THE GOOD NEWS AS MATTHEW TELLS IT
R. Joseph Owles
The New Peace Treaty (Between God and Humanity) is a new translation of the New Testament. The purpose of this translation is to make the meaning of New Testament documents accessible to the average reader. The language is basic and often employs common slang. Highly theological or often misundersto

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book excerpt

And when he saw the crowds, he went up a mountain and sat down. His students came to him and he began to speak. This is what he taught them: “It’s those who know that they aren’t good enough who are the lucky ones because God rules the universe for them! “It’s those who grieve who are the lucky ones because they are the ones God will comfort! “It’s those who don’t try to impose their will on others who are the lucky ones because God will allow them to inherit the nation! “It’s those who hunger and thirst for a right relationship with God who are the lucky ones because God will allow them to eat their fill! “It’s those who are merciful who are the lucky ones because God will be merciful to them! “It’s those who are single-mindedly devoted to God who are the lucky ones because they will see God! “It’s those who work for peace who are the lucky ones because they will be called ‘God’s Children!’ “It’s those who have been persecuted because they are in a right relationship with God who are the lucky ones because God rules the universe for them! “All of you are the lucky ones, whenever they denounce you, whenever they persecute you, whenever they slander you, spreading lies about you because of me. Celebrate when this happens! Be extremely grateful! You’ll receive a huge reward in heaven! Remember, they persecuted the prophets long before they persecuted you. “All of you are the salt of the earth! But if salt loses its flavor, can anything make it salty again? What is it good for if it has no taste? It’ll just be thrown outside and people will walk on it just as if it were common dirt. “All of you are the light of the world! You can’t hide a city that sits on top of a hill. And no one lights a lamp just to hide it under a basket. You light a lamp and put it in the best place for it to light up the room. Everything in the house is visible because of its light! Be like the lamp! Shine your light in front of people! People will see the good things that you do and they will praise your Father in heaven for it. “Don’t think that I have come to sabotage Moses’ set of rules, or to ignore the prophets’ teachings. I haven’t come to sabotage the set of rules! I’ve come to make them come true. Let what I’m about to say to all of you be perfectly clear! From now, until the end of the world, not even a single dot over an ‘i’ or even a crossing of a ‘t’ will be changed or ignored in the set of rules until each one of them has come true. So anyone who breaks even one of the least important of these rules, and teaches others to do the same, will be the least important person when God’s government is established on earth. But whoever follows them, and teaches others to follow them, will be called the greatest of all when God’s government is established on earth. “I’m telling all of you that you won’t be able to benefit from the way God rules the universe unless you’re in a right relationship with God that far exceeds the relationship that the biblical scholars and the lay-ministers have with God! “All of you heard that your ancestors were told, ‘Don’t murder’ and anyone that murders someone is to be punished. But now I’m telling all of you that anyone who becomes furious with a fellow-believer will be punished! And whoever insults one of his fellow-believer by saying things like ‘You’re a meathead!’ will be punished by the highest legal authority! And whoever says ‘You’re a worthless moron!’ will be punished in the fires of hell! So even if you are in the middle of placing your donation in the offering plate and you suddenly remember that a fellow-believer has something against you, stop what you are doing and first go make peace with that person, and then go back to finish making your offering. “Find a way to settle out of court while there’s still time, even if both of you are on your way to the trial. Otherwise your opponent may win the case and you will be handed over to the judge, who’ll pass sentence on you and hand you over to the jailor, who’ll throw you in prison. Let what I’m about to say to all of you be perfectly clear! You won’t ever leave that prison until you’ve paid your debt! “All of you have heard that it was said, ‘Don’t commit adultery.’ But now I’m telling all of you that everyone who looks at a woman and fantasizes about having sex with her has already committed adultery with her in his mind! So even if your right eye causes you to do something that you know to be wrong, gouge it out and throw it away! It’s a lot better for you to lose one small part of your body, than to have your whole body tossed into hell! And if your right hand causes you to do something that you know to be wrong, cut it off and throw it away! It’s a lot better for you to lose one small part of your body, than to have your whole body tossed into hell! “And it has been said, ‘Whoever wants to divorce his wife must give her a written notice.’ But now I’m telling all of you that everyone who divorces his wife for any reason other than marital infidelity causes her to commit adultery! And anyone who marries a divorced woman is committing adultery.