The Beatitudes

Q: What does the Bible say about the Beatitudes?

The Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5:1-12, encapsulate the blessings bestowed on those who embody certain spiritual virtues. The Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12 present a series of profound paradoxes that challenge worldly values. Our Lord begins His ministry by declaring the blessedness of those who acknowledge their spiritual destitution (the poor in spirit), who mourn over their sin, and who exhibit meekness. Each beatitude details not only the characteristics of those under God's grace but also the promised blessings they shall receive, such as the kingdom of heaven or being comforted. These teachings reveal a radical transformation in the believer's heart and mind, marking the beginning of a new covenant relationship with God, which is rooted in grace and mercy through faith in Christ.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of total depravity is true?

The doctrine of total depravity is affirmed by the Beatitudes, showing our need for God's grace due to our spiritual poverty. In the context of the Beatitudes, the doctrine of total depravity asserts that every person is born in sin and is unable to contribute anything worthy of God's approval. Christ begins with 'Blessed are the poor in spirit,' signifying that true spiritual awareness leads one to recognize their utter inability to please God apart from His grace. This acknowledgment of spiritual bankruptcy is central to the Reformed understanding of human nature and salvation. Moreover, scriptural passages throughout both the Old and New Testaments reiterate our fallen state and the necessity of divine intervention through Christ for redemption, thereby affirming total depravity as a foundational aspect of Reformed theology.

Q: Why is mourning over sin important for Christians?

Mourning over sin is vital for Christians as it leads to true repentance and the experience of God's comfort and grace. Mourning over sin, as highlighted in Matthew 5:4, reflects a heart that is sensitive to the realities of one's spiritual condition before God. The Beatitude 'Blessed are those who mourn' emphasizes that genuine sorrow for sin results in not only acknowledgment of wrongdoing but also in a deep longing for reconciliation with God. This type of mourning is not merely regret; it involves a godly sorrow that produces repentance, ultimately leading to comfort from God through the assurance of forgiveness. In this way, mourning transforms the believer's relationship with Christ, allowing them to experience the depth of His mercy and the joy of restored fellowship. Thus, it is through mourning that Christians find the true blessing of being comforted by the gospel.

Q: What does it mean to be meek according to the Bible?

Biblically, meekness is characterized by humility and a recognition of one's dependence on God for righteousness. In the Beatitudes, Christ states, 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth' (Matthew 5:5). Meekness, in this context, serves as a vital aspect of the believer's character. It reflects a humble submission to God's will and a profound understanding that our righteousness comes solely from Him. The meek person acknowledges their limitations and their need for grace, bearing insults and injuries with patience, and esteeming others higher than themselves. This humility isn't weakness; it is strength under control that reflects the graciousness of God. As such, meekness is foundational for relational harmony and is essential for receiving God's blessings, which are promised to those who embody this trait.

Q: Why should Christians hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Hunger and thirst for righteousness is essential for Christians, as it signifies a deep desire for communion with God and fulfillment in Christ. Matthew 5:6 states, 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.' This beatitude highlights the necessity of a heartfelt longing for God's righteousness, which implies an earnest pursuit of holiness and a desire for proper relationship with God. Such hunger and thirst represent not only a recognition of our need for Christ's imputed righteousness for salvation but also the believer's ongoing desire to live a life that reflects God's character. This intensity of longing manifests itself in seeking God's Word, prayer, and righteous living, leading to spiritual fulfillment. The promise that those who hunger and thirst will be satisfied assures believers that their longing will be met in Christ, who alone is the source of true righteousness.

Turn with me in your Bibles to
Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5, this is a
portion of scripture that contains what are commonly called the
Beatitudes or the blessings of God. It's a blessed portion of scripture.
Our Lord taught these things, spoke these things from upon
the mountain. It's commonly called the Sermon
on the Mount. A Christian life for the faith
of a true believer is a real paradox. You may have heard these
things before, and I'll repeat them for you. The Christian is
a paradox. He believes things that his reason
can't comprehend, that he cannot really understand, yet he believes
them. He hopes for things that no one alive has ever seen. He
believes three to be one. His math is off. He believes
one to be three. He believes a father not older
than his son, and a son equal with his father. He believes himself to be precious
in God's sight, yet he loathes or hates himself in his own. He is too ashamed to dare open
his mouth before the Lord, yet he comes with boldness. He has within himself both flesh
and spirit, yet he's not a double-minded man. He's often led captive by
the law of sin, yet it never gets dominion over him. He cannot sin, yet he can't do
anything without sin. Explain that. It's a paradigm. so humble that he acknowledges
that he only deserves evil and wrath from God. Yet he believes that God means
him nothing but good. It's a real paradox. It's paradoxical
maybe, but it's the wisdom and the power of God, this faith
of a believer. And here in the fifth chapter
of Matthew, We have several seemingly paradoxes, certainly to the world
they are when you speak of a man being happy who mourns. It's
a paradox, certainly to the world. But I want you to notice from
this passage of scripture that everything our Lord says here
is not random saying. In other words, he doesn't just
up and say, blessed are the poor, blessed are the mourn, blessed
are the meek, blessed are they. No, these things are an all-wise,
divine, in his all-wise, divine purpose, they're in a perfect
order, showing salvation. Showing salvation as being a
hard work. The heart of the truth is right
here in these few verses. Now, this is the beginning of
our Lord's doctrine. It's the beginning of all truth,
and it behooves us to pay particular close attention. This is the
beginning of his ministry, so we need to pay particularly close
attention to what he's about to say. Now, I want you to notice
that he begins his earthly ministry with blessings. with blessings here, because
he stated in another place that he came not to condemn the world,
but that the world might, through him, have life. So he gives these
blessings upon the believer, the true believer. Now, I'm going
to divide it up in these three divisions. The first four blessings,
or beatitudes here, the first four are the understanding that
the Lord gives or brings all of his people to. He gives them
this perfect understanding. And then the next three shows
the character of these people whom the Lord gives this understanding
to. And lastly, the last beatitude,
the eighth one, is a certain trial that all of them will face. Now look at it here in chapter
5, verse 1. And seeing the multitudes, Christ
went up into a mountain. And when he was set, our Lord taught in a manner that
is unheard of in these days. He sat down. He sat down. And his disciples came unto him,
and he opened his mouth and taught them. See, he came and he sat. And he taught. And he said in
verse 3, Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed, happy, supremely
blessed of God, well off, are the poor in spirit. Well, the world says the proud,
the haughty, the self-sufficient, The independent, the self-assertive
are to be happy, to be admired. The world says the rich are happy. Everyone envies the riches of
this world. Christ said the opposite is true.
What is this poverty, this poverty of spirit? Well, it is to simply
realize that we are nothing. that we have nothing, we are
nothing, we can do nothing, we are destitute or lacking of anything
before God, anything that will make us acceptable to God. We're
lacking everything that God requires of us by nature. We're lacking
that. And it's to realize, when you're
truly poor in spirit, it's to realize that only He can fill
your need. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. All these things that Christ
has been made unto us. We realize by nature we don't
have these things. Yet we need them to come before
God. To be poor in spirit. It's not
talking about poverty in this nation. Christ, at one time,
they were talking about using the money from that ointment
that Mary broke over our Lord's head. They said this could have
been taken and been given to the poor. Our Lord said, the
poor you have with you always. You do what's necessary to those
poor. But he said he came to preach
the gospel to the poor. He said, you go tell John that
the poor have the gospel preached unto them, the poor in spirit.
That's the truly blessed man. And this is the first evidence.
The first evidence of God's work of grace in the heart of a man
or a woman is poverty of spirit, just realizing that we have nothing,
that we are nothing, we know nothing. This is the point that
the prodigal came to when he first came to himself. He was
down there feeding on the husks and he finally came to himself
and he said, I have nothing. That was the point that he finally
reached. He said, I'm perished. He began to be in want, or poor. I have nothing. I'm in want.
I perish. Yet my Father, in my Father's
house, is abundance of good. This is the foundation of saving
faith. I am poor. He is everything. I am poor. He is rich. I am nothing. He is all. This is the foundation
of true saving faith. And there comes a promise with
this poverty of spirit. Look at it. It says, Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The
kingdom of heaven. Well, in Amos chapter 3, verse
3, our Lord said, Can two walk together except they be agreed? Well, our Lord said here in this
beatitude that the poor in spirit have the kingdom of heaven, that
the poor in spirit are going to inhabit eternity with him.
Well, I'll read another scripture to you in reference to that.
The Lord said in Isaiah 57, verse 15, it says, Thus saith the high
and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy.
He said, I dwell in the high and holy place, and these are
my comrades, them that are contrite and humble, to revive the spirit
of the humble, to revive the hearts of the contrite ones. He said in another place, Thus
saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool,
Where is the house that you build unto me, and where is the place
of my rest? All these things hath mine hand
made, all those things that have been, saith the Lord. But to
this man will I look." This is who I'm going to pay attention
to. This is who I'm going to bless. This is who I'm going
to have as the one I walk and talk with. This is the one. This
is the one. To this man will I look, even
to him that is poor. and of a contrite spirit, and
trembleth at my word." We're bosom buddies, you see. We'll
look at verse 4. This is the second beatitude. Our Lord said, "...blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And
then he says, "...blessed, truly happy, supremely blessed by God,
well off are they that mourn." Blessed
are they that mourn. Happy are they that mourn. Explain that. How can this be?
The world would say. How can this be? You know, mourning
a melancholy spirit is repulsive
to human nature. People like people that are happy.
This is the reason why most preachers renounce morbid preaching, the
preaching of repentance, the preaching of sin, but rather
choose to preach the dignity of man, you know, trying to make
people feel good about themselves. Robert Schuller said that first
the great revival in this land was brought about by preaching
the depravity of man. He said the next great revival
in this land is going to be brought about by preaching the dignity
of man. Well, that's exactly what people want to hear, but
it won't be revival that they reach. It'll be condemnation.
But this is the reason preachers don't want people mourning. They
want people happy all the time. Consequently, their messages
and the songs and everything are filled and headed in this
direction. They say, we're the happy church,
you know, the happy church where everybody's happy. Is everybody
happy? Everybody happy, say amen. But I find in the scriptures
verses like this, let your laughter be turned to mourning. Let your laughter be turned to
mourning. Blessed are they that mourn. That's from the mouth of the
king himself. Blessed are they that mourn. Did you notice the
The how this naturally follows a poverty of spirit, those that
are truly poor in spirit to say, I am nothing, I have nothing,
I can't do nothing, I know nothing. They naturally will mourn their
poverty, won't they? They'll mourn over this. I want
you to notice the wise progression here of what our Lord says. Godless
sorrow is necessary. It's not enough. Listen to me. It's not enough. To admit you're
a sinner. That is not salvation. Oh, no. It's not enough to admit, to
merely say that I'm sinful. There must be a godless sorrow
under repentance. There must be a mourning over
your sin. You know, Esau was sorry for
what happened, wasn't he? Cain was sorry for what happened.
For getting caught. There must be a mourning over
sin, like David, like that publican in the temple pounding on the
breast, you know, a mourning, a mourning over sin, a poverty
of spirit, realizing our lack of righteousness. Realizing this
will lead to mourning over ourselves. It'll lead to these things. It'll
lead to mourning our rebellion against this holy God, this kind
and merciful and gracious God that has abundantly supplied
us with everything we've needed from day one, from the cradle. He's abundantly blessed us and
showed mercy to us, yet we've rebelled against Him. It'll cause
you to mourn that. It will cause you to mourn your
sin against this holy God. Oh, wretched man that I am, the
Apostle Paul said. It will cause you to mourn this
unbelief when God so freely gives and bestows promises and blessings
and has upheld you, constrained you, restrained you all the days
of your life. David said, I've never seen God
see forsaken or begging bread. And yet we're full of unbelief.
We refuse to believe this kind and merciful God. It'll cause
you to mourn that unbelief that does so easily beset us that
my pastor spoke of. It'll cause you to mourn your
barren and unprofitable life when you're called upon to be
salt of the earth. It'll cause you to mourn that.
I've done nothing. What have I done for the cause
of my King? What have I done to extol the
blessedness of my God? What have I done? Nothing. It'll cause you to mourn that,
your unprofitable life. It'll cause you to mourn your
wandering spirit when this good shepherd has nothing but good
things for you. When you wander off, you go your
own way. It'll cause you to mourn that.
It'll cause you to mourn your lack of communion and love for
Christ. When he says freely all the time,
come unto me, come unto me. Yet we refuse him. It'll cause
you to mourn your deadness and dryness of spirit when the gospel,
the word of life, this gospel which we are so unworthy of,
when a man gets up and preaches it and yet we fall asleep or
dead and dry in the hearing of it, not a tear in an eye. It'll cause you to mourn that.
It'll cause you to mourn all the false doctrine that goes
out in the world, like you're speaking of, all these false
Jesuses, all these false preachers. It'll cause you to mourn this,
be sorrowful, all this hypocritical religion. We mourn these things,
but the promise comes. Look at it, verse four. Blessed
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. What is the
comfort? It's the gospel. It's our only
hope. It's our only comfort. It's our
only consolation, isn't it? There's no comfort in this world.
We mourn our excuseless failures, and they are excuseless. We have
no excuse. We're all without excuse. Yet
we're comforted by the assurance that the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. were comforted by the Comforter,
the Holy Spirit, through his word that we read and that we
hear and through his people. He said, comfort ye one another
with his word. Comfort one another. But, like Scott Richardson said,
you can't claim the promise unless you fit the character described
in the promise. So unless you're mourning, you're
not going to have any comfort. Well, notice this. This poverty
of spirit. Realizing you are nothing, you
have nothing, you know nothing. This will bring you to the point
of mourning over your condition. This is the progression of salvation
in everyone that God reveals Christ to. It will cause you
to mourn over this condition of your soul before him and mourn
over this sin. And it will lead you to this. Look at verse 5. It will lead
you to meekness or humility before him. Look at verse 5. Christ said, supremely happy,
supremely blessed by God Almighty are the meek. Blessed are the
meek. This word meekness, it means
humility. It means a humble submission
or self-abasement. I'll give you an example. Like
that Syro-Phoenician woman that came to our Lord. and begged
for a few crumbs from the master's table. That's worship. She was
meek. Moses, it said, was meek above
all men upon the earth. And every time the people approached
him, the people rebelled against God, it says Moses fell on his
face. Our Lord was meek. Now, everyone
is a Pharisee by nature. Everyone is crowd and a Pharisee
by nature, and everyone wants to go the way of Cain. Everyone
wants a hand in his own salvation. And the Pharisee in us, the self-righteous
man in us, when told of sovereign mercy, it's offensive to us by
nature. But when God gives a man or woman
this poverty of spirit, shows them what they are, It causes
them to mourn over this sin that's within them and gives them this
meekness. This meekness naturally brings
about a happiness, a contentment with God's way of salvation. When an old sinner is told of
the sovereign mercy of God and salvation, it makes him happy.
It makes him glad. It makes him happy. Mercy is
just what the poor, humble mourner needs, just what he needs. It
meets his need. But the proud and self-righteous
refuse, refuse this very gift. Well, the meek man, listen to
these characteristics of a meek man. A meek man, a truly meek
man or woman realizes this, that they have no righteousness. no
righteousness, that all their goodness, so-called goodness,
that they before thought recommended them to God, all of this goodness
is nothing but filthy rags. That God takes no notice whatsoever
of that. In fact, it's a stench in his
nostril. A truly meek man realizes that. And he mourns over this
lack of righteousness before God. And he knows if he is to
have this righteousness, that it's going to have to come from
God. If God is going to accept him, it's going to have to be
by his grace. He's going to have to do it all for him. A meek
man, listen to these things, a meek man or woman, they will
bear insult and injury patiently. You can't insult the chief of
sinners. You can't do it. They will be
easily instructed. man or woman, easily instructed
and admonished, even by the least. A truly meek person esteems others
better than himself. A truly meek person ascribes
all that he is and all that he has to the glory of God, to God's
grace and God's mercy. That's meekness. Someone said
this, that some people mistake sovereign restraint for personal
holiness. Did you hear that? Some people
mistake sovereign restraint for personal holiness, not the meek
man. He realizes that by the grace
of God, I am what I am. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. And a truly meek person will
find contentment. Better is little with a fear
of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. And look
at the promise in verse 5. Blessed by God Almighty are the
meek, for they shall inherit the earth. I want you to look
over at Mark chapter 10 with me. Look at Mark chapter 10.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. What
is this speaking of? I believe primarily it's speaking
of the new earth. that new earth where we'll be
heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, all spiritual blessings
in Christ, the new earth. But our Lord says here in Mark
chapter 10 verse 30, he says, well, verse 28, Peter began to
say unto him, Lord, we've left everything and followed thee.
And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There
is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father,
or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the
gospel's, but he shall receive a hundredfold." Well, I know
we will in the last statement. No, he says, Now and this time. You see that? Whoever has left
these things or forsaken these things for Christ and the gospel,
He shall receive a hundredfold, now in this time, houses and
brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands, but with
persecutions, remember that. And in the world to come, finally
you'll receive eternal life." What's he speaking of there?
Well, I believe he's talking about all of these blessings we have,
all of this family and these houses and so forth that we have.
with our brethren, with our family. You see, if you've lost your
wife or you've lost your husband over the gospel, oh, you have
a family that's much closer than a husband or wife could ever
be to you. If you've lost a good job for the sake of the gospel,
if you've lost your house for some reason, if you've given
up a house to go where the gospel is preached, You have houses
and lands all over the United States. You're never without
a place to sleep. Your brothers and sisters all
over the place have houses that belong to you. Isn't that what
we say when somebody comes to our house? Come on in. What's
mine is yours. Well, that's truly the case with
a believer and his family. The meek shall inherit the earth. The earth. Well, look back at
the text here. Blessed are the poor, blessed
are they that mourn, blessed are the meek. Now, all of these
things, listen, listen to the natural progression here, the
wise progression of our Lord in salvation here. Those that
have this poverty of spirit and that mourn over their sin and
that are meek and humble before the Lord come worshiping him
as that Gentile dog. They naturally, this naturally
follows, verse six, blessed are they that hunger and thirst after
righteousness. There's a, there's a, this naturally
follows this poverty and this mourning and this meekness. There's
a hungering and thirsting after God's salvation. A hungering
and thirsting. Essentially it's this, this initial
hungering and thirsting for Christ in salvation. Anybody that's
been brought to this point. Anybody that's been brought to
these points in their life hungers and cries out for the salvation
of Christ. They hunger and thirst and they
seek God. Anybody that hasn't sought God,
that's not seeking God with all their heart, God's not doing
a work in that person. God's not doing a work in that
person. This is, this hungry and thirsting
is hungry and thirsting for access to God, for forgiveness of your
sins, for pardon, for covering, for this righteousness to cover
your naked soul. It's to be made like Christ,
a hungry and thirsty to be made like Christ, to be done with
your sin. Spurgeon was asked one time, if you could have anything
right now, what would it be? And he said, I'd like to have
all my sins done away with. I'd like to have, I'd like to
be a holy man. a holy man for this sin that
hinders me, that bothers me. This hungering and thirsting
is a hungering to walk and talk with Christ, to truly walk with
the King. Ah, boy, it's to really hunger
after Christ who is the bread and the water of life. Now, look
at the promise. It says, are they which hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." They
shall be filled. He who creates this hunger will
most certainly fill it, will fill that need. Filled with His
Spirit, faith, hope, love, peace, all these things that we need
for the blessings of life and godliness, life with Christ,
life with God. and life in this world, all these
blessings, he fills us full. Well, listen to these characteristics. That's the four things that a
believer comes to, the four places that a believer comes to in this
life when the Lord is truly doing a work in his heart. Now, look
at this in verse 7. These are the characteristics
that these things have taken place. Look at verse 7 with me. He says, Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the merciful. The merciful. Well, that means
to be full of mercy. That's exactly what it says there.
Full of mercy. You know, if God has filled us,
has been so abundantly merciful to us, it will run out. The psalmist
said, Our cup runneth over. God has been so abundantly merciful
to us. He's filled us with mercy that
that mercy fills over to others. One who has been filled will
spill out readily upon others. In other words, in having obtained
mercy, we'll show mercy to others, ready and willing to help others,
especially the brethren. It's to have compassion and compassion
for the misery and the suffering of others. It's not to be revengeful,
but ready to forgive, quick to show mercy. And you know, a believer,
a true believer, a true disciple of Christ, the more that he or
she thinks of God's mercy to them, the more merciful they'll
be, the more they'll show mercy to others. Well, look at this. Look at the promise here. Blessed
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. They shall obtain
mercy. The proverb says, the merciful
doeth good to his own soul. Christ said, with what measure
you meet, it shall be measured to you again. Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Look at this in verse
8. This is another characteristic of the work of God on a man's
heart. Blessed are the pure in heart. Verse 8. The pure In heart. What does this mean, this means
somebody that's without seeing, yes, in a spiritual sense, but
mostly this is talking about a heart that is unmixed. It does
serve two masters, a pure heart, a heart that leans in one direction,
a heart that has one desire, the affection, having the affection
set on things above where Christ sits at the right hand of the
father. The evidence of a pure heart, though, is consciousness
of impurity of heart. Think about. The evidence of
a truly pure heart. Is a consciousness of impurity
of heart heart purity. is a new heart, it's having that
affection set on things above, it's inward justifying faith
in Christ, looking to him and him alone, that's heart purity.
It's a heart that's unmixed with works, that looks to Christ and
Christ alone, unmixed, that sees that these works avail of nothing,
but Christ is all, pure, 100% grace, grace. It's a purity,
it's also a sincerity before God, that is not full of hypocrisy. Not a not a double-minded heart,
but a pure heart, a sincere heart. And this produces pure doctrine,
that which glorifies God in Jesus Christ. Look at the promise here.
He says in verse eight, blessed are the pure in heart, for they'll
see God. Blessed are the sincere. Blessed
are those that are trusting in Christ alone, for they'll see
God. How? They'll see God in Christ. They'll
see God in Christ. Those that have been given these
sincere and pure hearts of faith in Christ, that is, unmixed hearts,
hearts that are unmixed with self-righteous work, they see
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Look at verse
9 with me. Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God. The children
of God. Blessed are the peacemakers.
Well, I've heard this spoken of in many different ways, peacemakers. But, you know, we can't create
peace. We can't bring anybody to peace.
We can't give anybody peace. Christ and Christ alone gives
peace. He said, my peace I give unto
you, not as the world give it, but my peace. I believe that
this is speaking of a sense A peacemaker is being one that has a sense
of having peace with God by the blood of Jesus Christ. By having
that peace, we are now anxious, realizing that we were once at
enmity against God. But now that we have peace with
God, we have this peace of heart. We have this peace with God.
Realizing that, we are now anxious to be used of Him in bringing
others to enjoy this same peace that we have. bringing out the
instruments of God and reconciling to Him those who are at war with
Him. We urge people everywhere, don't fight. Hand, put your arm,
put down your guns, stack your guns, stack your guns, seek peace,
sue for mercy. Now, I believe this is to be
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace also, ready
to go out with this gospel of peace. He says the promise is
that they'll be called the children of God. Children of God. You know, children, as I've said
so many times, they like to brag on their daddy. They brag on
their daddy. And that's a good characteristic
of a child of God. He's a bragger. Not about himself,
but about his Lord, about his God. And they want everybody
else to love their father, too. And they're righteously indignant
when people start talking about him, when they talk about him
falsely. Well, look at verse 10. Blessed
and the last one the last beatitude here Our Lord says blessed are
they? Which are persecuted? for righteousness
sake He saves this for last He saves the This trial that a believer
will go through For last you remember that we read back there
in Mark. I said that we shall have all these things in this
life with persecution of Because the blessing comes first, the
peace comes first, the contentment comes first, and then these trials
come along with it. If you didn't have a truly, if
you weren't truly, if you didn't have the faith of God's elect,
you couldn't stand these trials. Your boat would sink. But he
says, be assured that in this world, you shall have much tribulation.
That these persecutions shall come. They shall come. It's necessary. It's necessary. The trial of
your faith. He said, Blessed though happy
are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake. You know
one that. Anybody that truly despises this
self-righteous religion of this day and truly stands up for and
exalts the true gospel of God's sovereign grace of his imputed
righteousness in Christ. Anybody that truly takes a stand
for that. About the stand for this gospel. That person. Mark it down, that
person is going to experience persecution and opposition from
every side. People will, you know. The carnal
man, the natural man. His enmity against God, enmity
with God. He hates God. He's against God
and everything about God. So it naturally follows that
those that are in league with this God, that agree with God
is touching these things. They'll be hated also. Christ
said it. Servants not above his master.
They hated me. They'll hate you if you take
a stand. We read over there before, in
Luke 6, how he said, Woe is unto you if men speak well of you.
It must mean that you haven't taken much of a stand for the
gospel. Does that prick you? It does me. Well, he says this
promise here. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The final haven of rest. The final resting place. The
kingdom of heaven. And that kingdom is Christ himself.
The dominion of the king. You know those disciples came
back after having, I never cease to amaze at this when I read
it. They came back from the council hall of the Pharisees and the
Sadducees after having been beaten and abused by them and shamefully
treated and told and threatened to not to preach in this name again.
Says that they came back rejoicing. that they were counted worthy
to suffer shame for his name. Shame for his name. Who was it? One of the martyrs. I think they say this about Peter,
don't they? That he was crucified upside
down because he didn't want to be crucified in the same manners
as our Lord. I don't know if that's true or
not. They counted themselves blessed,
they rejoiced that they were able to suffer shame for his
name. You know, Christ, it says that about Christ, who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despised the shame,
didn't think anything about it. Suffer shame. Well, I want to
look over these things real quickly. I want you to look at this and
think of this in a way that you probably never heard before.
I don't know, maybe you have. But, you know, all of the scriptures
point to who? Christ. All of the scriptures,
somehow or another, should relate to Christ, shouldn't they? They
should point to him as being the fulfillment of the scriptures
for us. And we see how far short we've come of all these things.
We mourn the fact that we don't mourn enough. We mourn the fact
that we don't feel poor enough. We mourn the fact that we're
not meek enough. We mourn the fact that we don't feel all these
things within ourselves like we would like to. Well, listen
to this and rejoice in this. Rejoice in the great beatitude,
blessing, seeing all these things fulfilled in Christ. Look at
this. All of these blessed perfections are chiefly given to show us
their fulfillment in Christ. Look at it. Look at verse three. Blessed are the poor in spirit.
We, through his poverty, are made rich. There is never a poor
man like our Lord. Poor in spirit. We, through his
poverty, are made rich. Rich toward God. Look at verse
4. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. He was a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief, Oh, he mourned, all right. He mourned over our sin. He mourned for us like we can't
mourn for ourselves. So our mourning is complete.
God accounts us as having mourned properly in Christ. Look at this. Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth. Christ said, Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. No one was as meek as our Lord,
and we're meek in Him. We're counted sufficiently meek
before God in Christ, sufficiently humble. Blessed are the meek. Look at this. Blessed are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall
be filled. Christ said, My meat and my drink
are to do the will of the Heavenly Father. He said, Lo, I come to
do thy will, O God. Thou, the scripture says, lovest
righteousness and hatest iniquity. He truly hungered and thirst
after righteousness. It was his meat and his drink,
the scripture said, to do righteousness, to fulfill righteousness for
us, to impute that righteousness to us. So we are accounted in
Christ as having hungered and thirst completely after this
righteousness. Look at this, verse seven, blessed
are the merciful. for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are those that are full of mercy. The Lord is merciful, gracious,
slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. It's because of his
mercy that he came down to us in the first place. According
to his mercy, he has saved us, the Scripture says. Well, look
at this, verse 8. Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God. Blessed are the pure in heart.
He was the Lamb without spot, without blemish, holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners. In Him was no sin. You talk about
a pure heart. Altogether pure, spotless, and
holy. Verse 9, blessed are the peacemakers. He is the one who made peace.
He made true peace through the blood of his cross. He reconciled
us to God. Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God." He's the Son
of God, the only begotten well-beloved Son. Look at verse 10, "...and
blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake. For
theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Who's that talking about? All
things have been given to the Son. Why? Because He was persecuted
to the death. for righteousness sake, and gave
it to us. None were ever so persecuted
as he. He said, I'm afflicted and ready
to die for my youth, but he did this for us. He did it for us. And truly, all the blessings
of God, the beatitudes, the blessings of God are in Christ. They're
in Christ. And I thank God for Christ. Thank
God for him that he is fulfilled these things for us. Let me read this to you in closing,
this prayer of the Apostle Paul. He says, I pray that God would
grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened
with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith, that you, being rooted and grounded
in love, You may be able to comprehend with all sense what is the breadth
and length and depth and height of this love, to know the love
of Christ, to truly know it, which passes mere knowledge,
that you might be filled with all these blessings, all this
fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or even think,
according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the
church, and by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The Beatitudes

What does the Bible say about the Beatitudes?

How do we know the doctrine of total depravity is true?

Why is mourning over sin important for Christians?

What does it mean to be meek according to the Bible?

Why should Christians hunger and thirst for righteousness?

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The Beatitudes

What does the Bible say about the Beatitudes?

How do we know the doctrine of total depravity is true?

Why is mourning over sin important for Christians?

What does it mean to be meek according to the Bible?

Why should Christians hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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