Sermon on the Mount and Christian Schools

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and specifically the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) provide instruction from Jesus on the Christian life. The emphasis is not on the Law or seeking justification through living a good life, but rather on strengthening a Christian’s relationship with Christ in order to enable obedience to God. When considering how seriously Christians take the gospel, Lloyd-Jones wrote, “The best way of concentrating on that question is, I think, to face the Sermon on the Mount” (p. 8). Lloyd-Jones specifically pointed out the right view of cause and effect, stating, “We are not told in the Sermon on the Mount, ‘Live like this and you will become Christian’; rather we are told, ‘Because you are Christian live like this’” (pp. 11-12).
Christian school instruction of the principles in the Sermon on the Mount, and specific learning outcomes in this area, must begin with the development of the relationship with Christ in order to enable the Christian life espoused in the sermon rather than simply telling students to strive (in their own strength) to live well. This is the error of a social gospel interpretation of the sermon, yet it is often how young people interpret biblical teachings. Lloyd-Jones pointed out that Jesus began his sermon with the Beatitudes for a purpose:

"The order in which the statements come in the Sermon is really of supreme importance. The Beatitudes do not come at the end, they come at the beginning, and I do not hesitate to say that unless we are perfectly clear about them we should go no further. . . . Certain postulates are laid down, and on the basis of those, certain other things follow. Thus I never discuss any particular injunction of the Sermon with a person until I am perfectly happy and clear in my mind that that person is a Christian." (p. 17)

Why? “None of these descriptions refers to what we may call a natural tendency” (Lloyd-Jones, p. 26). Teachers must offer instruction on Christian character in the Sermon on the Mount only with parallel emphasis on living this life in dependence on the Holy Spirit. In the natural self, no one possesses the ability or tendency to live this life, and only in close relationship with God is it possible. This is one reason why it is so important for Christian schools to implement redemptive, rather than punitive, discipline policies.