Okay, good to see you. We'll
get started. Today we're going to continue
our walk through the Sermon on the Mount with the text taken
from Matthew chapter 5. So be turning there. We're going
to look at a couple of verses which really bring a close to
this section that we know is commonly referred to as the Beatitudes.
Specifically, we're going to look at verses 10 through 12
this morning. I saw Robert's grimace when he
found out I was going to be conducting both services, but let me explain
that. Preparing for the message today,
I became persuaded that there's just a real important tie in
here between what Christ is saying in these two verses that we'll
look at this morning, with that which he communicates in verses
13 through 16, where he uses the metaphors of salt and light
to describe the very same folks spoken of in the preceding verses,
that is, blessed are those who are the eternally blessed of
God in him. And I really wanted to deliver this as one sermon
because of that tie-in. However, in order to do the subject
justice in the time we've got, I've decided to deliver it in
two consecutive sessions here. So during this 10 o'clock hour,
I'll bring the first part that's taken from verses 10 through
to 12. And I've entitled that, blessed
of God, part five. That being the fifth and a sigh
of relief, as I say, the closing or concluding study of the Beatitudes,
verses that all begin, blessed are. And then at 11 o'clock,
I'll bring the sequel to that that deals with the verses 13
through 16. And that's a message I've entitled
Salt and Light. And I believe the two messages
are best heard together. And I'll encourage anybody that
hears them later to consider both of them in order there.
But we'll look with me in Matthew 5, beginning in verse 10, where
we read there, blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness
sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when
men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner
of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding
glad for great is your reward in heaven. for so persecuted
they the prophets which were before you." Now, as we consider
first verses 10 and 11 here, there are two key phrases that
are critical to the understanding, and you might want to underline
these in your Bible. The first in verse 10, the phrase,
for righteousness sake. And then secondly in verse 11,
the phrase, falsely, for my sake. You see, it is not everyone that
suffers nor even everyone who suffers for a religious cause,
who's entitled to appropriate this consolation that Christ
gives here. In other words, to consider themselves
among the eternally blessed of God. He says, blessed are they
which are persecuted for righteousness sake. Now consider that word
righteousness for a moment. It's the same word, same Greek
word that's used in Romans 1, 16 and 17. I'm not ashamed of the gospel,
is the power of God unto salvation. Why? In 17, for therein is the
righteousness of God revealed. That's the same righteousness
here in Matthew 5. It's the same word that's used
in Acts 17 when he speaks of a righteousness, which is the
standard by which all men shall be judged. It's the same word
used in Romans 5, 21, where he speaks of grace reigning through
righteousness. the very reign or the kingdom
of God, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom that Christ is speaking
of throughout the Sermon on the Mount. It's also the same word
used in Romans 3, where it refers to the righteousness that's declared
by the propitiation of Christ. In other words, his provision
of mercy by way of satisfaction that's made to the justice of
God on the cross through his obedience unto death. his blood
or his righteousness. So it's evident here that to
be persecuted for righteousness sake refers only to that suffering
which is a direct byproduct of one's stand for the gospel, God's
way of salvation conditioned on Christ alone, that is, based
on what his righteousness, the righteousness he alone established
in perfectly satisfying God's law and justice. God requires
perfection, as you know, perfect obedience. He cannot and he will
not commune with sin. And where sin is found, as injured
justice requires that a sufficient, infinitely valuable penalty be
extracted as punishment and payment. It requires nothing less than
the death of a suitable substitute, the impeccable, uncontaminated,
spotless God-man, the Lord, our righteousness. Now, with this
quote, for righteousness sake set forth here as a qualifying
reason then and only then can one rightly judge that their
persecution is an evidence that they are included among the blessed
inhabitants of this kingdom. In other words only then can
they apply to them as it says theirs is theirs being the kingdom
of heaven as we just read and that speaks of the kingdom. are
the reign of grace, the grace that reigns through righteousness
that's established by our Lord and Savior. Now, consider the
phrase there in the next verse where he says, they'll say all
manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Now, if you consider,
and we'll look at this in a verse just below our text for today,
but if you consider what Christ came to this earth to do, it
says he came to fulfill the law. Every jot and tittle we'll see.
That's what he came to do. He came to establish righteousness. So that is perfectly satisfying
God's law and justice. So then it's apparent to us that
in verse 11, that if we suffer for his sake, that is essentially
the very same thing as suffering for righteousness sake. Because
to suffer, see, for his sake is to suffer for that which his
very person and work was all about. What he came to do. The
establishment of righteousness whereby God redeems and reconcile
sinners unto himself. You know, you can't when we say
for Christ's sake, it can't be him is absolutely considered.
It has to be based on that which he came to do. He came to accomplish. Well, still noteworthy, I think,
though, here that in verse 11, when he speaks of that which
is said against these blessed ones, says they'll speak all
manner of evil against you falsely. He adds that word falsely. You
see, we have no warrant whatsoever when others accuse us of wrongdoing
to presume that that's an evidence of our being blessed if the accusation
is accurate. In such cases we only fool ourselves
if we placate our conscience, so to speak, under this ridiculous
notion that when others speak ill toward us by citing some
sinful conduct or conduct unbecoming to us on our part, that such
suffering then falls in the category of being persecuted for righteousness
sake, or for his sake, falsely, if in reality, see, the accusations
are accurate. No, that qualifier here, I think,
makes it clear that Christ is referring only, only to that
persecution which is a direct byproduct of our stand in the
gospel, for his sake, for righteousness sake. In light of that, consider
the implications if there's an absence of persecution or suffering,
and how this should prompt us all, to the extent that exists,
to examine our very interest in Christ. You see, just as we
saw in all the other Beatitudes, we see here that each and every
one of the eternally blessed of God, and only they, will suffer
the sort of persecution that Christ is referring to in verses
10 and 12. And they will, at least to some
degree. Now that doesn't suggest or promote
some sort of persecution or martyr complex that would spur somebody
to actively seek to be a victim or seeking out conflict with
the lost religious world just so that they might derive some
perverted sense of assurance from their really self-inflicted
misery. or their self-inflicted sacrifice. You know, similar to the sense
we gained in the preceding verses, if you'll recall, we don't seek
persecution and suffering in order to be found among the blessed
of God. And I can tell you, I don't seek
it. I don't care for it at all, unfortunately. But it just goes
with the territory. That's what Christ is saying
here. It accompanies the fellowship, see, that believers, these that
are blessed of God, have with their Lord and Savior in not
only the wonderful eternal blessings that we enjoy as heirs of everything
that he's merited for us, but it's also the fellowship of his
sufferings that goes with the territory, be it ever so small
in contrast, of course, to the sufferings of our Lord. But it's
there and it's a sure and certain thing. Consider the implication,
then, if we don't experience this sort of suffering, or this
sort of persecution, at least to some degree. You don't have
to turn there, but in Matthew 10, this is what Christ said
in verse 32. He said, Whosoever therefore
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before
my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before
men, Him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
So I find it's important here that we examine whether we do
enter into the fellowship of His sufferings. We who profess
to be recipients of the unspeakable riches of His mercy and of His
grace, as we consider our own walk then in this world, we know
that, we know this, reason tells us this, If and when we're not
actively involved in the ministry of the gospel, the gospel, that
ministry which confesses Christ before men, then we certainly
will not suffer for it. You're not going to suffer for
something you're not engaged in. And sadly, persistence on
such a course is a denial of Christ himself, as we just read
in Matthew 10. So I believe that kind of self-examination
serves us well. It does so in the same vein of
the exhortation that's given to believers now. He's going
to address them, you'll see here in this passage in Hebrews, as
brethren. In Hebrews chapter 3, there's an exhortation that
I think is fitting for this type of self-examination as well.
In verse 12 there, he said, take ye brethren. He's speaking to
those who profess to be brethren. Lest there be in any of you an
evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. He says,
but exhort one another daily. And we need that while it is
called today. Lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto
the end. Now again, we don't hold steadfast
and persevere in our stand for Christ in order to receive God's
blessings. But apart from such a walk, where
there is an absence of any suffering or any persecution for His sake,
we should examine whether our confidence is indeed in Him and
in Him alone or not. You see, if it is in Him, the
Scriptures make it clear that it's only so by a miraculous
work of God the Holy Spirit. giving us life and causing us
to look to Christ and Him alone as the author and the finisher
of our faith. So if we're not partakers of His sufferings to
some degree, we have reason to examine whether or not we're
truly trusting in Christ and His finished work alone. We should
examine, I believe, whether there remains some yet to be exposed
remnant of works to which we might unwittingly still be clinging. Well, let's talk about the nature
or the form of this persecution for a few moments. The nature
of the suffering that believers endure. The scriptures here talks
about, blessed are you when men shall revile you. That word revile
refers to defamation of character, slander, insults, or personal
abuse that comes to all who are the blessed of God to some degree
and in some fashion. It says they shall say all manner
of evil against you, albeit falsely. That word for evil, that's the
same word that's used to describe none other than Satan himself
there. It was helpful for me and turn to Luke chapter six
while I mention this, it was helpful for me to consider this
parallel passage that I'm referring to in Luke six. It's a parallel
to the text here and there in Luke six, beginning in verse
twenty two. I want you to see how it's put
this record of Christ's sermon is put there. It sheds a little
different light on it. In verse twenty two, it says,
Blessed are ye when men shall hate you. Now you're talking
about a paradox. Blessed are you when you're hated.
Blessed are you when men shall hate you. And when they shall
separate you from their company and shall reproach you and cast
out your name as evil for the son of man's sake. Rejoice ye
in that day and leap for joy, he says, for behold your reward
is great in heaven. For in the like manner did their
fathers unto the prophets. And then if you skip down to
verse 26, conversely he says this, Woe unto you, when all
men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the
false prophets. Notice that Luke is describing
here, that he describes it as being blessed when men hate you.
With that in mind, I want you to consider John chapter 15.
I'm going to refer to several scriptures today, and if you
have time, you may turn there. But John 15, verses 18 through
20, Christ said this. He said, if the world hates you,
you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the
world would love his own. But because you're not of the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world, Therefore the
world hateth you Remember that word that I said unto you listen
to this the servant is not greater than his Lord Christ said this
he said if they have persecuted me which we know well they did
They will also persecute you if they have kept my saying they
will keep yours also now keep in mind it was the professing
religious world that Christ referred to here, it was from religious
leaders that he received the very worst treatment. Well, as
I studied this, as you might imagine, it may be coming to
your mind, but I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that
we here at Eager Avenue Grace Church, we have witnessed firsthand
what it is to have enemies of God's pure gospel of grace side
with the position of those who insisted that something more,
something more than the righteousness established in Christ's life
and death is needed for the fulfillment of their redemption and justification. And as a result of that, they
literally referred to our actions and refusing to compromise on
that point as being wicked and evil. Direct quote. So to the extent you identify
with the church and its beliefs here. You too know, in a small
but it's an unmistakable way I believe, what it is to have
someone say all manner of evil against you falsely for the very
reason identified here in the scripture. For Christ's sake,
for righteousness sake. And the accusations of evil,
they were indeed false as men made untrue and unwarranted characterizations
of us. despite our telling them that
it wasn't so. They attempted to divert attention
away from the real issue and accused us of denying the work
of God the Holy Spirit in us. They said we didn't believe in
the work of the Holy Spirit and in not believing in the necessity
of the new birth. And they made those misleading
characterizations merely because we do believe that the miraculous,
wonderful work of God the Holy Spirit in us points us to Christ
and to Him alone, not to Himself and not to anything He produces
in us or done by us in refusing to place the work of the Holy
Spirit in a position of rivalry with that which Christ did for
us. They oppose us because of our
insistence in resting in Christ's finished work on Calvary in perfect
and complete satisfaction to God's justice and righteousness. And it being made ours, our insistence
that it's made ours by imputation alone, that is God reckoning
or charging to the sinner's account, all that their spotless substitute,
the Lord Jesus Christ merited for them, him having born and
paid in full the demerit of all the sins that were charged or
imputed to him in his death on the cross. And it's our insistence
that a sinner's acceptance before God is based on that imputed
righteousness alone, with no additional contribution, none
whatsoever, no completion, see, of that which was presumed to
have been an unfinished work at the cross that merely guaranteed
its completion based on something done by us or through us or in
us. In other words, it's the insistence that it is His righteousness
and that alone whereby we are justified and redeemed. Now,
in light of this, rejoice and be exceeding glad. You know,
I see in these very light afflictions that we've endured the unmistakable
evidence of God's spirit working in and through the citizens of
the kingdom here in Albany, the blessed of God, whose reward
in heaven is indeed great. And that's to be numbered as
we see in this passage with the saints of God. Now, that's a
blessing. You know, if we were content with simply acting justly
and honestly toward others, being kind and being loving and charitable,
but not insisting upon salvation by Christ alone, then we might
go through the world not only with, you know, peaceably, but
we may be applauded. But consider, I want you to consider
what Paul wrote Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, 3, 12. This is what he said. He said, yea and all. all that live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution." Listen to that. He said, yea,
all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall, not might, shall
suffer persecution. You see, to live godly in Christ
is to find your holiness there, residing in your substitute,
and yours by imputation. And you find it your holiness
nowhere else. And that exposes the evil of
any thinking to the contrary. And that brings on persecution.
Well, let's talk some about the nature of this blessing then.
Consider again the paradox of the Christian life that's found
here. Those who suffer persecution for Christ's sake are blessed
and they have reason to rejoice. Put it the way Luke did. Bless
are ye when men hate you? How can this be? Well, first
of all, if you read our text today, simply because it's an
evidence that theirs is the kingdom of heaven, you know, that right
there ought to be enough for us to rejoice in. You know, the
Christian life is full of strange paradoxes, paradoxes to our natural
human reason, but they're easily understood by those who been
blessed with spiritual life and its faculties to see and understand. It's not they're easily understood
because of some superior intellect. No, it's just because they have
senses they did not have before. They have life. And with that
comes that with that, I'm no longer blind, but I see. You
know, the paradox is so real. I had thought at one time about
writing a book and I was trying to think of a title. I thought
I might call it Bizarro World or an upside down world, you
know, similar to using the passage there where the disciples said
they went out and and they said when they preached the gospel,
it turned their world upside down. And that's the way it is. If you think about it, everything's
almost diametrically opposed to the way we naturally religiously
thought it was. Well, this passage certainly
falls in that category. As much as the experience of
a believer in this life, listen, is painful and perplexing, God
keeps us by his grace so that we wouldn't part from it for
all the gold and comforts of this world. Now, I got to tell
you, I don't know about you, but within me, I'm not built
that way. I really like to be light. And
that's why this I think spoke spoken to me particularly. And
yet with spiritual life, with the indwelling presence of God,
the Holy Spirit, that which naturally I don't want any part of, I can
do no other. And that's the way we see it.
Who, by mere human reason, would ever conclude that the persecuted,
the reviled, the hated, or blessed. Well, I want you to consider
a few scriptures that I think help us enter into an appreciation
and how we might enter into it when we think as we should, when
we have this mind in us that's in Christ Jesus. And it helps
us to be able to better appreciate the blessing. And I'm just going
to refer to several verses here. First of all, Philippians 3.20
reads like this. It says, For our conversation
is in heaven, From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. That word conversation, it means
community or citizenship. The believer's citizenship is
not of this world. Believers are citizens of the
kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, the very theme of the
Sermon on the Mount here. So they breathe and they live
and they see and spiritually see in a different community
with an understanding that is foreign to this world, including
this religious world. They've been brought to see that
that which is highly esteemed among men, the citizens of this
world, is indeed an abomination before God, Luke 16, 15. Then
I want you to consider what Christ says later on here in the Sermon
on the Mount in chapter 6. In verse 19 there, he said, lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust
doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. He said,
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
and steal. For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. Then in Colossians 3 verse 1,
Paul writes, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of
God. He doesn't say it here, but ever
make an intercession for us. Set your affection on things
above, not on things of the earth. For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Now, I believe these verses here,
they teach that this ability to rejoice in the fellowship
of Christ's sufferings I think is somewhat proportional to the
extent to which the things of this world fade and diminish
in their relative importance commensurately with the degree
to which our affections are set on things above and not on things
of the earth. Now consider here in Matthew
Christ says to rejoice because of the company we keep. He says
in awareness of the treatment of God's prophets who've gone
on before us. And conversely, we saw in a parallel
passage there in Luke that he said, to be spoken of well is
to keep company. He said, beware when all men
speak well of you because that's to keep company with the false
prophets who've gone on before us. Hebrews 11 speaks of these
Old Testament saints in a chapter that many call the Hall of Fame
of Faith. And toward the end there in verse
37 of Hebrews 11, this is what it says about them. Consider
their suffering. They were stoned. They were sawn
asunder, cut in two, tempted, were slain with a sword. They
wondered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute,
afflicted, tormented, but of whom the world was not worthy.
They wandered in deserts. and in mountains, it says, and
in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained
a good report through faith, received not the promise, God
having provided some better thing for us, that they without us
should not be made perfect." In other words, they too being
justified with us at the cross of Calvary. God forbearing with
their sins until they were taken care of by Him at the cross. Now think of that, those men
who, because for righteousness sake, for Christ's sake, endured
such severe persecution and suffering, they were justified with us at
the cross of Calvary. Well, we should be grateful,
shouldn't we, to be in that company? Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy
2, verses 8 through 12 he said remember that Jesus Christ of
the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my
gospel wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer they said all
manner of evil against him didn't they even under bonds they threw
him into jail but the word of God is not bound therefore I
endure all things for the elect's sakes that they may also obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying. Now
listen to this. If ye be dead with him, we shall
also live with him. And then listen to this statement
that binds two thoughts together here. If we suffer, we shall
also reign with him. If we deny him, and I think in
the context that would suggest, if we avoid suffering by denying
him, he also will deny us. Well, we know that when thinking
of these Old Testament saints, Moses was defamed again and again,
Samuel was rejected, Elijah was despised, Nehemiah was oppressed
and defamed, and then And then even after Christ spoke these
things, those who carried on the teaching and the preaching,
the disciples themselves in the New Testament, Stephen was stoned.
Peter and John, they were cast into jail, prison. They cut James
head off. He was beheaded. And the entire
course of the record of Paul is just one series of bitter
and relentless persecutions and being put into jail and so forth.
And then, of course, Christ himself, the scriptures tells us of him
that he was despised and rejected of men. And he was ultimately
put to death by the people that he came to minister to. So in
summary, although we can be grateful that in our society and in our
age that we live in today, and I am, that a stand for Christ
and his gospel doesn't typically bring on such calamity. Not as
it did many believers in the past, and our afflictions indeed
are light by comparison. But we still are blessed, listen,
because we're given the unspeakable privilege of having fellowship
with the sufferings of our Savior, which testify to us that we shall
also fellowship with Him eternally in the riches of His glory. And
those two go together, the unspeakable joys and blessings of eternal
bliss with him. So rejoice and be exceedingly
glad, for great is your reward in heaven.