Reaffirming the Law

Matthew 5:17-19

 

As you know we are studying through the Sermon on the Mount,

And by now we should have all come to agreement

THAT THIS SERMON IS VERY CONVICTING.

 

Jesus first revealed to us 8 qualities that we do not possess.

Then Jesus revealed to us 2 expectations that we do not fulfill.

 

And when you read through those qualities with an honest heart,

We realize that we have a problem.

 

And if you have studied the Bible much at all in your life,

You know that the problem we find ourselves in here

Is the same problem we find when we study the Old Testament.

 

I do not measure up.

“It’s impossible to keep all those commandments”

 

You may remember that when there arose an argument in the early church About whether or not the Gentiles had to be circumcised

The early church leaders made this statement.

 

Acts 15:10 “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?”

 

They understood that no one

Was able to strictly obey the Old Testament Law.

 

The Law was the explanation and expectation of God’s righteousness.

This was what He ordained as the way of life

In order to be righteous in His sight.

 

The Law did not make a person righteous,

But the Law did outline what righteousness was

And revealed those who were not.

 

Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

 

The Law did not come to impart righteousness to people.

The Law simply arrived as an unbiased observer,

Strictly spelling out the difference between the righteous and the wicked.

 

The problem was that the righteousness the law revealed

Was so perfect that no man ever measured up to it.

 

And therefore instead of being a beacon of light leading us to God,

The Law actually became a barricade that kept us away from Him.

 

And over time, this fact

Changed the way that people began to look at the Law.

 

No longer was the Law viewed as a good thing, but as a negative thing.

(Perhaps you’ve even seen that view in the church today)

 

That view is certainly alive in Israel today.

 

I witnessed to a Jewish man who only reads the first 5 books

and doesn’t believe them.

 

If they read the whole thing, or believed any of it,

All they would find is condemnation.

They view the Law as a negative thing.

 

And sadly, so do many even in the church.

Treating the Law like it is some sort of evil list of rules

Or some sort of negative problem that Jesus finally got rid of.

 

THAT IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE.

 

What did Paul say about the Law?

Romans 7:7-12 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

 

The Law is not the problem.

 

Yet, because sinful man has never been able to fulfill it,

The Law has always been looked upon as some sort of negative list

That had to be removed if people were ever going to get to God.

 

And perhaps as we study the first parts of the Sermon on the Mount you’ve had similar thoughts.

 

I mean, if I’m going to go to heaven,

Then God is going to have to lighten up on some of those requirements.

 

God is either going to have to let more people in than just the humble,

Or just the mourners, or just the hungry, or else I’m stuck.

No doubt this was part of the cry of Israel

As Jesus preached this sermon.

 

Their desire was to justify themselves by reducing the requirements.

If they could succeed in lowering the standard,

Then salvation would be more accessible.

 

And without a doubt this is what they expected

The Messiah to come and help them with.

 

They just knew that when Messiah came

He would help them by clarifying which commandments really mattered

And which ones didn’t.

 

Remember the woman at the well?

John 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

 

And then moments later said:

John 4:25 “The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”

 

She was looking for the one who would explain

What really mattered and what didn’t.

 

This was also the attitude of the Rich Young Ruler.

Matthew 19:16-18a “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?”

 

He was looking for the Messiah to narrow down

Which commandments mattered and which ones didn’t.

 

They both thought (as do many today) that

If salvation was to be obtained then

God was going to have to compromise and learn to give a little.

 

God would have to be willing to overlook a few commands

And just enforce a few.

 

I remember a movie Carrie and I watched in which a lady said, “Nothing is certain until your dead, and even then I’m sure God negotiates.”

 

That is what many people count on.

That God will give in and compromise and reduce the standard.

 

Friend, if that is what you are hoping for,

I have some bad news.

 

For in Jesus sermon here,

He addresses that very issue, and His verdict is severe.

 

THE LAW STANDS

 

In fact in our text this morning Jesus gives 3 things

THAT CANNOT HAPPEN TO GOD’S LAW.

#1 IT CANNOT BE ABOLISHED

Matthew 5:17-18

 

“Do not think”

It indicates to us that Jesus is confronting a common mindset of the day,

And one that is obviously wrong.

 

It was commonly accepted that in order for salvation to be achieved

Then the Law was going to have to be removed.

 

Jesus said, “Do not think” that.

 

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets;”

 

In other words, if you are looking for Jesus to be a Liberal,

You are barking up the wrong tree.

 

No one was ever more committed to the whole of Scripture than Jesus.

• No one read it closer…

• No one understood it better…

• No one obeyed it more…

• No one preached it harder…

• No one explained it deeper…

• No one loved it more…

 

And so He said, “Do not think that I came to abolish” it.

 

“abolish” translates KATALUO

“to reduce to inactivity” or “to destroy” or “to overthrow”

 

It is the same word Jesus used in regard to the temple of His body.

Matthew 26:61 “and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.'”

 

It meant to completely remove it and take it out of the way.

To strip it of power and push it aside.

 

And many people expected Jesus to do this to the Law.

Many in the church assume that is what Jesus did to the Law.

 

And yet nothing could be further from the truth.

He did not come to reduce, tear down, or overthrow, or destroy the Law.

And of course the reason is because the Law cannot be destroyed.

 

(18) “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

 

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

 

It is not just that Jesus would not abolish the Law,

It is that He could not abolish the Law.

The Law cannot be removed.

 

Jesus said, “until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stoke shall pass from the Law”

 

“letter” translates IOTA

It corresponds to the name of the smallest Hebrew letter YOD

 

Ever hear the term “I don’t give one iota”

 

“stroke” translates KERAIA

“a little horn”

 

It refers to a stroke that makes up part of a letter.

It is like the difference between a capital “P” and a capital “R”

 

And Jesus here says that neither will ever pass away from the Law.

 

And so if your plan for entering heaven

Requires the bending of the Law at any point,

Then you have a bad plan, because it will not happen.

 

The Law is here to stay, and it will be there even until the day of judgment.

 

It is the standard, it is the plum line,

And men will be judged according to it, both now and forever.

 

The Law is not going anywhere.

• It is still in effect.

• It still matters.

• You still have to obey it.

• You will still be measured by it.

 

If someone ever came and told you that the Law was gone,

They lied to you. It is still there.

 

The Law cannot be abolished.

 

#2 IT CANNOT BE ANNULLED

Matthew 5:19

 

Some people want to simply remove the Law altogether.

They try to pretend like it doesn’t matter, and they simply throw it aside.

 

Others are much more diplomatic about it.

They don’t want to remove the whole Law,

They just want to remove the parts that offend them.

 

These are the people who sell those Big Black Bible Blotters

That you can use to mark out the verses of Scripture you don’t agree with.

 

They just try to annul part of the Bible.

 

“annuls” translates LUO

(It is actually a less intense form of the same word translated “abolish”)

It means “to loosen, especially by way of deliverance”

 

This is what the liberal preacher loves to do.

 

He sees people living in sin,

And rather than take the Scriptures and confront their life,

He just reassures the people that their sin is no big deal.

 

He just “loosens” or “delivers” them from that specific command.

Don’t like verses on adultery – no problem we won’t preach them

Don’t like verses on greed – no problem we’ll overlook them

Don’t like verses on gossip – I’m sure God understands and it’s OK

 

Their favorite phrase is “That doesn’t apply today”

 

They are those who love to let people off the hook,

As though they have the authority to do so.

They annul the commands of God.

 

But Jesus says, you can’t do that either.

“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven;”

 

ARE SOME COMMANDS GREATER THAN OTHERS?

Mark 12:28-31 “One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Jesus also said to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”

 

Jesus insinuated that some commands weighed more than others.

 

We tend to do the same today.

We obviously rank commands concerning murder and adultery

As weightier than commands about being faithful to attend church.

 

But please notice the point Jesus made.

While some are more important than others, none can be annulled.

 

“Whoever annuls one of the least of these commandments…”

 

That person is called “least in the kingdom of heaven.”

 

In other words, even if it is a true Christian

Who tells you that certain commands don’t matter,

Rest assured they may be saved, but they don’t hold much clout.

 

They are the lowest of the lot.

 

On the flip side:

“whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

 

And the point of Jesus is crystal clear.

 

You cannot abolish the Law and you cannot annul it either.

 

You are not allowed to go through the Scriptures and pick and choose

Which commands you like and which ones you don’t and go from there.

 

You are not allowed to only apply what makes you look good

And remove what makes you look bad.

 

YET THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE LOVE TO DO.

Some even find teachers to do it for them.

 

2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

 

Jesus said it doesn’t work that way.

You can’t destroy God’s Law

And you can’t just pick and choose what you want.

The Law stands – ALL OF IT

And you must obey it all.

 

It Can’t Be Abolished, It Can’t Be Annulled

#3 IT CAN’T BE AVOIDED

Matthew 5:20

 

Here is one of the key and most convicting passages of the entire sermon

And of all of Scripture.

 

“unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Jesus revealed a common misconception of the day.

 

The Jewish people had actually started

To replace God’s Law with a new standard.

 

They replaced God’s Law with

The standard of “the scribes and Pharisees”

 

They had written so many commentaries and books of on the Law

That most Jews followed those books instead of the Law itself anyway.

 

And the result was that instead of studying the Law

And seeking to be like God.

The Jewish people studied the writings of the Pharisees

And sought to be like them.

 

They had replaced God’s divine and holy standard with a man-made one.

 

• On one hand this was actually more difficult as the Pharisees had added to many laws, actually making them much more labor intensive than God ever intended.

 

• But on the other hand, since they were human in origin and not divine, they were actually attainable by human standards.

 

They had re-written a code that better suited the abilities of man,

And were using this code as a means of

Declaring themselves righteous or not.

 

This concept is what spurs the entire “You have heard…but I say”

Portion of The Sermon on the Mount.

 

The people were actually avoiding God’s Law

By seeking to fulfill a different standard.

 

AND PEOPLE DO THIS TODAY

One preacher is actually quoted as saying:

“The one thing I’ve learned is that when you get into the pulpit you’ve got to somehow communicate without using the Bible, because the Bible turns people off. I’ve spent a long time developing the ability to communicate to people without ever using the Bible. I started out in my ministry saying this verse says this and this verse says that, and I finally realized that wouldn’t get me anywhere. Now I say it in my own way and people will accept it.”

(MacArthur, John, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series; Matthew 1-7, pg. 264. Moody Press, 1985)

 

That is exactly what the Pharisees were doing.

They avoided God’s word, in order to replace it with their own.

 

BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THAT.

IT WON’T WORK

 

Because in the end, regardless of whether or not you studied it,

God will use His book as the standard.

 

And God’s book has a much higher standard.

 

And that is why Jesus says:

“unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

In other words you can be what every man thinks you should be,

And it won’t matter a hill of beans at the judgment.

 

You will not be measured by the standard of men.

You will be measured by the standard of God.

Isaiah 28:16-17 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place.”

 

When you stand before God, He will not drop a Pharisee down beside you.

When you stand before God, He will not prop you up next to a scribe.

 

God will measure you by the perfect standard of His holy Law.

And you do not fulfill that Law, you will be judged forever in hell.

 

You cannot remove the Law, annul the Law, or ignore the Law.

It stands forever, All of it, and only it.

 

If you don’t fully obey the whole Law of God you will not enter heaven.

James 2:10-11 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”

 

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

I hope you noticed, that earlier we skipped a pivotal phrase in this text.

 

Look back at verse 17.

“I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

 

• The requirement of the Law has not been removed.

• The commands of the Law have not been annulled.

• The standards of the Law have not been replaced.

 

Jesus did not come and lower the bar

To make it easier for you to get into heaven.

Jesus came and made a way for you to get over the bar.

 

He didn’t abolish the Law, He fulfilled it.

 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

I mean He perfectly kept every command

And perfectly fulfilled every intention of the Law.

 

If you were to break down the Law,

You could break it down into three categories.

 

THE MORAL LAW – “thou shalt nots”

THE JUDICIAL LAW – command to be separate people

THE SACRIFICIAL LAW – sacrifices for forgiveness.

 

Jesus Fulfilled it.

 

The Moral Law – by fully obeying every single command.

The Judicial Law – by truly being set apart and different.

The Sacrificial Law – by laying His life down as an offering for sin.

 

Furthermore He fulfilled the prophets

By being everything that the prophets said Israel should be.

 

He didn’t remove the standard, He made a way for us to achieve it.

 

That way is Himself.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

 

When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, the Bible says

That His perfect righteousness is credited to our account.

 

That means that God looks at our account

He sees the perfection of Jesus Christ

and we are stamped “Requirement Fulfilled”.

 

Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

 

You see when people seek to get rid of the Law,

All they are really doing is trying to get rid of their need for Jesus.

 

Because if the Law doesn’t matter then Jesus isn’t needed.

 

But if the Law is still in full effect,

Then everyone in this place needs the righteousness

That only He can provide.

 

And friend I am here to tell you that you need it.

 

If you have never died with Christ and been raised with Him

Then you had better check out that Old Testament,

And you had better make sure you never break a command,

For that Law explains the righteousness that God requires

And He will require it of you.

 

Or, you can place your faith in the only One

Who ever did fulfill it and allow Him to pick you up over the bar.

 

That is the emphasis of Christ

And that is the message of the Sermon on the Mount.

 

The Law still stands.

It can never be removed.

 

But Jesus Christ has made a way for you and I to fulfill it.

 

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

Salt & Light

Matthew 5:13-16

 

As you know, we are presently

Studying through the Sermon on the Mount.

 

And last week we finished a most penetrating portion of that sermon.

They are called the Beatitudes.

 

They describe in some detail the nature of a truly righteous person.

Namely they are the description of Jesus.

 

The tragedy we found is that none of us measure up to them.

Not one of us accurately portrays any of them.

 

And therefore we are driven to Jesus,

Who is the only one who can cause us to fulfill such lofty requirements.

 

And this morning we move on the next section.

 

The beatitudes gave the description of the righteous man.

This next section gives the EXPECTATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN.

 

It actually looks at the righteous man from two directions.

 

The first analogy is a negative one.

As Jesus warns of the danger of being tasteless salt.

 

The second analogy is a positive one.

As Jesus speaks of the expectation of being a shining light.

 

But both in their simplest form

Describe the expectation of a righteous man.

 

Let’s look at these two analogies.

 

#1 YOU ARE SALT

Matthew 5:13

 

Jesus said very clearly, “You are the salt of the earth…”

 

The first question we have to ask is “Who is ‘You’”?

For some reason everyone applies this to the church.

 

But Jesus wasn’t talking to the church.

 

Who was Jesus talking to here?

And the answer in a physical sense is obviously

Those Jewish disciples who had gathered around Him.

 

The answer in a spiritual sense is all those who fulfill the beatitudes.

 

Jesus is speaking to all those who are righteous,

And I suppose we could even say He is speaking to those

Who perceive themselves to be.

 

And He says, “You are the salt of the earth;”

 

So next, WHAT IS “SALT”?

 

There are obviously many comparisons that could be made

The most popular is that of salt as a PRESERVATIVE.

 

And therefore views the righteous man

As a preservative to the world who keeps it from decay.

 

But this obviously has some problems.

• For every righteous man in the Old Testament only saw the world around him decay, not preserved.

• Furthermore when Jesus walked this earth, the world continued to decay, not to be preserved.

• And finally, even with the presence of the redeemed church, the world still continues to decay,

 

Scripture even promises as much.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

 

Even John said,

1 John 2:17 “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

 

The fact is that this world is rotting, and will continue to rot.

The righteous man has never prevented that.

Even Jesus didn’t do that.

 

SO WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF SALT THAT JESUS HERE ALLUDES TO?

 

He tips us off to what He was thinking

By showing us the effects of salt that doesn’t do its job.

 

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless…”

 

He didn’t say, “but if the salt quits preserving”

He said, “if the salt becomes tasteless”

 

WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF SALT?

To add flavor.

 

And here Jesus says that is precisely the role of the righteous man.

 

PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR WHAT MAKES LIFE WORTH LIVING.

 

They season their lives with

Money, fame, toys, and pleasure,

But nothing can seem to make life taste any better.

 

Jesus explained them like this.

Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

 

And we know why they are like that.

This world, and the god of this world have kicked them in the teeth.

 

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

 

The world lives out their lives in spiritual poverty,

In spiritual death, and headed towards spiritual destruction.

They have no idea what makes life worth living.

 

That is why Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.”

 

A righteous man then is one who continually offers the world

What makes life worth living.

 

They are not part of the world.

They are not seeking fulfillment where the world seeks it.

 

Remember their hunger is for righteousness.

Their desire is for purity of heart.

Instead they are out showing mercy and offering peace with God.

 

They are meeting the needs of others giving people true life.

 

This is what a righteous man does.

 

And a man who does not do this

Cannot lay claim to righteousness.

 

Listen to what Jesus said next.

“but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

 

And here is the negative aspect.

 

If you are not adding flavor,

If you are not showing others why life is worth living,

Then you are useless to God and the world.

 

Those of you who have been coming on and studying 2 Peter,

You know that Peter gave a list of 7 qualities and then a challenge.

 

2 Peter 1:5-8 “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

Peter was telling us how not to be useless.

 

And here Jesus says that salt without flavor is useless.

 

Now in a real sense, salt cannot become flavorless.

So we are not actually talking about flavorless salt, but rather fake salt.

 

We are talking about something that looks like salt,

But in reality is not because it has no flavor.

 

And this flavorless rock is useless.

 

SO WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRUE SALT AND TASTELESS SALT?

 

TURN TO: LUKE 14:25-35

 

There Jesus implies that a disciple of Jesus who will not

Count the cost and follow anyway is a tasteless disciple.

 

If they won’t count the cost they are prone to shock & betrayal. (Rocky Soil)

If they won’t pay the cost they never follow to begin with. (Weedy Soil)

 

And that helps us understand the analogy here.

 

A righteous man is one who truly has found fulfillment in God

And who does not need the world.

And he is one who willingly forsakes this world

In order to offer true life to those who don’t have it

 

But those who will not are useless and will be thrown out.

 

 

Question # 1 Am I tasted or tossed?

 

A righteous man is salt to the world, are you?

 

And I must say that we are again

Condemned by the Sermon on the Mount.

 

Again we realize that if this is what a righteous man does

Then my righteousness is in serious question.

 

For while I may offer salt at some times, and while at times I offer flavor.

• There are also plenty of times when I am a lemon.

• There are times when instead of flavor I add bitterness.

• There are times when I want the things of the world instead of the things of God.

 

And Jesus is here calling that man out.

 

If you are righteous as the beatitudes explained,

Then you also never fail to be salt.

 

If you do fail to be salty, then despite what you think of yourself,

You are of no use to man or God.

 

Your only purpose is “to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

 

Then comes the next analogy.

#2 YOU ARE LIGHT

Matthew 5:14-16

 

I don’t know about you, but this one is a little perplexing.

 

Here Jesus says we are light, but I thought was His distinction?

 

John 1:4-5 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

 

John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

 

I mean even John the Baptist did not claim to be the light.

John 1:6-8 “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.”

 

In fact Jesus had a different analogy for him.

John 5:33-35 “You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. “But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. “He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. “

Jesus didn’t say John was the light,

Jesus said John was a lamp that shines the light.

 

So how can it be that Jesus would now say “You are the Light of the world”?

 

Because Jesus is talking to the righteous man

Who fulfills all of those beatitudes.

 

A man that is righteous like that really is the light.

He really does know the way.

 

And that man is extremely valuable to the world.

 

THIS WORLD IS COVERED IN DARKNESS.

 

And they need a light to show them the way out.

They need someone who will truly show them what God looks like.

 

Isn’t that what Jesus did?

Matthew 4:12-16 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES — “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH,

UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”

 

Jesus came and was righteousness incarnate and He shined the light.

This is what a righteous man does.

 

And let me inform you of something else.

TRUE LIGHT ALWAYS SHINES.

 

There is no such thing as light that does not shine.

 

Notice what Jesus says:

“A city on a hill cannot be hidden,

 

That means even if you wanted to take the light from a righteous man

You could not do it.

 

Then Jesus goes on to say that true light will not be hidden.

 

“nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”

 

The insinuation is that truly righteous people

Really do shine their light all the time.

In fact Mark and Luke both credit Jesus to quoting this analogy

Directly after preaching the parable of the soils.

 

Let’s look at Luke’s analogy.

TURN TO: LUKE 8:11-18

 

The implication there is that if you are not shining light

Then you obviously did not hear the truth correctly

And must have a bad heart.

 

Because there is no such thing as a light that cannot shine

Or as a light that will not shine.

 

WELL WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SHINE?

 

Look at verse 16.

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

 

You may remember that the Jews had tremendous difficulty here.

 

Some didn’t try to shine a light at all.

Others shined a light but it was pointed at themselves.

 

• Gave when the trumpet sounded…

• Prayed on the street corner…

• Fasted with dirty faces…

 

The point was they were shining a light

But it was glorifying themselves, and not God.

 

Paul told them that instead of glorifying God, they were blaspheming God.

 

Romans 2:21-24 “you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”

 

SO HOW DOES A PERSON SHINE A LIGHT ON GOD?

 

When you walk in true righteousness.

 

WALK IN THOSE BEATITUDES

A person living there is a person who is truly glorifying God.

 

BECAUSE A PERSON LIVING LIKE THIS IS LIVING LIKE GOD.

 

And when you walk in them, you are a light to the world.

If you don’t, the insinuation is that you are not truly righteous,

Because the light of a righteous man cannot and would not be hidden.

 

And that leads to the next question.

Question #2 Am I Helpful of Hidden?

 

And again if any of us will be truly honest with ourselves

We have to see that there are hundreds of times

In which I fail to shine the light.

 

How many times have I seen someone I failed to share with?

How many times have I failed to illumine the way to God?

 

And all along we just pretend like we are

Exactly what Jesus said would not happen.

 

We convince ourselves that we have the light

But we just temporarily refused to shine it.

 

And Jesus just said THAT NEVER HAPPENS

 

And so, if I am not shining the light,

The only thing I can deduce is that I am not a righteous person.

 

YOU SEE WE COMMONLY QUOTE THESE PASSAGES OUT OF CONTEXT.

(I’ve even been guilty)

 

We quote them here with a missionary flavor

And puff ourselves up as salt and light.

 

But look at the context of this sermon.

 

• Jesus just listed 8 qualities that if you are honest you must admit that you do not have.

• Now Jesus lists two roles that if you are honest you do not fulfill.

 

The entire implication is to prove to you that you are not righteous.

 

And the entire point is to now push you to the only One who is.

 

That is why in the very next verse Jesus says this:

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

 

You see the point is to prove to you that you do not measure up

So that you will look to the only one who does.

 

 

When we read these passages and then twist them

To pretend like we fulfill them

We do the same thing the self-righteous Jews were trying to do.

 

Jesus didn’t preach this passage to show you how good you are.

Jesus preached this passage to show you how bad you are.

 

SO THAT YOU WILL RUN TO HIM.

 

A truly righteous man is ALWAYS salt.

A truly righteous man is ALWAYS light.

If that is not you then rest assured you are not a righteous man.

 

And then run to the only Man who really was salt all the time.

And run to the only Man who really was the light of the world.

 

And let Him make you righteous in God’s sight.

 

And then, as He begins to work His work in you,

Slowly but surely you will become salt and light in this world.

 

On your own, it is obvious you do not measure up, but in Him you can finally become the righteous man God desires.

 

Paul said it like this.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

That is the offer to you

And that is the intention of the Sermon on the Mount.

 

1. See what a righteous man is.

2. See that you are not.

3. See the only man who was.

4. And give your life to Him.

 

If you want His righteousness

All you have to do is listen to the invitation He gives in this sermon

 

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

 

If you read that same passage in Luke’s gospel it says this:

Luke 11:9-13 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

 

Jesus isn’t talking about asking for anything at all.

• He is referring to asking for salvation.

• He is talking about asking to be Holy.

• He is talking about asking to be righteous.

 

And if you realize you are not, but you ask Him to make you that way,

Then He will credit His righteousness to your account

And make you righteous before God.

 

Furthermore He will begin to work a change in your life

And start making you more and more like Him.

 

This morning will you ask Him to work that change in you?

 

Realize what you are and run to Jesus.

 

The Beatitudes – part 3

Matthew 5:1-12

 

As you know we are presently studying the Sermon on the Mount

And we are still in the beginning phases of that sermon.

 

Jesus is giving us The Beatitudes.

They are in fact the description of a truly righteous person.

 

A truly righteous person exemplifies all of these attributes all the time.

 

This list is not like a list of spiritual gifts in which we may say,

“I am gifted with mercy, but not with teaching”

Or “I am gifted with giving, but not with leadership”.

 

We cannot look at this list and say, “Blessed are the gentle” that is me,

But those others don’t describe me too well.

 

They must ALL be yours.

 

And I realize that this may cause great difficulty for some of us.

 

For these beatitudes are not the natural inclination of man.

And by studying them it does more convicting than it does reaffirming.

 

I TOLD YOU THIS IS A PENETRATING SERMON.

 

D. Martin Lloyd Jones said:

“These Beatitudes crush me to the ground. They show me my utter helplessness. Were it not for the new birth, I am undone. Read and study it, face yourself in the light of it. It will drive you to see your ultimate need of the rebirth and the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing that so leads to the gospel and its grace as the Sermon on the Mount.”

(Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1985 pg. 18)

 

And of course that is what we have said

Each time we approached this sermon.

 

Jesus exposes the counterfeit righteousness of man

So that he will seek the credited righteousness of the Savior.

 

He will cut you to the quick and throw you to the ground

He will terrify you with the reality of eternal torment,

Until (with your face in the dirt) you lift your hand

And beg for mercy from the only One who can deliver you.

 

Is it painful?

Absolutely.

 

But, “the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

And we are those who think it better to suffer conviction here

That we may be led to the Savior,

Than to miss the savior and suffer condemnation for all eternity.

 

So this may in reality be a difficult sermon,

But it is without a doubt a tremendously valuable one.

 

And it begins with these beatitudes.

 

Over the last two weeks we have studied the first four beatitudes.

 

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

IT IS EXTREME HUMILITY

 

A man who sees he has no worth before God.

He is a beggar.

And he is the only man who will inherit heaven.

 

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

 

Jesus then gave the logical next step.

 

Because he is so poor, he hates the sin that made him that way.

He doesn’t love sin

He doesn’t desire sin

He mourns over it

 

And our great God is moved to comfort those who mourn.

 

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”

 

Because he is so poor and hates his sin so much

He will do anything that is asked of him

In order to attain mercy and righteousness.

 

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

 

And finally, this man who hates sin, wants only one thing.

(not more sin, or a license to do so)

 

HE ONLY WANTS RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

And God delights in feeding the hungry.

 

This man is blessed because it is only this type who will trust in Jesus.

This is the only type of man who will forsake all and follow Him.

 

People never go through the narrow gate or down the narrow path

Unless they come to the conclusion

That the narrow path is their only hope.

 

And so, as I told you last week, those first four beatitudes seem to explain

How a man becomes righteous before God.

 

The last four seem to take on a slightly different look.

These seem to indicate more so what a righteous life looks like.

 

I suppose you can say that these four occurring in your life

Depends upon whether or not the first four ever occurred.

 

They are fruit related.

• They are the attitudes of a poor man made rich.

• They are the attitudes of a mourner who has been comforted.

• They are the attitudes of a gentle man who has been promoted.

• They are the attitudes of a hungry man who has been fed.

 

And so lets look at these last four beatitudes this morning.

#5 BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL

Matthew 5:7

 

Now it is obvious that we have undergone a slight change

In the type of beatitude we are dealing with.

 

This is not a man who is on SEEKING end of righteousness,

This is a man who is on the SHOWING end of righteousness.

 

This is a man who is putting Godly righteousness on display.

 

And according to Jesus that man is “merciful”.

 

We have often heard of God’s mercy defined as

Man not getting what he deserves.

 

And I suppose that is a good place to begin

As we talk about being a merciful person.

 

This life is filled with people who annoy you.

This life is filled with people who inconvenience you.

This life is filled with people who disappoint you.

This life is even filled with people who legitimately wrong you.

 

And the expectation of one who is righteous is that he will be “merciful”.

 

And so obviously we talk about the issue of forgiveness here.

And we dare not underestimate it.

Matthew 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

 

Matthew 18:21-35 “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. “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.”

 

Mercy involves forgiving those who wrong you.

 

The Righteous man bears no grudge.

The Righteous man seeks no vengeance.

The Righteous man does not rejoice when bad things happen to his enemy.

HE IS MERCIFUL

 

BUT IS THAT ALL THAT MERCY ENTAILS?

Obviously not.

 

Mercy is a mindset.

Mercy is a lens through which we view the world.

Mercy entails how we look at others.

 

• When you see a malnourished child… (obviously)

• When you see your enemy suffer…

• When you see a muslim…

• When you see a drunk or a drug addict or a prostitute…

 

DO YOU FEEL PITY OR SCORN?

Do you want to see him suffer,

Or do you want to save him from his suffering?

 

That was the type of mercy God showed in sending His Son to this earth.

 

And that is the type of mercy that our Lord showed.

Luke 23:34 “But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.”

Mercy is to see those in this world

As those ensnared to sin and headed to hell.

 

And Jesus says that a person who shows that type of mercy is “Blessed”.

 

WHY?

“for they shall receive mercy.”

 

Now certainly we have to be careful with such a statement.

 

WE DO NOT EARN MERCY BY BEING MERCIFUL

 

If that were the actual standard

Then no one would ever be forgiven enough to enter heaven.

 

None of us will ever offer as much mercy as we need to use.

 

The statement reveals that it is the man who has received God’s mercy who will in fact be the most merciful.

 

This man does not see himself above other wicked men.

(His pride was shot back in the first beatitude)

 

Therefore he is no position

To determine who is worthy of mercy and who is not.

 

Instead his attitude is that “If a sinner like me could find mercy,

Then certainly no one is beyond its reach.”

 

HE IS MERCIFUL BECAUSE HE HAS RECEIVED MERCY

 

And it is the “merciful” who are truly blessed.

 

#6 BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART

Matthew 5:8

 

And here is a difficult beatitude to swallow.

 

Jesus calls them the “pure in heart”.

 

First of all, what does it mean to be “pure”?

 

It is a Greek word that means

“To be pure by cleansing from dirt or filth.”

 

It was a word Greeks used of putting metal through the fire

In order to purify it or remove all impurities.

 

 

The same word is used in Revelation

Revelation 21:18 “The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.”

 

NOT the word “pure” there,

But the word “clear” is the same word Jesus uses here.

 

Jesus is saying “blessed are the clear in heart”

 

Remember Jesus parable of the soils,

And the problem we find with the weedy soil?

 

Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

 

We have often called that man “half-hearted”

Because only part of his heart was given to God.

The other part was given to the world.

 

His heart wasn’t clear.

His heart wasn’t pure.

 

This is why David prayed:

Psalms 86:11 “Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.”

 

This is a person who is totally pure in motive,

Without a single other desire.

 

What is the “heart”?

 

In our day, the heart represents the seat of our emotions.

Conversely we see the mind as the seat of reason.

 

But in Jesus day the term “heart” represented all of the above.

It was more than just the emotions, it represented all of the person.

 

Hence the greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:37 “And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’”

 

Jesus is referring to the person who is unmixed

And unified in their entire being to seek God.

 

And they are the only ones who “shall see God.”

 

Didn’t Jeremiah say:

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Only the pure in heart will see God.

Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

 

Psalms 24:1-6 “The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face — even Jacob.”

 

This is what Jesus is saying.

 

The person who will see God is the person who only wants God.

The truly righteous person doesn’t want anything else.

 

• He is through with the sin that made him wretched in God’s sight.

• He is through with the world that stained him in sin.

• His only hunger is for righteousness, and he is pure in that hunger.

 

They are not the hypocrites who clean only the outside of the dish,

 

They are “pure in heart”

And they alone are “blessed” for they alone “shall see God.”

 

#7 BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

Matthew 5:9

 

For some reason people tend to read this one,

“Blessed are the peacekeepers”

 

And they think it means

“Blessed are the wishy-washy” “Blessed are the spineless”

“Blessed are the compromisers” “Blessed are the tolerant”

 

And some spineless claiming Christian

Will overlook, condone, and accept all manners of heresy

And then determine to look the other way in order to keep the peace.

 

Furthermore they pat themselves on the back for such a stance

Supposing that by keeping the peace they are somehow like God.

 

Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

We are talking about those who MAKE peace, not those KEEP peace.

 

And we must understand the type of peace we are dealing with here.

IT IS PEACE BETWEEN MAN AND GOD.

 

Natural man is not at peace with God.

 

Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.”

 

Isaiah 57:21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

 

That doesn’t mean their lives are filled with anxiety and worry.

(For indeed the wicked often live care free lives)

 

It means that despite what they may feel they are not at peace with God.

 

And this is where every sinner once dwelled.

Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

 

Every many was an object of God’s wrath.

 

But it was the righteous man who recognized his great offence to God

And who hated the sin that made him that way.

He begged for mercy and hungered for righteousness.

AND HE FOUND PEACE WITH GOD

 

And after he received it,

His desire was then to help others find that same peace.

 

He is not one who could condone sin.

He is not one who could sweep iniquity under the rug.

 

He confronts sinners…

He calls for repentance…

He instructs in righteousness…

 

Because this is the pathway to God’s peace

And he wants other men to have it.

And Jesus says people like that are “blessed”

 

“for they shall be called sons of God.”

 

Was it not the Son of God who did this very thing?

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

 

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

 

He made peace by appeasing the wrath of God on sinful man.

 

And we are called “sons of God”

When we lead others into that same peace.

 

Quote the Great Commission all you like,

But evangelism and missions starts here.

 

The Missionary heart is that of a righteous man who makes peace.

He confronts with a heart of mercy

Begging others to find the same peace he found.

 

He is blessed.

#8 BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTED

Matthew 5:10-12

 

The longest beatitude

(It was shocking, so Jesus explains it)

 

He begins by saying “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

• You see the first 4 beatitudes spoke of achieving righteousness.

• The next 3 spoke of manifesting that righteousness.

 

This last one is the unavoidable consequence

Of doing the first 7 correctly.

 

People who have never been persecuted for being righteous

Have reason to question if they have ever truly demonstrated it.

 

2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

 

Satan is the god of this world, and the world is in his power.

 

Satan hates God, Satan hates Jesus, Satan hates righteousness,

And he never overlooks any of them.

 

If you have never suffered his wrath,

It is apparent you have never irritated him.

 

That is why Jesus uses persecution

As the final evidence of the righteous life.

And that is why He says “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

They alone go to heaven because they alone are truly righteous.

 

And in case we don’t understand what He means, He clarifies it.

 

(11-12) “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 

Let me simply show you the main point.

 

When we open the Bible

It is obvious to us how the world treats righteous people.

 

Show me one righteous person in Scripture who wasn’t persecuted for it.

• Noah was mocked by the crowds

• Abraham was unwelcome to many of his neighbors

• Jacob was harassed by Laban

• Joseph was sold into slavery

• Moses was spoken against by everyone from Pharaoh to the Israelites, even by his own brother and sister.

• David was persecuted by Saul

• Stephen was stoned

• All of the disciples were martyred except John who was in prison

• Paul was beheaded, as was John the Baptist

• Timothy was imprisoned

 

Opposition is a fool proof sign of righteousness.

 

And Jesus says if it happens to you then rejoice, be happy,

Because it puts you in the elite class of those who are righteous.

 

PERSECUTION IS THE RESULT OF LIVING ALL THE BEATITUDES

 

You see we when we read these beatitudes

We are not breaking them down into individual characteristics

For you to pick which one best describes you.

IT IS AN ALL OR NONE DEAL.

 

If you fail to demonstrate any one of the beatitudes

Then your righteousness is in serious question.

 

WHY?

Because those are not simply the attitudes of a righteous person;

THOSE ARE THE ATTRIBUTES OF JESUS

 

• He was humble (“The Son can do nothing of His own initiative”)

• He hated sin (“Go and sin no more”)

• He was meek and submissive (“Not My will, but Yours be done”)

• He hungered for the will of God (“My food is to…”)

• He was merciful (“Moved with compassion”)

• He was pure in heart (“Tempted in all things, yet without sin”)

• He was the ultimate peacemaker (“He Himself is our peace”)

• He was persecuted (“crucified by the hands of wicked men”)

 

He was righteousness exemplified.

And if you are not as righteous as He,

Then you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

And I hope this morning as we complete that study

You were honest with yourself and realized that on your own,

YOU ARE NONE OF THOSE THINGS.

 

• Are you really humble all the time?

• Do you really hate sin all the time?

• Are you really submissive to God all the time?

• Are you truly merciful to all people all the time?

• Is your heart truly pure and you want no other thing?

• Is your sole passion to make peace between man and God?

• Are you daily persecuted for your efforts?

 

Forget about doing them all,

When we get honest we don’t do any of them.

 

And that means

• You can’t go to heaven

• You can’t be comforted

• You can’t inherit the earth

• You can’t be satisfied with righteousness

• You can’t receive mercy

• You can’t see God

• You won’t be called sons of God

• You’ll get no reward in heaven

 

Because we are not righteous.

 

And now you understand what Paul meant when he said:

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

But in case you didn’t know it, Paul did not stop there.

 

Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

 

You see no one on this earth can ever claim

To be righteous in the site of God.

But because Jesus poured out His life on the cross

As an offering to God for sin.

We can claim to be justified in the sight of God.

 

 

If you are trying to live this life apart from faith in Jesus,

Let me take you to the beatitudes

And show you that you are failing miserably.

 

And let me ask you to lift your hand to Jesus

And ask for His righteousness to be credited to your account,

And instantly you will be made right in the sight of God.

 

And when Christ gets inside of you,

You will begin to take on His characteristics,

And while you will not immediately be perfect,

It will eventually occur.

 

One day in glory you will stand before God having become just like Jesus.

 

 

 

These beatitudes are meant to drive you to Jesus,

So trust your life to Him.

 

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

 

 

The Beatitudes – Part 2

Matthew 5:1-12

 

Last week we started our study of The Sermon on the Mount.

 

And as I told you then, I find this to be

The most penetrating and revealing section of Scripture in all the Bible.

 

The Sermon on the Mount does not simply deal with what a person DOES.

The Sermon on the Mount goes directly to what a person IS.

 

Jesus doesn’t simply come and tell the Jews what they should do

In order to please God.

Jesus comes and tells the Jews what they should be

In order to please God.

 

AND THIS GETS EXTREMELY CONVICTING.

 

Over time man has been somewhat successful in curving his actions.

Even lost men have been able to find relatively high levels of morality.

Foreign religions have given tremendous proof of that.

 

Through false religion we find those who have become moral, devoted,

Sexually pure, and even generous.

 

In many cases, even lost men have been able to control their actions

Into some sort of acceptable standard.

 

And this is certainly where the Jews were in Jesus day.

They had found a certain behavioral mold and

Were somewhat successfully fitting their lives into that mold.

 

But there is one major problem with that.

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

 

Psalms 139:2 “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.”

 

Man may indeed alter his actions,

But God is not simply reading their actions, God is reading their heart.

He is looking beyond what men do, to why men do it.

 

And it is after the heart is read

That God declares a person righteous or wicked.

 

And this is the point that Jesus comes to clearly make

In the Sermon on the Mount.

 

He tells men things like:

• It is good not to physically kill a man, but even if you hate him, God sees you as a murderer.

• It is good not to physically sleep with another man’s wife, but if you have even wanted to God sees you as an adulterer.

 

You see God examines the righteousness of the heart,

Not just the righteousness of the hands.

 

THIS SERMON RENDERS MAN GUILTY WITHOUT EXCUSE

 

The purpose is to drive you away from your own self-sufficiency

And drive you to the outstretched hand of the Savior.

 

Jesus EXPOSES THE COUNTERFEIT RIGHTEOUSNESS OF MAN

With the intention of motivating them to accept

THE CREDITED RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE SAVIOR.

 

And as we said last week,

Jesus does not start by exposing their hypocrisy,

Instead He starts by explaining what a righteous heart looks like.

 

THE BEATITUDES

They are the genuine attitudes of a true believer.

 

This is obviously not the attributes of someone

Who has never made a mistake,

But is the attitude of someone who has been justified in the sight of God.

 

Last week we saw the first one.

(3) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

And as we said last week, these beatitudes

Form a very strange paradox off of the lips of Jesus.

 

“Blessed” translates MAKARIOS

Which literally means “happy”

Some Greek scholars used it to describe those who were rich.

 

That means that Jesus is saying:

“Rich are the Poor”

“Happy are the Sad”

“Full are the Hungry”

 

In other words, true happiness is obviously not what the world thinks it is.

 

To find true happiness, we must let go of the worldly wisdom

And grab a hold of God’s.

 

And Jesus said first of all, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

The poor are not those who have less than others,

But here are referred to as those who have nothing.

 

They don’t even have anything to sell or trade.

They have resorted to their only option, which is begging.

 

And these poor are not the financially poor, but the spiritually poor.

In a real sense, they are those who have absolutely nothing to offer God.

 

All of their righteousness is a filthy garment,

All of their religious accomplishments are unacceptable.

 

They have nothing to offer, they are totally broke, spiritually bankrupt.

 

But Jesus said they are blessed,

Because it is they and they alone who receive “the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Only those who are spiritually bankrupt get to enter.

• God only accepts the broken.

• God only accepts the lowly.

• God only accepts the contrite of spirit.

 

And we studied that last week.

 

Let’s look at the second beatitude.

#2 BLESSED ARE THE MOURNERS

Matthew 5:4

 

There again we see that same word “Blessed”.

Jesus is again giving us the pathway to utter happiness.

 

And here it is reserved for “those who mourn”

 

“mourn” translates PENTHEO

And it literally means to mourn or grieve.

 

What you may not realize is that there are 9 different Greek words

Translated “mourn” throughout the New Testament,

But this one is the strongest.

 

This word was used for mourning the death of a loved one.

Mark 16:10 “She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.”

 

This is someone who is dealing with a horrific circumstance

That is irreversible. It is bad, and they are stuck with it.

And so it seems strange to us that Jesus would say that people

Who mourn like this are in reality those who will be happy.

 

WHY?

“for they shall be comforted.”

 

Again, the Greek is in the emphatic which means

“they alone” or “they only” shall receive comfort.

 

The comfort of God is only for those who mourn like this.

 

“comfort” translates PARAKALEO

It means “to come alongside to encourage”

 

The word for Holy Spirit is PARAKLETE

(He is the Helper who comes to you to help you)

 

And Jesus says, that type of help, that type of comfort

Is strictly reserved for those who mourn.

 

And that certainly makes sense to us.

After all, are you more compelled to put your arm around someone grieving at a funeral or cheering at a football game?

 

Comfort is only for those who mourn.

 

BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE?

 

What we are speaking of here is someone

Who we already know is spiritually bankrupt.

We already know they are absolutely deficient before God.

 

WHAT MADE THEM THAT WAY?

The answer is sin.

 

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

And now you know why they are mourning.

They are unacceptable to God

And they hate the sin that made them that way.

 

They hate the things they’ve done.

They hate the things they’ve thought.

They hate the things they’ve said.

 

And they are grieved with the strongest grief imaginable

Because of the consequences of that sin – HELL

 

This is why that tax collector was beating his breast.

The good news is that because they are mourning,

Our compassionate God is moved to offer them comfort.

 

Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

 

God is motivated to comfort the mourning.

 

Ever see Jesus go to a funeral?

Whether it was Jairus’ family…

Whether it was the widow who lost her son…

Whether it was Martha and Mary over Lazarus…

Jesus was overcome and moved to comfort them.

 

AND THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES JESUS COMFORTS

 

DOES THAT MEAN THEY ARE THE ONLY SINNERS?

No, the Bible says all have sinned.

 

But none of the other sinners receive God’s comfort

Because they weren’t grieved about it.

 

Think about it at a funeral.

Do you comfort a man rejoicing over the death of his spouse?

 

They receive no comfort because they did not mourn.

 

Luke 6:25 “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.”

 

And the same is true for us and sin.

God isn’t looking for those who have never sinned,

He is looking for those who know they’ve sinned and hate it.

 

 

And so the admonition is for us to realize our spiritual poverty

And hate the sin that put us in that horrible condition.

 

It’s not enough to know you are a sinner, you must hate it.

It must grieve you.

 

James 4:8-9 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.”

 

LEARN TO HATE YOUR SIN

And that is just the opposite of the world.

Our world doesn’t hate sin, our world loves sin.

 

Those who are found guilty of sin generally try to conceal it

So that they can keep doing it without consequence.

 

This is not the way to deal with sin.

1 John 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

 

Don’t conceal your sin, don’t ignore your sin, don’t deny your sin.

Hate your sin and beg God to remove it.

 

Blessed are the Poor

Blessed are the Mourners

#3 BLESSED ARE THE GENTLE

Matthew 5:5

 

Again Jesus is giving attributes of the truly happy of the truly “blessed”

 

And here He says that the “gentle” are “blessed”.

 

“gentle” translates PRAUS (PrOUSE)

It means “gentleness of spirit”

 

It is the word Peter uses to describe a godly woman.

1 Peter 3:4 “but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.”

 

And we understand that it refers to one

Who is not boisterous or loud or argumentative.

But one who is submissive and quiet and willing to listen to instruction.

 

The KJV calls it “meek”

“Strength under control”

(Like a horse)

 

And Jesus says here that people with this same attitude

Are the happiest people.

 

WHY? “for they shall inherit the earth.”

 

Our world thinks that in order to obtain the world

You have to scratch and claw and fight your way to the top.

You have to take what is yours and beat others to the punch.

 

“It’s a dog eat dog world”

 

But Jesus says just the opposite.

He says it is not the forceful who will obtain the world,

It is the gentle who will.

 

The reason of course is because God owns this world

And He will only give it to those who please Him.

 

Matthew 19:27-29 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”

 

Some day King Jesus will return and reign for 1,000 years

And those who reign with Him, are those who submitted to Him.

 

THAT CONVERSATION OCCURRED AFTER THE R.Y.R. LEFT.

He hated his sin (he wept)

But he was unwilling to submit

 

And so even though he owned the world now,

He would not ultimately be the owner of it.

That was for the meek disciples.

 

Because only the “gentle” will “inherit the earth”.

 

AND WE UNDERSTAND WHY THEY ARE GENTLE.

• This is a person who has come to grips with his spiritual poverty.

• And as a result of his poverty this person hates the sin that made him that way.

 

And now when God comes offering mercy,

He is willing to do anything God says in order to be forgiven.

No sacrifice is too great…

No command is too unreasonable…

No expectation is too lofty…

 

This person realizes they are getting a chance they don’t deserve

And so they are willing to follow any command,

To take any path, and endure any hardship.

They are in no position to bargain, they only wish to submit.

 

And they are blessed.

WE SHOULD DO THE SAME.

 

#4 BLESSED ARE THE HUNGRY

Matthew 5:6

Again we are talking about the “blessed”

And this time it is those “who hunger and thirst”

 

Now in a physical sense people “hunger and thirst”

Because their body is deficient of something it needs to survive.

 

AND WHEN A PERSON GETS EXTREMELY DEPRIVED,

THOSE DESIRES TAKE PRECIDENT OVER EVERYTHING ELSE.

 

That is why in the Old Testament we see women eating their children. Their hunger superseded all other thoughts and feelings.

 

Jesus says that people with that type of hunger are blessed.

Only it is not a hunger for food.

 

“hunger and thirst for righteousness”

 

AND THIS MAKES SENSE TO US DOESN’T IT?

• This is a person who is spiritually bankrupt with nothing to offer.

• All they have is sin and they hate it.

• They are willing to do whatever it takes to be forgiven.

• Because all they really want is to be righteous in God’s sight.

 

I’ve always loved the 7th chapter of Romans,

Because there you see the heart of a man who hungers for righteousness

And mourns over sin.

 

Romans 7:15 “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”

 

Romans 7:21-24 “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

 

Can you feel Paul’s pain?

Can you identify with his hatred of sin and his hunger to be righteous?

 

If you can, then you are blessed.

 

WHY ARE THE HUNGRY BLESSED?

“for they shall be satisfied.”

 

That word “satisfied” is used other places.

 

Matthew 14:20 “and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.”

 

God didn’t just give a little, God filled them up.

And they alone are the only ones God gives righteousness to.

 

After that cry for deliverance, Paul went on to say:

Romans 7:25 – 8:1 “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

 

Paul hated sin and hungered for righteousness and God gave it to him.

 

I know in our world people who stand on street corners begging for food

Have a negative connotation.

People tell us not to help them, because they are scamming us.

 

Yet I know, that many times I have given them food

Because I was compelled by their hunger. (And I bet you have too)

 

But you know, I don’t know if I’ve ever went and bought food and then stopped someone at random in the mall and asked them if they wanted it.

 

If they aren’t hungry, we don’t give it.

 

And that is true for God as well.

He gives righteousness to those who hunger and thirst for it.

 

So far we’ve seen the first half of the beatitudes.

The first four deal with coming to God.

The last four are evidences of a heart that has come to God.

 

AND IN THESE FIRST 4 BEATITUDES

YOU HAVE THE HEART OF EVERY SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION.

 

That person saw their sin and hated it.

And submitted to God all because they wanted to be righteous.

 

 

And so thus far you know the type of attitude God wants from you.

• He is not asking you if you are perfect, He wants to know if you know that you aren’t.

 

• He is not asking you if you have ever sinned, He wants to know if you hate the sin you know you’ve committed.

 

• He is not asking you if you have a plan to change your life, He is asking you if you would be willing to listen to His.

 

• He is not asking you if you are righteous, He is asking you if you want to be.

Because righteousness, reward, comfort and heaven are only for those who know they are sinful, hate it, and long to be righteous.

 

WHY?

Because they are the only ones who will

Accept the salvation Jesus offered.

 

Jesus came and died on a cross to be a sacrifice for sin.

And He offers it to all who will deny self, take up the cross and follow Him.

 

But people won’t do that unless they are convinced that they are unacceptable to God because of their sin, and unless they want righteousness so bad that they will do anything to get it.

 

THIS MUST BE YOUR ATTITUDE OR YOU WILL NEVER COME TO JESUS.

AND YOU WILL NEVER BE SAVED.

 

THIS MORNING YOU SEE THAT WE ARE GOING TO PARTAKE IN THE LORD’S SUPPER.

 

We do this because we realize that without Him we could never be saved.

We are spiritually bankrupt

We are filthy sinners

We can only beg for righteousness

 

BUT HIS SACRIFICE PURCHASED THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR US

AND NOW WE COME TO REMEMBER THAT.

 

It is a time of worship!

• Because though we are poor – we are rich

• Because though we mourn – we are comforted

• Because though we are meek – we will reign

• Because though we are hungry – we are filled

 

AND IT IS ALL BECAUSE OF THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST

 

We never partake of the Lord’s Supper without a time of preparation to first examine ourselves.

 

And this morning, if you have realized that

THE BEATITUDES HAVE NEVER BEEN YOUR ATTITUDES,

I want to invite you to see the truth about yourself and come to Jesus.

 

If you will realize what you are, hate your sin, beg Christ for righteousness and submit to Him, He will save you.

 

During this time, I will be here at the front,

You come and give your life to Jesus.

 

The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12

 

This morning we approach what is in my mind the most penetrating,

Convicting, and revealing portion of all Scripture.

 

It is contained in Matthew 5 – 7 and it is called

“The Sermon on the Mount”

 

(1-2) “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them,”

 

As we learned two weeks ago in examining the ultimate fisher of men,

The passion of Jesus was to teach the people.

 

His healing was an important part of His ministry as it served for vindication,

But make no mistake, Jesus came to teach.

 

He came to explain the truth to sinful man,

And to make a way for sinful man to be redeemed back to God.

 

So its no surprise that before Matthew gets specific about Jesus miracles,

He first gets specific about Jesus’ teaching.

 

And in doing so Matthew records a tremendous section of Scripture.

 

I don’t know how to convince you as to

The importance of this text, except to say.

 

If I was given the assignment to find the crux or centerpiece of all Scripture…

If I was challenged to send someone to the “heart” of the Bible.

I would choose Matthew 5,6,&7

 

I say that because there is no section in Scripture

That more thoroughly depicts the message Jesus came to preach

Than these three chapters.

 

I believe with all my heart that these three chapters

Are the basis for all Christian theology,

Especially as it deals with the doctrine of salvation.

 

In other words, you cannot understand what God wants from you

If you do not understand the Sermon on the Mount.

 

And on the flip side,

Once a person truly understands the Sermon on the Mount,

They have already made tremendous strides

In their quest to understand the whole of Scripture.

THIS IS A SUPREMELY IMPORTANT SECTION OF SCRIPTURE

 

Before we deal with the various parts of this sermon,

Let me first give it to you as a whole.

 

If you know the purpose of the entire sermon,

It will help you better understand all of its different pieces.

 

So here is the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount.

TO EXPOSE THE COUNTERFEIT RIGHTEOUSNESS OF ISRAEL

 

You are well aware of what the spiritual state of Israel looked like.

 

Isaiah said of them:

Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”

 

That was a passage that Jesus Himself quoted about Israel

In Matthew 15:8.

 

In other words Israel was a hypocritical nation

Their religion was all external.

Their love for God was skin deep.

Therefore their righteousness was counterfeit.

 

In short Israel was not saved,

Although they themselves were strongly convinced otherwise.

 

And there we have a tremendous difficulty in evangelism.

 

• When you approach a lost man who knows he is lost, you only have to lead him to salvation.

• But when you approach a lost man who thinks that he is saved you first have to convince him that he is lost.

 

And that is where we find our Lord this morning.

 

He is preaching the most penetrating sermon ever preached

With the intent of exposing Israel for what she truly is.

 

John said of Jesus:

John 1:9 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.”

 

And that is certainly the role Jesus is playing here.

 

This sermon is meant to expose the counterfeit righteousness of Israel.

 

And therefore the SUBJECT of the Sermon on the Mount

Is also clear.

The subject of this sermon is TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

And that is clearly seen in two very direct and penetrating verses.

 

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 

Just from those two verses we learn the heart of the matter.

Jesus wanted Israel to realize what true righteousness was,

And ultimately that they did not yet have it.

 

And so Jesus uses this sermon to expose them.

And He exposes them in several ways.

 

YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS COUNTERFEIT BECAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW THE LAW

 

This was the basis for 5:21-47

“You have heard…but I say”

 

One of the reasons for their phony righteousness

Is because they were taught wrong.

 

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”

 

Because most of these people grew up being taught a lie about God and His righteousness, they had never truly been what God desired.

(This is also why Jesus spends time exposing false prophets at the end of this sermon)

 

But because of their ignorance of God’s truth,

They had failed to achieve true righteousness.

 

YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS COUNTERFEIT BECAUSE IT GLORIFIES SELF

 

Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”

 

And of course Jesus goes on from there to expose:

• Hypocritical Giving

• Hypocritical Prayer

• Hypocritical Fasting

 

Their righteousness sought only the glory of the world,

And it sought that glory for their self.

 

Seen clearest in the Pharisees who loved the chief seats at banquets and respectful greetings on the street and being called Rabbi by men.

Their righteousness was only a tool to get glory for themselves

And thus it was counterfeit, Jesus came to expose it.

 

YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS COUNTERFEIT BECAUSE IT IGNORES SELF

 

How can it glorify self and ignore self?

 

Very simply, they glorified themselves for what they did well,

And ignored what they did wrong.

 

For them, it was an exercise in self-justification,

And in condemning others to make themselves look better.

 

Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

 

Their righteous standard was not consistent and therefore their righteousness was not true.

 

YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS COUNTERFEIT BECAUSE IT LACKS OBEDIENCE

 

Matthew 7:21-23 “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.’”

 

Again, their righteousness was skin deep.

It didn’t really love God.

It didn’t really obey God.

It didn’t really emulate God.

 

Israel’s righteousness was a counterfeit standard invented by man

As a way for man to glorify himself before other men.

And before Jesus came, it was universally taught

As the doctrine of God to all Israel.

 

In short, Israel thought they were righteous,

But in reality they were very far from it.

 

Jesus came to reveal that to them,

And His method of revelation was The Sermon on the Mount.

 

And so you can clearly see that this is a very penetrating sermon

As it exposes man’s counterfeit righteousness.

 

BUT IT DOESN’T BEGIN THERE

 

This sermon actually begins with

Jesus explaining what true righteousness looks like.

 

The Jews thought true righteousness looked like a Pharisee.

On the contrary the first twelve verses

Reveal what a truly righteous person looks like.

 

We call this description the BEatitudes.

(Not the DOatitudes)

 

And to understand these character traits

Is nothing short of understanding the difference

Between being saved and being lost.

 

I WISH WE HAD TIME TO STUDY THEM ALL IN ONE SITTING

The unique thing about studying these beatitudes together

Is that they each depend so much on one another.

 

They not only stand alone as vitally important attributes,

But they also build upon one another

As they reveal the character of a righteous person.

 

But this morning I want to begin our study of these important qualities.

 

There has always been a debate about whether there is 8 or 9 Beatitudes,

But we are going to break them down into 8.

 

#1 BLESSED ARE THE POOR

Matthew 5:3

 

The word “blessed” translates MAKARIOS

“happy, fortunate, blissful”

 

Greek writers used the word to describe those who were rich

Or those who were successful in business.

 

And so by using this word that means “happy” or “rich”,

Jesus introduces the strangest of paradoxes.

 

In Matthew 5:3 He in essence states “Rich are the Poor”

In Matthew 5:4 He in essence states “Happy are the Sad”

In Matthew 5:6 He in essence states “Full are the Hungry”

 

To our world the statements are mindless and backward.

Our world emphasizes pride and happiness and power and brashness

As the keys to the good life.

 

Jesus did exactly the opposite.

He was describing a person who was not of this world.

And those who have these attitudes are those according to Jesus

Who are truly happy, are truly rich, are truly fulfilled, are truly blessed.

 

So as we study this list understand that the road to true happiness

May not be the road you are on,

But rather the road that Jesus lays before us here.

 

And the first is vitally important.

 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit”

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT?

 

In Scripture there are commonly two words used for “poor”.

 

One is PENICHROS

It speaks of one who is living on the bottom of the barrel.

 

It was the word Jesus used to describe the widow with the two mytes.

She was poor, but she did at least have two pennies.

 

The other word for “poor” is PTOCHOS

This word speaks a person so poor that they literally are forced to beg.

 

This was the word Jesus used to describe the poor man Lazarus

Who sat at the table of the rich man fighting the dogs for the crumbs

That would fall off of his table.

 

I probably don’t have to tell you which word Jesus used here.

It is PTOCHOS, the beggar type of poverty.

 

Jesus is speaking of a person who is so poor

That they have nothing to sell, nothing to offer.

They are reduced purely to begging for what they need.

 

And Jesus takes this poverty a little farther,

For He isn’t referring to those who have no money.

 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit”

 

Jesus is referring to spiritual things here.

 

He is speaking of a person that has nothing to offer God.

• They cannot pay for what they seek.

• They cannot work for what they seek.

• All they can do is come to God and beg.

 

They are so aware of their own sinfulness, and of their own wretchedness

That the know there is nothing they have to offer.

In the end of the book of Isaiah,

Isaiah foresees the day when Israel will finally come to God for salvation.

 

Listen to what they will say to God in that day:

Isaiah 64:5-9 “You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved? For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Your people.”

 

They’ll come to a place where they realize they don’t deserve forgiveness,

Nor can they offer God anything in exchange for it.

 

All that they could give are the equivalent of “a filthy garment” to God.

 

They are poor, they are spiritually bankrupt, they can only beg.

 

They are mirrored by the tax collector Jesus praised in Luke 18.

Luke 18:13 “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!’”

 

These are pictures of those who are spiritual beggars.

They don’t come to God rich in spirit.

They don’t come to God low in spirit.

They come to God poor in spirit.

 

THEY ARE LITERALLY CRUSHED BEFORE HIM

 

When Isaiah saw the Lord

Isaiah 6:5 “Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

 

When Peter realized who Jesus was

Luke 5:8 “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

 

These are men that saw themselves for what they were

And realized they were spiritually bankrupt solely at the mercy of God.

 

And needless to say, this is a state of being

That most people resist ever entering.

 

In our society today beggars are looked down upon.

It is not a noble thing to be so poor that you have to beg.

And this not only in a financial sense.

We don’t find it honorable to be bankrupt spiritually.

 

Even in our religious settings we all like to be able to list

Our achievements and accomplishments.

 

Since I am a preacher, I get the rare privilege of having other preachers constantly talk to me about the size of their churches, and the “success” of their ministries.

 

I can only think of one who ever told me, “I’m in over my head, and God is going to have to bail me out.” (Dallas Huston)

 

Spiritual poverty is not something we deem as a good thing.

 

And yet Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”

 

Jesus said that in reality it is those who are spiritually bankrupt

That are the happiest.

 

WHY?

“for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

“theirs” translates AUTOS

This is an emphatic pronoun which indicates

“theirs alone” or “theirs only”

 

In other words, if you aren’t poor in spirit

Then you do not inherit the kingdom of heaven.

 

And all of a sudden we understand why they are so happy.

It is only through spiritual poverty that a person is able

To inherit the truest riches of God’s kingdom.

 

So when Jesus was saying, “Rich are the Poor”

He knew exactly what He was talking about.

 

Proverbs 13:7 “There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing; Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.”

 

It is the humble who are the happiest.

 

They are happy because they alone are accepted by God.

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

 

Psalms 34:18 “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Psalms 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

 

If you are not humbled before God, you cannot enter His kingdom.

If you are not spiritually bankrupt, you are not welcome to God.

If you do not come as a beggar, you do not come at all.

 

Humility is the key to coming to God.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

 

Remember when Josiah found God’s word and humbled himself?

2 Chronicles 34:27 “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the LORD.”

 

That is why Peter said:

1 Peter 5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,”

 

That is why James said:

James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

 

If you don’t come to God broken, then you can’t come.

 

WHY?

Because God only accepts the humble,

And forgiveness is at the discretion of God.

 

Mankind must learn that we have nothing in us that is pleasing to God, and therefore our only hope is to beg.

 

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

David said:

Psalms 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

 

We are born into this life totally in the flesh, and separated from God.

 

And while in this flesh, we never pleased God.

Romans 8:5-8 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

 

OUR GOOD DEEDS NEVER PLEASED GOD

WE HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER

And once you know that, you need to know a second truth.

 

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Evangelicals are quickly forgetting this truth today.

 

I’ve told some of you about a popular song out right now:

“Come As You Are”

 

He’s not mad at you. He’s not disappointed.

His grace is greater still than all of your wrong choices.

He is full of mercy and He is ever kind.

Hear His invitation, His arms are open wide.

 

You can come as you are

With all your broken pieces

All your shameful scars

The pain you hold in your heart

Bring it all to Jesus

You can come as you are

 

Louder than the voice, that whispers you’re unworthy

Hear the sound of love that tells a different story

Shattering your darkness and pushing through the lies

How tenderly He calls you, His arms are open wide

 

Now I know that some of you are thinking,

“What’s wrong with that song?”

Jesus is kind, Jesus is loving, Jesus does have great grace.

 

That is true.

The problem is not how they depict Jesus,

The problem is how they depict man.

 

They depict man as someone who has not disappointed God.

They depict man as someone who has not angered God with sin.

They depict man as someone who is worthy of God’s grace.

They depict man as someone who can come to God with their head held high.

 

And that is precisely the opposite of what Jesus said in the first beatitude.

 

Furthermore it perverts the gospel.

 

The gospel says that God is angry and disappointed in sinners.

So angry in fact that He will send them to hell.

 

(Why else would John the Baptist tell men to repent?)

 

Now His wrath does not nullify His great love

By which He sent His Son as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind.

 

BUT GOD WANTS SINNERS TO KNOW

 

You are in a great deal of danger.

You are on the brink of hell and destruction.

And your only way of escape is the mercy of God.

 

• And when a sinner finally realizes that it is too late.

• When a sinner realizes there is nothing I can do to appease God.

• When a sinner realizes that God is ready to send Him to hell.

THAT IS WHEN JESUS LOOKS BEAUTIFUL

 

That is when the sinner is prompted to fall to his knees,

Confess his filth to God, and beg for mercy.

 

The simple point I am trying to show you this morning is that

If you have never been broken before God…

 

Then you are not on the road to heaven, because the kingdom of heaven

Only belongs to those who are “poor in spirit”.

 

You see it is only the “poor in spirit” that beg for God’s mercy.

And it is only those who beg for God’s mercy

Who receive God’s forgiveness.

 

And I implore you to humble yourself before God and beg for His mercy.

 

Because it is there in your spiritual poverty

That you will find the true riches of eternal life.

 

Furthermore it is there you will be truly happy.

It is there you will be truly blessed.

 

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