Obtainable Expectations : A Timely Exposition Of The Sermon On The Mount

“As you were!” is a directive Jesus never issued.

False-grace mentalities prevail today in the Church, perpetuating the deception that since God loves us as we are, we don’t have to change anything or live differently. Therefore, sinners come to Christ and then quickly resume whatever lifestyle they were living and stay as they were.

Jesus, however, drafted a blueprint for the Christian life in the Sermon on the Mount that would make His followers different from others. He actually expects us to be categorically different — hence the word “expectations” in the title of this book. The modifier “obtainable” is related to the fact that the Sermon on the Mount is a lifestyle that is livable.

Jesus concluded this famous sermon by giving it a place of singular importance when He said that whoever puts “these words of mine” into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. He was expressly saying that the Sermon on the Mount is foundational for future success in the face of the coming storms.