 Therefore whoever shall loosen one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.

20 For I say to you that unless your justice shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

21 You have heard that it was declared by the ancients, Thou shalt not murder*; and whoever shall murder shall be subject to the judgment*.

22 But I say to you that everyone who is·​·angry with his brother rashly shall be subject to the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be subject to the council; and whoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be subject to the gehenna* of fire.

23 If therefore thou offer thy gift on the altar, and·​·there rememberest that thy brother has anything against thee,

24 leave there thy gift in·​·front·​·of the altar, and go·​·thy·​·way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come offer thy gift.

25 Be of good·​·will with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him, lest the adversary deliver· thee ·up to the judge, and the judge deliver· thee ·up to the attendant, and thou be cast into prison.

26 Amen I say unto thee, Thou shalt not come·​·out from·​·there until thou hast paid the last farthing*.

27 You have heard that it was declared to the ancients, Thou shalt not commit·​·adultery.*

28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at another woman* to lust·​·after her has already committed·​·adultery with her in his heart.

29 And if thy right eye cause· thee ·to·​·stumble, pluck· it ·out, and cast it from thee; for it·​·is·​·expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body be cast into gehenna.

30 And if thy right hand cause· thee ·to·​·stumble, cut· it ·off, and cast it from thee; for it·​·is·​·expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body be cast into gehenna.

31 And it has been declared that whoever shall send·​·away his wife, let him give her a divorce.*

32 But I say to you, Whoever shall send·​·away his wife, outside·​·of the reason of scortation, makes her commit·​·adultery; and whoever shall wed her who is sent·​·away commits·​·adultery.

33 Again, you have heard that it has been declared to the ancients, Thou shalt not swear·​·falsely*, but shalt render to the Lord thine oaths.

34 But I say to you, Swear not at·​·all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God;

35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37 But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no; and whatever is beyond these is from evil.

38 You have heard that it has been declared, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.*

39 But I say to you, Do not stand·​·against the wicked; but whoever shall hit* thee on thy right cheek-bone, turn to him the other also.

40 And if anyone wills to have· thee ·judged and take thy tunic, let· him ·have the cloak also.

41 And whoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.

42 Give to him who asks thee; and turn· not ·away him who wills to borrow from thee.

43 You have heard that it has been declared, Thou shalt love thy neighbor*, and shalt hate thine enemy.

44 But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do well to those who hate you, and pray for those who injure you and persecute you,

45 so·​·that you may be sons of your Father who is in the heavens; for He makes His sun to rise on the wicked and the good, and sends·​·rain on the just and the unjust.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the publicans do the same?

47 And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do beyond others? Do not even the publicans do so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, just·​·as your Father who is in the heavens is perfect.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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What the Bible says about... Forgiveness

Napsal(a) John Odhner

Photo by Gretchen Keith

- Someone recklessly cuts in front of you on the highway, almost forcing you off the road.

- Your friend still has not paid back the fifty dollars he "borrowed" a year ago.

- Your family has been criticizing your lifestyle.

- You find out that your spouse has been unfaithful.

What do you do in situations like these? Can you forgive them? Should you forgive? Or should you "give them what's coming to them"?

We all know that the Bible teaches us to forgive others. But sometimes it seems like it is impossible to forgive, because the wrong that has been done is so great. Sometimes it seems like it just wouldn't be fair to be merciful.

When there seems to be a conflict between mercy and justice, it may be that we do not clearly understand the nature of genuine forgiveness and mercy. The Bible teaches us to show mercy in a way that lets us be both fair and genuinely useful to all involved.

One reason we sometimes get confused about mercy, is that we tend to replace mercy with artificial substitutes. Essentially, mercy is a Divine quality.

"To You, O Lord, belongs mercy." (Psalm 62:12)

Divine Mercy has nothing in common with the petty revenge and "get-even" kind of "fairness" that tends to occupy our thoughts. And it has little in common with the superficial pardon or even condoning of evil that is sometimes passed off as mercy. The Lord's thoughts are far more merciful than ours. It is in speaking of His mercy that the Lord says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are My ways your ways." (Isaiah 55:7-9)

One of the things that distinguishes true mercy from its substitutes is its constancy. Peter came to the Lord asking, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21-22)

A truly forgiving person will not show mercy one moment and malice the next, because the two cannot mix together. For example, to forgive your friends but not your enemies is not true mercy, because it would be done for the sake of some favor you might get in return.

"Love your enemies.... For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" (Matthew 5:44-46)

We can only be truly merciful by completely rejecting any desire for malice or revenge.

This perfectly reflects the way the Lord shows mercy to us. We tend to think that the Lord is changing His mind when He forgives us, as if He decided not to punish us after all. Of course He does not really change His mind at all. He knows and foresees all things. He does not desire to hurt one day and heal the next.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17)

He is always a loving and gentle Father.

"The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him." (Psalm 103:17)

"For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has mercy on you." (Isaiah 54:10)

Thus forgiveness is not the Lord changing His mind about us. Rather, it is the Lord changing our minds about Him.

Another quality that marks genuine mercy is that it involves helping the person who has wronged us. Sometimes we think that a person should earn our forgiveness. We refuse to give up our bitter feelings unless the other person makes an effort to earn our good will. This gives us an excuse to feel sorry for ourselves and to neglect helping the other person do better. However, the time to help a person is when he needs it. Mercy and forgiveness involve helping a person who has done wrong do better, not waiting until he does better and then helping him. That's why the Lord said,

"Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:44-45)

Another way we sometimes avoid helping those who have hurt us is by misapplying the phrase "forgive and forget." It is good to forget your own malice. Is is something else to forget that the other person may need our strength or discipline. We might think that forgiving implies forgetting that evil was ever committed. However, the Bible does not tell us simply to forget about the evil in other people. Rather, we are to actively help others face their faults and overcome them.

"If your brother sins against you, rebuke him: and if he repents, forgive him." (Luke 17:3)

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, your have gained your brother." (Matthew 18:15)

"Brethren, if a person is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness." (Galatians 6:1)

Helping others over their faults is not inconsistent with mercy. It is part of mercy. In fact that is exactly how the Lord forgives us. He is always willing to help us do better.

"I will cleanse you from all your filthiness.... I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you." (Ezekiel 36:25-26)

Notice how the Lord showed mercy to the woman taken in adultery: He said, "Go and sin no more." (John 8:10-11)

He didn't forget her sin - He encouraged her to overcome it. In fact, we would never be able to overcome our faults without the Lord's power. If we had to earn His mercy we would be lost.

The Lord says, "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes." (Isaiah 1:16).

And yet this is something that is accomplished only by His mercy and forgiveness, because He is the one who can put away our sin and remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 65:3; Psalm 103:12)

The Lord asks for us simply to do for others what He does for us. "Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful." (Luke 6:36)

Our forgiveness should be constant and unconditional because He forgives us that way. Yet in our mercy we may confront others with their evil in order to help them become better people, just as the Lord in His mercy confronts us with our evil so that we may overcome it and accept the love and mercy He offers.

To sum up:

Some Christian churches teach this: If you just believe, God will overlook all your sins. God punishes unbelievers, even if they are caring, good people.

What the Bible actually says (and what the New Christian Church teaches): God's mercy involves helping us become better people. God is willing to forgive everyone, and is more concerned how we live than with what we believe.

Some references from teachings for the New Christian Church: Heavenly Secrets 8393, 9443-9454, True Christian Religion 611-614

Used with the permission of John Odhner, the author of this very useful site: whatthebiblesays.info.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 1079; True Christian Religion 409)