Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, the beatitudes of Jesus, from Matthew 5. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Scholars and pastors have labored over these verses of Jesus for centuries. They seem simple and straightforward but their application is problematic. Immediately they seem to advise and compel a set of characteristics that are required if we want to receive God’s blessings – to be pronounced “blessed.”
- However, when we look at those characteristics we recognize that we not only do not possess these by nature, we don’t even want to have them. They are for losers – people who have been beaten down by the world, weaklings who are at the mercy of others in the world.
- So we are left with the conclusion that perhaps Jesus is speaking a “pipe-dream,” that really there are no human beings in the world that are “blessed” – but this would make his statements foolish and without sense.
- So perhaps we then begin to convince ourselves that we are described by His words – even though we remain committed to being “strong in spirit, joyful, assertive, hungry for worldly pleasures, unmerciful and unforgiving, anything but pure in heart, certainly not peacemakers, unwilling to be persecuted, and fully defensive against any who revile us or utter evil against us falsely.”
- Recognizing this contradiction, perhaps we have to contemplate just giving up on following Christ and receiving His benediction of blessing. But this certainly cannot be the desire of Jesus and of our Heavenly Father, for God is love and He is eager to bless us! So how are we to understand and utilize these statements of Jesus?
- First we must understand that God’s blessings come to us freely and graciously – out of His great love for us. Second, that His blessings are centered in His forgiveness and mercy. Third, that our sanctification – the way in which we receive these characteristics – is also His gift and blessing, the consequence of spending time with God and coming to know Him.
- So the blessing comes first, and then the characteristics – not vice versa! No one can manufacture the characteristics to that they “earn” or gain the blessing pronounced by Jesus. So let us understand that:
I. The Blessed Are Those Who Are Repentant Believers In Christ Jesus, People Who Know And Believe The Love Of God
John 3:16 “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Statement: This is the most important blessing that we can receive from God, and the source of all other blessings from God. Jesus preached a simple message of blessing: “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the Gospel [the good news that He has come to take away the sin and guilt of the world in His suffering, death, and resurrection].” [Mark 1:15]
To come to repentance and faith in Jesus is also the gift and blessing of God, as the apostle wrote: “By grace you are saved, through faith, and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. “ [Eph. 2:8,9] To be “blessed” begins with God, His love, His gift of salvation in Christ Jesus, and His gift of effectively calling us to faith by the Gospel.
Application: So if we wish to be “blessed” and to be among the “blessed,” the way is repentance and faith in Jesus – which according to God’s Word gives us eternal life. Jesus says that those who have faith will not come into condemnation, but have passed from death to life. This is knowing God, that God is love, and according to Jesus to know God is to have eternal life. There is no greater blessing than this – eternal life and salvation and blessing!
Transition: There remains yet, however, the relationship between those who have received this blessing from God and truly are “blessed” and the descriptions that Jesus gives of their characteristics. This, however, is not such a great mystery, for:
II. Those Who Know God As He Is And Who Believe In His Love, Gradually Take On His Characteristics
2 Cor. 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord Who is the Spirit.”
1 John 4:7,11,16,19 “ “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. . . . Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. . . . So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. . . . We love because He first loved us.”
A. So Believers In Christ Are “Poor In Spirit” – Repentant, Clinging To God’s Gracious Mercy
B. So Believers In Christ Are Mournful – Of Their Own Sin And Of All Of The Sin They See In The World
C. So Believers In Christ Are Meek – They Are Not Aggressive To Harm Others, But Mild, Loving, And Compassionate
D. So Believers In Christ Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness – In God’s Forgiveness And Justification, And Also In Their Personal Conduct, To Truly Love, Which Is The Fulfillment Of The Law
E. So Believers In Christ Are Merciful – They Have Received God’s Gracious And Merciful Forgiveness, And They Seek To Love As God Has Loved Them
F. So Believers In Christ Are Pure In Heart – They Are Being Renewed In The Image Of God So That They Desire Good
G. So Believers In Christ Are Peacemakers – They Seek To Reconcile In What Is Good And Right, And By Forgiving What Is Wrong And Evil
H. So Believers In Christ Are Willing To Be Persecuted For Righteousness’ Sake – Willing To Suffer For What Is Right Rather Than To Do Wrong
I. So Believers In Christ Are Much Like The Prophets And Like Jesus Himself – Suffering Reviling, Persecution, And False Accusations On Account Of Our Loyalty And Faithfulness To God And His Ways
Statement: These characteristics are the result of knowing God and spending time with Him – being transformed by knowing Him as He truly is. And as the apostle noted, “this comes from the Spirit Who is the Lord.” It is blessing upon blessing!
Application: Again, this comes through a life of repentance which makes possible our apprehension of the greatness of God’s gracious love, mercy, and forgiveness. Where much sin has been forgiven, much love is generated – according to Jesus.
Transition: This is blessing enough, but Jesus pronounces additional blessings that come to the “blessed,” for:
III. Believers In Christ Are Abundantly Blessed
A. Theirs Is The Kingdom Of Heaven
B. They Shall Be Comforted
C. They Shall Inherit The Earth
D. They Shall Be Satisfied With Righteousness, Goodness, And Love
E. They Shall Receive Mercy – Forever
F. They Shall See God – Ever More Clearly
G. They Shall Be Called Sons Of God – Are Already Sons Of God
H. Theirs Is The Kingdom Of Heaven
I. Their Reward Is Great In Heaven
Statement: All of this comes from God, as His blessing upon us, and it comes through the blessing of a life of repentance and faith, confessing our sins and receiving the assurance of His forgiveness and cleansing away of our sin and guilt. It is a blessed change of status – from guilty to forgiven and innocent; it initiates a renewal of heart and soul, and a change of characteristics as well, so that we begin to reflect the glorious character of God in who and what we are.
Application: And we should remember that this is not a matter of our own effort, but rather comes by the Spirit Who is the Lord. It is the gift and blessing of God Himself. So we are moved and motivated by the experience of God’s love to grow in love and sanctification, but the growth comes through repentance and reflection upon the love of God, His gracious mercy and forgiveness. This is what changes us inwardly, and produces the external characteristics of the blessed.
Conclusion: So the importance of worship, and of daily devotion, which begins with confession of our sins and the assurance of God’s mercy and forgiveness. This is the means of our sanctification and growth in blessedness, the tools of the Spirit Who is God to transform us and renew us to His image. It truly is the greatest blessing imaginable!
So let us rejoice – with all the saints of God, all believers in Christ, those in heaven and those still here on earth – in the great blessings provided for us in Christ Jesus, and pronounced upon us by our dear Savior! And may He grant that these characteristics be realized and actualized in each of us in ever greater abundance – even as He grants us what He has promised to us. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.