Chapter 9.21
The BE Attitudes
How can being spiritually poor be a blessing?
Isn’t meekness like a wimp?
Christ teaches about the Ideal Christian Life;
how your ATTITUDE should BE
Jesus Himself is the very
embodiment of the Sermon on the
Mount; The Beatitudes
The Beatitudes do NOT show a man HOW to be saved,
they show the characteristics of one who IS
saved.
They are not promises, but a description.
Blessed: Outward: prosperity, happiness, synonymous
with Rich. - Inward: happy; lofty,
divinely blessed; not being subject to fate.
Happiness depends
primarily upon knowledge. To be happy is
first of all “to know”; thus the term, ignorance is
bliss. Sin is the outcome
of ignorance; Sin is the fountain head of all misery.
Psalms 1:1-3– Definition
of Blessed
1 Blessed is the
man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of
sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight
is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a
tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose
leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. NIV
The teaching theme: The Goals of
Life; The Attitude of Righteousness; The Ideal Christian Life.
Objective: Jesus carries the listener from the “Letter of the Law”
to the “Spirit intent
of the Law”. The law had
become pure “Legalism”
with no grace in it. The Christian
although not under the law, is to live spiritually and morally above the
law.
The teaching design: To remove
discouragements of the weak and poor; to invite people to come to Christ: to
put in summation what God expects from us and what we may expect from Him.
Proclamation: God will gather a people from ALL nations
into His kingdom. The prerequisite would
include; repentance, righteousness and faith. i.e.: To be born again.
Time period: Jesus is well into his ministry as crowds are
now following Him wherever He goes.
Setting: Jesus has come as the Messiah; the Jews were
expecting Him to set up His government and overthrow Rome and liberate Israel;
but instead He is sitting on the plateau[1] of
a hillside teaching peace and blessings.
What’s going on here?
The Audience: He is specifically addressing His disciples, but
not necessarily just the chosen “twelve”, but also the multitudes
gathering and standing on the fringes listening in on the sermon.
Matthew
5:1-9 – The sermon on the Mountain
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside
and sat down. His disciples came to him,
2 and he began to teach them, saying:
As was the custom for synagogue or school
teachers, Jesus is sitting. This
teaching most probably took place over a number of days as the crowds kept
growing. “Luke’s” scriptures show Christ
now standing to teach the multitudes.
Looking at Moses also on a mountain, God
came down in loud
thunder and lightning and gave the
Law with the people standing at a distance, now the Lord goes up the mountain to
preach the Law in
a small voice, and all are invited to come near. Here, we should not draw a sharp distinction
between Teaching and Preaching.
WOE’s: While a “Woe” is not mentioned in the
discourse, you can certainly see that the FLIP
SIDE of
blessed
is having an opposite attitude; thus a curse instead of a blessing.
Psalms 1:4-6 – The
flip-side; the Cursed
4 Not so the
wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the
wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the
righteous.
6 For the LORD
watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
NIV
Some students Belief System argue
that this sermon was actually a bunch of sermons given at different times and
compiled later and my BS agrees, but many others disagree. There’s also a disagreement on the number of “Beatitudes”,
7, 8, 9
or even 10.
Matthew with direct knowledge may have added a few, in order to give one
clear view of the Lord’s ethical teachings, but I won’t fight that battle here.
For this study
let’s just un-pack and dissect the SEVEN
and the supplemental Beatitude found in the Gospel of Matthew.
1 3
Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
During
this time there was no middle class, the rich were often corrupt and
oppressed the poor. The picture is that
of beggar asking for alms, or the widow with only two pennies or someone
earning a scanty pittance, those whose lives were in utter destruction and were
in utter spiritual destitution.
In Matthew’s Gospel, the term poor in
“Spirit” was added to emphasize that they realized that they were in spiritual bankruptcy; they knew they could offer God
nothing, and didn’t try. They had cast
themselves upon God and were totally dependent upon His mercy;[2] thus
the kingdom of heaven would consist of men such as these whose souls were yielded
to God.
Poor in spirit is the opposite of PROUD
in
spirit. Poverty is actually not a
blessing, nor a guarantee of spiritual rewards, but before God poverty does
foster humility. We must begin by
confessing that by ourselves we can achieve nothing. The philosophers did not recognize humility
as a moral virtue; but Christ puts it first.
Their poverty is the beginning of riches; they have the kingdom now as
well as the
“full” blessedness of the future.
2 4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
This
mourning is acknowledging their sins with a broken heart before God.[3]
It is too deep to conceal; they weep over
perishing souls; they anguish over sin,[4]
they want right to prevail. This is
Godly sorrow with compassion for injustice, afflictions and sins of others.
Will be; shall be comforted: future
tense; requires a genuine true repentance in order for the believer to
receive comfort through the compassion of God.[5]
3 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the
earth.
Ironically,
Jesus is just quoting Psalms 37:11 which says; “But the meek shall
inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”[6]
The meek have an absence of pretense which
suggests self-control,
humility,
doing their daily work as unto the Lord with gentleness toward all men. Meekness is mild and kind; bearing patiently, accepting
daily business without complaint, murmur or resistance. Accepting opposition, insults and provocation;
not seeking power. It is opposite of; a demeaning
spirit, fierceness, anger and cruelty. Meekness is a true view of our self,
which translates into our actions and attitude towards others.
We inherit; we have the title deed; the passport,
the entrance into the kingdom of God. We are spiritual citizens and rightful heirs of the Kingdom of
Heaven RIGHT NOW.[7]
Salvation is NOT an award for our achievements,
but is the gift of our sovereign
God.
4 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled
This
is an intense desire to be in right standing with God and from the heart to
wholly do God’s “will”. All sin, evil
and wrong doing to anyone grieves them. Jesus
is appealing to our deepest senses of cravings; hunger and thirst; appetites return often and
need fresh satisfaction.[8]
This is a continual action in the life of
the believer; Hunger, filling;
Hunger, filling. This is their personal dissatisfaction of
their “spiritual attainment” and
the desire for more of God.[9] This “desire” is the proof or by-product of spiritual
regeneration. The un-regenerated man does not hunger for God.[10] It’s not within man’s “normal ability” or desire to
thirst for spiritual things of God.
It is only God that can fill a soul
so that it is satisfied.[11]
The first four beatitudes represented the conscious
need for salvation.
The next three represent the saints as having found
salvation,
and now conducting themselves accordingly
5
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
The
merciful are those that are kind, have pity and show mercy to others,
whether it’s convenient or not.[12] Mercy
and compassion is awakened in them and becomes a function of life to all who follow
Christ; mercy takes away misery.[13]
We are saved sinners; therefore it’s easy
to have compassion for other sinners.[14]
The believer
shows mercy because he “has obtained” mercy; he doesn’t show mercy
to GET mercy.[15] Because of our mercy we are increasingly the
object of God’s mercy.[16] When we stand in the need of special favor
and mercy, we will receive it, as we have given it.[17]
6 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will
see God.
A
pure heart has singleness of purpose, no hidden motives or self-interest,
utterly sincere.[18] In the OT,
blood was sprinkled on the Altar for cleansing and purity. We are to have our
hearts purified by the sprinkling of the blood of the lamb.[19] When He appears we shall see God as He is.[20]
Purity of heart is both the end
of our ELECTION [21]
and the goal of our REDEMPTION.
7 9 Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Peacemakers
are partaking in the nature of God;[22]
therefore we have peace with God.[23] Peacemakers not only keep the peace, but
bring men in harmony with each other. The
office of a Peacemaker requires a “peaceful disposition”, working to calm the
waters. They are not always welcomed, sometimes opposed
and it is usually a thankless job.
Preserving the Peace is a good and needed
office and a blessing to all involved. There
is no more godlike work to be done in this world than peacemaking. Through our faith, we are led by the Spirit
and are called “sons
of God”.[24]
SEVEN is the number of completeness.
The seven beatitudes describe the complete character of the
Believer.
The next is a supplementary beatitude describing the
treatment
of the Believer that can be expected from the world.
8 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people
insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because
of me.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you. KJV
The
world hates the light of the Word[25] and makes fun
of the believer with nick names and cruel mocking and insults.[26] Even exclusion from groups, passed over for
promotions[27]. The believer may not lose his life, but he
must withstand the temptations and pressures of life in order to live for
Christ.
Suffering and
persecutions are not accidental or new, it happened to the prophets before you.[28] The
believer is NOT encouraged to seek
persecution nor to shrink from it.
When you see yourself persecuted because of your testimony of Jesus
Christ, you can rejoice because great is your reward in heaven.[29]
Matthew
5:13-16 – You are the light & salt of the world
13 YE ARE THE SALT
OF THE EARTH: but if the salt has lost
his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing,
but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 YE ARE THE
LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A city that is set on a
hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on
a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house.
16 LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven.
KJV
You are the salt of the earth restraining the
world’s corruption. The believer’s light
is illuminating a world of darkness and is displayed publicly in his personal
relationships. The light of Christ is
reflected in the life of the believer.[30]
Through the character of the
believer,
the world can see God
and glory in Him.
The believer is the light of the
world
The
Take Away
The Beatitudes show the
characteristics of a man who is saved; they do not show a man how
to be saved. They are not promises, but
are a
description of who the believer already is.
The first four beatitudes show a conscious need for salvation
The next three show haw the believers should conduct themselves
There are seven beatitudes, with the number
seven representing completeness.
There is a
supplemental beatitude describing
the treatment that can be expected by the believer.
The Theme of the SERMON ON THE MOUNT is “The Ideal
Christian Life.” Jesus was
well into His ministry as multitudes were now already following Him. He had
begun teaching a large group of His disciples with crowds starting to build on
the fringes trying to hear what He was teaching.
He was on level plain on the side of a mountain; first sitting, then
standing to teach to the growing crowd. (I mention the mountain and plain; sitting and standing because of the
different accounts in scripture)
The Sermon on the
Mount and the Sermon on the Plain are the same account.
The first four are characteristics of the believer
1)
There is a total dependence on God for salvation;
recognizing your spiritual life is totally bankrupt and you have concern for
those who are perishing in sin.
2)
There is a heartfelt sorrow for injustice and
afflictions of others.
3)
There is Absence of pretense; having self-control,
humility, kindness, bearing patiently, not murmuring, without complaint or
resistance, accepting opposition, insults and provocations, not seeking power.
4)
There is a continual thirst and hunger for God’s
wisdom and knowledge
The next three are how the believer conducts his life.
1)
Shows mercy because he has received mercy. Shows mercy whether it’s convenient or
not.
2)
Has no hidden motives or self-serving interest;
has a pure heart with singleness of purpose.
3)
Keeps the peace and makes peace between everyone
within his sphere of influence
Supplemental beatitude describing the treatment of the believer.
1)
Expects to have rocks chunked at him, people
calling him names, insults,
2)
Exclusion from groups: passed over for promotions
and even sheer hate.
Description of the Believer
1)
Blessed, Happy, Comforted, Filled, receives
Mercy,
2)
Heir to the kingdom of God, and will see God,
3)
He will be called the son of God.
In the multitude of
counselors,
there
is wisdom.
Proverbs 11:14
I am grateful to those that
went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture
verses. Because of them I can stand on
their shoulders
and see further that I otherwise
ever could have.
.English Standard Version Bible – ESV
.King James Version Bible – KJV
.New International Version Bible – NIV
.New Living Translation Bible - NLT
A Commentary; Critical, Experimental and
Practical - Eerdmans
A.S.K.
– Associates for Scriptural knowledge
All the promises of the Bible – Herbert Lockyer
All the Women of the Bible – Edith Deen
Anointed
with the Spirit and Power - John D.
Harvey
Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias
Apocrypha; The – Edgar J. Goodspeed
Armageddon-Appointment with Destiny – Grant R. Jeffrey
Baker
Commentary on the Bible – Walter A.
Elwell
Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White
Bible Code II – Michael Drosnin
Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer
Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row
Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Bible Hub.com
Bible on the life Hereafter; The – William Hendriksen
Bible Study Tools – Crosswalk
BlueLetterBible.Org
Bondage of the Will; The – Martin Luther
Can America Survive? – John Hagee
Countdown to Armageddon, the 1980’s – Hal Lindsay
Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake
Dead Sea Scrolls Translated: The – Florentino Garcia Martinez
Don’t know much about the Bible – Kenneth C. Davis
Escape from Armageddon – Thomas Reed
Exposition of Genesis – H.C. Leupold
Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein
Final
Battle; The – Hal Lindsey
Final Dawn over Jerusalem – John Hagee
Forgotten
Books of Eden; The – World
From Daniel to Doomsday – John Hagee
Gospels Interwoven; The – Karmit Zarley
Great
Doctrines of the Bible – W.A. Criswell
Guide to Survival – Salem Kirban
Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow; The – Constance Cumbey
Holy
Spirit; The – Billy Graham
Hope for each day – Billy Graham
I’d
like to Believe in Jesus, BUT – Bob
Siegel
Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale
In the beginning was the End – Wim Malgo
In Touch – Dr. Charles Stanley
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament - Baker
Invisible War; The – Donald Grey Barnhouse
Islam and the Bible – David Goldmann
Jerusalem Countdown – John Hagee
Koinonia
House – Chuck Missler
Late Great Planet Earth; The – Hal Lindsey
Liberty Commentary on the New Testament – Falwell
Lost
Books of the Bible; The - Bell
Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan
Meredith’s
Book of List; 1&2 – Bethany House
Publishers
Missing
Books of the Bible; The – Halo Press
Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest
Nag
Hammadi Library; The – James M. Robinson
Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan
New International Dictionary of the Bible;
The – Douglas - Tenney
New Millennium; The – Pat Robertson
New
World Encyclopedia - Webster
Normal Christian Life; The – Watchman Nee
Now that’s a Good Question – R.C. Sproul
Other
side of the Good News; The – Larry Dixon
Person
and work of the Holy Spirit; The – R. A.
Torrey
Revelation of Jesus Christ; The – Walvoord
Revelation Seminar; The – 1975 - Hilton Sutton
Revelation Study; The - 1973 – Dr. Warren Wiersbe
Revelation, the – verse by verse – Oliver B. Green
Sabbath.Org
Secret Kingdom; The – Pat Robertson
Secrets
of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Hugh J.
Schonfield
Systematic Theology – Wayne Grudem
Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee
Today’s
Dictionary of the Bible – Guideposts
Today’s Dictionary of the Bible – T. A. Gryant
Unseen Realm; The – Michael S. Heiser
Victor
Journey through the Bible; The – V.
Gilbert Beers.
VictoryBibleBaptist.Org
Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner
Wycliffe Bible Commentary, the – Moody Press
Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the
Bible; The – Tenney
[1] Luke 6:17-18 – He stood
on a level place on the mountain
[2] Ephesians 3:8-9 - Paul
considers himself the least of all
[3] Isaiah 6:5 – Recognizing
who I am before God; a man of unclean lips in the midst of a people of unclean
lips
[4] Psalms 119:136 – Mourning
over sin; streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed
[5] Isaiah 61:3 – Mourning
replaced with the oil of gladness and a garment of praise instead of a spirit
of despair. -- Luke 16:25 – You will be comforted.
[7] Revelation 21:1-2 – A new
heaven and a new earth has been prepared for us. -- Revelation 21:7 – The
Believer will inherit all things and shall be my son and daughter -- Isaiah
66:22 – Our inheritance; our name and our descendants will endure before God
[8] Psalms 42:2 – My soul thirst for God
[9] Amos 8:11 – There is a famine, a hunger for God’s Word
[10] Romans 3:11 – The
Un-regenerated man doesn’t seek God; there is no one
who understands, no one who seeks God, there is no
one who does good,
[11] Psalms 17:15 – We shall
be satisfied
[12] 2 Timothy 4:1-2 – Be
merciful whether it’s convenient or not.
[13] Psalms 41:1 – Blessed is
he that is concerned about the poor -- Acts 20:35 – It is more blessed to give
than to receive -- Matthew 25:34-36 – Whatever and everything you do; do it all
as unto the Lord -- Matthew 25:40 – JUST DO IT
[14] Micah 6:8 – The believer
loves mercy; TO ACT JUSTLY AND TO LOVE MERCY AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR
GOD. --
Matthew 23:23-24 – Do not neglect justice, mercy and
faithfulness. -- Psalms 18:25 – Because of God’s mercy, we are upright
and merciful
[15] Luke 23:34 – Jesus had
mercy on his persecutors; He said,
"FATHER, FORGIVE THEM for they do not know what
they are doing
[16] Psalms 18:25 – Because of
God’s mercy, we are upright and merciful
[17] Luke 6:37 – Forgiveness
begets forgiveness -- James 2:13 – Judge others with mercy and be judged with
mercy; Mercy trumps judgment.
[18] Psalms 51:10 – Pray for a
pure heart; CREATE IN ME A PURE HEART, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. -- Psalms
24:4-5 – A pure heart seeks the Lord -- 1 Timothy 1:4-6 – LOVE comes
from a pure heart and a good conscience
[19] Hebrews 10:22 – Having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse
us from a guilty conscience; full assurance of faith
[20] Revelation 22:3-4 – We
will see His face -- Psalms 17:15 – A righteousness heart will be satisfied and WILL SEE HIS
FACE
[21] Ephesians 1:4 – He chose
us to be holy and blameless in his sight
[22] Hebrews 13:20-21 – THE GOD OF PEACE will equip
you with everything good for doing his will, --
Isaiah 9:6 – Jesus is called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, PRINCE OF PEACE -- James 3:17 – THE WISDOM THAT IS FROM ABOVE is Pure, peaceful, gentle, easy, full of mercy and good
fruits-- 1 John 3:2-3 – We shall see Him as He is and WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM
[23] Isaiah 52:7 – God loves
the feet of those who proclaim PEACE, WHO BRING GOOD NEWS, who
proclaim salvation --
Romans 5:1 – We have peace with God
[24] Hosea 1:10 – YOU ARE THE SONS
OF THE LIVING GOD.-- Romans 8:14 – We as SONS
OF GOD are led by the Spirit
[25] John 3:20 – Those that do
evil hate the light -- Luke 6:22 – The world calls your good EVIL
[26] 2 Kings 2:23 – There was
cruel mocking; you Old Bald head
[27] John 15:19 – The world
hates the Believer therefore I have chosen you out
of the world
[28] 2 Chronicles 24:21 – They
stoned the prophets -- Nehemiah 9:26 – They killed the prophets
[29] Romans 8:18 – It’s worth
it; the sufferings
cannot compare with the glory which
shall be revealed in us
[30] John 8:12 – Jesus is the
light of the World, he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, BUT SHALL
HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE
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