Month: January 2015

[when considering ethics, it is worth highlighting] the covenantal context of the commandments in the OT and the eschatological context of the Sermon on the Mount in the NT. It is misguided to abstract the Ten Commandments from God’s gracious and powerful act of redemption for Israel and his covenant commitment to them to be their God. They are not universal ethical rules. They are directions on how Israel is to live the free life as God’s people in grateful response to all that he has done and is for them. It is also a mistake to talk of the beatitudes in Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount as virtues to be cultivated and rewarded, and of the sermon in general as the epitome of…