Abstract
M.A.
We live in a world, that is basically spiritually and morally bankrupt. The tidal wave of crime and thorny issues like aids and abortion, are only some of the consequences of this moral decay. Even the Church has not been able to avoid this decay and the very high divorce rate amongst Christians is proof of this moral regression. Pastoral counsellors are often stunned and amazed by the immorality that oftentimes occurs in Christian circles.
Is there an answer? The ethical guidelines as found in the Sermon on the Mount, offers a solution. Can ethical guidelines, pronounced 2000 years ago, offer any solutions in this post-modern century? Are these not outdated norms, applicable in an ancient milieu, offering no solution for today? Can it still have any hermeneutical value? These are the questions addressed in this research.
The ethical guidelines, as offered by the Sermon on the Mount, can be approached in two different ways. It can be viewed as an outdated ancient principle, with no normative value in a post-modern century, or as a guideline that withstood the test of time and still counts as the will of God, for every believer in his ethos. To maintain standards at the centre of God’s will, is an exalted ideal for every believer that earnestly views his Christianity. The ethical guidelines in the Sermon on the Mount, puts the standards of God in a practical manner, but in such a way that it brings every Christian to the realisation of his incapacity, to live it in practice.
The result of this study has shown that the living of the Sermon on the Mount (especially the figurative language components contained in it) in a Christian ethos, is not a utopian dream, but relevant guidelines, that with the assistance of the residing Holy Spirit, can be lived as normative ethical principles in a Christian ethos.