Blessed are the merciful, Matthew 5:7

There is a tendency in modern evangelicalism today to make a distinction between faith and obedience.  That is a distinction that is not shared by the gospel of  Jesus Christ.  And this message we know as the Sermon on the Mount is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Someone has said, that in the gospels we have the gospel proclaimed.  And in the epistles we have the gospel explained.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is announcing, proclaiming, preaching the gospel.  His gospel.  

And it’s the only gospel we have.  There is not  a gospel of Jesus and another gospel of Paul.  The Corinthian church made that mistake, some saying I am of Paul, and another I am of Peter, and another I am of Christ.  Paul said that Christ has not been divided. There is one Lord, one faith and one baptism.  Paul said he was called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I heard a preacher say the other day that Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount  to the Jews, and thus it was not really something that we could appropriate because we are under a different covenant.   Let me tell you something; the gospel is the same since Creation.  The means of appropriating it are different, but the gospel is the same.  In the Old Testament they looked forward to the cross, today we look backward to the cross.  But the gospel is the same.  We are saved the same way that Abraham was saved.  Three times in the NT, in Romans and Galatians and James, the OT is quoted as saying, “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”  So in the OT salvation was by faith, and in the NT salvation is by faith.  The gospel hasn’t changed.

But back to my point, a lot of people want to make a distinction between faith and obedience that isn’t really taught in the gospel.  There is a story that might explain what I mean.  There  was a fire in an apartment building once that quickly consumed the lower floors.  And when the firemen arrived, they spotted a little girl that was trapped on the 6th floor.  She had the window open, and was looking down at the flames quickly climbing up the building.  The firemen took one of those round trampoline type of tarps and spread it open and pulled it taut.  The captain called out to the little girl with a megaphone, “Jump out of the window!  We will catch you.”  But the little girl was scared of the great height.  She was afraid to jump.  The firemen were confident that they could catch her and were urging her to jump, but her fear seemed to paralyze her.  Finally, the flames got so hot and had almost reached the room she was in, and at the last minute, she climbed onto the window sill, closed her eyes and jumped.  And the firemen caught her in the tarp.  The little girl was saved.  But I want to ask you a question.  What was it that saved the little girl?  Was it faith that the firemen could catch her?  Was it trust in what the captain said?  Was it because she finally believed the captain?  Or was it obedience to the command of the captain to jump?  

I submit to you that she could have had all the faith, all the trust, have believed fully everything that the captain said, but unless she acted on that faith, until she was obedient to his call, she would have perished.  The point that I want to make is that there is a connection between faith and obedience that cannot be dismissed.  One cannot exist without the other. 

Jesus spoke of this necessity for obedience and faith to be combined in much of His preaching.  At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, He says in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Notice that He is emphasizing there the works of faith, doing the will of God, rather than just giving lip service. 

Jesus further emphasizes that in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?  "Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:  he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.  "But the one who has heard and has not acted [accordingly,] is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”  Notice again the emphasis on acting on the word of Christ, not just hearing or even agreement, but acting in obedience to the word of God.

Now I make that point this morning because as James said, “Faith without works is dead.” But three times in the NT it says, quoting Habakkuk, “the just shall live by faith.” Our faith produces a life that is governed by faith, producing a faith and obedience that is ongoing.  Living in a way that does not come naturally.  Of course, the whole Christian life is not a natural life, but a spiritual life.  It requires first of all, that you are born again spiritually.  We are all born naturally in our mother’s womb, but in order to enter the kingdom of God, you must be born spiritually.  That’s what Jesus referred to as being born again in HIs conversation with Nicodemus in John 3.  

So there must be  a transformation from death to life, there must be a conversion from natural to spiritual.  There must be given a new heart.  Not an actual new physical heart, but the term heart speaks of the soul, the seat of the mind, will and emotions.  So by the grace of God in response to our faith in Christ, at our new birth we are given a new heart, new desires, new attitudes.  But I want to make the point today that even though you have been given a new heart, with new desires to serve the Lord, to love the Lord, there is a maturation process that begins at that new birth which continues until the day we die.  And some of the characteristics of a citizen of the kingdom of heaven as Jesus describes him here, are not going to come about automatically as a result of your new birth.  Some attitudes or behaviors or characteristics are learned.

To use the analogy of our natural birth, a child becomes a son or daughter of the parents by birth, but they are then raised by the parents to be the men and women that they are supposed to become.  There are some characteristics in that child that are inculcated in their the DNA, passed down from their parents.  But there are other characteristics that are trained into them by their parents.  The spiritual birth is not much different than that.  We are born again in the Spirit, to have a spiritual nature, to have a new heart, new attitudes, new behavior.  But then we are trained in righteousness, we practice righteousness, we follow the example of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Some aspects of our Christianity are learned behavior.  That learned behavior is a process which is spoken of in scripture as being led by the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit.  It’s living by faith according to what God has declared to be true even though it doesn’t come naturally.  It’s living according to the instruction of the Spirit rather than by the natural tendencies of the flesh.

Today’s Beatitude I believe fits into that category of a characteristic which is taught and we are trained in. Jesus says the citizen of the kingdom of heaven is merciful, and as a result they receive mercy. I believe this characteristic of being merciful is a characteristic that is learned, that is practiced. That it doesn’t come naturally, nor automatically.  Did you know that we are supposed to practice certain things in our Christianity that are not natural, but that we become more proficient at as we grow in the Lord? In Hebrews 5, talking about obedience to the word of God in relation to spiritual immaturity or maturity , it says in vs 14 “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”  So we practice righteousness, following the example of Christ.  

Peter talks about the need to pattern our lives after Jesus. 1Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”  Peter says we are to imitate Jesus, following in His footsteps. And we know that Jesus was merciful, even as God is merciful.  That’s what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  We pattern our life after His life.

John speaks to the necessity of practicing righteousness in 1John 3:10 “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”  Children will exhibit the characteristics of their parents, and so we that are Christians will exhibit the characteristics of Christ.

Now speaking of righteousness, notice that this Beatitude follows on the previous one, which is hungering and thirsting for righteousness.  I have said previously that there is a divine order to these Beatitudes, that they build on one another.  And this one is no exception.  In fact, the previous principle of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and then being filled with righteousness as a result of that hungering and thirsting, makes it essential that the principle of being merciful should follow it.

What I mean is this;  having received righteousness which is by grace, it is essential we must remember that we are undeserving, we were hopelessly lost, we were enemies of God and estranged from God, so that the gift of Christ’s righteousness does not puff us up, does not give us a holier than thou attitude, but that we remember that it was only by the mercy and grace of God that we did not get what we deserved, because what we deserved was death.  Having received such mercy when we were yet sinners, should cause us to be merciful to others who sin against us.  

That principle reminds us that this is not a natural tendency.  When someone sins against us, our natural tendency is to strike back, to take revenge.  To get even.  Or at least to get defensive.  Maybe fantasize about how pay back is going to be sweet.  Just wait.  But that isn’t the attitude that Jesus says citizens of the kingdom have.  Citizens of the kingdom are blessed, because they live under the sovereign rule of God, are citizens of His kingdom, and are inheritors with Christ.  And Jesus says those citizens are merciful.  That’s a defining characteristic.  But I say that it doesn’t come naturally nor automatically.  It comes from a desire to please God, to see men saved, and submission to God’s word.

Being merciful follows upon hungering and thirsting for righteousness that we might not take vengeance from the province of the Lord out of some exaggerated sense of self righteousness. James 2:13 says, “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Let me be clear though.  The scripture says “Vengeance is Mine says the Lord, I will repay.” Justice is God’s province.  God will not wink at sin in order to be merciful.  God is a God of mercy.  But He is also a just and holy God.  And in order for God to be just,  justice must be satisfied.  God did not stop counting sin so that I might be saved.  He counted it on Jesus.  And He poured out His wrath against my sin, upon His Son, putting Him to death by torture, crushing Him, so that those who believe in Him might be made righteous.  “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”   So God counted my sin towards Jesus, and transferred His righteousness to me. 

Therefore, having considered God’s mercy towards me, I have no other response but to be merciful to others.  I am blessed, I receive blessing, and I have received mercy and continue to receive mercy, so therefore I am merciful. 

So what is mercy? Psalm 85:10 says,  “Mercy and truth are met together.”  One is not at the expense of the other.  Mercy without truth is not mercy at all.  It is indulgence. It’s bad parenting.  It’s never holding your children accountable. But God is not a bad Father.  He has satisfied truth in the crucifixion of His Son and extended mercy through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Grace and truth are satisfied in Jesus Christ.

Now let’s consider what it means to be merciful.  Mercy is not getting what I deserved.  I deserved death for my sin.  Grace, on the other hand,  is getting what I don’t deserve.  And God has given us grace and mercy. Grace and mercy go hand in hand in the gospel.  Thank God I don’t get what I deserve which is death, and praise God He has given me what I don’t deserve, which is new life everlasting. 

Merciful means showing compassion. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Compassion is something that comes from the heart, from the soul.  It’s having empathy for someone. Compassion comes from a Latin word which means to suffer with.  That’s why this characteristic has to be the result of a change of heart, because being merciful is an expression of a new heart, a heart like Christ’s.  

Let me expand on that for a moment, because it’s something that has come to my mind a few times lately.  Being merciful or being kind is not that difficult when it’s someone we naturally love.  If it’s someone you love then being merciful comes more easily.  Even when they sin against you, when they have done you wrong, it’s still easier than it might be otherwise because you love that person.  But it’s another thing entirely to be merciful when it’s an enemy, or when it’s someone that you really don’t like.  And it’s hard to be merciful to people that you somehow don’t think deserve your kindness. It’s tempting to look at others and judge whether or not we think they are worthy of our compassion, or our mercy. And I’m afraid that harsh condescension is more common to the Christian than we would like to think. We judge between people we think are worthy or unworthy of our compassion.  But we have been commanded to be merciful to the unloveable, even as God was compassionate to us when we were at enmity with Him. 

Jesus spoke of this principle of showing merciful to those deemed lesser than us in Matthew 25:34-40  "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me [something] to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me [something] to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;  naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You [something] to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?  'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’” 

That’s what it means to suffer with someone, to have compassion for others.  It’s not just a sentimental feeling, but acting like Christ acted towards us, showing compassion for others.  That’s the positive side of this Beatitude.  And Jesus addressed this Beatitude in the positive.  But other times He spoke about it in the negative. There is a parable in particular that Jesus uses to phrase this in the negative sense, speaking of those who are not merciful.  It’s the parable of the debtor, found in Matthew 18. 

Matthew 18:23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle [them,] one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have [the means] to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. So the slave fell [to the ground] and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and [began] to choke [him,] saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' So his fellow slave fell [to the ground] and [began] to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

What that parable illustrates is that the worthless slave did not really have a true heart of repentance to begin with.  There is a difference between being sorry that you got caught, and a true repentance of your sins. Repentance is confessing your sin as sin, and committing to turn from it and go the other direction.  And mercy is God giving us forgiveness and giving us a new life.  And that produces gratefulness, out of the recognition that our standing before God is not based on our merits, but on His mercy.  Which in turn should produce mercifulness in us towards others. 

When I am truly repentant then I am truly forgiven. It’s realizing the repugnancy of my sin, and recognizing that I am not worthy of forgiveness, and as a result of repentance I am forgiven.  Then having that attitude and realization of my self worth,  I cannot help but be merciful towards others who trespass against me.

However, the opposite of repentance is the confession of the arrogant.  He says,  “I am not that bad.  I may have made some wrong choices in my life, but deep down I am a good person.” No, deep down you are a dirty rotten sinner, corrupt in every thought and deed, and deserving of death and hell.  And having realized that about myself, I see that other men are just as  blind and enslaved to sin and undeserving as I was, just as lost as I was, just as hopelessly held captive to sin as I was, and are in desperate need of mercy, just as God showed mercy to me.  I distinguish between the sinner and the sin.  I love the sinner and hate the sin, even when they sin against me. 

Jesus, in teaching the disciples to pray, said, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Why?  Because God forgave us our trespasses against Him. How? As we submit to Christ, to be remade in His image.  We suffer their trespasses against us, even as He has suffered for our trespasses against Him.  That’s what the scriptures call the fellowship of His suffering.  Phil. 3:10 says, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”

This fellowship with Christ through suffering the trespasses of others against us here on this earth, is the thing that shapes us and matures us as we grow to be like Christ.  And that is our sanctification, which leads us to our future glorification with God. 

Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him.]”

The question that I would leave you with today is, have you first of all been born again as a child of God?  Do you exhibit the characteristics of your Father in heaven? Are you merciful?  If you honestly examine yourself and the Spirit of God convicts you in your heart so that you know you’re not merciful, then perhaps it is because you have never been born again.  Listen, Jesus is calling out to you today to come to Him.  Jump into the arms of the Savior and you will be saved, born again, given a new life and a new heart that you might know the Lord and have the life which He gives.   

Jesus said in Matt. 11:28-30  "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Come to Jesus today, and receive mercy. The invitation is open to all who will come.

And then to those who have been born again, but as you examine yourself in light of this Beatitude, perhaps you realize that you are not merciful as you should be.  Maybe you realize that you are still immature in your spiritual life.  This is an area that you need to be trained in.  I encourage you today to call upon the Lord and repent of your selfishness, repent of your self righteousness, and ask God to give you a heart of mercy, that you might give mercy even as you have received it.  Submit to the Lord and let the Lord deal with those who trespass against you.  Forgive them, even as you have been forgiven.  And in so doing you will bring glory to your Father in heaven, and bring others into the kingdom of heaven.  

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, Matthew 5: 6

I assume that most of you are here this morning because you want to worship God.  You want to say something to the Lord, perhaps, but most importantly, you want to hear from the Lord. It’s essential that we hear from God.  Jesus said that God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

And so I want to emphasize to you this morning that when we read the words of the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in this passage, you are hearing the actual word of God.  The word of God spoken by the Son of God, who John calls the Word.  God is speaking to us in this passage in the most direct way possible.  And this passage is truth because it is the word of God. 

So my purpose here this morning is not to entertain you, nor to make a nice sounding sermonette, but to faithfully expound God’s word so that you can fully comprehend all that God intends to tell us in these statements. God is teaching us in this passage the essential characteristics of a citizen in His kingdom.  He is telling us how we might enter the kingdom of heaven.  He is telling us how we can receive the comfort of God. He is telling us how we might inherit the true riches of this earth.  He is telling us how we might be filled with righteousness.  He is telling us how we might receive mercy. He is telling us how we can see God.  He is telling us how we can be the sons and daughters of  God.  He is telling us how we might become citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

And so we have been looking at these opening verses, in what is called the Beatitudes, we have been looking at each individually as part of our series on the Sermon on the Mount.  And we have said that they are in a particular order.  That they build upon one another.  And we have said that they are all necessary.  All are characteristics of all Christians.  All are characteristics of a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.  

And as I have said previously, we are born into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “you must be born again.”  You are not naturally entered into the kingdom due to your heritage, you cannot not join such as a club or denomination to enter, you can not earn your way in, or climb up some way or another through your efforts, but citizenship is by spiritual birth. You are born once in natural birth, you must be born again spiritually in order to be part of the kingdom of heaven.  Notice that the Beatitudes are bookended by the phrase, yours is the kingdom of heaven.

Let me reiterate another important doctrine for those who are new here this morning.  The kingdom of heaven is spiritual.  It is the church.  It is the church, visible and invisible.  It is the body of Christ, the called out ones, (eklesia).  It is the invisible, spiritual reign of Christ in the hearts and minds of His people.  The kingdom of heaven is populated by the conversion of sinners formerly held captive to the dominion of darkness, who are supernaturally transferred into the kingdom of God’s Son, by the transference of Christ’s righteousness to our account by faith in the work of Christ upon the cross and His subsequent resurrection.  That faith constitutes becoming a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.

So far then in our study of this sermon, we have understood the first Beatitude as a requirement of poverty of spirit, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  We recognize our spiritual bankruptcy, and out of that recognition of our poverty comes the realization that we need a righteousness that exceeds our own in order to attain the kingdom.

Secondly, having recognized our spiritual bankruptcy, we mourn over our sin.  “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be filled.”  When we mourn over our sinful condition, that really means we repent of our sinful condition to the point of being willing to die to the old man, that we might be made new, and we receive the comfort of God’s forgiveness of our sins.

Thirdly, Jesus said that “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  We learned last week that this refers to the need to humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and then He will exalt you at the proper time.  It’s a recognition that you cannot do anything to achieve your own salvation, that you are a sinner, and in order to be a citizen of Christ’s kingdom you are going to need a Savior who is willing and able to pluck you out of the pig pen of the squalor you live in, and wash you off and dress you in His righteousness and in His mercy and grace bring you into His kingdom.  

Now we come to the fourth Beatitude.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”  In the three previous Beatitudes, there was a predominantly negative element to them, in that they caused us to look at ourselves and see what was missing.  But as we look at this Beatitude, we see a change in perspective, we see the solution.

We have been looking at the hopelessness of our spiritual bankruptcy, mourning over our sin and our helpless condition, and being humbled before God by the inadequacy we have in ourselves, and now we see the deliverance, the filling which comes by the grace of God.  And this particular Beatitude emphasizes the doctrine of grace, which is so fundamental to our salvation.

There are three parts to this statement which will serve as something as a guide for our exposition today. And perhaps it is best to start with the term “righteousness.”  Righteousness is the state of being accepted by God.  It is meeting the standard of conduct that has been established by God.  Many people have a misplaced trust in their own goodness, which is based on a comparison to other people.  And they base their sense of righteousness on their  own standard, and their standard is the failings of other people. So they say, “I’m not a bad person.  After all, I am not like that person over there.  I’m better than that person, so I am basically a good person.”  They base their sense of goodness on other people’s failings, rather than on the holiness of God.

Jesus gave an illustration about that sort of judgment in the story of a Pharisee and a tax collector who came to the temple to pray. And in Luke 18:11 we read that Jesus said, "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!'  "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

So there you have a person that did good deeds, he didn’t do the obviously bad sins, he tithed, he fasted, etc, but he was still not justified by his works. He still fell short of the kingdom of heaven.  And that’s because he was trusting in his works to gain entrance.  He was judging himself according to a scale that he had come up with, rather than by the scale of God’s righteousness. 

And yet later in this very Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  So it’s necessary to understand that God’s standard is what constitutes righteousness, and only that level of righteousness can be acceptable to God.

Now notice what Jesus says, He says, “Blessed are they which hunger and thirst for righteousness.”  They are going to be the ones who are blessed.  Notice that He doesn’t say, you should hunger and thirst for blessedness.  Or to use the common translation for blessed which many Bibles use; happy.  He doesn’t say those who hunger and thirst for happiness.  But that is what the world’s mantra is. The world is seeking happiness. When happiness is what you desire and long for, you will end up missing it.   But when righteousness is what you hunger for, then Jesus says you will be blessed, you will find true happiness.  Happiness is found in pursuit of something else, not in pursuing it directly.

I have heard many a parent say, “I only want my children to be happy.”  And yet that pursuit of happiness almost always seems to be at the expense of righteousness.  They reject God’s righteousness because they think that is going to hinder their happiness, when in fact it’s the only thing that can produce it.

Imagine a man who is suffering from a painful disease.  And he goes to the doctor and the doctor is very concerned about treating his pain and so he prescribes a pain killer for the pain and sends him on his way. That’s not a good doctor.  A good doctor is one who is concerned about the cause of his pain.  If you take care of the cause of his pain, then the pain will go away.  But if you just treat the pain, you may look healthy for a while, you may feel better for a while, but actually you are still a very sick person on the inside, and the doctor has done nothing to help you.  Your condition will eventually get worse.

That’s the folly of the world seeking relief from the pain of life, seeking pain relief in alcohol or drugs, in entertainment,  in sexual hookups and so forth.  They may feel better for a little while, but in the end it’s a bitter cup. Hebrews 11 speaks of the pleasures of sin, which last for a season, but the end is destruction.

We even see the same error in the church. Some people are so focused on trying to find a state of blessedness.  Of course, they interpret blessedness to be health and wealth.  They come to Christianity seeking God’s blessing of health and wealth.  They are big advocates of the prayer of Jabez; O bless me indeed! Enlarge my horizons, fill my bank account. They hunger and thirst for what they think is blessedness.  

Or the hunger and thirst for blessedness and they look for it in spiritual experiences, in some sort of ecstatic experience. We are not told to hunger and thirst for experiences, or for even for blessedness  for that matter.  If you want to have the blessedness of God in your life, then Jesus said  we should hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Seek righteousness and then you will find blessedness.

So what does righteousness mean? It doesn’t just mean morality.  It’s not just some conforming to what’s considered upright, good behavior.  It’s the opposite of sin.  And sin is defined in the scriptures.  Sin is that behavior and attitude that is antagonistic towards God’s nature.  Righteousness is holiness.  Righteousness is being free from the manifestations of sin in all it’s forms.

So we are to hunger and thirst for righteousness.  And the response of God, the blessedness that He gives in response to that desire, is righteousness.  This righteousness that God gives is first of all, the righteousness of justification.  It’s the righteousness of Jesus Christ which is transferred to my account by the grace of God.  2 Cor. 5:21 says, “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  Jesus became sin for us at the cross, bearing our penalty so that we might be set free.  And by faith in what He did for us on the cross, God transfers our sins to Jesus, and His righteousness to us.  That’s the righteousness of our justification.

The desire for righteousness then is the desire to be right with God.  When you come to realize your poverty, when you are sick to death of your sin, when you humble yourself before God, and come to the point of wanting to be made right with God, then God grants you forgiveness for your sin, and imputes righteousness to your account on the basis of Christ’s atonement on your behalf.  So in justification we are made righteous.

But there is another aspect of righteousness that God gives us.  And that is not only justification but sanctification. Sanctification is the process of living righteously.  Sanctification is the blessing of God that delivers you from the power of sin.  Having been set free from the penalty of sin, we should naturally want to be free from the power of sin.  And God graciously provides that blessing as well.  And Jeremiah 31:33 speaks of this reality, saying, Jer. 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Please understand that when the Lord says he is going to put His law within us and write it upon our hearts, that He is speaking of rebirth, of conversion, of a spiritual transformation whereby our heart is changed, our desires have changed, our minds have changed.  That is the nature of a new birth.  That is what it means to be born again.  Many people try religion.  Many people attempt turning over a new leaf.   And yet they never find freedom from the life of sin.  They are still suffering under the dominion of sin.  The reason is that they have never been converted. They have never died to the old man, and been born again into a new man.  They have never received the new heart.

You know, I love ice cream.  I know it’s not healthy for me to eat a huge bowl of ice cream every night, but I do it because I love it. On the other hand I hate spinach.  I am not ever tempted to eat a bowl of spinach every night.  You couldn’t make me eat a bowl of spinach every night. The only way that is going to change is if you change my taste.  If you change my desire.  You change my heart and then you will see a change in my behavior.  

And the same is true in regards to righteousness.  I have to have a change of heart.  Because naturally, in my old nature I don’t love righteousness.  I love my sin.  And so there has to be a transformation from within in order for there to be a change in my attitudes and behavior.

Christ did not die on the cross only to set us free from the penalty of sin, but also to free us from the power of sin.  Sin no longer controls us if we are truly saved. Sin no longer has power over us.  We can live victorious lives through Christ who lives in us in the power of His Spirit.

The other phrase that we need to look at is “hunger and thirst.”  Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. What is meant by that description of hungering and thirsting? Many people today have no concept of what it means to be really hungry or thirsty.  But the reality of being actually starving or thirsty is that it becomes the priority of your life.  You will do anything in order to get something to eat or drink. Nothing else is as important.  It’s something that causes you to feel desperate.  You increasingly suffer until you get what your body craves.

The Psalmist expresses this desire in Psalm 42:1-3 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, While [they] say to me all day long, "Where is your God?”

There needs to come upon a person the hunger and thirst for righteousness before there can be the filling of righteousness.  In other words, one must come to the point of realizing their need, of the fact that the fodder of the world is unsatisfying, that they are starving for something that truly satisfies.  You must come to realize that what you have been feeding on is worthless and that it doesn’t sustain life.  You might be eating of what the world supplies, but inwardly, spiritually you are starving to death.

A good illustration of that is the story of the prodigal son. When the prodigal son went out from his father to live  a life of wanton pleasure in the world, seeking the happiness the world promises, he eventually found himself eating the husks with the pigs in the pig pen.  But when he realized he was starving, he got up and went home to his father.  That’s the essence of being hungry and thirsty for righteousness. To be desperate, to be starving, to realize the urgency of my need and that the mammon of the world can never satisfy it.  And then to turn to the supply and Father of righteousness as the only way to be filled.

So then finally, what is promised to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? They shall be filled. Their hunger will be satisfied with righteousness. This is the grace of God in response to your need. God will graciously grant you righteousness. And notice that it is complete.  It’s not a taste of righteousness.  It’s not a little bit.  But it’s a filling. It’s more than abundant.  The righteousness of Jesus Christ more than satisfies the need on my part.  When God credits the righteousness of Christ to my account, He gives me enough to last forever. Not just enough for today, and then tomorrow I have to go and get some more.  But enough to cleanse even the vilest sinner for ever and ever.

So there is the immediate credit to my account, which tips the scale of God’s justice so completely on the side of righteousness that He may ever consider me as righteous.  But then there is given to me the continual desire of righteousness which comes from a new heart, a continual hungering that causes me to seek the Lord in daily communion, to be fed with His word day by day. And that imputed righteousness to me allows the Holy Spirit to live in me as a holy vessel, filled with the Spirit of God to empower me, that I might do the works of righteousness as a child of God.

And then in that last day, when the trumpet of God shall sound and He will raise us up to be with Him, we will receive a new body in the new heavens and the new earth, and the presence of sin will be altogether removed, not only from my body, but from the world, and we will dwell in righteousness from then on through eternity.  

So the Christian then is one who is hungering and thirsting for righteousness, who is filled with the righteousness of Christ in justification, then continuously hungering and thirsting for righteousness in the process of sanctification, and then in eternity dwelling in righteousness in our glorification.  

Peter speaks of both  this future and present state of righteousness in 2Pe 3:13-15  “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.  Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,  and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.”

The question I would  leave with you today is,  are you hungering and thirsting for righteousness?  Have you been filled with the gift of Christ’s righteousness?  Have you been converted, transformed, into a new creation with a new heart and a new mind?  Jesus said, He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out. He said in John 7:37, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”  He said in John 6:51  "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

Jesus gave His life, offered up His body on the cross, so that we might feast upon His righteousness. Call upon the Lord today and ask Him to give you a new heart, a new life in Him.  And He will fill you with HIs righteousness that you might have eternal life.  

Blessed are the meek, Matthew 5:5

In the beginning of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, are what is known as the Beatitudes.  The word Beatitude is derived from the Latin word “beatus” which means blessed.  And each of the Beatitudes you will notice begins with this word “blessed.”  Unfortunately, I believe our definition of “blessed” has been corrupted by our hedonistic culture.  I’ve heard many a Christian say when they received some sort of financial windfall that they had been blessed.  In fact, in the church, in most cases when you hear someone refer to being blessed or receiving a blessing, it has to do with material or physical or financial things which are attributed as having their ultimate origin from God.

Now the scripture does say that every good gift comes down from above.  So there is a sense in which material or physical or financial things are orchestrated by God and He should receive the glory for them.  But I do not believe the Bible necessarily equates being blessed with finances or possession of material things.  In fact, the Bible teaches such things are more likely to be a curse rather than a blessing. Jesus said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. So being rich hardly sounds like being blessed.  I believe the reality of being blessed often produces quite the opposite of financial or material gain.  In fact, the two previous Beatitudes we studied indicate that poverty and brokenness are characteristic of being blessed.

So what is Jesus talking about when He speaks of being blessed?  I suggest that He is speaking in the context of becoming a child of God, part of the family of God.  I believe that He is speaking of becoming a citizen of the eternal kingdom of heaven, and enjoying the benefits of living under the sovereignty of God. I think it could be related to the idea which we often think of as citizens of the United States of America.  We think of ourselves as being blessed to live in the greatest nation on earth.  Some of you may not agree with that statement, and I can sympathize to a degree that America is not what it used to be, nor is it all that it could be, but nevertheless, the fact that you choose to live here is some justification that it’s still the best option available, and we are in fact blessed to be citizens of this country, especially in comparison to many other parts of the world. 

Now I’m not trying to be political, that’s not my point.  My point is to illustrate that being blessed, as Jesus speaks of it, is a state of being a citizen of His kingdom, enjoying the benefits both immediate and future of His sovereignty and reign. It’s being granted the abundant life, everlasting life that comes from being born again spiritually into a new creation, given a life that will never die, a life that is promised an inheritance in heaven, and having the Spirit of God abiding in you. That presence of the Spirit of God in you now, and the promise of an eternity in the presence of God face to face, is the essence of what it means to be blessed.  He is the fountain of life, and being blessed is to drink continually from that fountain. Blessed means to live in the benevolence of God both now and forever.

So in this first part of His sermon, Jesus is giving us the characteristics of those who will live in the blessedness of God.  And we have already considered the first two.  The first one was “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  And we established in our previous study of that Beatitude that Jesus was talking about a spiritual kingdom in which God rules and reigns in the hearts of His people.  And so the poor in spirit are those who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy.  They come to the Lord with the attitude of a beggar, realizing that they have nothing with which to barter and no hope of entering heaven’s kingdom without God’s mercy and grace. As Titus 3:5 says, that it’s “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.”

The second characteristic is built upon the first, and it is “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  And again the idea Jesus was expressing was that once you recognize your spiritual bankruptcy, there needs to be a mourning over your sin and over your condition before God.  That mourning is akin to repentance.  Not being merely sorry for your sin, but understanding the depravity of your sin, and mourning over it to the point of being willing to die to it.  And for those who by faith and repentance come to Christ that way, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  That merciful act of Christ in salvation provides the immediate comfort of knowing that we are made right with God.  But there is also a future comfort that is promised in salvation, and that is when we are comforted in the presence of God after He comes again to claim His bride which is the church.  That’s when He will wipe away every tear, and the former things will be remembered no more.  When the kingdom of Christ will be consummated, we will receive our ultimate, eternal comfort.  Like the old hymn says, “it will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.”

And that brings us to the next Beatitude, which we will focus on today.  It’s found in vs 5, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Once again, we are reminded of the counter intuitiveness of these Beatitudes.  To be meek is the exact opposite of what the world tells us is necessary for success.  The world says “Believe in yourself.” “Love yourself.”  “Stand up for your rights.” 

And we are naturally inclined to be that way.  It’s our nature to want to be be first, to take care of ourselves first.  To think of ourselves first, as more important than others.  That’s our natural tendency. And our natural disposition illustrates the spiritual nature of this characteristic.  It’s an essential characteristic for all Christians.  We might think that some people’s personality is better suited to meekness than others.  But that is not the way we are to understand this Beatitude.  All Christians are to have all of these characteristics.  And none of them are natural.  But even as the kingdom of heaven is spiritual, these are spiritual characteristics and so they require a spiritual re-birth, becoming a new creation, with new a new heart and new attitudes. In order to be able to be meek as the Lord indicates, it cannot come just on the basis of a reticent or shy personality, or being considered a nice person, or someone easy to get along with.  It is a spiritual nature that must be born of the Spirit of God.

When we realize our spiritual poverty, when we mourn over our spiritual condition, then and only then can we have the meekness that Jesus speaks of.  It comes out a humility of spirit. When we take measure of ourselves in light of the standard of God’s word, then we must be humbled in our response to that revelation. As Paul said of himself in Romans 7:18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.” Once you have established that in you is no good thing, then you can exhibit the meekness that Christ speaks of.

Paul was a great example of meekness. When criticized by the very churches which he worked tirelessly to build up, he showed meekness in his response.  He replied with love rather than in anger or self defense.  He considered himself as a bondslave of Christ and served the churches without charge, suffering persecution and hardships for his trouble.

And the Old Testament is replete with examples of other great men in the kingdom of God who at the same time were meek men.  The greatest example of meekness was undoubtedly Moses.  God called him the most meek man in all the earth.  Moses showed great courage in standing against Pharaoh, but he did so not in his own strength or in his own standing, but by faith in the power and strength of God.

Abraham showed meekness in his life.  It’s especially evident in the way he dealt with Lot his nephew, allowing him to take first choice in dividing the land which was before them. And in many other examples Abraham exhibited meekness.  David was meek, especially after God had anointed him to be king, and promised to him the kingdom, and yet for years he had to run from Saul while Saul plotted to put him to death.  And yet he did not take his own revenge, but he waited on the Lord and trusted in Him to take care of Saul.

Of course the greatest example is meekness or humility is the Lord Jesus Himself, according to Phil. 2:6-8  “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus; although equal with God, humbled Himself to become man and a servant to men, obedient unto God, dependent upon the word of God and the will of God.  He described Himself as being meek and humble in heart.

The question then is what exactly does Jesus mean when He says we need to be meek? First of all, remember that it is not a natural disposition of man. But at the same time, it’s to be the characteristic of all Christians. It must come from a new nature as we are born again of the Spirit of God.  Meekness is not natural, it is learned behavior in the flesh, stemming from a new attitude of the spirit. It implies a teachable spirit, being taught by the Lord and led by the Spirit.

Probably the greatest misconception is that meekness is a display of weakness. Meekness is not weakness, though it is often perceived to be that by the world.  It is strength under control.  In the ancient Greek language, the main idea behind the word “meek” was strength under control, like a strong stallion that was trained to do the job instead of running wild.

Jesus was meek, and yet he was not weak.  He cleansed the temple on two separate occasions, kicking over the money changer’s tables and chasing them out of the temple with a bullwhip.  He had the power to calm a storm, to raise the dead, to do all kinds of powerful miracles, and yet He submitted Himself to be obedient to the Father’s will and be a servant to men. That’s meekness. 

So in like manner, to be meek means to show a willingness to submit and live under God’s authority. It also shows a willingness to disregard one’s own “rights” and privileges. To be meek before God, is to submit to His will and conform to His Word. To be meek before men, is to be strong in the Lord – yet also humble, gentle, patient, and merciful with others.

Meekness is having the proper attitude towards myself, and it is an expression of that attitude in relation to others.  Meekness is an absence of pride, of self aggrandizement, of putting myself first.  John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said he was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, gave a prescription for meekness when he said concerning Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

In other words, in meekness, I magnify the Lord, and I minimize myself.  I no longer live to serve myself,  I serve the Lord and I serve others. I am a bond slave of Christ.  That is what it means to be meek in the spiritual sense.  And when we exhibit those characteristics of meekness, then Jesus says we will inherit the earth.  Now especially in light of the fact that this is a spiritual kingdom, what does this inheritance refer to?

I’m afraid that many in the church today want to believe that this indicates that there will be a reward here on earth for good behavior, so to speak. We will be blessed financially, or materially, or physically if we exhibit meekness and humbleness.  Somehow, if we act humbly, God will see to it that we will get rewarded here through some sort of windfall or be exalted in some way so that I am vindicated. I think that is actually taught in so many words in some evangelical circles today. 

But I don’t think that is true to Christ’s teaching.  I think that when Jesus speaks in this way, He is referring to an idea expressed in the scriptures elsewhere.  And I think He is  particularly referring to Psalm 37. There is a tremendous amount of doctrine in Psalm 37 which we don’t have time to go into detail about today.  But I want to point out something that I hope will shed some light on this promise of inheriting the earth.  If you will notice in Psalm 37 there are five direct promises to “inherit the land.”  The inheritance of land is something that was endemic to the Messianic promise for Israel.  It was tied to the Promised Land and the distribution of territory to the 12 tribes.  And so symbolically, the idea of inheriting land, or inheriting the earth represented the fullness of the promise made to Abraham and the establishment of God’s chosen people on the earth, and the blessings that He would give to them, not the least of which was the seed of Abraham from whom One would come through whom the nations of the earth would be blessed. So to inherit the land is metaphorically a statement that signifies the fulfillment of the covenant of God towards His people.

Now I want to look at these five statements briefly and show that they all express a common theme. And I believe that theme is the idea of waiting patiently, trusting in the Lord, resting in the Lord, and then there will be in the future the inheritance of the land.  Listen to the first one, 

Psalm 37:9 “For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.”  That speaks of a period of waiting for the Lord, before the fulfillment of the promise. Meekness involves waiting for the Lord’s timing, waiting for the Lord’s justice, waiting for the Lord to make things right, while remaining meek and humble.

The second reference is found in vs.10, “Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.  But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” Notice how the psalmist always contrasts the outcome of the wicked against the outcome of the righteous.  Yet in a little while speaks of waiting, of a future event. 

And then in vs18, it says that their inheritance will be forever.  So we see that this inheritance of land that is spoken of is not a temporal inheritance, but an eternal one.  The third reference is in vs22, “For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be cut off.”  There is one outcome for the blessed, and another dire outcome for those who are cursed by God.

Then in vs.27 is another reference to the eternal fulfillment of this promise. “Depart from evil and do good, So you will abide forever.”  In vs 28 there is another reference that the godly ones are preserved forever. And that’s reinforced again in the fourth reference to inheriting the land, in vs 29, “The righteous will inherit the land And dwell in it forever.”  It’s an eternal inheritance.

The last one emphasizes once again the need to wait on the Lord. Vs  34 “Wait for the LORD and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.”

I would submit to you that these verses indicate that the promise which the Lord is giving about inheriting the earth is not a temporal, temporary blessing of riches or health or possessions here on earth as a reward for righteousness, but an eternal inheritance when at the coming of Christ the heaven and earth will be burned up, and the Lord will bring about a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  That is the land of our inheritance.  We may be called upon to endure hardship now, we may see the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer, but wait on the Lord, trust in the Lord, and in a little while, God will declare that the time is fulfilled, and the hour has come, and Jesus Christ will return in the clouds in a visible, physical fashion, and all the earth will mourn, and the earth and it’s works will be burned up.  But after that time, when God remakes the heavens and earth in righteousness, then we will be seated on thrones with Christ, and rule and reign with Him forever.  Peter speaks of that present and future aspect in 1Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”

And Peter spoke of the future aspect of our exaltation in 2Peter 3:10-13 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.  Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,  looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”  This land where righteousness dwells is the land which the meek shall inherit.

So then, meekness, or humbleness, is both necessary for new birth as it is for our life in Christ.  It is an essential characteristic of one who belongs to the kingdom of heaven. Salvation requires the humility to recognize you need a Savior and to call upon Him for deliverance.  And then a life of righteousness requires meekness to submit to the Lord’s leading.  And the character of meekness is essential if you are to keep the royal law, that you love your neighbor as yourself.  

James says in chapter 4 vs 6, “'GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.’ Submit therefore to God.”  For those who humble themselves before God, there is the promise of blessing and that you will inherit the earth when the kingdom of heaven is consummated at the end of the age.  James continues in vs10 “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Listen, I don’t doubt but that there is someone here today who perhaps as a result of this message and the conviction of the Holy Spirit through His word, recognizes the poverty of his spirit, and is mourning over his sin, and has come to the point of being willing to humble themselves and ask God for forgiveness and the new life and the inheritance that we have been talking about.  I would urge such a person not to put it off, but to call upon the name of the Lord today, while He may be found.  The Lord is patient towards you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  Humble yourselves and call upon the Lord today, and receive the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.  

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” You have heard the call of God today.  Call on Him now and be saved.