The Beatitudes

I'd like to start off with a question.

So if someone asked you to define what it means to be a Christian, what would you say?

Maybe you'd think of some Bible verses about having faith in Jesus Christ and believing that he died on the cross to forgive sins.

Maybe you'd think about repenting and believing in Jesus.

Or maybe you'd speak about someone going to church because they want to know God more and show them, show him their devotion to him and their love for other people.

But I wonder how many of us would talk firstly about some of our actions and some of our attitudes.

Tonight we're going to be looking at the Beatitudes and what we see in them is God's blueprint for the Christian life.

God's blueprint for the Christian life.

So if you're here this evening and you are a Christian, then these things should be the attitudes and actions that characterize who you are.

Now this passage is very well known and we'll read it in a moment as we go through.

But familiarity should not stop us from reading it and being amazed.

Absolutely blown away by the greatness of God who freely grants these wonderful blessings to his people.

But we must understand that this is not a list of good works that will get us into heaven.

This is not a list of things that we can do to earn salvation, but this is a list of characteristics for the Christian.

If we are followers of Jesus, this is how we should be living.

Martin Luther said this about the Sermon on the Mount.

Christ is saying nothing in this sermon about how we become Christians,

but only about the works and fruits that no one can do unless he is already a Christian and in a state of grace.

I, for one, this week found this passage very challenging.

And the question I've been asking myself is, am I really living this lifestyle for the glory of Christ?

You'll see in your Bibles that verses 3 to 11 all start with that same word, blessed.

Blessed. Now, blessed is an interesting word that has been changed by our world, hasn't it?

Blessed. People use the word blessed today when they feel exceptionally prosperous.

When they're experiencing happiness or joy.

People say they're blessed when they get married, when they have a child, when they get a promotion, when they get a new job.

But all of these things are finite.

All of them are temporary like everything else in this world.

That understanding of blessed is man-made and it is man-focused.

Blessed means to be in God's favor.

And the word here in the Beatitudes is actually maybe better translated as happy.

But this happiness is not a temporary feeling that is there one second and gone the next.

This happiness is the unchangeable state that a Christian has before God.

He has favor.

They have favor in his sight.

And this is important to know as we look at the Beatitudes.

Because this happiness or status as Christian.

And the Beatitudes are God's pattern for happiness.

As the slide says behind me.

This is God's blueprint for the Christian life.

The only way that we can do these eight things listed in this passage.

Is if we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Helping us to live obediently.

Otherwise, we are simply living moral lives.

And we're sellotaping fake fruit to the dead trees that are living contrary to God.

The only way we can live the Beatitudes is by the power of God in us.

Who has taken us from being dead in our sins to being alive in Christ.

So I think generally the Beatitudes can split into three sections.

Verses 3 to 6 are a Christian's attitude or response to God.

That flow out of our relationship with Jesus.

Verses 7 to 9 are a Christian's attitude or response to other people.

That flow out of our relationship with Jesus.

And verses 10 to 12 are people's response to Christians.

That flow out of our relationship with Jesus.

So let's walk through these verses and we'll read them as we go.

And be blown away by the privilege that it is to be a Christian.

The privilege of being given that status of blessed or eternally happy in Christ.

And if you're not a Christian this evening, think about these things.

Think about these promises that are being worked out in the life of every Christian.

And the promises of future reward.

And consider where you stand before a holy God this evening.

So verse 3 says,

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Now there is no coincidence that this is the first Beatitude.

Because this is the starting point from which every other Beatitude flows.

This is the starting point for every person when they become a Christian.

Why?

Well because only when we are poor in spirit do we cry out to God for help.

Now this isn't talking about financial poverty.

Jesus isn't saying that all of his disciples and followers must be poor.

But think about the consequences of being poor.

In the time that this was written it would have meant a life of begging.

And being dependent on others to provide for you.

Is that what Jesus is calling Christians to?

Well in a sense yes.

When you hear the call of Jesus on your life from Matthew chapter 4 verse 17 where it says,

Matthew 4:17

Repent for the kingdom of God has come near.

It leads you to the point where you realize that you as a person are sinful.

Broken.

Corrupt.

And that you can do absolutely nothing to earn your salvation.

It is at that point when people are poor in spirit and then they are spiritually bankrupt before God.

And it is at that point that we realize that we can do nothing.

And we come before God and confess our insufficiency.

But we don't leave the place spiritually bankrupt.

Those who have come to the end of themselves recognize their own sinfulness.

They turn to God and repent.

And what do they find?

Everlasting happiness.

Because as the end of verse 3 says,

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

What state is your soul in this evening?

Have you become proud that you're a Christian?

Have we started to become numb to our own sinfulness?

Or are we still in that place of spiritual bankruptcy and we rely wholeheartedly on God to save us?

Being poor in spirit is not just the starting place of every Christian.

But it should be the identity that characterizes our entire life.

Because we should never think that we contribute anything to being saved.

But our lives should be marked by absolute dependence on God.

As the old hymn says,

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy 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.

That is the cry of someone who is poor in spirit.

And theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The next beatitude.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Do you see how logical this is?

What do you expect people to do when they realize their weakness,

their inability to save themselves?

Clap and sing for joy?

Jump up and down for excitement?

No.

We expect them to mourn.

Now when people mourn, they want to be comforted, don't they?

When a loved one dies, all you want is a hug

and someone to tell you that everything is going to be okay.

When the doctor's given you that bad news,

you want to be comforted.

When you've had your whole world taken away from you,

you want comfort.

And the wonderful news about verse 4 is that not only is this a good kind of mourning,

but that the comfort that we receive is not temporary,

but it is everlasting.

The reason for the mourning is because of what we've just seen in verse 3.

The Christian mourns over their sinfulness.

We lament over our broken and rebellious hearts.

We should be sorrowful and we should weep at the sin in our life before a holy God,

but we are not left hopeless.

Because God comforts his people and that word doesn't quite grasp the immensity of the comfort that we receive.

Jesus doesn't just come alongside and pat us on the back and give us a pep talk.

He doesn't look at our pain from a distance and act like a comforting cheerleader.

But Jesus gets on his hands and knees in the misery that we feel.

And he weeps with us because of our sin,

but he takes the burden on himself and he gifts us his righteousness.

As Christians, we are comforted because our sin,

the thing that made us rebel against God,

has been deemed powerless by Christ on the cross.

That is the comfort that will never, ever grow faint.

A truth that will never grow old and an inheritance that will never perish.

Our comfort is everlasting because our comforter, our savior is everlasting.

Verse 5.

Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.

Now meekness is not weakness, but it is power under control.

The word for meek could be translated as gentle.

That doesn't mean that Christians are to be, as we say in Scotland, a softy.

Or that we are to be a doormat for the world.

But it means that as Christians, we should be humble

and fully submit to serve God, to his will for our lives.

It means that we humbly serve and have courage and conviction

as we live our lives obediently for Christ.

The world tells us that we can do anything, whatever we want.

That you need to look after number one.

That you're the only one that really matters.

And sure, living that way might make you feel good.

It might grant you some success in this life.

But what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?

Those who humbly, submissively and meekly serve God

with every single area of their lives will inherit the earth.

Now sadly, I don't have time to go into everything that that means,

but I'd encourage you later on to go home

and read Genesis chapter 12 verses 1 to 3

Genesis 12:1–3

and Genesis 13 verses 14 to 17.

Genesis 13:14–17

Because verse 5 of Matthew 5 is a fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant promises

where God's people will live in God's place under God's rule.

And we know that glorious future to be the new creation that we see

in Revelation chapter 21 and 22.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

Blessed are those who hunger and who thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

So if you're a Christian, then your deep desire should be to become more and more like Jesus Christ

every single day and by God's grace,

through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, that happens.

It is a process that is lifelong.

But we are not to be passive in this process.

We are to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

So this is not a casual sense of wanting,

maybe like you feel now as you're thinking,

when I get home, I want a curry or I want a pizza.

But this is a deep set sense of hunger and thirst.

Imagine you've just hiked up a mountain on a hot day

and you cannot wait to pick up that water bottle or that plate of food.

But when that happens,

you're not going to look at those things and go towards them calmly, are you?

That water bottle will be empty in seconds

and woe to anyone who tries to touch that plate of food.

Your body has a deep longing and need for nourishment

and you'll do anything to get it.

And that is the attitude that Christians should have

when it comes to our desire to be holy,

to have more and more of God's righteousness.

And the wonderful news is that we've been given it.

As Christians, we have been declared righteous when we came to Christ.

Jesus took our sinfulness and gave us his righteousness.

And so as we continue in that deep hunger and thirst

for more and more of that holiness and righteousness in our lives,

Jesus says at the end of verse six,

you will be satisfied.

So that's the first little section.

And in verses seven to nine,

Jesus speaks about three attitudes or responses to other people

that should result from our relationship with him.

Look at verse seven.

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

Now as Christians, we have been shown the ultimate mercy

because God will not give the Christians the punishment

that we deserve for a life of rebellion and rejection of God.

All of those who put their trust in Jesus have been forgiven

and that mercy is evident because he bore,

Jesus bore God's wrath and judgment,

meaning that we can be free to serve him.

And therefore,

because we have been shown the greatest mercy

that ever has been known and ever will be known in this,

world,

we too are called to be merciful.

Jesus is calling us to have compassion on other people,

but he doesn't give us particular situations

that we're to be merciful in

or particular people groups that we're to be merciful to

because we are to be merciful to all people

in all circumstances.

Think to the well-known parable of the good Samaritan,

the Samaritan who cared for the beaten and injured Israelite,

even though in the world's standards,

they were complete enemies.

He is the one who is shown to be merciful.

He is the one that we should be like.

We should be merciful.

And we recognize that we are recipients of God's mercy.

Therefore,

therefore,

we should be merciful and we will be shown mercy.

This doesn't mean that we can earn our salvation,

but it means that as we live out our Christian life

before the eyes of a watching world,

as we are merciful to people,

God will be merciful to us

and show us the ultimate mercy

and take us to be in his presence for an eternity.

Blessed are those,

blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Or a fun little paraphrase,

happy are the holy.

This means that as Christians,

our heart,

our whole being,

our mind,

our will,

our emotions

should be pursuing holiness

and purity

in every single area of our lives.

The desire of our heart,

of our life,

should be to obediently serve God

in the way he has called us to

and in full view of the world.

We are not to hide.

The inward holiness

that we have been given by Jesus

should be exemplified

by an outward holiness

that is on display for the world to see.

And if we live according to the Bible,

that will happen naturally.

People will realize that we are different.

Our friends,

our families,

our colleagues,

our employers

and our employees

should all be able to tell

that we are followers of Jesus

because we are pure in heart

and because we tell people

why we're different.

If that is the case,

then the wonderful promise is

that we will see God.

Meaning that as Jesus returns

and every eye sees him,

we will go to be with him

for an eternity.

Revelation 22 verse 4 says,

Revelation 22:4

we will see God.

Verse 9,

blessed are the peacemakers

for they will be called

children of God.

We live in a world

that is constantly fighting.

The message is climb

and promote yourself

above everybody else.

Don't care about other people.

Politicians make fun of each other

and they argue on live television

for the whole nation and world

to laugh at them.

Work colleagues stab each other

in the back

to look good

in front of the boss.

Family members

quarrel over meaningless things.

And it is into that setting

that Jesus calls his followers

to be peacemakers.

Peacemakers in the community

and in the church.

We should be peacemakers

because Jesus

is the ultimate peacemaker.

Colossians 1 verses 19 to 20

Colossians 1:19–20

says this,

through him

to reconcile,

so this is God speaking

about saving

his people,

through him

to reconcile

to himself

all things

whether things on earth

or things in heaven.

How?

By making peace

through his blood

shed on the cross.

We make peace

because Jesus

made the ultimate peace

between us and God.

When was the last time

you were a peacemaker?

When was the last time

you promoted peace?

This should characterize

our everyday lives,

how we respond at work,

how we respond to criticism,

to slander,

and how we interact

with people online

and on social media.

Are we peacemakers?

Now again,

being a peacemaker

doesn't mean

that we become

people's doormats

or that we sit back

and let anything happen

simply because

we want to keep the peace.

we are still to be

pure in heart

and live holy lives.

So when we see

that things are wrong,

when we see people

are teaching wrong things

about God

or promoting

a false gospel,

we need to speak up.

But the attitude

that should characterize

everything

and govern

everything that we do,

even when we confront people,

should be peace.

we should be confronting

to reconcile people.

So those are three

attitudes or responses

that all Christians

should have

to other people

that result

from our relationship

with Jesus.

And Jesus now

moves on to speak

about people's response

to Christians

because of their relationship

with Jesus

in verses 10 to 12.

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.

Now this is all

one beatitude

not two separate ones

and we might think

that there's two

because the word blessed

is in there twice

but it is just one thing

and they are speaking

about suffering

for Jesus.

Jesus is saying

that all of his followers

if they live

according to his teaching

and if they act

in a holy

and righteous way

if they live

according to everything

we've been thinking

about this evening

then they will be persecuted.

They will be opposed.

We will be persecuted

because we're different

from the world.

We believe in truth.

We live in the light.

but the world

is in darkness

and is deceived

and lives the lie

that there is no God.

Therefore

anyone who stands firm

and stands up

for their faith

will be persecuted.

And so when

we are persecuted

insulted

ridiculed

mocked

we can rejoice

and be glad

because we know

that God is watching

and that one day

every single wrong

will be made right

and we will have

our reward in heaven.

So this whole world

might seem to be

crushing around us

and Christianity

might seem to be

pushed to the fringes

but we know

that there will be

a day

when Jesus

will return

and every eye

will see him

and praise him

for who he is.

Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God

almighty.

So let me ask us

a very challenging

question this evening

as a whole church

but also as individuals.

Are we being persecuted?

Are we being opposed?

Our tendency

is to think

that if we aren't

being persecuted

or facing opposition

then we're doing

something right.

But that's not true.

That's not what we see

in scripture.

The message

that we see

in the Bible

is that Jesus' followers

will face opposition.

We will suffer.

We will be persecuted

for our faith.

And if we aren't

we need to ask

ourselves the question

are we really

being faithful?

So these 12 verses

tell us about

God's blueprint

for the Christian life.

And they are full

of wonderful promises

that we have just

skimmed over this evening.

Go away,

study them

for the next

eight weeks

and see

how much

your hunger

and thirst

for God grows.

but will we

listen

and will we

obey?

Will we live

according to

God's blueprint

and share the

good news of

Jesus with people?

We need to

always remember

that we do

none of this

in our own strength

but we do it

for God's glory

by God's strength

because he enables

to do these things

by the Holy Spirit

dwelling within us.

let's pray together.

Heavenly Father

we thank you

that in your word

you have given us

a blueprint

you've given us

a plan

of what it looks

like to be a Christian.

Father

forgive us

for the times

that we have

fallen short.

Forgive us

for the times

where we glibly

walk through

or float

through the Christian

life without

thinking

without being

devoted

and Father

we pray

that you would

help us live

obedient lives

for your glory

for your kingdom

until the end

of time

when you return

and draw your people

to yourself.

We ask this

in Jesus name

and for your glory.

Amen.