Here's a synopsis, mine, of the first two-thirds of the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 7, the final third, then takes the premise laid down in 5 and 6 and moves it forward and higher with a dramatic, startling series of assertions. But for now, this is just a synopsis of 5 and 6:
Come into the blessedness of My Kingdom and its righteousness, which shatters the assumptions of this world. Be willing to live and, yes, die for My Name's sake. In this way you will become true children of the Father in Heaven.
True children of the Father will radiate a righteousness that goes beyond laws and prohibitions. It will be the righteousness that comes spontaneously from loving hearts, the righteousness from an intimate relationship with the Father. It will be a righteousness that does not merely avoid doing evil, but positively enacts the will of the heavenly Father, within and without, on earth as it is in heaven.
