The Stipulations of the New Covenant (Paperback) | Released: 23 May 2018

The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known part of the teaching of Jesus, though arguably it is the least understood, and certainly, it is the least obeyed. It is the nearest thing to a manifesto that he ever uttered, for it is his own description of what he wanted his followers to be and to do." To Moses, God says, "You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 18:4-5, ESV). To the crowd, Jesus says, "Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:19, ESV) Both statements are a call to obey, to follow the rules, and keep the statutes of the Covenant. Few things could be more surprising to the modern Christian than to be told that he is called by God to follow the rules and keep the statutes of the Bible. We, those that name the name of Christ, are often not interested in keeping rules, statutes and laws. But, Jesus will have none of it; and he says so in the Sermon on the Mount. I started this project with the intent of writing a 100 to 200-page book on the Sermon on the Mount that would be warm, evangelical, and easy to read by the average layman. I ended this project writing nearly 400 pages that are instead exegetical and theological. That was not what I was trying to do; how did this happen? In working through the Sermon, several problems became obvious. 1) To begin, there was the discovery that the Book of Matthew was a renewal of the Mosaic covenant with the Sermon on the Mount that part of the covenant called the stipulations. That was important and needed development. 2) There was also a common failure to note the role of Rome as an oppressive occupier of Judah, and the role of the Zealots in their reaction to this oppressor, not only as critical backstory to the Sermon, but as content to Jesus' teachings as well. 3) There was a general confusion on what some call the antithesis of the Sermon with the solution to this problem found in the triads that unpack the message. 4) In addition, there is a general failure by the commentaries to make sense of Matthew 5:38-42, a section from which various forms of pacifism are derived, most of which are not Christian. This needed to be addressed in detail. 5) Moreover, in a discussion on the One who did not come to destroy the law, there was a general disrespect by many of the Law of God (of course expressed respectfully), with the result for some that he actually did come to destroy the law and the prophets. 6) Matthew 7:6, the dogs and the pigs, have never been explained or perhaps even understood; this challenge needed attention. 7) In addition, Matthew 7:7-11 on prayer simply appears to say too much; can one really ask, seek and knock and get whatever they want? 8) Noting these points and others as well, it appeared that many of the warm and fuzzy studies on the Sermon were often so far from reality and that something seriously exegetical was needed to offset this well-intended but misleading effort to apply the message. Finding a solution to these and other issues resulted in some heavy-duty research; this, in turn, produced a very different document than was first planned. Yet, I hope this study provides unique answers to longstanding problems that will, in turn, give you new insight into this brilliant Sermon.
About the Author: Ralph E. Bass, Jr. has an undergraduate degree, BA, in Bible from Bob Jones University, and several graduate degrees: a M.A. in Counseling from Webster University, a M.Div. in divinity studies from Erskine Theological Seminary, a Th.M. in theological studies from Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and a Th.D. in theological studies from Reformation International Theological Seminary. Dr. Bass was for some years a biblical counselor, a pastor, and as a teacher, a school administrator in several Christian schools and a writer. He is married and has five children and nineteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Books by the Author -What About Baptism? A Discussion on the Mode, Candidate, and Purpose of Christian Baptism -Hope for Today's Problems - The How to Book of Christian Living -Back to The Future - A Study in The Book of Revelation -Tell Me About Presbyterians - Just What Do They Believe? -Baptidzo - A 500 Year Study in the Greek Word Baptism -The Stipulations of the New Covenant - An Exegetical Study in the Sermon on the Mount www.livinghopepress.com ralph.bass@livinghopepress.com