How To View The Sermon On The Mount.

I have read and heard many theories about Christ's Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). On one hand, I once read that the Russian author Leo Tolstoy believed that, by keeping it, a sinner may be saved. But the same Savior who taught the Sermon also at the same time preached John 3:16, where He was clear that we receive eternal life by faith alone. Christ wouldn't contradict Himself.

On the other extreme, I've also heard some who say that the Sermon has no application to Christians at all. That it only addressed life in the future millennial kingdom of Christ, or addressed exclusively Jewish ethics under the era of the Law, but, in either case, is not for Christians. I don't agree this either, even though the Sermon certainly has strong Jewish elements in it that need to be taken into account.

Jesus preached it to His own disciples, even though multitudes likely stood by and heard (Matthew 5:1-2). We shouldn't separate the Sermon from this setting and audience. Disciples weren't just on-lookers. A disciple of Christ at that time was a Jewish person who had confessed belief in Christ as Messiah, and been baptized  (John 4:1-2). 

Christ in the Sermon started by teaching the outward attitudinal evidences of saving faith (5:1-10). Who will God receive in His coming kingdom? Just being a Jew would not be enough. You would need to have true saving faith, and true faith is evidenced by its fruits.

All male Jews in Israel were circumcised. All Israeli Jews knew the right religious words to say. They all knew how to tithe, what prayers to recite, and what annual ceremonies to attend. In spite of all that ingrained cultural religiosity, most of them were not saved people. So Christ instead begins by talking about the heart. He said it was the poor in spirit who would enter God's kingdom, the surrendered-to-God who would inherit the earth, and the merciful would be shown divine mercy.

Teaching the be-attitudinal evidence of saving faith reminds me of what it was like for us to witness in Columbia, South Carolina. Nearly everyone went to church. Everyone knew the Gospel words by heart. It was like trying to turn a stripped screw.  We needed to talk about the evidence of genuine faith.

Jesus' teachings go on to correct the Jews' watered-down standards, their liberal marriage policies, empty ceremonialism, preoccupation with outward appearance, and erroneous rabbinical traditions. He stressed the power of prayer, the goodness of God, and God's Fatherhood, which brought forward a warmth and intimacy with the Lord which would have been new to them.  

Many preachers think that the narrow and broad gates represent the ways to salvation versus damnation (7:13-14). I think they do indeed represent that, though in the past I didn't take that interpretation. I was being influenced by written material from what was called a "Free Grace" point of view (much of which is anti-commandment in spirit), and I also thought it was illogical for Christ to preach the Gospel to saved people.

But other New Testament letters also re-preach the Gospel to Christian congregations. I went on to teach Hebrews at church, which showed me more clearly (especially in chapters 3-4) a Biblical example of a divinely-inspired preacher who challenged his congregation to make sure no one in the group of ostensibly-saved people fell short of the saving grace of Christ.

So now, I think Christ in His braod/narrow gate teaching, was making sure to tell His followers, "Be certain you enter eternal life by the narrow gate of faith in Me and Me only."

Regarding Jesus' teaching about trees and good fruits: you should not think that Jesus was saying that nall ice, sociable, pleasant religious people are right with God! 
Behavior is not the only test of a person's relationship with God. There are two tests, according to Scripture -- there is a doctrine test, not just a lifestyle test.

The book of 1st John speaks about both. If a person denies Jesus Christ -- for example, if they say He was a mighty angel created by God, and not the eternal God Himself  -- they're wrong, regardless of how nice and pleasant they are. If a person fails the "Who is Jesus?" doctrine test, then he is following the wrong faith. 

Second, people from other religions can be ethical and pleasant. But those religions teach the opposite of Christianity about core issues. They can't all be true.

Third, the word "good" must be defined by the Scripture. "Good" doesn't mean "pleasant". Charm is deceitful (Proverbs 31:30). There are some unpleasant, awkward, unhappy people in the world -- people who don't look all sleek and smooth and shiny -- who nevertheless do know Christ as their Savior.

Goodness must also come from the heart, not just be for outward show. A person can look like an upostanding citizen, and be completely enslaved to sin in private. Utah, for example, is #1 in the nation for on-line porn subscriptions. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705288350/Utah-No-1-in-online-porn-subscriptions-report-says.html

Fourth, even those comparatively good people still need the Savior. Cornelius the Roman was religiously observant, a God-fearer, and generous to the poor (Acts 10:1-2). He sounds to me like a fine man; and even though he was a non-Jew God still accepted Cornelius' seeking soul (Acts 10:4, 34-35).

But the Lord God knew Cornelius still needed the true Savior, which is why God sent the apostle Peter to him. Some people are in spiritual process. Cornelius' good personal ethics and spiritual seriousness toward the God of the Bible showed he truly was seeking God. In return God graciously made sure Cornelius heard the good news of Jesus Christ.

Someone once said to me, "Faith alone justifies, but then godly works justify my claim that I have saving faith." I believe that is true. False prophets preach big but they don't live Christ's commandments. Joseph Smith was a con artist, a thief, and a sexual predator. One day he will cry, "Lord, Lord!" and Christ will cast out because he practiced lawlessness (Matthew 7:21-23) -- which maifested his spiritually dead soul.

But the person who seeks to obey Jesus Christ, even though imperfectly, is the person who really has true saving faith. That's why the house of their life will endure the storm of God's judgment (Matthew 7:24-25).