I was doing my morning reading and went off on major side track. This post is my sharing about this journey for the past 3 hours… All AI quotes are from ChatGPT or Apple AI. Scripture quotes are from the KJV. Some formatting is lost in copying to this post. If I have time in the future I will correct.
This is very long and some of the AI readings will be repetitive. Again forgive me for not editing them further.
These two PDF comments are part of the discussion.
Reformed Comments on the Sermon on the Mount
All seem reasonable but use caution.
Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount
This is not a definitive study of the text
For the sake of time I asked various AI servers for some very specific answers to questions I had in researching it. Always use caution with AI generated answers, but I would pretty much say these are useable. I added a bit of KJV scripture where it was appropriate.
Just this past week I’ve heard twice people saying that what is wrong with the World and/or why people don’t like or even hate Christians is that they don’t follow the Sermon on the Mount.
My initial reaction although not expressed to them at the time was to both agree and to disagree. I agree because it is true….Christians, i.e. all those who are in the “Visible”* Church as described in the Westminster Confession, do fall short of their primary task.
Btw, my disagreement is based on understanding the although the Sermon on the Mount appropriately Summaries the law both as originally given and as expanded to the heart by Jesus. The whole of what the Bible says is the context to properly understand how we relate to it. There is sound discussion of how we as people really can’t keep the “all” aspects of Loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. I put it as a footnote at the bottom.
*The Visible Church
The outward community that professes faith in Christ and administers Word and Sacraments.
The visible church includes:
• True believers
• Hypocrites
• The unregenerate
Larger Catechism
Q. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man?
A. Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.
The Bible itself summarizes all of the Law or Commandments as:
Mrk 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mrk 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mrk 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Luk 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luk 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
In the King James Version, the specific Old Testament passages that Jesus quoted when summarizing the Law are from Deuteronomy and Leviticus.
- The First Great Commandment
Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:5, which is part of the “Shema,” the central prayer in Jewish life:
Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deu 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deu 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deu 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
Deu 6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
- The Second Great Commandment
Jesus quoted Leviticus 19:18, specifically the latter half of the verse:
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
Lev 19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
Lev 19:10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
Lev 19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
Lev 19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
Lev 19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
Lev 19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Lev 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Lev 19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
Lev 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. - Jesus’ Summary of Both
In Matthew 22:37–40, Jesus combined these two commandments to summarize God’s law. He stated that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and the second, which is similar, is to love your neighbor as yourself. The Apostle John also connected loving God with loving one’s brother in 1 John 4:21.
In the writings of the Apostle John, particularly his first epistle, he mirrors Jesus’ summary of the Law by showing that love for God and love for one’s neighbor are inseparable.
The most direct parallel to the “First and Second Great Commandments” is found in 1 John 4:20–21.
The Inseparability of the Two Commands
John uses strong language to explain that you cannot fulfill the first commandment (loving God) while ignoring the second (loving your neighbor):
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” (1 John 4:20–21, KJV)
Other Notable Parallels in John’s Writings
John consistently condenses the requirements of the Christian life into these two pillars:• 1 John 3:23: He unites faith in Christ with the command to love:"And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment." • 1 John 5:2: He explains that our love for others is the evidence of our love for God:"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments." • John 13:34 (Gospel): John records Jesus elevating the second commandment:"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
Comparison Summary
Focus Jesus’ Summary (Matthew 22) John’s Summary (1 John 4)
First Command Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. He who loveth God…
Second Command Love thy neighbour as thyself. …must love his brother also.
The Connection On these two hang all the law. If you don’t love your brother, you don’t love God.
In the King James Version, Paul and James explicitly reference the summary of the law by quoting the same Old Testament passages as Jesus, while Jude emphasizes the spiritual posture of remaining in that love.
The Apostle Paul: Love as the Fulfillment
Paul indicates that various commandments are summarized by the command to love your neighbor. He presents this idea in passages such as Romans 13:8–10 and Galatians 5:14. Paul states that love fulfills the law GTY.org.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Rom 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Rom 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
James: The Royal Law
James refers to loving your neighbor as the “royal law”, as seen in James 2:8. He also notes the interconnectedness of all the law in James 2:10.

Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Jas 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Jas 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
James will go on to speak of Faith without Works being dead. This is actually consistent with the rest of the Bible…being born again, having true saving faith will produce fruit… and it’s clear that the Bible combined with the inner working of the Holy Spirit does prepare us for that journey.
All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God
2Ti 3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
2Ti 3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2Ti 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Jude: Keeping Yourselves in Love
Jude emphasizes remaining in God’s love, although he does not directly quote the same Old Testament verses as Paul and James. Jude 1:21 exhorts believers to “Keep yourselves in the love of God”.

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A Call to Persevere
Jud 1:17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Jud 1:18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
Jud 1:19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
Jud 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Jud 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Jud 1:22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
Jud 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
The word mercy is used over 50 times in the NT. More so in it’s other forms:
Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Luke 18:13-14 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Luk 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
Luk 23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
Luk 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
Luk 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Doxology
Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Comparison of the Authors (KJV)
Author Key Terminology Scripture Reference
Paul “Love is the fulfilling of the law” Romans 13:10
James “The Royal Law” James 2:8
Jude “Keep yourselves in the love of God” Jude 1:21
I asked AI to pull this study together for me on the Reformers perspective on the Sermon on the Mount..see those two Word documents attached.
Footnote on inability to Love as we should, first to God, but then by implication also to each other. Please note that this does not excuse those “born again”, from allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to do what we are commanded to do.
Early reformers like John Calvin and Martin Luther emphasized that no human being is capable of perfectly fulfilling the first and greatest commandment to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind. They viewed this command as a standard that exposes human sinfulness rather than an achievable goal for natural man.
Martin Luther on the Impossibility of Obedience
Luther explicitly stated that no one can fully obey the first commandment. He argued that it requires a level of perfect trust and fear of God that is beyond human capacity:
“Certainly no one can completely obey the first commandment. Everyone is a sinner except for Christ.”
Luther believed that while the first commandment is “holy and must be obeyed,” its true purpose is to lead believers to Christ’s grace, as His blood “cries out on your behalf” to provide the forgiveness that human effort cannot achieve.
John Calvin on the Depravity of the Heart
Calvin’s theology also holds that even those justified by Christ cannot perform a single work that is not “deserving of condemnation” if judged on its own merits without grace.
• Inherent Pollution: Calvinists often argue that even in a person’s strongest moments of devotion, their heart is “polluted with the indwelling sin of selfishness,” making it impossible to love God with their entire self—heart, soul, and mind.
• The Law as a Mirror: In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin explains that the Law (including the Ten Commandments) was not given to lead people away from Christ, but to “inflame their desire” and keep them in expectation of His arrival, because they cannot satisfy the Law’s requirements on their own.
• Total Inability: Reformed theology teaches a “total inability,” where human beings lack the capacity to properly desire, obey, or love God with their “all” without the intervention of irresistible, regenerative grace.
Summary of the Reformers’ Perspective
Reformer Key Focus on the First Commandment
Martin Luther Taught that the first commandment requires perfect obedience and trust which no one can achieve except Christ.
John Calvin Argued that human ingratitude and depravity prevent us from rendering the honor God is due.
Would you like to look at the specific section in Calvin’s Institutes where he discusses how the law serves to show us our inability?
I will end with the passages Patti and I are currently reading in our study of the Gospel of John:
The Word Became Flesh
Jhn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jhn 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Jhn 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Jhn 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Jhn 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Jhn 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Jhn 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
Jhn 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
Jhn 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Jhn 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
Jhn 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Jhn 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Jhn 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
You Must Be Born Again
Jhn 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Jhn 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Jhn 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Jhn 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Jhn 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Jhn 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Jhn 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Jhn 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Jhn 3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Jhn 3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Jhn 3:11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
Jhn 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
Jhn 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Jhn 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Jhn 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God So Loved the World
Jhn 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Jhn 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Jhn 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Jhn 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Jhn 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Jhn 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Jhn 14:5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Jhn 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. *
Jhn 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Jhn 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Jhn 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Jhn 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Jhn 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
Jhn 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Jhn 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Jhn 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
*similar to John 6 verses..
Jhn 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Jhn 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Jhn 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Jhn 6:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
Jhn 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Jhn 6:48 I am that bread of life.
Jhn 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Jhn 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Jhn 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Jhn 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Jhn 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Jhn 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
Jhn 6:69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
This is our only hope…at least as ”It is written” in the Bible.
I pray that God expands our understanding of all this, and trust that he will bring all he draws to a credible profession of the faith they have been given. And are lead to work it our in their lives.
Rainbow Trout 