“Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
and he began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:1-12One commentator said this is King Jesus’s inaugural address. What he expects of his people.
I know its longer than I normally write but please read it and see what you think of it.
The word blessed here means far more than simply happy. It means a distinctive spiritual happiness that comes from knowing Christ and God on a personal level.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
These are people who know their deficiencies when it comes to living up to the ideals of God. As apposed to those who are proud they are spiritually self sufficient.
One must remember that salvation is a gift offered to us by God it is not earned as many would have us believe.
It is only by admitting our spiritual poverty that we recognize our need of Christ.
Witness the thief on the cross. He admitted he was a thief deserving of his punishment. He turned to Christ admitted his wrong whereupon.
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Here he refers those who mourn over their sin and the sins of others. A true Christian wants everyone everywhere to admit they are a sinner before God and accept the salvation only Jesus gives.
I also believe a true believer will be concerned by sins committed in the name of the church or believers.
It I believe is part of being poor in spirit. We realize we are inadequate before God and can at times be brought to tears.
In our grief Jesus is there to comfort us.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
A reference to Psalm 37:11
“But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.”
This is not so much and attitude toward man but toward God again dealing with humility. Which was a great part of Jesus teaching.
Jesus said
“The greatest among you will be your servant.
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:11,12
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
This is exactly what it says. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness both for personal righteousness and the justice of others will see righteousness fulfilled.
One day even the worst criminals, political leaders and others will stand before God. They may have avoided justice here on earth but they will not avoid justice when they stand before God.
And those who hunger after such justice will see this and be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
If we show mercy we will be shown mercy. Its that simple. You will be treated in kind. Even here on earth.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
The heart is the center of our being our mind, will and emotions. Those of pure heart will see God.
Again it goes back to humility.
We need to daily confess to God how far short we fall from what He expects of us. And we need to do it privately without fan fair. When only God is listening.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”
To quote Romans
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18
We should never be contentious. We should not be stirring up trouble. We have the Gospel of Peace to present to the world and we should be doing so in word and in deed.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
How we handle persecution shows our fitness for heaven. But we should be very careful when it comes to persecution.
We live in a secular democratic society here in Canada and the United States. We have no right according to Matthew 7:1 to judge anyone. Further more Romans 13:1 tells us “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” Romans 13:1
They set the laws and as long as they don’t restrict our rights we have no right to try and restrict the rights of others.
All to many Christian’s try to restrict the rights of others because they feel what they are doing is morally reprehensible. Or simply not in line with Christian teaching.
When they try to do this there is a backlash that they call persecution.
It is not. It is Christians being judged the way they are judging.
True persecution come on us when we do everything right. When we simply present the gospel in love and humility to the people around us and they object to the point even of threatening jail or death.
Think about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment