(a) Relate Jesus' Sermon on the Mount under the following headings: (i) Worldly Possession. (ii) Anxiety. (b) What three lessons can be learnt from this tea...

Answer Details

(a) Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6)

(i) Worldly Possession

• Jesus warned His hearers not to lay up for themselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal.
• Instead, they should lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
• He gave the principle that "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
• He taught that no one can serve two masters, for he will hate the one and love the other; therefore one cannot serve both God and mammon (wealth).

(ii) Anxiety

• Jesus commanded His followers not to be anxious about their life, what they would eat or drink, nor about their body, what they would wear.
• He pointed to the birds of the air which neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet the heavenly Father feeds them, and the disciples are of more value than they.
• He pointed to the lilies of the field which neither toil nor spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of them.
• He taught that worry cannot add a single cubit to one's span of life, and that the Gentiles seek after these things; but the Father knows His children need them.
• The conclusion: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

(b) Three lessons

1. Christians should set their hearts on heavenly and eternal values rather than perishable wealth.
2. Undivided devotion to God is required; one cannot serve both God and money.
3. Trust in God's providence delivers the believer from destructive anxiety, since God cares for and provides for His children.