5-7 | Intro to Sermon on the Mount

God's Command to be Different

1. Jesus offers this or that to his disciples

   1. You have heard but I say | Matthew 5:21-48

   2. Don't be like the hypocrites or Gentiles, but instead… | Matthew 6:1-18

   3. Two illustrations

      1. Enter the narrow gate

      2. Build on the stone foundation

2. God desired Israel to be different

   1. Be holy, for I am holy | Leviticus 19:2

   2. Not like other nations | Leviticus 18:1-4

   3. These differences were expressed in laws, ritual purity, even the clothes they wore

The Purpose in Being Different

1. A sign for the nations | Deuteronomy 4:5-8

   1. You will be a sight to the nations | vs. 6

   2. They will see something different about Israel

   3. Israel was a living testimony to the Lord

2. We are a testimony to others about God | Matthew 5:16

   1. We're not different for difference's sake

   2. People are going to ask us why we are different

How We Are to Be Different

1. Values

   1. A righteousness that exceeds the Pharisees

   2. Love more than others

   3. Depend on God more than others

2. Not merely external appearance

   1. Not like the Pharisees

   2. A difference that touches the heart

3. Fearlessly different

   1. We are afraid to be different because people don't like different

   2. We hide our light and lose our flavor

   3. We are blessed when we are persecuted | Matthew 5:10-12

We Are Radically Different | Romans 12:1-2

1. We are sacrificing everything the world wants us to be

   1. Successful

   2. Rich

   3. Loved by the crowd

2. We cannot be conformed

   1. The world is trying to form us to its mold

   2. We must move closer to the image of God every chance