The Sermon on the Mount That Would Break American Christianity
If Christians actually followed what Jesus said, half the churches in America would close before Sunday.
If Jesus came back today and preached the Sermon on the Mount — the speech he actually gave in Matthew 5–7 — half of American Christians would call him a socialist, cancel him for “hating freedom,” and walk out before he got to “blessed are the peacemakers.”
This is the core test of Christianity. Not what you believe, not what church you attend, not how many times you say “Jesus is Lord.” The real question is: how much of Matthew 5–7 do you actually live by? Because that’s where Jesus lays out what following him actually means. And by that standard, the loudest “Christians” in America flunk hard.
“Blessed Are the Poor” — But Only If They’re Republican and Definitely Not Black
Jesus opened with a gut punch: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
He didn’t say “Blessed are the billionaires who donate to megachurches.”
Today’s evangelicals worship wealth. They defend billionaires who hoard money, preach “prosperity gospel,” and call poverty a “personal failure.” They build $20 million churches with fog machines while the homeless sleep outside.
How exactly is that Christian? If Jesus walked in barefoot and said, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor,” most of them would call him a communist and have security escort him out.
“Love Your Enemies” — Except the Ones We Bomb
Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
American Christians say, “Nuke them before they nuke us.”
They cheer wars, chant “God bless our troops,” and plaster “Support the Military” next to crosses — as if the guy who said “turn the other cheek” would be impressed by drone strikes.
When a nation calls itself Christian while dropping bombs on civilians, it’s not religion anymore — it’s nationalism wearing a halo. The Sermon on the Mount has no place in that system, because it makes people uncomfortable. And that’s why they ignore it.
“Do Not Judge” — The National Pastime
Jesus literally said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”
But judging is America’s favorite sport.
Christians judge who people love, how they dress, what they read, who they vote for, what gender they are, and what bathroom they use. They love policing other people’s sins while excusing their own.
The Sermon on the Mount told them to “take the plank out of your own eye first.” But they never got that far — probably too busy running a purity campaign or a “family values” rally with politicians caught in scandals.
Christianity turned out to be a load-bearing wall in our democracy, and right now it is caving in— Jonathan Rauch
“When You Pray, Don’t Be Seen” — So They Built TV Networks
Jesus warned, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in synagogues and on street corners to be seen by others.”
So what did American Christians do?
They built entire television networks for public prayer.
You’ve got pastors begging for donations on air, politicians holding Bible photo-ops, and influencers posting prayer selfies with hashtags. The Sermon told them to go pray in private, but there’s no money in that.
Public faith pays. Private faith doesn’t trend.
“Store Up Treasures in Heaven” — But Buy the Jet First
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.”
Evangelical leaders replied, “Hold my Rolex.”
From Joel Osteen’s mansion to Creflo Dollar’s jet, America’s pastors live like CEOs while preaching humility. They sell salvation like a subscription service. They turn churches into brands, sermons into products, and faith into a business plan.
The Sermon on the Mount couldn’t be clearer: “You cannot serve both God and money.”
But American Christianity serves money and uses God for marketing.
Critics frequently argue that the sole beneficiary of the prosperity gospel are the rich pastors who preach it.”
— Oxford Research Encyclopedias
“Forgive Others” — Unless They’re Gay, Muslim, or Democrat
Jesus said to forgive “seventy times seven.”
Evangelicals forgive no one outside their tribe.
They can forgive white supremacists, fraudsters, and adulterous preachers — but they’ll never forgive someone for being gay or voting blue. They call it “standing for truth.” Jesus called it hypocrisy.
The Sermon wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command. Forgive. Period.
But forgiveness doesn’t sell books or fuel outrage donations, so they traded it for moral superiority.
In American evangelicalism especially, politics came to seem an apocalyptic conflict between good and evil. When politics is made into a religion and religion is politicized, neither one works and we become ungovernable— Jonathan Rauch
“Do Not Swear Oaths” — Yet Every Rally Is a Pledge
Jesus said, “Do not swear an oath at all.”
Modern Christians swear loyalty to their party, their flag, and their pastor before they ever swear loyalty to truth.
Their churches recite the Pledge of Allegiance but not the Beatitudes. Their pulpits display flags but not the Sermon. Their faith is wrapped in nationalism so tightly that they can’t tell the difference between God and government anymore.
The Sermon warned about this kind of hypocrisy 2,000 years ago. They just don’t read it.
“Do Not Resist an Evil Person” — But Buy More Guns
Jesus said, “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other also.”
Evangelicals said, “That’s why we carry.”
The Sermon on the Mount is anti-violence from start to finish. But gun culture has replaced Christian culture. “Blessed are the peacemakers” got twisted into “Blessed are the armed.”
It’s not about defense anymore — it’s about dominance. They want the power to control, punish, and kill, all while claiming to follow a man who willingly died without fighting back.
“Do Not Be Afraid” — But Fear Is the Business Model
The Sermon says, “Do not worry about tomorrow.”
But American Christianity runs on fear.
Fear of immigrants. Fear of liberals. Fear of Muslims. Fear of “the end times.” Fear keeps donations flowing and followers obedient. It’s the oldest trick in religion — make people scared and sell them safety.
If Jesus came back and said, “Stop being afraid and start loving,” Fox News would call him a socialist threat to Christian America.
“By Their Fruits You Will Know Them”
The Sermon ends with a warning: “By their fruits you will know them.”
Meaning, don’t believe what people say — watch what they do.
And what do American Christians do? They hoard money, hate enemies, justify wars, excuse corruption, and pretend Jesus agrees with them.
Their fruits are hypocrisy, greed, and self-righteousness. They talk about “saving souls” but can’t even save their own integrity. If the Sermon on the Mount is the test, the results are in:
They failed.
There are a number of ways in which evangelicals are whittling away at the doctrine of separation, and in effect are ‘standing the founding fathers on their heads’ — Richard V. Pierard
Why They Ignore It
The Sermon on the Mount is the most dangerous part of the Bible — to them. It destroys the foundation of everything they’ve built.
It tells you not to judge — goodbye culture wars.
It tells you not to swear oaths — goodbye nationalism.
It tells you not to chase wealth — goodbye prosperity gospel.
It tells you to love your enemies — goodbye tribal politics.
It tells you to forgive — goodbye endless outrage.
No wonder they never preach it. The Sermon on the Mount exposes how far Christianity has drifted from Christ. It’s the mirror that makes the modern church look ugly.
And they can’t afford that reflection.
The Jesus They Don’t Want
The real Jesus — the one from Matthew 5–7 — doesn’t fit in modern America.
He wouldn’t endorse politicians.
He wouldn’t bless wars.
He wouldn’t defend billionaires.
He wouldn’t hate minorities.
He’d hang out with the poor, the rejected, the accused, and the ones everyone else thinks are sinners. And for that, American Christians would hate him all over again — just like the Pharisees did.
The Sermon on the Mount isn’t just a test. It’s a mirror showing that most people who claim to follow Jesus wouldn’t follow him anywhere that costs them comfort, control, or cash.
What a Real Christian Would Look Like
A real Christian wouldn’t care about culture wars or church brands.
They’d feed the hungry before paying for new pews.
They’d visit prisoners instead of cheering executions.
They’d love enemies instead of trolling them online.
They’d forgive even when it hurts.
They’d stop pretending politics is salvation.
That’s what Jesus actually said. No fine print, no loopholes. Just compassion, humility, and courage — the stuff that scares the powerful.
If the Sermon on the Mount became the new Christian manifesto, half the churches in America would empty overnight. Because you can’t follow Jesus and the American dream at the same time.
The Final Exam
Imagine if every Christian had to take the Sermon on the Mount as a final exam:
➜ No judging? Fail.
➜ No hoarding wealth? Fail.
➜ Love enemies? Fail.
➜ Pray privately? Fail.
➜ Forgive endlessly? Fail.
But ask them if they “believe in Jesus,” and they’ll all say yes.
Belief is easy. Putting your money where your mouth is — that’s hard.
The Sermon on the Mount is where Christianity stops being a belief system and becomes a way of life — and that’s why it terrifies people who built their lives on belief alone.
Faith without the Sermon isn’t faith. It’s fandom.
Last Thoughts
It’s worth saying out loud: most American Christians aren’t like this.
They’re not screaming about “the war on Christmas,” waving rifles next to pulpits, or cheering when the poor lose healthcare. Most actually try to live decent, humble lives — work hard, raise kids, help neighbors, and keep faith quietly. They read their Bibles, pray, and go to church without needing a TV camera to prove it.
But that’s not who runs the show anymore. The microphone belongs to the loudest, angriest, and most politically useful voices — the ones who mistake arrogance for conviction and cruelty for truth. They’ve hijacked Christianity like a megaphone, shouting so hard that nobody can hear the quieter believers behind them.
Turn on cable news or scroll through social media, and you’d think American Christianity is one giant rage machine — because that’s who gets airtime. Not the nurse who prays with dying patients. Not the volunteer who quietly feeds the hungry. Not the pastor who preaches humility instead of hate.
The loud minority has turned a faith of compassion into a circus of outrage. They’ve made Christianity a brand, not a belief — one that thrives on conflict and attention. And the sad part is, the silent majority lets them. Out of exhaustion, politeness, or fear of dividing their own communities, they don’t speak up.
So the cameras keep rolling. The extremists keep defining the faith.
And to the rest of the world, that’s what “Christianity” now means — not love, not forgiveness, not the Sermon on the Mount, but whatever the latest talking head says it means.
If most Christians ever want to reclaim their faith, they’ll have to do something Jesus actually recommended: speak truth to hypocrisy, even when it’s wearing their own cross.
Want the next chapter? The deeper dive on what a real Sermon on the Mount Christianity would look like will drop soon — for paid subscribers only.
Tanner I usually agree with you on all of your takes , but on this I will say in your examples it can be said the Muslims , Gay , liberals etc do not as well follow the words either , they do not like others who do not believe their way as well .
But as I said earlier I love your writings but in this you are letting your political opinions in way . The problems IS the politics on BOTH sides … so ok we have 1,difference and keep the good writing and correct historical facts 👍