Matthew 5:1-12

Have you ever heard a sermon that hit a little too close to home? Maybe you thought to yourself, "the pastor's not preaching today, he's meddling." Well our text today is part of that kind of sermon. This text is typically called The Beatitudes, and these verses make up chapters 5,6 and 7 of Matthew, which make up The Sermon on the Mount.

I took a class a few years ago on The Sermon on the Mount precisely because this is one of the parts of Scripture that has always convicted me. I can't seem to read it without feeling that God is using it to speak right to me and show me just how far off my Christian life really is. Perhaps some of you have felt that way as well.

It's also with a sense of excitement and anticipation that I approach this text today. This is because what I'll be preaching on today will basically launch the rest of this series. In a real sense, the rest of the Sermon on the Mount is grounded in verses 1-12 of chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel.

But instead of going into the deep details and significance of each verse today, I believe there are some essential themes for the Christian to know about concerning the Beatitudes. So we're going to take a look at those broader themes today.

Interestingly, as I began preparing for this sermon, I found that my teacher and virtually all of the commentaries I consulted all began by saying the same thing. They essentially said:

"The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best known teaching of Jesus. And, it's also probably the least understood message that Jesus ever gave."

I couldn't agree more. I know that in my studies of these three chapters of Matthew, I've been surprised every time by what I thought I understood, but clearly didn't. And so, what is The Sermon on the Mount all about?

Well, to quote my teacher,

"in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows us his ideal for Christian discipleship, and he lists the chief marks of the citizens of the Kingdom of God."

In other words, it's Jesus' own description of Christians, or, Jesus' portrait of "Jesus People."

The Sermon shows the character and behavior that Jesus expects from his followers. We get a depiction of the Christian as he is in his heart ,(as he is supposed to be), as she is in her motive, as he is in his thoughts. This is a beautiful and comprehensive portrait of what Christians, like us, ought to be. So much for the idea that Jesus isn't demanding. So, what we have in our text today, is what a Christian's character should be.

Now, one thing that I learned while I was studying for this is something that's probably obvious to most of you. I learned something about the people described in The Beatitudes. What I learned is that these eight qualities that Jesus describes, are Jesus' description of ALL Christians. These are not eight distinct groups of Christians described. It's Christ's description of all Christians. These are eight qualities of the same group of Christian disciples. Those who are meek are at the same time merciful, those who are poor in spirit are at the same time pure in heart, and so on.

I had always thought this was a "group picture" of the Christian family. Some were meek, some were poor in spirit, some were pure in heart, while others were merciful, and so on. But this is Christ's blueprint of what every Christian ought to be. Instead of a group portrait, this is the picture of what all Christians are to look like. This is your individual portrait.

In other words, all of these qualities listed in the beatitudes, are to characterize all of Christ's followers. Just as the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit in Galatians five is to ripen in every Christian's character, these eight beatitudes describe Christ's ideal for every citizen of the Kingdom of God.

That's the first thing; The second thing I want to really look at this morning is what Jesus promised in The Beatitudes. In The Beatitudes, each character-requirement is accompanied by a blessing. Each characteristic is assigned to us, and each person who shows it is pronounced blessed by Jesus. Blessed are the poor in spirit; Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc.

Now, the word "blessed" can and does mean happy. Sometimes you may read a translation that says, "Happy are those" instead of "blessed." But to equate blessed and happy would be unfortunate because the kind of happiness expressed here is not happiness as we typically understand it. The blessedness spoken of by Jesus implies an inner satisfaction, joy and sufficiency that doesn't depend on outward circumstances for happiness. What Jesus meant by 'blessed' didn't have anything to do with the external things of life.

The Apostle Paul understood what Jesus was saying. This is what he stressed in his letter to the Philippians. The idea here is this: We can't let the circumstances of our lives dictate what will and will not make us happy. Rather, in Christ, we have peace, joy and a contentment because we know who and whose we really are.

But unfortunately, there are too many people saying to themselves,

· "If only I get this job, then I'll be happy."

· "If only I can have this relationship, then I'll be at peace."

· "If I finally get this car, I'll be content."

You can fill in the blanks with whatever you wish. But this isn't what Jesus is talking about. To be sure, Paul did experience the kind of blessedness Jesus spoke of - while he was in prison of all places. Paul knew that it's our perspective on our circumstances that should shape us, and not just the circumstances.

If our happiness depends on our circumstances, then our happiness will come and go with every wind of change, and we'll probably end up in a big mess because we'll be enslaved to the world and circumstances around us. I find myself being pulled into the snares of the world all the time, and I really have to watch out for them. These are things that would cause me to lose my peace and joy.

So what I want to suggest here is what I think Jesus is teaching us: Without a divine perspective in my circumstances, I'll lose the ability to walk in trust and obedience. And what Jesus is saying is, these Beatitudes give us this divine perspective for who we are to be in this world. God didn't tell us to just use our own best judgment, or to just go with the flow of our culture. Jesus told us exactly what he wants from us, and that when we maintain this divine perspective, and are obedient to it, we'll be blessed.

So, how does this divine perspective of The Beatitudes help us in our everyday life you may be asking? Well, I believe that obedience to, and cultivating the character described in the Beatitudes, blesses us with a joy that God has promised us, and desires us to experience.

However, there are always "everyday threats" to this joy. And so, I believe that cultivating the character described in the Beatitudes is the only way to counter and resist these threats to our Joy.

What are these threats? Well, I want to mention just three of them:

1.) As I have alluded to, the first threat to our joy turns out to be our circumstances.

Haven't you seen this in your life? This relates to what we've been saying about letting the things of this world dictate whether or not you're going to be happy. But instead, cultivating the character of the Beatitudes is how we can maintain our joy. This is how we maintain an eternal, rather than a temporal perspective. But sadly, this is contrary to what the world teaches.

Have you ever asked someone how they were doing and they responded by saying: "pretty good, under the circumstances." A good response for the Christian might be, "What are you doing under the circumstances?" We're called to live above the circumstances. And even though I find myself going under them, I know the better course. I know that if I cultivate an eternal, rather than a temporal perspective, what will take place is this:

1.) first of all,- I'll realize that nothing happens outside of God's sovereign control, and

2.) secondly, I'll know that God is committed to my highest good, no matter how circumstances may appear to the contrary.

The basic idea is this: Is God in control or not? That's a fundamental question you have to ask yourself to see which perspective you hold. Is God committed to your highest good or isn't he? That's another question you have to ask yourself to find out what perspective you hold. If you say YES to both of those, then you should realize that no circumstance can come into your life, that's outside of God's control.

So the Beatitudes remind you to seek an eternal perspective and not to surrender to the circumstances in your life.

2.) The second threat to our joy is people.

Have you noticed by now that we're with difficult people everyday? There are various kinds of people in our lives: There are Very Resourceful People- VRP's; There are Very Teachable People- VTP's; There are Very Important People- VIP's; But there are also Very Needy People- VNP's; and Very Draining People- VDP's. And all of us have the VDP's in our lives. Sometimes you get that phone call and you don't want to even answer it because you know what you're in for.

But even there, God is in charge, and in his grace he'll give you VDP's and force you to serve them and go beyond your self-centeredness. He'll put them in your life and you're called to treat them with dignity, respect and possibility, because sometimes, VDP's become VIP's and even VRP's - Very Resourceful People - for others.

I can think of a mentor of mine in Atlanta who taught me a great deal while I was in seminary. And I'm sure he got tired of seeing me hang around him all the time - asking him questions and more questions. I know I drained him of all his joy and patience. Yet he was always kind to me and taught me a great deal. And consequently, I've been able to bring what he taught me, into my ministry.

That's the way Jesus treated people. He didn't allow them to control his agenda, but he still treated them with dignity and respect. There was balance. Maintaining your joy involves walking in obedience to what Jesus taught in the Beatitudes; Christ-like humility, putting others' needs before your own and so on. And what appears to cramp your desires becomes freedom and actual joy. You'll find greater love, joy and peace when you stop looking for them - and start serving Christ and people. Put Christ first, and all else will follow as a result.

But you can only do this to the degree that you trust that your needs have already been met in Christ. You can't depend on anyone or anything else for this blessed joy. It comes from Christ alone.

3.) The third threat to your joy is things and status.

You'll lose your joy when you set your mind on earthly things because they will never deliver the satisfaction they promised. They'll lose their luster and will never satisfy you for long. The new car will eventually break down. The new house may get termites or have faulty wiring or plumbing. Jesus said not to put your trust in the things of this world that will grow old and rust or that thieves could steal.

True gain is found in rejoicing in what you have in Christ ,and not the things of this world. So too, the eternal perspective of the Beatitudes also teaches us that you can't live on yesterday's laurels for very long. Even the greatest accomplishments of this world are forgotten. How many of you remember the names of the Olympic gold medal winners of the 1950's, 60's and 70's? Probably not very many of you. They've become obscure questions in Trivial Pursuit.

A businessman and former CEO of a major company told some young executives to enjoy their success while they had it, because after you retire he said, they don't return your phone calls anymore.

James Dobson said that with the tremendous success of his first book he became very cocky. That is, until he was humbled one day by a friend. His friend told him that he had just purchased Dobson's book at a garage sale for 75 cents. This brought him back down to earth.

The things of this world, and our position in this world, won't last very long. Even the Pharaohs couldn't take their treasures with them. Instead, the Christian looks with a divine and eternal perspective at this world. The Christian sees the internal righteousness desired by God. The Christian finds his or her identity IN Christ, and that is eternal and never-changing. The blessedness of the Beatitudes is God's assessment of the Christian. And that assessment won't change with the times; it won't blow with the wind.

You know, we all desire joy, love and peace. And if you really think about it, you know they aren't to be found in this world, but ultimately to be found only in a relationship with Christ. It's my desire for you to pursue that relationship. It's my desire for each one of us to gain this internal and eternal divine perspective in our lives. And it's my desire for us to become the very people found in the picture that Jesus painted in The Beatitudes, telling us who and whose we are.

Last week we saw that the people described in the Beatitudes are all Christians in the ideal sense. We saw that the qualities commended are spiritual qualities, and that the blessings promised (which are free gifts, not what we earn), are the gloriously comprehensive gifts of the Kingdom of God. It's as though God says, "taste it now, and enjoy it to its fullest later."

So now we turn to the Beatitudes in greater detail:

A.) Let's first look at the Christian's relationship to God found in Matthew 5:3-6.

(5:3) "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:4) Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (5:5) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (5:6) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

1.) First of all, we notice the acknowledgment of spiritual poverty before God in verse 3:

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

It is important for us to see that the Old Testament background is vital to understand this beatitude. Psalm 34:6 says,

"This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles."

We see here that the Psalmist designates himself "The poor man," who cries or who calls, and the Lord heard him and saved him. He was a poor man, he acknowledged his spiritual poverty, and in this impoverished condition, he cried to the Lord and he was heard. Thus, the "poor man" in the Old Testament is one who is both afflicted and unable to save himself, and so therefore what does he do? He looks to God for the salvation that he can't achieve himself and for which he can make no claim.

This kind of spiritual poverty is commended in Isaiah. Isaiah 41:17 says:

"The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them."

Here, the poor are described as humble and repentant in spirit. God looks to them and He dwells with them. (Is. 57:15 and 66:1-2)

Isaiah 61:1 says,

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,"

You might remember that Jesus quoted this in the Nazareth Synagogue.

Now, we keep hearing the word "poor" here. We may want to ask this question: Are we to restrict our evangelism to the materially poor? In fact, in many circles, that seems to be advocated. But the answer is NO! We don't want to restrict our evangelism to those who are without material wealth. The poor to whom we make the gospel known are those who have come under the conviction of sin and are ready to receive the good news because they know and realize their spiritual bankruptcy.

Therefore, to be poor in spirit is to admit our own spiritual poverty before God. It's to acknowledge that we're sinners under the wrath of God, and that we deserve nothing but the judgment of God. That's spiritual poverty. Confessing that we have nothing to offer, nothing to plead, nothing with which to buy the favor of heaven. One hymn declares: "Nothing in my hand I bring." This is the language of the "poor in spirit." Calvin wrote,

"He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God is poor in spirit."

Now, Jesus says, to such people, the Kingdom is given. Theirs is the Kingdom of God. Because God's Kingdom is a gift - absolutely free and utterly undeserved. It's to be received humbly. This rule of God is identical to eternal life and salvation. It's to be received as a free gift like a little child.

It's interesting to note that right at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contradicted all human judgments and all nationalistic expectations about the kingdom. The Kingdom he says is given to the poor, and not the rich. It's given to the weak, but not the strong. It's given to the little children who are humble enough to receive it as a gift; not to soldiers who think they can obtain it with their superior ability. It wasn't the Pharisees who entered the Kingdom, who thought they were rich, needing nothing; so rich in fact that they could thank God that they weren't like the rest of dreadful humanity. And it wasn't the zealots who entered the Kingdom, who thought they could establish the Kingdom by spilling the blood of their enemies.

It was the publicans and the prostitutes who had nothing to offer; the rejects of human society who cried: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."

Therefore, the indispensable condition of receiving the Kingdom of God is for us to acknowledge our spiritual poverty. The renown English preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon wrote,

"The way to rise in the Kingdom is to sink to ourselves."

That's the first Beatitude. This leads us to the second Beatitude.

2.) Blessed are those who mourn. "Mourning" here, means the repentance in sorrow before God (Matt. 5:4). The mourners to whom Jesus is referring here are not those who mourn the loss of a loved one. Rather, they are the ones who mourn the loss of their innocence, their righteousness and their self-respect. It's not the sorrow of misfortune to which Christ refers, but the sorrow of repentance, and this is the second stage of spiritual blessing. It's one thing to be spiritually poor and acknowledge it, it is another to moan over it, and to mourn over it. Or, to state this truth in theological terms,

    "Confession is one thing; Repentance is another."

Thus, we need to observe that the Christian life is not all joy and laughter. Some Christians seem to think that if they're filled with the Holy Spirit, they have to wear a perpetual grin on their faces and be everlastingly bubbly and boisterous. But I think that's a pretty unbiblical position. There are such things as Christian tears, and too few of us ever cry them. Jesus wept over the sins of others and over their consequences in judgment and death. He wept over the impenitent city of Jerusalem.

Have any of you ever cried over the impenitent city or country in which you live? We should cry over the evil in the world. Psalm 119:136 says,

"Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed."

But we don't only have other people's sins to weep over, we have our own sins as well. And we need to ask whether they have ever caused us to grieve. Next time we have communion, pay close attention to the prayer of confession. I think it's a good outline of what we should repent for and how ought to repent. I wonder sometimes if we're really sorrowful for what we do when we sin against God? We might ask: "Was Ezra mistaken to pray and to make confession weeping and casting himself down before the House of God in Ezra 10:1?"

"While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites--men, women and children--gathered around him. They too wept bitterly."

I think that we Christians make so much of grace that we sometimes, therefore, make to light of sin. There's not enough sorrow for sin among us. I know there's not enough in my own heart. There should be more Godly grief of Christian penitence.

However, having said that, it's also important for us to move past our grief. We don't just wallow in sin, it's not just Christian tears that we shed. We go on after God has forgiven us to rejoice with great joy because Scripture says, such mourners who grieve over their sinfulness are comforted, comforted the only way they can, comforted in the forgiveness of God, comforted until the final state of glory comes when sin no longer exists, and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

This brings us to the next beatitude.

3.) Blessed are the meek. Being meek here means gentleness before people because of humility before God (Matt. 5:5). The Greek word for meek means "gentle," but we have to ask: What kind of gentleness does Jesus have in mind that he declares blessed?

Well, I think that this kind of meekness shows that our gentle attitude toward others is determined by a true estimate of ourselves. Have you ever noticed that it's basically easy to be honest with ourselves before God when we're alone. There we can acknowledge ourselves as sinners. But as Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones has said,

"How much more difficult it is to allow other people to say things like that about me. I instinctively resent it. We all of us prefer to condemn ourselves than to allow someone else to condemn us."

In other words, if I call myself a miserable sinner, I'm OK - I can do it with ease. But if "you" walk up to me and call me a miserable sinner, I'll probably want to punch you on the nose because I'm not prepared for you to say about me, what I've just acknowledged about myself before God. This is what Jesus is getting at in relation to meekness.

Meekness is the gentleness and humility in relation to other people that comes from acknowledgment of the kind of person I am. Meekness is a true view of yourself expressing itself in your attitude and conduct with respect to others. Jesus says these meek, gentle and humble people inherit the earth.

But that seems to fly right in the face of what our culture says. Our culture says, "We don't really expect these 'mouse-like' people to get anywhere. They aren't' strong enough to make it." The world would ignore them. The world, in fact, seems to walk all over people like that. Instead, our culture asks: "Isn't it really the tough, the no nonsense, the go-gettem' type of people who make it to the top?"

Well, these types of people may make it in everyday life, but Jesus says, not in the Kingdom of God. If you want to inherit the earth, you have to be meek. Not only that, but there's a since in which Christians have already inherited the earth. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:22 that if you're in Christ, all things are yours. The Greek word for "all things" means the whole universe. If I'm in Christ, than the universe is mine. It's mine because the universe is His. All things are yours whether it's in this world, or life, or death, or the present or the future-- everything is yours when you're Christ's. It's the meek who inherit the earth. So we come to understand that it's "Self-renunciation which is the real way to world-dominion."

This brings us to the fourth Beatitude.

4.) Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. (The continued appetite for righteousness, moral and social: Matt. 5:6.) That kind of hunger is a character of all the citizens of God's Kingdom. Their supreme ambition is not material, but spiritual.

Christians are not, (are not supposed to be), like pagans who are consumed in the pursuit of material possessions. Instead, they set before them, as the Supreme Good, God's Kingdom and God's righteousness. And what is this righteousness? It's moral and social.

Moral righteousness is righteous character and conduct. And Jesus said that this righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. It's not merely external conformity to the rules, but it's an inner righteousness of heart and mind and motive. However, But it is social righteousness as well. We hunger and thirst that men and women should be free from oppression and bondage and discrimination. We hunger for the promotion of civil rights, of justice in the courts of law, integrity in business dealings and honor in our home and family life.

Thus, Jesus is saying that this too, righteousness in the human community, is what all Christians are committed to hunger for as something pleasing to a righteous God.

So, what seems to be the reason for our slow growth in the Christian life if God promises to fill those who hunger? Maybe it's our weary appetite? Hopefully, your presence in a Bible study, or prayer group or the like, is a sign of your spiritual hunger which God will bless. It's not enough to mourn over our past, longing for forgiveness, we have to hunger for future improvement. We have to hunger after righteousness. And God says if we do, it will be satisfied.

And yet, in this life, our hunger will never be completely satisfied. Our hunger or thirst will be satisfied only temporarily, only to break out again. Hasn't that been the experience of your Christian life? It has in mine. I may achieve a certain level of Christian maturity, but then I still feel I have so much further to go. The hunger seems to never be satisfied.

I think we need to beware of those Christians who claim they've "made it." We need to beware of those Christians who boast that they've arrived. Beware of those Christians who look at their past experiences instead of to their future development. We said last week that these eight Beatitudes describe the permanent characteristics of all the citizens of God's Kingdom. And one of these permanent characteristics is the Christian's hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Show me a complacent and self-satisfied Christian who is satisfied with what he or she has, and it makes me wonder what kind of Christian that person really is. It makes me wonder that because it would seem that he or she isn't fulfilling this Beatitude.

Instead, they should be hungering and thirsting for more of the things of God. So what I want to leave you with this week is to ask you to review your relationship with God in light of what we covered tonight. Are you poor in spirit, or are you proud on your own efforts and accomplishments in relation to God? Do you mourn and grieve over sin - both the world's and your own, or does sin even bother you? Are you meek, humble and gentle before God and others, or are you proud and boastful? Finally, do you hunger and thirst for righteousness, or are you satisfied with where you are in the things and pursuit of God? Jesus shows you where you should be. You need to ask yourself where you are.

One of the things that I've come to truly believe, is that what we believe influences how we behave. Another way of putting it is that our being precedes our doing. James Boice said that he was once speaking to one of his friends about the relationship between Christian teaching and Christian conduct. And he said that the conversation began when his friend told him that he was hoping to write an article on "Doctrine and Devotion" showing the relationship between the two. Boice said that he whole-heartedly agreed with his friend's belief that the two were inseparably related. I concur. Not only do I believe that what people believe influences how they behave, but I know that that's exactly what Scripture teaches.

From our morning study of the Book of Romans, we've learned that it's probably the most explicitly doctrinal book in the whole Bible. But, it's also important for us to remember that as doctrinal as it is, Paul's call isn't for us to just admire doctrine itself, but instead, to live a holy life through the power of the living and sovereign Lord, Jesus Christ. That's why Paul concludes his doctrinal section in Romans, and then turns around in chapter 12 and says:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Or, in Philippians 2:5-11 Paul discusses in great detail part of the doctrine of Christ. But he says he goes into all that doctrinal detail so that we might show the "mind of Christ" in our conduct. And in the great passage on Christ's resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul concludes by saying:

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Scripture is clear, Christian doctrine must always express itself in a new outlook on life and in changed behavior. In other words, what you believe must always affect your conduct.

Well, that's also the way it is in the Sermon on the Mount. Last week, we saw how the first part of the Beatitudes dealt with our relationship to God. It seems to just make sense that if those first beatitudes show us how we have to stand in our relationship to God, that is, spiritually bankrupt, sorry for our sin, humble before God and others and always hunger and thirsting for righteousness, then it's logical to expect that the remaining beatitudes will show us that our transformed character is also being progressively remade in the image of Christ. And that's exactly what we do find.

The 5th, 6th, and 7th Beatitudes are part of a turning point, where we move from our relationship to God to our relationship with others. Matthew 5:7-9 says:

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."

Thus, according to Jesus the person who has tasted God's righteousness, must therefore, show mercy, be pure of heart, and be a peacemaker. The basic ideas related to this are:

First of all, all three qualities are essentially divine qualities. Secondly, we can understand them only because we have first seen them in Christ; and thirdly, because we've experienced them in Christ, we're called to show these characteristics to others in our own lives.

Now, the first one is mercy toward others, which is the evidence of our repentance. Matthew 5:7 says:

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

Let me first mention what Scripture is talking about when it speaks of mercy. In some ways mercy can be compared with grace. That is, it's undeserved. But it's not actually grace itself. So, what makes mercy different from grace? Basically, it's the quality of helplessness on the part of the one who receive the mercy. Grace is love when love is undeserved. Mercy is grace in action. Mercy is love reaching out to help those who are helpless and who desperately need salvation. Mercy identifies with the miserable in their misery. And obviously, we can't talk about mercy without thinking immediately of the cross of Jesus Christ. It was on the cross that God acted out of grace in mercy to fallen and sinful men and women.

Thus, the idea here is that we're to show mercy because we have received it and are confident that we will continue to receive it. Jesus doesn't tell us here who we're supposed to be merciful to; whether it's the hungry, the outcasts, the persecuted, the oppressed, the sick, or the lonely. But there's no need for Him to have to do that because since God is a merciful God, he certainly expects his children to be merciful too. And if we show mercy, we will receive mercy - just as if we forgive others, we will be forgiven. But don't misunderstand this. This isn't teaching salvation by good works.

Instead, what's it's saying is that we can't receive the mercy of God or the forgiveness of God, unless we repent. And we can't claim to have repented of our sins if we're unmerciful toward the sins of others. In other words, we if we don't show mercy to others, we're showing that we either understand very little of what mercy is by which we ourselves have been saved, or else we've never actually received it.

Next we come to purity in heart, or a sincerity and transparency in Matthew 5:8 which says:

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

This purity of heart refers to our relationships. In his translation of the New Testament, J.B. Phillips says: "The utterly sincere" instead of: "pure in heart." But "pure in heart" is a good translation. It points out to us the importance of the human heart. This verse tells us that we're to be pure in heart, but this gets quickly to the "heart" of the problem, because the human heart is impure.

What do I mean when I say "heart?" Well, in the Bible, the heart is the center of the personality; it involves the mind, the will, and the emotions. Three verses from Romans make this clear. In Romans 1:21, Paul speaks of people who are without God. He says:

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."

Here Paul is thinking basically about the clouding of people's minds by sin. In Romans 2:5 Paul says:

"But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed."

Here, his emphasis falls mainly on our merciless will. Finally, in Romans 5:5 Paul writes:

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

In this verse the heart is the seat of the emotions. And so, a reference to a person's heart, is therefore a reference to the center of person's personality.

Thus, Jesus is teaching us that our whole life, our whole person, is to be pure and transparent before God and others. That is, our very heart, which includes our inner thoughts and motives is to be pure - it's to be unmixed with anything devious or anything hidden. You can think of having all of your thoughts being filmed by a 24 hour thought camera. At any given moment, your thoughts could be projected onto a screen for all to see. But because you live your life honestly before others, hypocrisy and deceit are therefore detested by you.

But haven't you found that this is a rare virtue, even among Christians? There are so few Christians who live just one life and live it out in the open. Most of us tend to wear masks. We put on a different mask depending upon whom we're with. We play different parts according to the occasion. But Jesus was pure in heart and he calls us to be the same. And it's only the pure in heart who will see God.

Lastly, we come to peacemaking, or that which involves reconciliation, and not appeasement. Matthew 5:9 says:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."

The sequence from pure of heart to peacemaker is natural because openness and sincerity are essential conditions of peacemaking. Furthermore, every Christian is called to be a peacemaker in the church and in the community. Have you ever noticed that many churches have too many trouble-makers, and not enough peacemakers? But peacemaking is a divine work. And of course, the greatest peacemaker there has ever been is God himself, because peacemaking means reconciliation. And our God is the God of reconciliation and the God of peace.

We read in Colossians 1:20:

"and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

God is a peacemaker. So, it's not surprising then, that God said blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called Sons of God. I believe he said this because peacemakers are seeking to do what their Father has done.

An important note here is to also understand and remember that the words "peace" and "appeasement" are not synonyms. The peace that God has made through Jesus Christ is not peace at any price. Jeremiah 6:14 reminds us that to proclaim peace, peace when there is no peace, is the message of the false-prophet and not of the Christian witness. When God made peace, he did it at infinite cost; at the price of the life-blood of his only Son. So why should we expect peacemaking to be easy? Peacemaking is a very costly activity.

Sometimes there is the pain of apologizing to somebody we've injured. Sometimes it's the pain of rebuking somebody who has sinned against us - when we would much rather be silent. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do is rebuke my best friend for treating his wife poorly one evening. He was in a very bad mood, and took it out on his wife. So I called him outside and confronted him with it, and he apologized to his wife and made peace with her. It's not easy. That's just one victory amongst many failures. But we're still called to be peacemakers.

Scripture freely admits that there is pain in rebuking someone and not forgiving them until they repent. But Scripture insists that we must not cheapen forgiveness. Luke 17 says IF he repents, forgive him. IF he repents. So much of our forgiveness is cheap forgiveness. But that is not peacemaking, it's appeasement.

And so those are our three areas of concern tonight. And, like last week, I want you to search your heart to see where you are. Do you show mercy toward others, or are you quick to condemn? Do you strive to be pure of heart, or is your heart mired in sin and filth? Are you a peacemaker, or do you stir up trouble or just seek to appease others? Again, Christ shows us where we should be, but you'll have to ask yourself where you are. For the person who's been touched by the mercy, purity and peace of God, we ought strive every day be like our Savior.