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Are you seriously saying that the Sermon on the Mount (and the Lucan Sermon on the Plain), in the midst of thousands of people hearing Jesus preach is only directed to the elect?

I would have to agree. Please consider:

Mat 5:1-2 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Now you might say this "them" could be refering to the multitudes and not specifically the disciples. However please note part of the Sermon:

Mat 5:13-14 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Clearly this is not directed at non-believers but to believers. I don't know of one commentator in all of history who ever felt that non-believers were the "light of the world". Therefore the "them" has to refer to His disciples.

So, yes, I would have to agree with suzy that the Sermon on the Mount is directed only to believers, in particular His disciples.

Thank you for providing the bible verses in your post. A common thread throughout Jesus’s teaching is his instructions to his disciples. Consider the miracles. Why did Jesus perform miracles? Who was His primary audience? Jesus often spoke in ways that the general audience could not understand.

I must thank you both for the impetus to revisit the Sermon and its accompanying Lucan Sermon in depth.

The Sermons are directed at:

1. The disciples
2. The crowd of believers
3. The world in general

and different passages apply to each. Thank you.