Tag: Biblical Expositions

“Blessed are the Peacemakers, for They Shall be Called Sons of God.”

The angels greeted the shepherds with this great proclamation of peace:

“Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, good-will toward those on whom his favor rests!”

The seventh beatitude, or characteristic of Christ and His people, is being those who are peacemakers.

Christmastime is Here!

During the Christmas season we are often reminded of Scriptures from Isaiah 9 and Luke 2 that Jesus is the Prince of Peace who has come to offer salvation to those on whom His favor rests!  We are reminded during the Christmas season that we have One who has come to save us so that we can be at peace with God our Creator.

In an amazing testimony to God’s common grace, we also hear about God’s peace from Linus Van Pelt on the popular Peanuts special as he annually declares on television broadcasts around the world, the good news of the gospel!  Think about it.  Since 1965, ‘The Charlie Brown Christmas’ special has aired on television stations and the gospel of peace has found its way into living rooms in almost every country in the world!

On this show ‘The Charlie Brown Christmas’, Charlie Brown wants to know what Christmas is all about!  Lucy says he’s suffering from pantaphobia, a fear of everything, and when he comes to the conclusion as play director that Christmas is an empty thing if it only means plays, cookies, “Christmas queeeeens”, and artificial Christmas trees, Charlie Brown loses it!

At the point of his frustration, Charlie Brown yells “What is Christmas all about?!”  Linus replies: “I’ll tell you what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.  Lights, Please.”  Then Linus moves into the warm spotlight on the stage and recites Luke 2:

“…And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

It’s important to note that the last phrase “peace, good will toward men” is better translated “peace and favor toward those on whom His favor rests”.  The reason is that unless God has shown us his favor and love in Christ while we were yet sinners, the message of Jesus is not peace and good will, but division and conflict!  But to this reality, we are called by Jesus to declare the good news of God’s peace found in Christ!

Peacemakers in a World of “Wars and Rumors of War”

In a world turned upside down by constant “wars and rumors of war” around the world, we are reminded by the seventh beatitude that in this age there will be times of war, but that we are to be peacemakers as sons of God.  Jesus said that the last days (the time between his first coming and his return) would be characterized by wars and rumors of war (Matt. 24); this was to be expected.  But in this age, peace was to be held out to all men through the proclamation of the gospel despite the response of sinful men!

The gospel is God’s terms of peace with sinful man.  The gospel is what we bring to the table as God’s ambassadors in Christ when we discuss surrender and repentance with those who make war against God (2 Cor. 5:17-21; cf. Psalm 2).  We want to implore men at this table to be reconciled to God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).  We want to remind them that it is not the signing of a treaty that will end their lifelong war against God and His Anointed One, but it will be the Covenant God signed and sealed in His own blood in order to keep his promises and make peace with those who will believe!

Being a peacemaker means placing our sword in its sheathe for now, but being a peacemaker in no way means that we are to be passive in times of war when our country needs us to stand up for our nation’s rights or the rights of our family.  What being a peacemaker actually means is to be reminded that our citizenship is ultimately in heaven (Phil. 3:20-21), and because we know the time is short before Christ returns, we offer the Gospel of peace to all men!  When Christ came, he offered peace.  He came to offer “comfort” and peace to Jerusalem and then to the Gentiles who would believe (Isa. 40; Eph. 2:14-17).

Ephesians 2:14-17: For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

However, Jesus always reminded his disciples that this peace would also divide and bring wars and persecution upon his people.  The world cries for “peace” but the only peace they will ever find is in the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, who has reconciled us to God our Creator by his death on behalf of sinners.  The truth of our reconciliation and peace with God is taught to us in Romans 5:6-11:

Romans 5:6-11: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

We live in an upside down hateful world at war with God and fellow men, yet it was in this context Jesus came to die for sinners…to reconcile us to our God and Creator! We must let that sink into our hearts and minds: Peace has been offered to us in Christ while we were enemies of God. This was not because of anything we did at all; it was all because of God’s love and grace to those upon whom his favor rests.

In our struggle to make this good news, this gospel known to others, we should remember that “while we were enemies of God” Jesus died for us.  Augustine one time said that in some mysterious way, God both loved us and hated us at the same time!  We too were once were at war with God and others; once we were at war within ourselves!

By God’s grace, we need to see the enemies of God, our enemies, at this point in time before Jesus returns, as the object of our evangelism, not the object of our scorn and ridicule.  The day of wrath will come when Jesus returns, but now is the time to offer peace in Christ!

“I Have NOT Come to bring Peace, but a Sword”

But, Peace divides….

That is true!  Jesus, the Prince of Peace said that he did not actually come to bring peace, but a sword:

Matthew 10:34-40: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ⁴⁰ “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.

Jesus is making the point that although he offers real peace with God and we offer real peace with God in Christ to others, it will bring division and war!  This true peace is not the kind of peace that man wants or desires.  In fact, when we come to the table with the gospel, declaring God’s terms of surrender found in repentance, as well as God’s terms of believing the Gospel of Christ, we find a violent opposition.

The reason for this violent opposition is because the Gospel holds out to us free and eternal life in Jesus Christ ALONE, yet sinful man comes to the table to speak to God about their terms for God.  Sinful man does not naturally want to surrender to the truth of the gospel because they will then have to acknowledge God as Creator and LORD of all.

So, there is a violent opposition between God’s terms of peace in Christ and the terms of peace sinful men bring to the table and therefore until repentance comes in man’s heart, by God’s grace, there will be no peace!

We should remember that Jesus was teaching this blessing of being a peacemaker in the context of Roman rule and violent oppression.  Revolutionaries, bandits, and zealots all wanted to overthrow Gentile rule by force, rather than to wait upon the LORD.  Jesus tells them that they are to be peacemakers now, not warriors!

The REAL War to End All Wars

In other words, we are to be evangelists for now until Jesus returns again!  When the Son of God came the first time he offers peace in his Name with God, but when he returns again those who have rejected Him will see Him in all his wrath and fury.  The sons of God who lived a life of persecution because they lived as peacemakers, will join our King Jesus in war to end all wars.  A final war, or showdown that will bring in an eternal time of peace that will never end!

God has extended peace to those who would believe in Christ.  We should remember, as well as remind others that God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:14), a wrathful God (Nahum 1), who will not pardon the guilty (Exo. 34:6-8), yet he will extend peace and reconciliation to those who look to Christ, the Prince of Peace by faith (Romans 5:8-10).  In fact, those who believe will be called “sons of the Living God”.

Christ will return soon to war against those who do not believe.  On that terrible Day of the Lamb (Rev. 6;19), the unbelievers who have sought peace in everything and everyone BUT the Living Christ, will find a terrible judgment and wrath.  The Lamb will war against those who have falsely cried “peace, peace” when there was no true peace with God!

We as peacemakers want to be constantly reminded of our evangelistic opportunities all around us.  We want to be reminded of the hope and the peace we can truly offer to those who war within their own souls, against our God and against other men!  Right now, we offer peace as the sons of God, but one day there will be a war to end all wars.  Now is the time of salvation and hope, the time of peace extended through the gracious message of the Gospel of the Prince of Peace!  Remember how Paul describes the feet of those who bring the good news of the gospel of peace in Romans 10 (cf. Ephesians 6:13-18):

“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ¹⁴ But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

“….They Shall Be Called Sons of the Living God!”

What grace!  While we were enemies, God justified us, declared us righteous in Jesus Christ!  The good news doesn’t just stop there, but God goes on to adopt us as his children.  We are called “sons”, “children of the Living God” because of THE SON, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus reconciles us to the Father, gives us a portion of His Spirit, so that we might be called the Sons of God.  This should encourage us all when we are being persecuted (the next study) because we are offering God’s terms of peace to the world in Jesus.  No matter how great the struggle and the conflict here in this world, we can always be assured of our right standing before God, our status as his beloved children, and we can call out to our Father who cares in our time of trouble and be encouraged and delivered!  Read carefully the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8 concerning our sonship or adoption!

Romans 8:14-25: For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. ¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

As children of God wait patiently for our King to return.  By his grace, offer faithfully, despite violent opposition, God’s terms of peace in Jesus, the great gospel of truth that has been declared to us and believed by us!

The Prince of Peace has come!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Next Study: “Blessed are the Persecuted”
Love in Christ,

Pastor Charles

In our last study we learned the meaning of ‘Beatitude’ (here) as well as what Jesus was communicating when he was preaching these “blessings”.  We learned that the ‘Beatitudes’ are ultimately a picture of Christ’s character, and yet as we learn from Christ by His Spirit, these are the characteristics of Christians as we reflect his grace and goodness to us.  The ‘Beatitudes’ show the kind of Christians God will produce through grace and faith in Jesus as we grow and mature!

“Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”

Today, we begin with the first and most foundational ‘beatitude’: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”  What exactly does Jesus mean about “being poor in spirit”?

Simply put, the poor in spirit are those who are absolutely dependent upon God for their spiritual and physical needs.  They are those who are not self-reliant and proud, but humble in heart.

It is interesting that Jesus starts with the characteristic of being poor in spirit as the foundation for all the others ‘Beatitudes’.  The reason is that you cannot know or grow in the Lord Jesus Christ without first understanding your poor condition before the Living God.  We must first know of our sinful condition and great spiritual need for a Savior, before we even begin to see or enter the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. John 3:1-18).

The Poor

In the Old Testament, the poor were often equated with those who were pious.  The reason was that they were those who were without in this world, and thus they were totally dependent upon the Living God for help both physically and spiritually.  This did not mean that the poor were automatically God’s people, but they served as real and living examples in this world of those totally destitute and in need of God’s help.  These were oftentimes contrasted with the rich who were proud, boastful and powerful (Psalm 9:18; 12:5; 34:6; 51; Prov. 29:23; Isaiah 25:1-5; Luke 1:46-48; James 4:3ff).

For an example of “the poor” in the Old Testament, carefully read a portion of Psalm 72:

Psalm 72:12-14: For [God] delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. ¹³ He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. ¹⁴ From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.

God’s concern for the poor helps us to remember of his great mercy for his own!  The “poor” in the Old Testament illustrated the importance of what it meant to be “poor in spirit”.  We need the LORD for all things.  We are utterly dependent upon his goodness for the sun and the rain, as well as for all material blessings (Matthew 6:24-33).  In fact, Jesus will later teach in the Sermon on the Mount that God knows of our great needs, and He will meet them and provide for us and so there is absolutely nothing to fear or worry about!

Sometimes our fear drives us, and we refuse to believe that God will provide for us!  We are oftentimes proud of who we are and what we do as our positions in the world, but if the truth be known, we are all utterly needy and dependent upon the Living God for all things we receive in this world.  Most of the time, it is easier to see this utter reliance and dependence upon God in “the poor” than it is in “the rich” (James 5:1ff).

“Nothing in My Hands I Bring…”

Jesus uses the idea of “the poor”, but he specifically speaks of the “poor in spirit” as being “blessed”.  Who exactly are the “poor in spirit”? Those who are poor in spirit are those who know that “nothing in their hands they bring” to be saved, but “simply to Christ’s cross do they cling” as Augustus Toplady’s hymn teaches us!  Ephesians 2:1-8 sums this up well:

Ephesians 2:1-8: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…

The Apostle Paul tells us of the grace of God in Christ Jesus in this passage.  He tells us that we were truly “dead in the trespasses and sins” when God found us.  We were “sons of disobedience” and “by nature children of wrath”.  Then I love the next two words in verse 4: “But God.” Those are two of the greatest words ever written: “But God!”

But God intervened, God saved, God intruded by His Spirit in His great mercy and love and he saved us!!  This should cause all to be constantly “poor in spirit”.

“…Simply to Thy Cross I Cling!”

We have nothing to offer to God.  We must continually repent of even our best deeds and works (Isaiah 64:6)!  Yet God loved us not because of something we did for him- – we were busy being children of disobedience when he saved us!  As Ephesians 2:8 teaches us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…”  This is our great hope as those who are poor in spirit!

Yet some Christians truly believe that they are saved based on something they do.  They believe that they are saved based on a decision or choice for the Lord Jesus Christ, rather than being saved and then deciding and choosing.  The point that must be remembered by the poor in spirit is that there is absolutely nothing we can do to be saved, because we are spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-4), until we are born again.

Jesus taught Nicodemus that one must be born again before he sees or enters the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3).  It is all because of God’s mercy that he saves us, then we believe and decide for Jesus because we are now able to humble ourselves, “poor in spirit”, so that we might be saved.  This is important for us all to remember.  Salvation is all of grace!

Humility before the Living God

Being poor in spirit could be called a kind of humility of which we are aware.  Oftentimes I have been told that if you are humble you will never know it.  However, the Bible seems to indicate that some humility we are aware of.  In fact in the Book of James and Peter, there are two commands to actually be humble.  That would indicate to me that there is an awareness of what is humble and what is not.  It would indicate to me that some do know when they are humble, or poor in spirit, and when they are not.  Notice the following commands from James and Peter, who sat under their Lord’s teaching on being “poor in spirit”, both of whom were there for the entire Sermon on the Mount.

James 4:6-10: But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:5a-8: Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. ⁶ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; ⁷ casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you. ⁸ Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour…

In both of these passages we have commands to be humble, or poor in spirit, or utterly dependent upon God for grace.  We should remember as Christians that we begin the Christian life as those “poor in spirit” and by God’s grace and the working of His Spirit, continue to learn just how “poor in spirit” or utterly dependent upon God we should be!

Saved and SELF-Righteous?

Yet how easy it is for us to forget from what wretched condition we were saved!  After a few days, a few months, a few years of being Christians, we so easily begin to be “rich in spirit” or proud and look down our noses at “poor sinners”.  Rather than looking at poor sinners with the eyes of Christ’s compassion, we think we are so much better than they are because we are saved!  How low can you go?

This is a really bad place to be in, spiritually speaking.  It means that when we are judging others for being sinners in this way, we are forgetting how sinful and dead we were when the mercy of God appeared to us!  We are forgetting the two important words: “But God!”

The next time you find it so easy to judge another for their sins, and you pat yourself on the back for your great righteousness, or ability to “see through other’s real motivations”, remind yourself that you are not being “poor in spirit”, utterly and totally dependent upon God at the moment, but you are being quite proud of yourself!  Repent and remind yourself of the story Jesus tells about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector which is a great Biblical illustration of what it means to be “poor in spirit”.

A Tale of Two Spirits

Luke 18:9-17: He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” ¹⁵ Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁷ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Notice something important from this “Tale of Two Spirits”, it was the one “poor in spirit” who knew of his right standing as a sinner before God who was considered “righteous” and went down to his house “justified”.  Notice the comparison Jesus makes between the self-righteous, proud, “rich in spirit” person and the one who knows his poor condition before God and requests God’s mercy because he knows as one poor in spirit that God is indeed “rich in mercy”(cf. Eph. 2:4-6).

Notice also from the story Jesus tells that in summarizing the story, Jesus says: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  This is another example of how true humility can be known in a person by the way they respond to the Living God.  True humility is displayed throughout a Christian’s life as an ongoing dependence and resting in the Lord Jesus Christ and His grace!

How do you view yourself?  Is it with one eye toward heaven and one toward yourself?  Is it a “balanced” and Biblical view?  What I mean is, do you see yourself as both a sinner and as one saved by grace?  If you do, then this is good.  We never want to underestimate the work God has done in us and is continuing to do in us, yet we never want to forget that we are “works in progress”, “under construction” by his grace!

Therefore, because we utterly depend upon Jesus alone for salvation, we must utterly depend upon Jesus and His Spirit to continue to work in us by faith.  We must continue as Christians to be “poor in spirit” by continuing to trust the Living God, knowing that we are God’s workmanshship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).

Do you believe that it is truly “all of grace”?  Is your life, your salvation in Christ all of grace, because of the two words given in Ephesians 2: “But God”?  We must repent of our self-righteousness, and by His grace continue to be “poor in spirit”.  We are assured that those who are utterly dependent upon God will be part of the Kingdom of Heaven now, but to be fully entered in when Jesus returns for those who are utterly dependent and patiently awaiting his return, which is also all of grace!

Rock of Ages

I shall conclude with the words to Augustus Toplady’s Hymn ‘Rock of Ages’.  You have probably sung this hymn many times, but truly focus on the words to this great hymn!  Do you believe it?  Are you poor in spirit?  The reason why this hymn is such a great illustration of being “poor in spirit” is that it not only speaks of being humbled by salvation, but humbled by death and knowing that our only hope in death is Jesus’ help!  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven!”

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law’s commands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

Next Study: “Blessed are those Who Mourn”

Love in Christ,

Pastor Biggs

Introduction to the Beatitudes

Today we will begin a study on the ‘Beatitudes’ from Matthew chapter five.  The Beatitudes teach us of the blessedness, or covenantal happiness we have as the people of God because of God’s salvation and His continued working in his people.

In the past, the ‘Beatitudes’ have been falsely interpreted by some as being the steps one attempts to climb in order to be a Christian.  We should never interpret the ‘Beatitudes’ in such a way.  The ‘Beatitudes’ are simply what those who have been gripped by the grace of the Lord Jesus and have been saved by his precious blood will begin to look like.

In other words, the ‘Beatitudes’ are the characteristics of Christ-likeness that will gradually be manifested in the believer’s life.  The ‘Beatitudes’ are, if you will, “Attitudes of Gratitude” for the work that Christ has already begun in us, and knowing that this work will continue until the Day when Christ returns for us (Phil. 1:6).

The term ‘Beatitudes’ may sound like a new Beatles-like rock band or a new reggae band making it into mainstream music.  However, the term has nothing to do with a rock or reggae band.  The term ‘Beatitudes’ come from the Latin translation of makarios, a Greek word meaning “happy” or covenantally “happy”.  When the Bible was translated into Latin from Greek, the word makarios was translated as beatus, thus the reason they are called beatitudes. An example of true makarios or covenantal happiness is revealed in Psalm 1.

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; ² but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. ³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. ⁴ The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; ⁶ for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

The “Blessedness” of the Beatitudes

You could say that the ‘Beatitudes’ that are taught by Christ in Matthew 5:1-12 are a summary of the righteous life, hopes, desires, struggles, and praise of all of the Psalms (more on this as the study develops!).  As Psalm 1:6 says:

“The LORD knows the way of the righteous”.

The ‘Beatitudes’ could very helpfully be summarized as the ‘way of the righteous’.  The opposite of the ‘Beatitudes’ is to walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, and sit with the scoffers in this fallen world.  The path of the righteous is much different, and so a lot more narrower than the broad way of the wicked that leads to destruction (Matthew 7).

The “blessed”-ness of the ‘Beatitudes’ should not be misunderstood as our own American way of defining happiness.  The “blessed” or happy come from “delighting in the law of the LORD” (Ps. 1).  The “blessed” that is spoken of is “covenantal blessings” or “covenantal happiness”.  As Moses went up on Sinai to bring down the Law to the people of God in the Old Covenant, so Jesus is going up on the mount, as One Who is greater than Moses, to bring down the Law that will be fulfilled by grace.  When Moses told the people about obedience to the Law in Deuteronomy 28, he spoke of their lives as being blessed by their obedience.  Notice in Deuteronomy 28:9, that keeping God’s commandments is described as “walking in his ways”.  This is the “blessed walk” of Psalm 1 and the “narrow path” that Jesus describes in Matthew 7.

JESUS: the Blessed Keeper of the Law

The people of God in the Old Covenant who were awaiting a Messiah, an Anointed King to rule over them and all the earth, were awaiting one who would enable them to love and keep the Law of God (Ezek. 36).  By the time the Messiah, the Christ comes to them, the majority of those who call themselves “God’s people”, are trusting in their own righteousness and their own works of the Law, rather than looking to God for grace and mercy (cf. Phil. 3:4-11).  In other words, many of those who called themselves by the Name of the LORD were not poor in spirit, mourning over their sins, being meek, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, nor building Christ’s Kingdom through peace rather than their own might and power!

Jesus wants His people to know that he has not come to abolish the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it! (Matthew 5:17).  The people of God must be humbled and forsake any attempt at earning their own righteousness through works!  Jesus is the Blessed Keeper of the Law spoken of in Psalm 1!  The people of God are to trust in Messiah and His fulfillment of the Law, they are to “live by faith”.  The Messiah was to be cursed for their sins against God’s holy law and to offer the blessings of His Law-keeping Spirit to them so that they might have new hearts!  The Apostle Paul would explain this later in his letter to the congregation at Galatia.

Galatians 3:10-13: For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” ¹² But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”-

Jesus wanted to clear up the wrong teaching and thinking of his people when he came and this is one of the reasons why Jesus climbs the mount to give a sermon that will change the lives and thinking of those who have ears to hear!  This Jesus will turn their world upside down with one sermon.  In fact, when Jesus completes the Sermon on the Mount, the crowds are amazed at his teaching with authority!

“I’m Beginning to Look a Lot Like Jesus”

So what does one who has been saved by grace through faith, one who has been purchased and bought with a price by Christ’s blood, what does one of these people look like who walk the narrow path, who live by faith in Jesus, and who are blessed?  What are their characteristics?

Jesus said they are characterized by being poor in spirit; mourning; being meek, yet not weak; hungering and thirsting after righteousness; merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.  Jesus is not teaching that “if” you become all these things, then you will be a follower of Christ.  Rather, he is saying “if you are a follower of Christ” then this is what you will look like.

It is like the hopes and aspirations we have for our own lives as well as the lives of our children.  We pray and hope that we, as well as our children, even our family name will mean something in the big scheme of history.  We pray that we as well as our children will become something worthwhile and helpful in our little worlds.  Well, Jesus is saying that this is not only a mere hope or aspiration, but it will become a reality as we follow close to him by his grace.  We will become what is revealed as “blessed” in the ‘Beatitudes’.  This is great news for sinners!

Kingdom Living in a Fallen World

Before we begin our next study with the poor in spirit, allow me to sum up all of the ‘Beatitudes’, further illustrating how they relate to the Psalms in the Old Testament.  Let’s read Matthew 5:1-12, then we will proceed with our introduction to the ‘Beatitudes’.

Matthew 5:1-12: Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. ⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Notice that Jesus notices the crowds, but he specifically addresses the disciples (5:1, 10-12- 2nd person plural, speaking to those persecuted, not the whole crowd).  Jesus seems to be primarily speaking to his disciples, but the crowds are listening in.  Jesus is turning his listener’s world upside down as he usually did through his teaching.  In order for him to explain the way of the Kingdom of God, it is no surprise that it was directly opposite to the ways and thoughts of this world.

To summarize what Dr. Sinclair Ferguson calls “Kingdom Living in a Fallen World”, Jesus begins to teach the covenantal happiness, or blessings that come with being his follower.  He begins with the poor in spirit.  Before we can even follow Jesus we must be totally dependent upon the grace and the mercy of our Heavenly Father if we are to be saved.  Then he speaks of mourning.

Mourners are those who do not expect constant joy and fulfillment in this world.  Rather, they are those who know what it is like to suffer.  They know things are not as they should be and they await a day when all of creation will be renewed (Rom. 8:18-25).  They mourn for their own sins, not only totally dependent upon God for salvation, but totally repentant before God as they grow in their salvation.  Those who mourn also are offended because God’s holiness is offended by the sins of man, including themselves.

Then Jesus says “Blessed are the meek”.  Now what the world may call “weak”, Jesus describes as meek.  The meek know that they are citizens of two kingdoms and that ultimately all of their rights here on this earth should be given up and surrendered to Jesus, the One who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but Who made Himself nothing, even dying upon a cross meekly for his people!  The meek are not weak, they have just learned to suspend some of their rights and strength for the sake of love and considering others better than themselves.

Then there are those who pursue righteousness.  They know that the only thing that will truly satisfy is to be like Christ their Savior.  So, they pursue, they strive at being Christ-like, by hungering and thirsting for his righteousness!  They want to be like their Master!

Then there are those who are merciful, because they have experienced the deep, kind, undeserving mercy of God!  They want to show the same mercy to others.  They want justice, but they lovingly want to walk justly and love mercy because it is a reflection of God’s mercy to them.  Then there are the pure in heart who love what God loves and learns to hate what God hates.  They know that God is continually purifying and sanctifying their hearts as they rest and depend upon His mercy and love to them.

The peacemakers know that their peacemaking is a double-edged sword.  Their ultimate goal is to share the peace they have with God because of Jesus Christ with others.  Knowing, however, that others who are not at peace with God and actually war against God will not accept their “terms of peace”.  Rather, they will persecute and say all kinds of evil against them because of Jesus.

In all of this, Jesus says “Rejoice and be glad for great is the reward of those who are like this!”  The ‘Beatitudes’ are ultimately pictures of Christ and pictures of what we as Christ’s people will begin to look like.  By the power of Christ’s Spirit, Christ will continue to be formed in us so that we will be presented to Christ when he returns as a pure, lovely, righteous Bride who will live with Christ forever!

Next: “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit”

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Charles

Jesus says: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven- for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”  –ESV Luke 7:47

What is your estimation of yourself? I’m not speaking in terms of estimating your financial worth or estimating your value to others in this world. What is your estimation of yourself before God? Do you consider yourself “pretty good” or “a decent person” or “righteous compared with others”? Or are you sinful? Are you one who has been greatly forgiven?

We must remember that the Bible teaches us that all fall short of the glory of God. All of us are born and conceived in sin, and therefore we have no righteousness before God from our very conception (Psa. 51). Not only that, but we have no interest or desire for God in our sinful condition, and so we sin against God in our words, thoughts and deeds (Gen. 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Eph. 2:1-3).

We should never say that we realize that we have a few faults but nothing more. It is not just that when we fail now and then we see our faults, rather our faults reveal our true sinful condition. We are sinners not merely because we possess sinful faults, we have sinful faults because we are by nature sinners.

Our sinfulness is first a condition of how we fare before God’s holiness. Before God we do not measure up, although we might look the other way and try to measure ourselves by others (of course it will be those who are not as righteous as we are in our estimation). But the Bible tells us that our predicament is so sinful that even our best works of righteousness, our best prayers, our best goodness before God is as filthy rags worthy only of rejection before God’s holy face (Isa. 64:6).

If we are conceived in sin, and we constantly commit actual sins throughout our lives because we resist God and selfishly want to live for ourselves, and our best religious efforts are tainted by sin, and are never acceptable before God, what are we to do?

How can we ever love God and others, if we find ourselves in this sinful predicament?!

God demands perfection of all human beings (Matthew 5:48). Everyone says: “Nobody’s perfect!”

But that’s the problem. No one’s perfect and yet God demands perfection.

Good news! The righteous perfection God requires of us, He provides for us by faith alone in Jesus Christ. By faith alone, we receive Christ’s perfect righteousness to cover our sins. This is God’s gift (Eph. 2:6-10).

So there was One who was perfect: Jesus Christ the Righteous One, the Beloved Son of God.

Look to Jesus Christ who is the very righteousness of God! Jesus Christ is the full revelation of the righteousness God requires of all mankind, and Jesus Christ is the full and gracious revelation of the righteousness God provides for all who believe!

In Christ, by faith alone, we find the love of God and the forgiveness of sins.

This is why we must learn to estimate ourselves rightly before God. If we are ever to love Christ and others as we should, we need to estimate ourselves rightly. If we are ever to repent daily, in a manner consistent with our sinfulness, we need to estimate ourselves rightly before God.

As we understand the great love and mercy and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ, so we learn how much we are forgiven of our sins in Him and for His sake, and we learn how to love.

In the passage from Luke 7 (36-50) that I quoted above, we see Jesus as the Savior of sinners, seeking and saving the lost. Jesus accepts an invitation to go to a Pharisee’s house to point out his pride and prejudice, and his dire need of a Savior from sinful self-righteousness.

A notoriously sinful woman (probably a prostitute) enters into Simon the Pharisee’s home, rushing toward the only person who can and will forgive her, and makes her humble submission to Jesus, showing her faith and love for Christ in her actions.

This sinful woman knows that her only hope is found in the mercy of Jesus Christ; she desires only to worship Him who is worthy and to be a recipient of His grace alone.

Contrastly, the Pharisee Simon, with pride and prejudice, criticizes Jesus in his mind for not being a good prophet (v. 39) because he thinks Jesus is unaware of her sinful position and actions in the world.

Simon the Pharisee is unaware of His need of the righteousness of God found in Christ alone. He compares himself with a notoriously sinful woman to puff himself up, and to find through comparison with another sinner a righteousness of his own making.

Because of this woman’s humility and right estimation of herself before a holy Christ, her “many sins” will be forgiven by Jesus because she recognized her sinfulness and came to him alone for forgiveness.

The woman is not seeking to compare herself with other sinners who may be more wicked than her. Rather, she is concerned first with her own heart before God; this is true faith and repentance in Jesus Christ!

Jesus uses this story to show that all sinners are debtors to God, and if one truly understands their condemnation under God’s holy law, that is if they have a right estimation of themselves before God, then they will be humbled and realize their great debt to God that they cannot pay back.

Simon the Pharisee understands that the woman is showing great love for her debt being forgiven, but he doesn’t understand his own debt to God as a Law-breaker- -that he too, is a debtor with a large debt.

Because of his pride and prejudice against Jesus and his teaching (and not to mention the sinful woman), Simon doesn’t feel the weight of his debt before God; nor does he understand that debts before God are only cancelled in Christ Jesus through faith alone!

It is important to note in Jesus’ story that it is not the love in action that brings the forgiveness, but it is the cancellation of the debt or the forgiveness that brings forth love and gratitude.

Jesus is not teaching that we are saved and forgiven by our love, but that our love for Christ and others shows that we have truly been forgiven!

Our love reveals and demonstrates through praise and worship of Christ, and the love of others, that we have a right estimation of ourselves before God, and that we realize we have been recipients of God’s grace and mercy- -apart from any works, or anything good that we have done.

The woman does not merit her forgiveness through her loving actions toward Jesus. Rather, she shows that she has been forgiven and because of the forgiveness she has already received by God’s grace through faith in Christ, she shows forth this forgiveness in true love.

Jesus says:

“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven- for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” – v. 47.

People of God: If we daily remembered how much we have been forgiven by God for our many sins, we would be more loving toward others, more worshipful before God, more humble, more serving, more forgiving, less proud, less critical of others, less judgmental.

We would consider others more significant than ourselves, and we would experience deeper repentance before God. Do you find yourself growing in your understanding of just how much you have been forgiven? Do you find yourself seeing Christ as more lovely and beautiful as a Savior as you grow in understanding the depths of your sinful heart?

The Christian life is not about becoming more like Simon the Pharisee: full of self-righteousness and self-importance.

Rather, the Christian life is about growing in our understanding of the sovereign and amazing grace of God that saved a wretch like me, and that helps us to realize that before God we have all been worse than sinful prostitutes in our words, thoughts and evil deeds!

And yet God has grace and mercy upon us in Jesus Christ!!

It is important to ask yourself if you are more like Simon than the sinful woman here in this passage.

Do you separate yourself from sinners (in the wrong way) because you believe you are more righteous, not understanding the forgiveness that you have received from God? Do you engage in constant comparison of yourself with others? Are you always needing to prove your righteousness before others?

Or do you worship and serve Christ like the sinful woman, and being humble like Jesus, do you extend a hand of forgiveness to even the most wretched sinner whose sins are many?

Jesus does not say: “For he who has loved little, has only received little forgiveness.” He says: “For he who is forgiven little, loves little,” implying that we must have a right estimation of ourselves before God and understand our great debt, realizing the wickedness of our own sins before we truly show forth genuine Christian charity in our lives for God and our neighbor.

The Pharisee in his own presumptuous self-righteousness considered before God that he only needed forgiveness for a few sins in his estimation, and for that reason his love for God was so slight in demonstration and action. In fact, I would say that the Pharisee’s best prayers, righteous works in his own strength and flesh were abhorrent, and as filthy rags before God’s holy face!

What is your estimate of your own sins?

Do you truly realize how desperately wicked your sinful heart is before God (cf. Jeremiah 17:9-10)? Do you consider yourself to be a “pretty good person” and not comparatively as bad as others?

OUR ONLY HOPE IS JESUS CHRIST; THE SAVIOR OF SINNERS. ARE YOU DESPERATELY SINFUL AND WICKED?

Come to Jesus; he will give you rest and relieve you from your slavery to sin! If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed! (John 8:32).

And you who are forgiven much will love much!

Love in Christ,

Pastor Charles