THE GREATEST SERMON EVER PREACHED ... - Vital Christianity

2CONTENTSVolume I: Matthew 5:1-16PREFACE 3-5INTRODUCTION 6-16CHAPTER 1 THE HAPPINESS OF THE SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT (v. 3) 17-30CHAPTER 2 THE HAPPINESS OF THE PENITENT (v. 4) 31-45CHAPTER 3 THE HAPPINESS OF THE MEEK (v. 5) 46-58CHAPTER 4 THE HAPPINESS OF THE STARVING SOUL (v. 6) 59-72CHAPTER 5 THE HAPPINESS OF THE MERCIFUL (v. 7) 73-86CHAPTER 6 THE HAPPINESS OF THE PURE HEARTED (v. 8) 87-100CHAPTER 7 THE HAPPINESS OF THE PEACEMAKER (v. 9) 101-115CHAPTER 8 THE HAPPINESS OF THE PERSECUTED (vv. 10-12) 116-134CHAPTER 9 GOD’S PEOPLE: SALT OF THE EARTH (v. 13) 135-148CHAPTER 10 GOD’S PEOPLE: LIGHT OF THE WORLD (v. 14) 149-164NOTES 165-156BIBLIOGRAPHY 157

3PREFACEAfter more than nineteen centuries the Sermon on the Mount still haunts mankind.People may praise it as the Magna Carta of Christianity like Gandhi did; or curse and reject it forbinding its followers to a “slave mentality” like Nietzsche did. But they cannot ignore it. Itsimmortal words are still powerful to rebuke and to inspire, to confront and to challenge, to prickconsciences and to offer hope for a better world.While the gospels are filled with Jesus’ words, no single message is as complete andcomprehensive in presenting truth as the passage known as The Sermon on the Mount.The Sermon on the Mount has been called: “the Christian Manifesto,” “The Designfor Life,” “The Compendium of Rules for Christian Living,” or simply ”Kingdom Ethics.”St. Augustine accurately viewed the Sermon to be “the perfect measure of the Christian Life”and “filled with all the precepts by which the Christian life is formed.”At times as we study the majestic Sermon, we find ourselves bothered by what we cannotunderstand and wish we might know with certainty exactly what Jesus meant. More often,however, the words are so clear that we cannot doubt their meaning and that is when thechallenge comes, because we know what Jesus meant. More often, however, the words are soclear that we cannot doubt their meaning and that is when the challenge comes, because we knowwhat a transformation they call for in our lives, and we hesitate to allow such a transformation.We feel uneasy and uncomfortable when we face a description of ourselves as God would have usbe. The Sermon on the Mount is like a fine mirror that accurately shows our glaring defects.In light of the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, who is a Christian?Only the Preacher who preached the master Sermon!He is the only one who practice what He preaches!The rest of us do so only occasionally. Is it any wonder that Soren Kierkegaard claimed that therehas been only one Christian throughout the centuries, that being Jesus of Nazareth. He put it:“The Christianity of the New Testament simply does not exist. Instead millions ofpeople through the centuries have cunningly sought little by little to cheat Godout of Christianity, and we have succeeded in making Christianity exactly theopposite of what it is in the New Testament.”When faced with the message of the Sermon on the Mount who can claim to live such a life?

4When we approach the Sermon on the Mount we are faced with complex questions. Whatis the meaning of the Sermon on the Mount for Christians today. Does it have any relevance forour times? What is the modern application of a message given two thousand years ago? What isits message for conscientious and inquiring Christians confronted with the dilemmas and concernsof the twentieth century society?Few observers of religion in the Western world would today question that the mostobvious feature of the church is her superficiality. The church to a large extent had beenswallowed up by the world. She has allowed the world to squeeze her into its own mold thoughshe has been warned against it (Romans 12:2). The world has come into the church and thechurch has come to look too much like any other worldly organization. She has lost her propheticvoice. She has allowed the world to set the agenda and has come to parrot virtually everything theworld has introduced Thus she has forfeited a strong, vibrant testimony.“Easy-believism,” not discipleship, marks the level of spiritual commitment of present day“followers.” Our religious atmospheres often encourages us to experience a happiness inencountering the gospel that is not joined to a deep joy that only results from serious obedience toJesus ’commands. Too often the message presented intimates that we can come to Jesus and addHim to our present lifestyle. We think we can have it both ways: the world and Jesus.Jesus calls us to a radical lifestyle! Costly grace is His way. The Sermon on the Mountspells out in detail what it means to live by such grace.The sermon on the Mount has been described as “a series of bombshells which blasts usout of our complacency and calls us to respond to the grace of God with drastic obedience.” Thegrace of God demands response. It is not merely a gift to be enjoyed, nor a doctrine to bedefended, nor an invitation to “free–load” at the table of God’s abundance. God’s gracechallenges us to pure motives, selfless attitudes, clean thoughts, discerning words and radicalactions.The late General Omar Bradley said:“Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more aboutwar than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living.We have too many men of science and too few men of God. We have grasped themystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.” 1 (Emphasis added)

5We must be on guard, however, against separating ethical behavior from intimatecommunion with the Spirit of Christ. Such a divorce ends up with a mere code of morality.Discipleship that is separated from the inner life of the Holy Spirit becomes an austere, cold,harsh, legalistic moralism. The radical message of the Sermon on the Mount is ultimately foundedupon the promise of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are not asked to scale the heights of theSermon by our own unaided powers. Only by complete dependence upon the Spirit of God in ourlives will we be able to move toward the heights of this Mount.The Sermon is the challenge; the Holy Spirit is the promise.

6THE SERMON ON THE MOUNTMatthew 5:1-7,29OUTLINEI. THE BLESSINGS OF THE KINGDOM (5:3-16)A. The Beatitudes (5:2-12)B. Discipleship (5:13-16)II. THE GREATER RIGHTEOUSNESS (5:17-7:12)A. Jesus and the Law (5:17-20)B. Righteousness with Reference to others (6; 1-7: 11)C. Righteousness with Reference to God (6:1-7: 11)D. Conclusion: The Golden Rule (7:12)III THE ALTERNATIVES (7:13-27)A. The Two Ways (7:13-14)B. False Prophets (7:15-23)c. The Two Builders (7:24-27)–Robert Guelich 3“The Christianity of the New Testament simply does not exist. Instead, millionsof people through the centuries have cunningly sought little by little to cheatGod out of Christianity, and have succeeded in making Christianity exactlythe opposite of what it is in the New Testament.”- -Soren Kierkegaard

7INTRODUCTION

8The book of Matthew presents Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Anointed of God, as thefulfillment of the Old Testament promises. In chapters one through four the Person of theMessiah is presented—His background birth, baptism, temptation and early ministry. In chaptersfive through seven Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount presents the Principles of the Messiah—what itmeans to enter and live in His kingdom. In chapters eight through nine the Power of the Messiahis demonstrated—His power over demons, nature, disease and even death.Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount came on the heels of His powerful preaching and healingministry. He began His ministry by announcing to the nation Israel:“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17).A few months earlier John the Baptist had prepared the people for Jesus’ ministry with thesame message of repentance. He cried out:“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2)To the Pharisees and Sadducees who thought they belonged to God and His kingdombecause they were Jews, John the Baptist said:“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say toyourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of thesestones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the rootof the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut downand thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10).“Good fruit” or fruit in keeping with repentance” must be produce by those who claim tobelong to the kingdom of heaven. Repentance, as Martin Luther pointed out, is a lifelong process.We never outgrow it. We enter the kingdom of heaven by it and we live in the Kingdom by it.Repentance must be our way of life. As we shall see later repentance is the only proper responseto Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.By His presence Jesus brought the Kingdom to the people. The Bible states:“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogue, preaching thegood news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among thepeople”(Matthew 4:23).Because the people experienced the power of God’s kingdom in their midst:

9“News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all whowere ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed,the epileptics, and the paralytics, and He healed them. Large crowds from Galilee,the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him.”(Matthew 4:24-25)Because their needs were being met they continued to follow this carpenter from the townof Nazareth. They became interested in His teaching about the kingdom. They had learned in theOld Testament Scriptures that only the righteous would be accepted into Messiahs’ kingdom.(Psalm 24:1-4; Zechariah 12 & 13; Ezekiel 36:26-27). But these people only knew ofrighteousness as defined by the Pharisees. The meticulous observance of the traditions of theelders would make all of Abraham’s physical decedents eligible for entrance into Messiah’skingdom.With the entrance of this new itinerant preacher who not only spoke of the power of Godbut who Himself manifested it, these people began to wonder whether the righteousness of thePharisees was sufficient for the entrance into the kingdom It is this crucial question that Jesusaddresses as He went up on a mountainside to speak.THE CALLThe context for this sermon is not only the great crowd that followed Him after evidencingHis authoritative preaching and teaching and His healing power, but the sermon also follows Hiscalling of the Twelve to be His disciples (Matthew 4:18-22; Luke 6:12-16). After having spent anight in prayer He selects the most unlikely prospects to be His followers. Anyone who studiesthe qualifications of these followers are struck immediately with how utterly unqualified they allwere. And so they were called, as we all are called, by God’s mercy and grace.THE CHALLENGEBut after their call comes their challenge. The have just been called to follow Jesus and soHe proclaims and explains to them what it means to follow Him. The key to Jesus’ message iffound in Matthew 6:8:“Do not be like them. . .”John Stott wrote a book on the Sermon on the Mount entitled: Christian Counter-Culture. The title reveals the message of Jesus’ sermon:“His followers are not supposed to just follow culture; they are supposedto stand up and be, in the midst of their culture, a distinctive, a righteous,a holy people.” 1

10The Sermon on the Mount is not a nice little treatise proposing the visionary ideals of anancient dreamer. While we all accept the fact that the ideas apparent in the Sermon on the Mountare beautiful expressions of what ought to be, most of us deep down doubt that they are practical.The point is that the Sermon on the Mount is not so much a command or suggestion ofthe way life ought to be as it is a description of the way it is. In math, for instance, themultiplication tables are not suggestions of the way things ought to be; rather, they constitute adescription of the way things are. Whether we give our vote of confidence or not has nothing todo with their validity. Two times two equals four. Period. In physics also, if we read about the lawof gravity and comment that it is a good theory but we choose not to live by it we will find out thetruth to our own detriment. In the same way, if we choose not to live by the Sermon on theMount we all can testify, if we are honest, that we have done so to our own spiritual, mental andeven physical detriment.In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is not legislating a new way of life; rather, He isinterpreting life as it is. The people of Jesus’ day recognized this for when He finished Hismessage “the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority,and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29).Jesus Himself is the strongest evidence that the message of the Sermon on the Mountworks. For Jesus practiced as well as preached this Sermon. And His character and life is one ofbalance, beauty, strength, symmetry. His life is so compelling that He is inescapable in the moralrealm as the force of gravity is in the physical. In a real sense, the Sermon on the Mount is aportrait of the Master. And it is His portrait of what a Christian is.SERMON OR MANY SERMONSA question often debated has been whether the Sermon on the Mount as recorded inMatthew 5-7 is all contained in one sermon preached at one time or whether it is a collection ofall of Jesus’ teachings condensed into one teaching unit.I tend to believe it was a sermon preached on a particular occasion on the mountain inGalilee. The introductory remarks and the closing testimony tend to indicate that it was of onepiece. Matthew introduces the Sermon with the following introduction:“Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down.His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them, saying . . .”(Matthew 7:28-29)This sounds like a natural introduction to a sermon. And then Matthew concludes thesermon with the words:

11“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed atHis teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as theirteachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29).Matthew seems to be saying that the discourse had a beginning and an ending; it was anentire sermon.If this is so, why are there significant differences between the material found in Matthewand Luke? Of the 107 verses in Matthew’s account, only 30 appear in Luke’s record. Luke hasfour passages which have no parallel in (Matthew 6:24-26; 6:27; 6:34-35; 6:37-38). To answerthat Luke gives the epitome, the condensed version of Matthew’s fuller sermon does not makesense since Luke’s account is a fuller explanation in some passages than Matthew’s. Also, if theaccount is one entire sermon, why does Luke record the same information on ten differentoccasions? Probably because Luke records these teachings as Jesus continued to teach them ondifferent occasions. This also explains why some of Luke’s material is more comprehensive. For itis unlikely that Jesus taught in a comprehensive way as recorded by Matthew. His version of theSermon is too short for that. Matthew gives us the specific occasion when He gathered Hisdisciples and taught them the essence of His message at one time.If this is a sermon preached at one certain time, why is it so short (twelve to fifteenminutes)? It is more like a sermonette. The masterful pulpiteer, Robert G. Lee, said, “Sermonettespreached by preacherettes produce Christianettes.” Thus the longer the sermon the godlier thepeople! By that standard, Jesus’ followers would not become very godly. In all probability theSermon the Mount is a summary, a distillation of what Jesus taught on that mountain. Forinstance, when Jesus preached on the Beatitudes, He probably interpreted or explained eachbeatitude in detail. So what we have in these three chapters is what the Spirit of God wanted all ofus to have—the major thrust, the main emphasis of the Sermon. The kernel, the essence of Hismessage has been left for us.THE PLACE“Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside . . .” (Matthew 5:1). Wedo not know what mountain it was. He apparently went up to get in closer contact with thedisciples as He “saw the crowds.” Luke points out that He went up into the mountain to pray(6:12) and Mark draws attention to the fact that He went up and called the Twelve disciples(3:13). All three purposes are true. Like gives more detail in showing that after a whole night ofprayer and after the choosing of the Twelve that Jesus came down to a level place which mostlikely refers to a level place on the mountain and spoke to the crowds from Judea to Phoenicia

12THE TEACHINGMatthew continues by stating that Jesus “sat down” to teach (5:1). It was the custom ofthe Jewish rabbis to talk to their disciples when they were walking along the road with them butwhen he was teaching officially he always sat to do so. This was the Jewish attitude of officialteaching. In the synagogue the preacher sat to deliver his sermon. We still speak of the professor’schair to emphasize the importance of his teaching. When the Pope makes an officialannouncement he speaks ex-cathedra, “from his chair”—seated in his papal throne.Matthew makes the point that what Jesus was saying was not some random thought; itwas His official teaching, the manifesto of King Messiah. It was not a pleasant discourse but Hismessage to His followers. Some translations include the phrase “and opening His mouth” which isa Greek colloquialism used to describe solemn, dignified, weighty statements. In some extrabiblicalreferences this statement is used to refer to someone who is sharing something that isintimate, something right from the heat. The New International Version omits this phrase becauseof its redundancy although it emphasizes the formal tone of the setting (Psalm 78:2; Job 3:1;Daniel 10:16; Acts 8:35; 10:34).THE AUDIENCEThe people Jesus addressed were primarily His disciples. Matthew says, “His disciplescame to Him” (Matthew 5:1). Only the disciples could possibly apply the Sermon to their lives.It’s standards are too high for man apart from the grace of God. The message of the Sermon onthe Mount drives us right to the cross. Everything in the Sermon is impossible without a new birthand the power of the Holy Spirit.How often do we hear people say when asked what their religion or code of ethics isrespond, “I believe in the Sermon on the Mount. I pattern my life after it.” Really? To make sucha claim is to divulge the fact that one does not understand the Sermon. Man kind has been drawnto the beauty of the message when seen superficially but the natural man cannot understand itsmessage much less live it out. The Sermon on the Mount, therefore, should not be passed on tounbelievers for they cannot possibly practice it except for certain external aspects of it. Themessage of the Sermon on the Mount starts on the cross. Pertinence and faith in Jesus Christ thePreacher par excellence is the first step. We must know the Preacher in order to heed Hismessage. Only the disciples could live the Sermon 0n the Mount because they were the onlypartakers of God’s own presence and power in their lives.In a real sense Jesus gave His message to His inner circle of followers who had alreadyentered the kingdom of heaven while the crowds were listening in. As Bishop Gore put it, “TheSermon on the Mount was spoken in the ear of the church, and overheard by the world.” Thus theSermon was directed indirectly to the crowds as an invitation to know the preacher. Matthew

13points out at the conclusion of the message that “the crowds were amazed at His teaching,because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29).Undoubtedly some of these people in the crowds came to follow Jesus as they witnessedHis authoritative teaching. But in a sense, that was a byproduct. Jesus’ focus in His teaching wason His inner circle for it is through them that He reaches out into society with His message.THE METHOD“And He began to teach them” (Matthew 5:2). The tense of the verb “teach” indicates thethought of repeated or habitual action. A more literal translation would be “He used to teachthem” or ”this is what He continuously, repeatedly used to teach them” The Sermon on theMount contains the essence of Jesus’ message which He habitually taught His disciples in variousways on many different occasions. The Sermon on the Mount is the summary, the distillation ofJesus’ message spelled out in different ways in the rest of the New Testament. It was this kernelof truth that Jesus most often taught His disciples. And we must do the same. For Jesus’ lastwords to His disciples are found in the Great Commission:“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore goand make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fatherand of the son and of the Holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everythingI have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the veryend of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).THE PROMISEJesus’ promise to His followers who flesh out in their lives His Sermon is happiness orblessedness. In America’s Declaration of Independence our founding fathers asserted that wehold certain rights to be inalienable, among them being “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”And these three rights seem to be virtually inseparable. Life is basic, but what is it if there is noliberty and happiness? Isn’t it then mere existence?How our society craves happiness! We demand it as our right and pursue it with all ourpower, And yet it eludes us. Someone once said to Hannah Smith, the author of the verysuccessful book, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life:“You Christians seem to have a religion that makes you miserable. Youare like a man with a headache. He does not want to get rid of his head, butit hurts him to keep it. You cannot expect outsiders to seek very earnestly foranything so uncomfortable.” 2

14Too often Christians are miserable even though through the indwelling of the Holy Spiritthey may sense that happiness is their birthright as members of God’s family. And because theyare miserable they have little if anything to offer to an unbelieving world.The reason for Christians being miserable is partly due to the fact that in the past we haveassociated seriousness with spirituality. We have measured people’s spirituality by the length ofthe face. More recently the opposite is true. Christians are not happy because they are caught upin the worldly pursuit of chasing happiness as an end in itself.The most bored, unhappy, maladjusted people in the world are those who make happinessa pursuit. People who say they have a right to be happy, that they have a right to live their ownlives. Will Rogers used to talk about a druggist who was asked if he ever took time off to have agood time. The druggist said he didn’t, but that he sold a lot of pills for headaches for those whodid.The way to happiness is spelled out by the Master Teacher. He does not tell us to pursuehappiness. He tells us what attitudes, what motives, what thoughts, what words, what actionresults in happiness.THE BEATITUDESThe Sermon on the Mount is the essence of Jesus’ teachings and the Beatitudes is theessence of the Sermon on the Mount. Thus the Beatitudes is the essence of the essence of Jesus’message. And these Beatitudes begin with the note of joy or happiness. Jesus used the word“blessed” or “happy” to introduce each of the nine Beatitudes. And He shows us how thathappiness is a byproduct of life lived according to God’s principles--a life lived in His presenceand by His power.“Blessed . . . blessed . . . blessed.” “Happy . . . happy . . . happy.” `This is the one thoughtcommon to all the Beatitudes. Nine times in nine verses Jesus drives home this idea, climaxing itwith: “Rejoice and be glad” (Matthew 5:12).The note of the New Testament from beginning to end is one of triumphant joy. It beginswith the singing of the angels and ends with rejoicing around the throne of God. The verymeaning of “gospel” is good news and Jesus’ typical greeting was, “Be of good cheer.”THE FORMIn the Beatitudes there are no verbs in the original. The verb “are” has been added forclarification. Jesus’ native language was not Greek but Aramaic. Aramaic and Hebrew have a verycommon expression which means “OK the blessedness or happiness of.” This phrase, “OK the

15blessedness or happiness of . . .” is a strong way of expressing supreme happiness. It is notmerely a statement or declaration, but an exclamation and is often used in the Old Testament. Thefirst Psalm for instance, begins with this phrase:“O the blessedness of the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked . . .”(Matthew 1:1)By using such a phrase Jesus is forcefully hammering home to His people the supremehappiness of that which is theirs if they live by His teachings. Thus the Beatitudes are not pioushopes of what shall be or nebulous prophecies of some future joy, but they are congratulations ofwhat is here and now. While such a joy will find its consummation or fulfillment in heaven withGod it can be experienced in a deep measure even in this life. The Beatitudes spell out the sheerjoy and happiness there is in knowing Jesus Christ.THE MEANING OF HAPPINESSThe word “blessed” which is used in each of the Beatitudes is a very special word. It is aGreek word (makarios) which describes the gods who were happy in themselves and unaffectedby mankind which is subject to poverty, weakness, illness and death. In using this word Jesus issaying that the happiness of the Christian is a Godlike happiness.This word was also used in referring to Cyprus which the Greeks called “The Happy Isle.”They did so because they believed that Cyprus was so beautiful, so rich and fertile that no oneever needed to go beyond its coastline to find the perfectly happy life. Its climate was sodelightful, its flowers so beautiful, its fruit so delicious and abundant, its natural resources soplentiful that it contained within itself everything that anyone would ever need to be happy.This word “happiness” describes that joy that has its secret within itself, that it selfcontained,that joy that is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life.The word then is quite richer than our English equivalent “happiness.” For its root is hapwhich means “chance.” Thus human happiness is something which is dependent on the chances orchanges of life. Human happiness is subject to its circumstance. Godly happiness, however, isuntouchable and unassailable. Jesus put it:“Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice,and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22).God’s happiness is that joy which sorrow and loss and grief are powerless to quench. It isthat happiness that does not necessarily bubble over with emotional excitement all the time, but itis that quiet feeling of satisfaction from experiencing approval from God. Well-being describessuch a life. It is the happiness that is fulfilled and satisfied because it rinds it source in God.

16THE OUTLINEOf the eight Beatitudes listed by Jesus the first four relate to our attitude to God and thelast four to our attitude to our fellow-men. The first group of Beatitudes are passive personalqualities whereas the last group is made up of social qualities. In his relations with God and hisfellow-men, the supremely happy person is the one who lets God minister His grace so that hemanifests the attitudes expressed in the Beatitudes.

17CHAPTER 1 THE HAPPINESS OF THE SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT

18THE HAPPINESS OF THE SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPTMatthew 5:3I. ITS PRIORITYII.ITS MEANINGA. Lack of Material ResourcesB. No Influence, Power, Status, PrestigeC. Downtrodden and OppressedD. No Earthly resources and had to put Trust in GodIII.ITS EXAMPLESA. The Pharisee and the PublicanB. The Church at LaodiceaC. The DisciplesD. King UzziahIV.ITS APPLICATIONA. Focus on GodB. Do not Compare yourself with othersC. Realize your sinfulnessD. Practice RepentanceE. Be Open to CriticismF. Pray OftenG. Praise Continually

19“He only who is reduced to nothing in Himself, and relies on the mercy of God,is poor in spirit.”--John CalvinIn the comic strip Charlie Brown is saying to Linus: “When I get big I’m going to be ahumble little country doctor.” the next frame shows Charlie Brown continuing: “I’ll live in thecity, see, and every morning I’ll get up, climb into my sports car and zoom into the country!”Getting carried away with himself, Charlie says in the last picture: “I’ll be a world famous humblelittle country doctor!”PRIORITYBenjamin Franklin once tried to attain moral perfection. He drew up a list of the twelvevirtues which he thought embodied the essential traits of a good person. He kept a little book inwhich a page was allotted to each virtue. His program was to focus his mind on one virtue a weekat a time, keeping track of each daily violation. Thus he went through the list, thinking that sincehis conscience told him what was right and what was wrong, he could attain the good and avoidthe bad.But when he showed his list of virtues to an old Quaker friend, he was gently informedthat he had omitted the virtue of humility. Franklin added it at once. His list then read as follows:temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation,cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, humility.Ben Franklin’s home-spun wisdom and practical counsel have made him a guide that weoften have quoted in our search for successful living. But while his precepts might prove helpfulthey are reversed. Franklin put humility last in his list of virtues whereas Jesus put it first:“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3)PARADOXJesus was fond of teaching a paradox. A paradox is a statement which on the surfaceseems to be contradictory but which in reality is not. It is this very contrast that enables us toremember many of Jesus’ teachings. Paradoxes have a way of stabbing our memory and shockingus into understanding as we search beneath the surface to find the kernel of truth in the statementThe statement, “Happy are you who are poor” as Luke puts it (6:20b) or “Happy are thepoor in spirit” as Matthew states (5:3) was strange to Jesus’ listeners. For among the ancient Jewswealth was regarded as a blessing and poverty a curse. Wealth was seen as an evidence of God’sfavor while poverty was a sign of His judgment. “Blessed are the rich” is a statement they wereexpecting.

20THE MEANINGWhat did Jesus mean by “Blessed are the poor in spirit?” Is He saying that poverty is ablessing? No. Jesus is not saying that happy are the people who live in slums and do not haveenough to eat and where health rots because conditions are against it. Such conditions ought to bealleviated as much as possible. There is no virtue in either poverty or wealth as such in thematerial sense. It depends on how we use it.Poverty does not guarantee humility. On one occasion Diogenes visited Plato in hisluxurious home. Diogenes purposely stamped on the luxurious carpets, saying, “Thus do I trampleunderfoot the pride of Plato.” Plato later returned the visit to the humble dwelling whereDiogenes lived in “Ostentatious poverty.” Plato observed that he could not see the pride ofDiogenes peeping through the holes in his carpet. Poverty is no guarantee of humility Sometimesit is a source of pride.If poverty in and of itself were a blessing we should no t help anyone who is poor. To doso would be to rob them of their blessing.The word “poor” is Hebrew (‘ani or ebion) underwent a change. First it meant merely“poor” in the sense of lack of material resources. Then it came to mean that because a person waspoor he had no influence or power, status or prestige. Then it came to mean that because he hadno power and influence he was therefore downtrodden and oppressed by people. And finally bythe time Jesus used the word (Aramaic) it meant that because he had no earthly resourceswhatever, he had to put his whole trust in God. And so the word “poor” became a synonym for“saintly,” “pious,” in the best sense of the word. And the word “rich” became a synonym for“worldly,” “wicked,” “irreligious.” (James 2:5; 5:1)The psalmist often used the word “poor” in this spiritual sense.“This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;He saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).“You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,the poor and needy from those who rob them” (Psalm 35:10)The poor man in the Old Testament is the one who is afflicted and unable to save himself,and who therefore reaches out to God for help. Isaiah commends such poverty:“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” (Psalm 41:17).

21Then Isaiah continues with the promise that God will supply all their needs. He is not hereonly talking about their desperate physical needs but also their spiritual needs. The picture paintedby Isaiah is that God delights in meeting the needs of those who entirely abandon themselves toHim and His provisions.The word “poor” used by Matthew and Luke is a very strong word. In Greek there aretwo words for poor.” One word (penes) describes the person who has to work for his living, whoserves his own needs with his own hands- -the working man who merely had his necessities. Theother word (ptochos) which Matthew and Luke use describes the person who lives in abject andabsolute poverty. Luke gives us a picture of such a person.“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived inluxury every day. At his gate was lid a beggar named Lazarus, covered withsores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogscame and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angelscarried him to Abraham’s side” (Luke 16:19-22).The word translated “beggar” (Luke 16:20,22) is the identical word translated “poor” inMatthew and Luke. The beggar was destitute, poverty-stricken, without any resourceswhatsoever. The words “poor” and “beggar” come from a root word which means “to cover” or“to cringe.” Because of the humiliation of having to beg, of having to depend upon someone else,the beggar should cover his face and crouch or crouch or cower as he held out his hand for adonation. He was ashamed to let the giver know his identity. This is the word also used of thwidow who gave everything she had—two mites (Mark 12:42-43).When Jesus chose this word He did not do so lightly. But he chose it to show an attitudeof mind, a spirit of heart, which recognizes its own spiritual destitution and which is completelywithout pride, self-assurance, self-reliance, self-confidence. It is the “poor in spirit” as Matthewsays that are happy. Poverty has to do with our spirit. How we perceive ourselves before God.There is nothing virtuous about being financially poor, but it is extremely important that werecognize that we are spiritually poor before God. This section is known as the Beatitudes, or the“attitudes of being.” And the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount describes the person whohas allowed God to internalize these nine basic attitudes.To be “poor in spirit” means to recognize that we are spiritual paupers who are spirituallybankrupt who cower or cringe because of our helplessness. Poor in spirit is not the opposite ofself-esteem but spiritual pride. What Jesus is condemning is self-sufficiency, a know-it-all attitude.Jesus is condemning the attitude that accepts the status quo, the attitude that his satisfied withthings as they are.

22THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICANThe Pharisees of Jesus’ day are a good example of “richness in spirit.” Luke gives us anunforgettable incident of such an attitude:“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down oneverybody else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray,one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayedabout himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like all the other men–robbers,evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and givea tenth of all I get.’But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven,but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’” (Matthew 8:12-13).This Pharisee was rich in spirit because he was “confident of his own righteousness.” Hethought he was better than everybody else. After all, he was moral in that he did not rob anyone,and certainly was not involved in illicit sexual activities. And he was religious because he fastedtwice a week and tithed every week when he went to the synagogue. This Pharisee was intoxicatedwith moral and spiritual pride. Therefore he commended himself to God and demanded that Godaccept him because of what he had done.The tax collector, on the other hand, demonstrated poverty of spirit. For he was not evenable to look up to heaven but “beat his breast” and cried out to God, “God have mercy on me, asinner.”Each received what he felt he needed. The Pharisee expressed an inner need for nothing—and that is what he got. The Publican admitted his sin and expressed a deep need for God’smercy—and that is what he got as the ending of the parable points out:“I tell you that this man (the publican), rather than the other (the Pharisee),went home justified before God. For everyone who humbles himself will beexalted” (Matthew 18:14).Our only access to God is to recognize our own depravity, our own sinfulness, our ownspiritual bankruptcy and to confess our unworthiness and cast ourselves upon the grace and mercyof Almighty God.THE CHURCH AT LAODICEAAnother example of richness of spirit is found in the church at Laodicea. The writerstates:

23“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you donot realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17).This church had plenty of money, but it was not “poor in spirit.” Its material wealth robedit of a sense of spiritual need. A bishop came to St. Thomas Aquinas and bragged to him one day,“Our church can no longer say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” St. Thomas responded, “Nor canshe say any longer, ‘Take up you bed and walk.’”Spiritual richness robs us of God’s power. Because we no longer feel we need to dependon God. This is why Jesus said that it was extremely difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom.When we, like the church at Laodicea and like the church during the Middle Ages, feel thatwe are rich, Jesus tells us that we are “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”Spiritual inadequacy is the road to happiness says Jesus.THE DISCIPLESThe atheistic philosopher Bertrand Russell once stated:“Of the infinite desires of man, the chief are the desires for the power and glory.”How true! And Jesus’ disciples are a sad example. Not long after Jesus had explained indetail to the disciples that He would suffer and die (Mark 8: 31-32) the disciples on the road toCapernaum argued about who would be the greatest in the kingdom. Mark put it:“When He was in the house, He, Jesus asked them, ‘What were you arguing abouton the road” But they kept quiet because they had argued about who was thegreatest” (Mark 9:33-34).Power and status and prestige is what the disciples were interested in. But Jesus told them:“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and theservant of all” (9:35).“The way to rise in the Kingdom is to sink in ourselves” (C.H. Spurgeon).Then Jesus took a child and had him stand among them. Taking him in His arms, He saidto them:

24“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me;and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but the One who sent Me.”(Matthew 9:37)Humility, not power and authority, is what matters in God’s kingdom. Power corrupts andabsolute power corrupts absolutely. Power seems to inherently corrupt. This is why power must bechecked ans guarded carefully.How we Evangelicals have been intoxicated with success and power! Now that we havebecome famous in society we have also become proud. How many of us strut! How we are easilyimpressed with our own credentials! How self-righteous we have often come off as movementthinking all the time that we have monopoly on truth! While we have looked down our selfrighteousnoses on the liberals for having sacrificed truth for unity, we have proudly sacrificedunity for truth. Humility is hardly a virtue and grace exemplified by the Evangelicals the lasttwenty-five years. We have been rich rather than poor in spirit. Like our fore-runners—thedisciples—we have been too preoccupied with our own self-importance. God help us all!KING UZZIAHKing Uzziah is a sad example of a king who started out to serve God but who becamecorrupted with power. The Bible states:“He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him inthe fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.”(II Chronicles 26:5)Then we are told:“His fame spread far and side, for he was greatly helped until he becamepowerful. But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.He was unfaithful to the Lord his God . . .” (II Chronicles 26:15-16).Because of his drunkenness with pride God punished him with leprosy and he died adespicable death.God hates pride! It is a stench in His nostrils. The proud are an abomination states theBible (Proverbs 16:5). Pride is one of the deadly sins according to the book of Proverbs.

26“Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling;Naked come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace;Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.”“He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God,is poor in spirit” (John Calvin).THE KINGDOM OF HEAVENOnly to such people is God’s kingdom given. The “kingdom of heaven” that is promised tothose who are poor in spirit refers to the “rule” or “reign” of God in our lives. It also refers to a“realm” in which God will rule in the future. But the primary meaning as used in this passage is therulership of God in our lives. To possess the kingdom, therefore is to be possessed by God. It is toknow His presence in our lives, to follow His leadership, to do His will and to experience Hisprovidential care.Luke in his version of the Sermon on the Mount uses the phrase “kingdom of God.” Thisphrase is the customary way of speaking of God’s sovereign rule and realm. The reason Matthewuses “kingdom of heaven” is because he is writing to a Jewish audience. And in all probability healong with his audience wanted to avoid using the word “God” because they felt it was too holy,too sacred, too exalted. Therefore euphemisms like “heaven” were adopted. In meaning, “kingdomof heaven” is identical to “kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:23f; Mark 10:23f; etc.).HOW TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT1. FOCUS ON GOD. Poverty of spirit begins with a vision of the greatness, majesty and holinessof God. The prophet Isaiah give us the right perspective:“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,and its people are like grasshoppers.He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,and spreads them out like a tent to live in.He brings princes to naught and reduces rulersof this world to nothing.To whom will you compare Me?Or who is My equal? Says the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:22-23,25).When we see God for who He is we cannot but help to see ourselves for who weare—sinners in desperate need of God’s mercy and grace.2. DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF WITH OTHERS. So often instead of focusing on Godwe focus our attention on others and compare ourselves with them. C. S. Lewis wrote:

27“Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good--above all, that we are better than someone else—I think we may be sure that weare being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in thepresence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourselfas a small dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether?”3. REALIZE YOUR SINFULNESS. To see God is to see ourselves and to know God is to knowourselves. When the Pharisees criticized Jesus and His followers for neglecting to follow the ritualof ceremonial cleansing before a meal Jesus took the opportunity to tell them about our deeperhuman problems. He pointed out to them that we are not harmed by what we eat, but by what wethink and say (Mark 7:14-16). Then He gave an inventory of evil that lurks in our hearts:“For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality,theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander,arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”(Mark 7:21-23)This is a description of what we are in and of ourselves. This is a picture of our human nature, ourflesh. And if we live in the flesh we are capable of manifesting any and every one of these evilthings.Paul testified, “We . . . put no confidence in the flesh. . .” (Philippines 3:3)He wrote to the Roman Christians,“And so He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirementsof the law might be fully met in us, who d o not live according to thesinful nature, but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to thesinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those wholive in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the Spiritdesires” (Romans 8:3-5).The person who tries to please God in the flesh seeks to please God in his own efforts. In pride hetries to please God. The person who is poor in spirit recognizes his own utter helplessness inpleasing God and thus throws himself in full dependence on the Holy Spirit to do His work in andthrough him.4. PRACTICAL REPENTANCE. Repentance must be a way of life. We never outgrow the needfor it. It is a life-long process. Jesus instructed His disciples to daily pray not only for food (Giveus this day our daily bread) but also for forgiveness. (Forgave us our debts, as we forgive our

28debtors.) Because we constantly sin we need continual forgiveness and cleansing. Repentance mustbe a constant attitude and habitual habit. It is our logical response to God’s holiness and greatnessand our failure.5. BE OPEN TO CRITICISM. Pride cannot be cured by only one piece of humble pie. Pride willnot vanish by one dose of humility. Humility is a medicine to be taken daily, drop by drop. Eachday we must be ready to listen to reproof, even when we are not convinced that it is deserved, andwe must be willing to confess our sin when it is shown. It is reported that St. Francis of Assisi hada simple and effective way of keeping himself humble. Whenever anyone praised his virtues, hewould ask a fellow monk to sit down with him and tell him his faults. If Francis had been married,he would have had that service rendered to him at home. In all seriousness, the home is a goodtraining ground for the grace of humility for there our weaknesses as well as strengths are clearlyseen. Sometimes the only people who really tell us the truth are our enemies. Therefore we oughtto listen to them.6. PRAY OFTEN. Just as a beggar is always begging so a spiritual beggar needs to continuallybeg. James put it, “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:2). But when we beg we must doso with proper motives for James also says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you askwith wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3). We mustbe desperate enough to beg God but we must do so with motives that are honoring to Him.7. PRIDE CONTINUALLY. Praise and thanksgiving are constant reminders that all that you areand have is only because of God’s mercy and grace. By praising God we are reminded that everysingle thing is a gift from God. By focusing on God’s goodness and grace, we will be overwhelmedwith gratitude toward Him. For as Paul asks, “What do you have that you did not receive?”(I Corinthians 4:7). Praise and thanksgiving reminds us of our total dependence upon God.As pride is the root of sin, so poverty of spirit is the root of all virtue. It is the door into thekingdom of heaven. This first Beatitude, therefore, is the key to all that follows. There is a verydefinite order in these Beatitudes. There is a spiritual logical sequence for it is impossible to enterinto the kingdom of heaven apart from spiritual poverty. It is first base. It is foundational. It isessential. The grace of God depends on our emptiness—our spiritual bankruptcy. This is how Jesusinvites us to enter His kingdom. You cannot pour anything into a full cup. Jesus tells us to becomeempty cups so that He can fill us with Himself and thus manifest His attitude in all that we think,say and so. For only then will we experience what it means to be supremely happy. For:“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

29CHAPTER 2 THE HAPPINESS OF THE PENITENT

I. INTRODUCTIONII. DEFINITIONIII. COMMON SORROW30THE HAPPINESS OF THE PENITENTMatthew 5:4IV. SORROW FOR OTHER’S SUFFERING AND SINA. JesusB. DavidC. JeremiahD. PaulV. SORROW FOR OUR OWN SINA. Problem: Defective Doctrine of SinB. Kinds of SorrowC. Examples1. World sorrow2. Godly Sorrow1. Job2. Isaiah3. David4. David Brainerd5. Robert Murray M’CheyneVI. THE PROMISE: COMFORT

31“What soap is for the body tears are for the soul.”--Jewish ProverbTo a world that does everything to avoid mourning, sorrow and pain, Jesus says:“Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4)What a paradox! It is as though Jesus says, “Happy are the unhappy.” this is a shockingstatement because we do not speak of grief and happiness in the same breath.We can all identify with David when he cries out to God in the midst of his disappointment,sorrow and pain:“Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest- -I wouldflee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, farfrom the tempest and storm” (Psalm 55:6-8)David’s cry for life on wings to fly away from disappointment, discouragement, sorrow,anguish and pain makes a lot of sense to us. In fact, the philosophy of our world is to forget ourtroubles and turn our backs upon them and do everything we can not to face them. Our pleasuremania, our thrill seeking; the money, energy, time and enthusiasm expended in entertainment areexpressions of the world’s desire to get away from sorrow, mourning and pain.The world’s philosophy is,“Happy are those who never mourn, for they will have no need for comfort.”The stoic philosophers of Jesus’ day were saying: “Don’t mourn. Self-control is the answerto sorrow.” Epictetus, a Greek philosopher, said: “Love your wife and your children, but not somuch that you will be hurt when they die.”Happiness is found, says Jesus, not be evasion, self-control or repression. Happiness isfound in facing reality, feeling deeply, and giving vent to those feelings.DEFINITIONThe word “mourn” (penthein) that Jesus used in this Beatitude is the most intensive term inGreek to express deep sorrow. There are nine different Greek verbs to express grief in the NewTestament. And this specific word is the strongest, the most severe. It is an expression of theintense sense of loss, helplessness and despair. It is a grief that refers to the disenfranchised of thedead. It is used to Jacob’s grief when he believed his son Joseph was dead (Genesis 37: 34). This isthe word used by mark when he points out that after the death of Christ His followers were

“mourning and weeping” (16:10). This word is often associated with the word “weep” andsignifies that aguish which is so intense that it cannot be hidden but is expressed externally in aperson’s bearing his face and tears.32Luke in his account substitutes “weep” for mourn and “laugh now” saying that they shall“mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25) His Beatitude, therefore reads:“Happy are you who weep now, for you will laugh.Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep” (6:21,25).Generally in the Old Testament laughter connotes a person’s expression of independencewhereby he denies God’s role in his life. Weeping, on the other hand, connotes the realization of aperson’s dependency upon God.1Laughter and weeping, therefore, are used by Luke to show the contrast between theattitude of the world and the attitude of Jesus’ disciple. New Testament alone indicates thepervasiveness of sorrow- -it is a part and parcel living in a fallen world. And Jesus did not linkhappiness and mourning to make light of grief, but to point out its depths.COMM0N SORROWThis Beatitude can be understood in three ways. First of all, it can refer to commonsorrow which we all encounter because we are part of sinful mankind. In this case Jesus is sayingthat happy is the person who has undergone the most bitter sorrow that life can bring. The biblemakes it clear that there is a time to mourn and Weep:“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity underthe heaven: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and atime to dance . . .” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4)Grief can be the source of some of the greatest discoveries of life. There are some thingswhich only sorrow can teach. There are dimensions of God and ourselves that onlysorrow can open up.The Arabs have a proverb: “All sunshine makes a desert.” the land on which the sun alwaysshines will soon become arid and hard and useless for growth of any kind. There are certain thingswhich only rain will produce and certain dimensions of life which only grief can bring. Without therain and storms of life, without the dark nights of the soul our lives become like a desert and ourstreams of compassion dry up.“I walked a mile with pleasure, she chattered all the way,But left me none the wiser for all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow, and ne’er a word she,But oh, the things I learned from her when Sorrow walked with me!” 2Elgar, an outstanding English composer, was listening to a young singer who had abeautiful and well disciplined voice and whose technique was almost perfect. As he listened hesensed that there was something very essential missing. He concluded: She will be great whensomething happens to break her heart.”33A heart that has never felt a break, will lack heart. The person who had never knownsorrow will not possess the compassion and understanding that is required of those who are tominister in love. Eyes that have never known tears lack the insight that only tenderness can give.It is in sorrow that we discover what really matters in life. It is in sorrow that weexperience the meaning of friendship and the meaning of love. It is in deep sorrow that we discoverwhether our faith is a mere ornament or the very foundation on which our lives depend. And this iswhy so often people find God only as they experience great anguish of soul. John Stott whileministering as a pastor at All souls church in London conductive a poll of his congregation to findout the cause why his members became Christians. To his surprise the majority listed personaldesperation, a sense of being at the end of their resources, and the greatest single human factorwhich caused them to seek God.Dean Inge lost a tiny daughter. He faced and described the alternatives to faith: “A microbeblindly following its instincts . . . An enemy has done this.” But hick faith scaled such temptingsuggestions and he testified:“Bereavement is the deepest initiation into the mysteries of human life,and initiation more searching and more profound even that happy love.It brings the eternal world nearer.” 3Natural sorrow expressed in mourning is God’s way of releasing a healing process in aperson’s life that enables him to accept and deal with the pain—to work his way throng it andadjust to life again. Mourning is God’s way of bringing healing to deep wounds. Pain that isnot freely expressed but kept on the inside had a way of poisoning our emotional makeup and thusemotional (and eventually even physical) infection spreads through life While self -pity is a sign ofweakness, weeping is not. Tears are God’s cleansing agent to equip us to live ore fully andcompletely.

34SORROW FOR OTHERS’ SUFFERING AND SINAlthough common sorrow that we all encounter helps us to become more serious,compassionate and sensitive people the mourning that Jesus referred to in the second Beatitudemay mean the sorrow for others’ suffering and sin. We will never be forced to share the griefsand burdens of others. But as Christians we are to weep with those who weep.The word “sympathy” means “to suffer together with another person.” the mourner is theperson who enters into the deep hurts of others. Repeatedly it is sad of Jesus that He was “movedwith compassion” (Mark 1:41; 6:34; 8:2). And the word compassion means “to be moved to thevery depths of one’s being.” Jesus’ incarnation testifies to the fact that God cared so intensely forpeople that in the person of Jesus Christ He deliberately chose to identify Himself with the sin,sorrow and suffering of humanity.It broke Jesus’ heart to see Jerusalem, the one city that should have been prepared for Hiscoming and His message, reject the truth:“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the prophets and stone those sentto you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, As a hengathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, yourhome is left to you desolate” (Luke 13:34-35).When Jesus was trying to teach the Pharisees that people were more important thaninstitutions, that the Sabbath was made of man and not man the Sabbath, Jesus became “deeplydistressed at their stubborn hearts “ (Matthew 3:5)Mourning for others sins was not foreign to David. He cried out to God:“Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for Your law is no obeyed!” (Psalm 119:136).Jeremiah also mourned for his people and proclaimed his message of judgment with tears:“Oh that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears!I would weep night and day for the slain of my people” (Jeremiah 9:1)Paul told the Ephesian elders:“Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you nightand day with tears” (Acts 20:31).Jesus, David, Jeremiah and Paul wept over the sins of others, over their bitter consequencesin judgment and death. They did not reject sinners; they wept for them. We too should weep moreover the evil in the world. Instead of withdrawing from the world, we ought to intercede for it.

35SORROW FOR OUR OWN SINSWhile these other sorrows may in included in this Beatitude, the context make it plain thatthe main though is sorrow for one’s own ism. Jesus’ message to His people was repentance. Andthere can be no repentance without recognition of one’s own sinfulness (poverty of spirit) and adeep grief because of it (mourning). Sorrow for sin is essential to repentance. And the cross showsus or emphatically what sin has done. It nailed the only perfect and most loving person who everwalked this earth to a cruel and despicable tree.Christianity begins with a sense of sin. The Beatitudes are a chain with each link connectedto the one that precedes and the one that follows. The first Beatitude—poverty of spirit—is tied tothe second—mourning for sin. Poverty of spirit prompts us to mourn for sin. When we recognizethat we are spiritually bankrupt, we become deeply sorry for our own sinfulness. This is what iscalled pertinence.The way to the joy of forgiveness is through the deep sorrow of the broken heart!It is the contrite or penitent that God will hear:“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).Jesus’ main concern in this Beatitude is not the loss of a loved one, but the loss of ourinnocence. It is not primarily the sorrow of bereavement but the sorrow of repentance.The Christian life then is not all smiles, laughter and joy. God is not calling us to alwayswear a grin and be bubbly. Life is intensely serious. Sin is extremely serious. It is no laughingmatter.DEFECTIVE DOCTRINE OF SINOne of the reasons for the superficiality of the world and the church is a defective doctrineof sin and a shallow sense of sin. But that is not unique to our own generation. Paul wrote theChristians at Corinth:“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and ofa kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief andhave put out of your fellowship that man who did this? Even though I amnot physically present, I an with you in spirit. And I have already passedjudgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When youare assemble in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and

the power of the Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so thatthe sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of theLord” (I Corinthians 5:1-5).36Sin must not be treated lightly. Tolerance of sin is not love but compromise. And notice thepurpose for discipline; “that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day ofthe Lord” (I Corinthians 5:5). Cleansing and restoration is God’s purpose in discipline.Paul continues by warning these Corinthian believers of the infectious nature of sin:“Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works throughthe whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a newbatch without yeast- -as you really are” (I Corinthians 5:6-7).Life is not just fun and games. In the past many congregations had what they called the“mourner’s bench” where penitent persons waited for God’s pardon. Today for the most partchurches have become clinics of psychology where parishioners dome to ”get things off theirchest.” While God is not looking for gloomy followers, He is looking for serious followers who arenot always looking for the easy way out. The purpose of mourning for our sins is not that we endup with morbid pessimism, but that we are kept from shallow optimism. God is not thought of ascoddling and indulgent grandfather. He is our loving but firm heavenly Father who does nothesitate to discipline us when we need it.Because of our shallow understanding of sin the doctrine of grace has also beenundermined. Grace must be seen against the dark backdrop of sin. But then the backdrop ischanged to gray, grace loses its shining contrast and thus becomes dull. And when grace becomessuperficial joy becomes external.If there is to be a true joy of salvation there must be a deep conviction of sin. Those whowant joy be happy must first of all mourn.Alcoholics who have hit bottom and found God will all testify to the fact that everyone hasto hit bottom before they are willing to let God take over. And hitting bottom means to seeourselves first who we are–sinners in need of a Savior—and to be sorry for our sinfulness. Thedisciple’s inner hurt is not primarily over a lost job, a broken relationship, a lost loved one, butover our failure to please God, to live for Him and honor Him.Contrition must not only precede conversion; it must also follow it. Our whole life must beone of an attitude of penitence. Martin Luther, in his 96 Theses, said that our entire life is acontinuous act of repentance and contrition. John in his first epistle (John 1:9 makes it clear that if

37we are the ones continually confessing our sins, we give evidence of being the ones who are beingforgiven. God’s forgiven people are characterized by constant confession of sin. We must face sinas a reality all through our lives.Our inward depravity, our rebellion against the will of God, our bondage to besetting sin,our slowness of spiritual growth, our unlikeness to Christ should grieve us to the bone. How weneed a new awareness of and sensitiveness to sin! How we need to be awakened to the reality ofsin, to its presence and power!All of us can identify with young Augustine when he stated, “I want to stop sinning, but notjust yet.”But that is not the attitude of the mourner. The mourning that Jesus is speaking of is notthe sorrow for the consequences of sin, but for sin itself. A person may be deeply remorseful ofsome wrong he as done when its effects become apparent, but not discontinue his sinning. Or aperson may even give up some evil practice because he is fearful and afraid of the consequences.Judas sorrowed over the sin of his betrayal of the Lord, but primarily because of its evil effects(Matthew 28:1-8) Pete, on the other hand, mourned (“wept bitterly”—Luke 22:62) over his denialof Christ because the sin itself, and he never forgot it. Nor sorrow is as deep as that which comesto the person who has spurned the love of one who has loved that person deeply.WORLDLY SORROWThe quality of our mourning is to be tested by eh humility our minds. Sorrow due to injuredpride, threatened prestige thwarted possessiveness is worldly sorrow. Such sorrow is rooted inself-centeredness and thus does not please God.One of the greatest causes of worldly sorrow is guilt. Grief becomes our way of atoning forpast failures and sins. In the case of a loved one, we often see people purchasing the mostexpensive and elaborate caskets available burying their financial future in the grave of the deceasedin order to try to make up for their lack of love when that person was alive. Others continue tomourn endlessly to try to justify their past actions. I am reminded of a man who visited his wife’sgrave almost every day for months after her death, no matter what the weather was, as a way oftrying to atone for his failures as a husband and father. Prolonged mourning is not healthy:“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”(Proverbs 17:22)Worldly sorrow makes the wounds deeper and fills the heart with pain.The principal missing ingredient in worldly sorrow is repentance. Paul wrote to theCorinthian believers:

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret,but world sorrow brings death” (II Corinthians 7:10).38Worldly sorrow brings death because it lacks repentance. A person can cry his eyes outwithout ever receiving peace from God. It is because God requires repentance. When the SundaySchool teacher asked Johnny what repentance was, he replied: “Repentance means sorrow for sin.”“That’s right!” said the teacher. But then Mary spoke up: “Excuse me, but it means being sorryenough to quit!” repentance involves not only a change in feeling and thinking but also a change inacting. A person’s will and well as his mind and feelings are involved in true repentance.Paul warned a segment of the Corinthian church that he would come and discipline thosewho had not repented:“. . . I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want your to be,and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may bequarreling, jealously, outburst of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arroganceand disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble mebefore you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier andhave not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in whichthey have indulged” (II Corinthians 12:20-21).This group of believers caused Paul great anguish because of their lack of repentance.GODLY SORROWwrote:On the other hand it seems that the greater part of the church at Corinth did repent. Paul“Even if I cause you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I didregret it--I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while--yet nowI am happy, not because your were made sorry, but because your sorrow ledyou to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so werenot harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads tosalvation, and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what thisgodly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clearyourselves, what indignation what alarm, what longing, what concern, whatreadiness to see justice done” (II Corinthians 7:2-11).Godly sorrow does not mean self-reproach or condemnation. Such a sorrow is incurious tous. Paul told the Corinthians to quickly forgive, comfort, and restore the person who had beenguilty of sin “so that he would not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow” (II Corinthians 2:7)

39Paul tells them:“I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him . . . If you forgive anyone,I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive- -I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan mightnot outwit us” (II Corinthians 2:10-11).Excessive sorrow is dangerous because it gives an opening for Satan who is the accuser”(Revelations 12:10) to condemn us and immobilize us with false guilt.The test of grief is repentance. If it leads to repentance it is godly grief which must quicklyaccept God’s forgiveness, comfort and restoration. If is does not lead to repentance, no matterhow sad the person may be, it is worldly grief which leads to death because thee is no forgivenessfor such in and sorrow.JOBIt is a vision of God that gives us insight into ourselves. Only when we see God in Hisgreatness, majesty and holiness do we see ourselves for who we are—depraved sinners. Job hadsuch a transforming vision:“My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You.Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust an ashes” (Job 42:3,5-6).ISAIAHWhen we compare ourselves with others we take false comfort in our shoddy attempts tobe righteous, but when we compare ourselves with God it’s a different story. The prophet Isaiahhad such an experience:“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high andexalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs,each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two theycovered their feet, and with two they were flying. and they were calling to oneanother:‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty: the whole earth is full of His glory . . .‘Who is me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips,and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen theKing, the Lord almighty” (Isaiah 6:1-3,5).

40Whelan Isaiah saw a glimpse of Almighty God he anguished over his own sinfulness. Andbecause he mourned one of the seraphim was sent with a burning coal from the altar and touchedthe prophets lips and said:“See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”(Isaiah 6:7)Isaiah’s grief led to his forgiveness and joy.DAVIDThere is no healing apart from our mourning for our sins. True happiness is impossibleapart from deep grief. For mourning is God’s way of providing relief. The only thing harder thanrepenting is not repenting. David provides us with proof for he testified:“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My strength was sappedas in the heat of summer” (Psalm 32:3-4).David’s unconfessed sin was like an abscess that needs draining. Infection was spreadingthroughout his body. What a picture of a guilty conscience. But David did not continue in hisstubborn refusal to confess his sin:“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said,‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord—and You forgave the guilt of mysin” (Psalm 32:5).Confession brings forgiveness and relief to the psalmist.In Psalm 51 when David reflected on the same sin with Bathsheba, he said:“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; accordingto Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all myiniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions,and my sin is always before me” (Psalm 51:1-3).When David confessed his sin and mourned over it he was able once again to experiencethe joy of his salvation. In Psalm 32 David put it:“Blessed (happy) is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins arecovered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against himand in whose spirit is no deceit” (Matthew 5:1-2).

41DAVID BRAINERDGodly grief characterized the attitude of David Brainerd, the 18 th century missionary to theAmerican Indians. The following selection in his journal (October 18, 1740) was typical:“In my morning devotions my soul was exceedingly melted, and bitterly mournedover my exceeding sinfulness and vileness.” 4ROBERT MURRAY M’CHEYNEThe godly Scottish preacher Robert Murray McCheyne, earnestly sought after God’sholiness. His diary is filled with passages which show his constant grief over his sins. In preparinghis heart to preach one Saturday he wrote:“Is it the desire of my heart to be made altogether holy? Is there any sinI wish to retain? Is sin a grief to me the sudden risings and overcomingthereof especially? Lord, Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest thatI hate all sin and desire to be made altogether like Thee . . . Felt muchdeadness, and much grief that I cannot grieve for this deadness. Towardsevening revived. God a calm spirit through Psalmody and prayer.”A missing ingredient in Evangelical circles today!THE PROMISE; COMFORTWhy is mourning so essential to happiness? Because it brings the weak and sinning believerback to fellowship with God. It restores his soul. It opens the way for God to come into his lifewith gracious and forgiving power and make his life right. This is what it means to be comforted.“Comfort” comes from a Latin word which means “to bring strength together.” “Com” means“together with” and “fort” means “strength.” Therefore the word comfort means ”fortified.” theconfessing and mourning Christian will be enabled by God’s Holy spirit, the Comforter, “the onewho is called alongside of us,” to be restored to fellowship, to overcome temptation and conquersin.While the traditional picture of ”comfort” is a rocking chair, a warm fire and colortelevision, the Greek idea is of the lone traveler toiling up a hill under a heavy load who is helpedby someone who comes to his side, shares his load and helps him on his way.God’s comfort is no mere pat on the back, not simplistic cliche such as, “forget it, snapout of it.” It is God’s understanding heart and helping hand in the midst of hardship and difficultyand sin. And although this comfort can be experienced in this life it is a part of the futureconsummation when God will destroy sin an death and “wipe away all tears’ (Revelation 21:4).

42Our grief then can be a happy grief because it is followed by lasting comfort. God’scomfort is the assurance of strength and encouragement, of courage and hope. God treats not onlythe symptoms of our mourning, but its cause: sin. God’s comfort is His eternal commitment to thewelfare of those who mourn.God describes the disciple of His kingdom as one who realizes his own spiritual bankruptcyand who deeply grieves over his own sin. The disciple of the kingdom is serious but no morose. Heis a sorrowful person, but he is not a solemn person. He is sober-minded but he is not sullen. Jesussays that happy are the persons who mourn because their hearts are tender and broken. Theymourn over their own miserable condition and that of the world in which they live. These personswill really know what genuine comfort is.When was the last time you deeply mourned over your own personal sin? When did youlast shed tears over your own hardness of heart?“Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:54).

43CHAPTER 3 THE HAPPINESS OF THE MEEK

I. INTRODUCTIONA. TWO PHILOSOPHIES44THE HAPPINESS OF THE MEEKMatthew 5:51. Survival of the fittest2. Self-RenunciationII. A QUALITY TO BE SOUGHTA. SOCRATES: WISDOMB. GREEKS: WISDOM, COURAGE, TEMPERANCE, JUSTICEIII. MEANINGA. CONTROLLED ANGERB. POWER UNDER CONTROLC. HUMILITYD. SOOTHING MEDICINEE. GENTLE BREEZEIV. THE EXAMPLE: THE MEEKEST PERSONV. THE PROMISE: “INHERIT THE EARTH”

45To a world intoxicated with the importance of power, prestige, status, where people aretaught to shove and push and scream and grab to get ahead in life Jesus says:“Happy are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).Conquest of the earth is to be given to the meek, of all people, according to Jesus. Howcontradictory to the world’s, often the church’s philosophy! For we tend to think of strength andpower, of ability, cleverness, talent, assertiveness, aggressiveness as the way to get to the top ofthe totem pole.Instead of trying to attain the good life by our ingenious efforts, Jesus calls us to meekness.Rather than zealously scrambling for success by elbowing each other out of the way and knockingthe other person down, Jesus tells us that success comes through meekness. Rather than climbingover each other to obtain power, Jesus tells us that power belongs to the meek. He must bekidding!It is difficult for a people who live and move and have our being in an atmosphere oftremendous mechanical power and technological sophistication to appreciate meekness. For wemeasure our machines by their horsepower, our people by their financial power, our nations bytheir military power. POWER is the name of the game!To get ahead in today’s competitive world we feel we must toot our own horn, wave ourown flag and promote our own goals. The Athenian statesman, Pericles, describe the situationaccurately when he said, “fish in the sea . . . as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones.”“To the victors belong the spoils” is still the political maxim we believe in. God is on the side of thearmy that has the greatest artillery. Victory belongs to the enterprising, ambitious, clever, harddriving,forceful—but hardly meek.This attitude was also prominent in Jesus’ day. The disenfranchised Jews who were livingunder the power of the pagan Romans were aching to see the coming of their Messiah whom theybelieved would come in power, glory and splendor to free them from the heavy yoke of theRomans by displaying military power and setting up a materialistic kingdom on earth. And so asthey looked for the Messiah they were thinking in terms of Military conquest and fighting. Quicklythey found out that that was not the kind of Messiah that Jesus was, nor the kind of kingdom thatHe brought. This is why when Pilate was trying to figure out what kind of a king does not have anearthly kingdom, throne or crown Jesus replied:“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent Myarrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).Jesus was not about to pull off a military coup and overthrow Rome. That was not Hispurpose in coming. If he had wanted to, He could have called legions of angels (one angel slew185,00 Assyrians—II Kings 19:35). Can you image what Jesus could do with a legion of angels?

46THE TWO PHILOSOPHIESThere are really only two philosophies of life. The atheistic philosopher Nietzsche summedup the one when he stated:“Assert yourself. Care for nothing except for yourself. The only vice is weakness,and the only virtue is strength. Be strong, be a superman. The world is yours ifyou can get it.”This is the cult of the survival of the fittest. It is the cult of self-confidence and selfexpression.In Nietzsche this philosophy is ruthless. In others it is refined; but its end is the same:the way to life is to look after yourself. This is true whether it is by ruthless self-assertion or byrefined self-culture.Jesus on the other hand, says that the way to find life and to enjoy it is through surrender.We must lose life to find it. Self-realization and fulfillment comes through self-renunciation.How fiercely we contend for our rights! We are heirs to th Anglo-Saxon self-assertivenesswhich demand a Bill of rights. We are descendants of the earthly pioneers whose very aggressivenessmade a garden out of a wilderness. We have come to believe that if we are going to getanywhere in this world we will have to push our way there and so we have little understanding andless appreciation for this quality called “meekness” (I Timothy 6:11).Peter counseled the Women of this day:“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hairand the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should bethat of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gently (meek) and quietspirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (I Peter 3:3-4).Husbands, says Peter, will be attracted to Jesus more by meekness than by talk or outwardbeauty. Therefore, meekness is of “great worth in God’s sight.”MEANINGWhen we think of meekness we think of certain analogies. We say, “He is as meek as amouse.” This expression conjures up for us the thought of a shy, frightened person who is alwayshiding, trying to get out to our way and usually succeeds in getting under our feet. Meekness isabout as attractive to us as mice.Meekness is caricature in comic strips like Casper Milquetoast who is afraid of his ownshadow.

47Another expression is, “He is meek as a lamb.” although lambs are lovable, they are alsorather stupid and helpless and we don’t like to known for that.CONTROLLED ANGERJesus is not saying, “Happy are the weak for they shall be doormats.” Meekness is notweakness, being soft, spineless, timid, ineffective, cowardly, helpless. The word “meek” (praus)was one of the great ethical words in Greece. Aristotle has a great deal to say about the quality ofmeekness. He defined every virtue as the means between two extremes. There is the extreme ofsuccess and extreme of defeat and in between there is the mean. We today would call it the happymedium. For instance, there is the extreme of the miser and extreme of the spendthrift and inbetween there is the generous man. Aristotle says that quality which this word describes is thehappy medium between too much anger and too little anger. “In your anger do not sin”. ..(Ephesians 4:26a) said Paul. Anger is a great gift from god. Like strong medicine, if it is used inthe right way it can be a blessing. As someone said, “Temper is such a wonderful thing, it is ashame to lose it!” Solomon put it:“Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper thanone who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32).Aristotle then describes the meek person as one who is angry in the right way for the rightreason against the right people and at the right time. While it is wrong to be angry because of aninsult or injury to ourselves, it is right and proper to be angry in injustice and abuse when leveled atsomeone else. Selfish anger is always a sin but selfless anger (righteous indignation) can be one ofthe great moral dynamics of the world.Peter tells about Jesus’ reaction to His own suffering and humiliation:“When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered,He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judgesjustly” (I Peter 2:23).No display of anger, no threats when He Himself was the object of abuse, but when themoney changers in the temple desecrated His Father’s house of prayer He became filled with angerand drove them out of the temple with a whip Meekness is anger always constructively directedand in keeping with the will of God. A meek person will not defend himself but he will lay his lifeon the line to defend someone else or God. Although Jesus did not defend Himself He did blast thehypocrites who were so secure in their own self-righteousness. Jesus also condemnedfalse teachers and fearlessly hurled divine judgment upon people who had decided once-and-for-allto oppose the things of God. Meekness is anger directed toward falsehood, deception, andinjustice.

48Abraham Lincoln was rather uncouth in appearance and manner. He had a War Secretarycalled Stanton who was the aristocrat of the aristocrats who did not like Lincoln at all. There wasan expedition which had gone to Africa to catch a gorilla and bring it back alive. Stantoncommented, “You didn’t need to bother going beyond Springfield, Illinois, to get a gorilla.” A littlelate someone reported to Lincoln that Stanton had just called him a “fool.” President Lincolnreplied, “Ah, I must go and see him at once because Stanton is usually right.” Lincoln was notangry at all.A meek person, then, is a nondefensive person. He is nondefensive because he knows hisown corrupt nature, that he doesn’t deserve anything anyway. As John Bunyan put it, “He who isalready down cannot fall.”While many of us call ourselves “miserable sinners” in our time of confession in church wetend to resent having anyone else call us that. It’s one thing for us to say it; it’s harder to havesomeone else say it. But a meek person is one who not only says it sincerely himself but whoaccepts it from someone else without defenseBut when Abraham Lincoln was in New Orleans and saw a slave girl put up for auction hebecame enraged. As Lincoln observed her as she was prodded, stared at, evaluated as if she were abeast his eyes blazed and he said, “If I get the chance, I’m going to hit that plague and I’m going tohit it hard.” Selfless anger that is essential for a moral and just world!.POWER UNDER CONTROLA second way the Greeks defined the word “meek” was in reference to the taming ofanimals. It is the picture of a wild, ferocious animal which all of a sudden becomes tamed, brokenand domesticated, which has been trained to obey the word of command and which has learned toanswer to the reins. It is the word for an animal which has learned to accept control. The idea hereis power under control. Jesus is saying that the person whose instincts, impulses, passions areunder control are the truly happy people. And self-control is not enough because such control isbeyond human capacity. Rather this refers to the happiness of the person who is God-controlled--filled, intoxicated, controlled by the Spirit of God.This is the picture of the person who has the power to totally devastate another personthrough physical strength, intellectual superiority, oratorical ability. In the physical realm it is thetwo hundred and fifty pound football player who is being bothered by the ninety pound weaklingbut who refuses to stomp the fellow on the ground.The meek person, says Paul, handles disagreement with gentleness and courtesy:

49“And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone,able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently (meekly)instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to aknowledge of the truth . . .”Poet Oliver Goldsmith said of the great literary genus Samuel Johnson:“There is no arguing with Johnson for if his pistol misses fire, he knocks you downwith the butt end of it!”1Some people use canons to shoot mosquitoes. The meek person is slow to take offense andreduces his opponents by his mild, gentle, considerate attitude and manners.This word came to refer to the upper classes of people because they were well-mannered,balanced, polite. The word “gentle” captures the idea. Gentleness is the opposite of awkwardnessor rudeness. To be meek means to be loving, courteous, considerate, well-behaved. The meekperson displays tact and gracious courtesy that helps others to retain their dignity and self-esteem.To be meek means to be a gentleman or a lady.HUMILITYThe third usage of this word was in contrasting it with another word (hupselokardia)which means “lofty-heartedness.” In meekness there is the true humility which banishes all pride.Without humility a person cannot learn for the first step to learning is the realization of ourown ignorance. Quintilan, the great Roman teacher of oratory, said concerning certain of hisstudents, “They would no doubt be excellent students, if they were not already convinced of theirown knowledge.” No one can tech the person who knows it all.We have quit learning if we do not feel a little more ignorant every day. You juniors andseniors in college, have you noticed how little you know now compared to when you were asophomore and especially a freshman?During one camp meeting when God’s people were filled with praise to God, a young manarose and began to testify and got so excited he leaped in the air. He thanked God that he had noeducation and that he was ignorant and glad of that. An old white-haired saint with a beautifulsmile on his face said, “Young man, you have lots to be thankful for.”Humility—the realizations of our ignorance and the willingness to learn—is the first step ineducation not only in educational institutions but in the school of life.

Without humility there can be no Christianity, for Christianity begins with a sense of therealization of our own weakness and our need for God. That is why Jesus began his beatitudeswith, “Happy are the poor in spirit.”50SOOTHING MEDICINEThe word “meekness” was also used in Jesus’ day to refer to soothing medicine. Thepicture is that of a patient wrestling with a high fever and the doctor gives him medication torelieve the burning fever which quiets him down and enables him to sleep and get some rest. Themeek person is one whose presence and words and actions bring soothing relief to troubled andburdened people. The meek person gives a soft answer to a rough question and thus helps preserveunity among God’s people.GENTLE BREEZEThe fifth Greek usage of the word was by sailors in referring to a gentle breeze. Thepicture is that of extreme heat when suddenly a cool breeze blows upon a person’s body to bringrelief. Few thing are more refreshing. While a gentle breeze cools and soothes, a hurricane kills.Meekness is just the right amount of wind.YIELDED AND TRUSTINGWhile all the other Beatitudes are original with Jesus this third one is not. Jesus borrowedthe Beatitude from David. In the Old Testament the word “meek” is used to describe men andwomen who humbly depend on God. Often these people are in great difficulty and have no one butGod to turn to. Many times the word for “meek” is translated “afflicted or oppressed.” The meekare those who depend on God in the midst of bitter circumstances when the wicked seem totriumph—“Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne” as James Russell Lowellphrased it. This is the picture we turn to Psalm 37.“But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.”But who are the meek who inherit the land?” David says those who:“Do not fret because of evil men . . .”(are not) envious of those who do wrong . . .”“Trust in the Lord and do good . . .”“Delight . . . in the Lord”“Commit (their) way to the Lord . . .”The meek are also referred to as “the poor and needy” those “whose ways are upright”who are righteous “just,” “faithful,” “blameless.”

51The meek person is one who has committed or yielded himself to God, who trusts andhopes in the Lord, who obeys Him and finds his delight in him. The godless may boast and throwtheir weight around, but in the end, says God they will be destroyed and it is the meek who will“possess” the earth.The meek person humbly accepts the guidance and protection of God and never growsresentful and bitter about anything which life may bring to him for he is confident that God’s waysis always best and that God is always working all things together for good.THE MEEKEST MANThe Bible states that Moses was “more humble” or “meek” than anyone else of his time:“Now Moses was very humble (meek) man, more humble (meek) than anyoneelse on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3).How can Moses be called the meekest person of his time when in fact he displayed greatanger on many occasions” In the heat of anger he murdered an Egyptian who was murdering afellow Israelite as he started out his ministry. What a way to start! No wonder God sent him to thedesert to work with sheep for forty years. In his frustrations with his people, the Israelites, hesmote a rock when he was supposed to speak to it. As a result God did not allow him to lead hispeople into the Promised Land, although he was given a glimpse of it. In light of such fact, howcould God say that Moses was humble, meek?The context provides the clearest answer. When Moses had fled from Egypt forty yearsbefore God used him to deliver His people from the Egyptians he had traveled to Midian where hehad settled and married Zipporah, the daughter of Reuel, a priest of Midian. Zipporah belonged tothe same stock as the other Israelites and had borne children to Moses. But by the time of thisstory in Numbers 12 she had died and Moses married a Cushite woman, a name given to thepeople of ancient Ethiopia. Therefore a Cushite woman was a black person. Moses Married thisblack woman who was not a Semite.It should be pointed out that there was nothing wrong with Moses marring a black womanat this point—later on there were some legislations against marring outside of Israel—but therewas nothing wrong with it at the time Moses married this woman. However, Miriam, his sister andhis brother Aaron became enraged. They felt that the stock of Israel was being compromised by themixed marriage.Mixed marriage was not new. Joseph had married an Egyptian girl, Asenath, the daughterof an Egyptian priest. And many persons of other oppressed nations had left Egypt with Israel atthe Exodus and were incorporated into the newly emerging nation. It was one of these that Mosesmarried and Miriam and Aaron rebelled:

“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife,for he had married a Cushite. ‘Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?They asked. ‘Hasn’t He also spoken through us? And the Lord heart this.”(Numbers 12:1-2)52God immediately rebuked Miriam and Aaron for criticizing Moses’ marriage. Here is aclear passage which rebukes all racial pride. The Bible states that “The anger of the Lord burnedagainst them and He left them.” God hates pride whether it is in the form of race, face (beauty) orgrace (religion).Then because Miriam opposed a black-white marriage, God struck her with leprosy. It is asif God were saying “Miriam, you think white is better than black. Since you are brown I’ll give youmore of the white: here’s leprosy.” so Miriam became a leper to teach her and the rest of us thatthere is no room for racial prejudice.What was Moses’ response during this incident? He did not complain. He did not defendhimself. He did not fight back. He submitted himself to God. He trusted God and was vindicated.He rested in God’s judgment and was submissive to Him. This is why Moses was called “meek.” aswe come to the end of the story we find that Moses prayed for Miriam and she wad healed.Here we see Moses exemplifying the same characteristics as the One who said:“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. TakeMy yoke upon you and learn form Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble inheart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burdenis light” (Matthew 11:28-30).THE PROMISEThe meek, says Jesus, will “inherit the earth.” But what does the promise mean? Themetaphor “inherit” goes back to the division of the land of Palestine among the tribes of Israel. Theterm was soon spiritualized to mean any blessing of God. It is obvious that in Psalm 37 “to inheritthe land” meant “the ultimate triumph of the meek over the wicked.” the idea is that the meek shallhave their full share of God’s blessings.In our world we firmly believe that the man who gets on in the world is the aggressor, theman who pushes himself and is able to ride roughshod over other people to his own advantage. Itis the man who grabs, the man who knows how to deal in real estate, the shrewd and the sharp—they inherit the earth. They hassle about every piece of property and refuse to give in to anybody.They drive hard bargains and despite their ulcers, parcel out the pieces between them. But in theend what do they get” After death, what is theirs then” Real estate, property and homes pass on tosomeone else. 2

53The go-getter often gets, but rarely enjoys. Often rich people spend most of their livesmaking the money and then spend the rest of the time protecting it. As one rich personcommented, “most of my life was spent in the office making money and the rest was spent in thecourts trying to keep other people from taking it away.”St. Augustine wisely warned,“Do you wish to possess the earth? Beware you are not possessed by it!”In Charles Rahn Kennedy’s drama, “The Terrible Meek,” the Roman Centurion points outthe flow that eventually destroyed his empire:“We go on building our kingdoms—the kingdoms of this world. We stretchout our hands, greedy, grasping, tyrannical, to possess the earth. Domination,power, glory, money, merchandise, luxury, these are the things we aim at; butwhat we really gain is pest and famine . . . dead and death-breathing ghosts thathaunt our lives forever . . . Possess the earth! We have lost it. We never did possessit. We have lost both earth and ourselves in trying to possess it.” 3Standing in the shadow of the cross, the centurion utters the prophecy of this Beatitude:“I tell you, woman, this dead son of yours, disfigured, shamed, spat upon had builta kingdom this day that can never die. The living glory of Him rules it. The earthis His and He made it . . . Something has happened up here on this hill today toshake all our kingdoms of blood and fear to the dust . . . The meek, the terriblemeek, the fierce agonizing meek, are about to enter into their inheritance.” 4Only the meek man is content for his ego is not so inflated that he thinks he must alwayshave more. In Christ he already sees himself “possessing everything” (II Corinthians 6:10 ;I Corinthians 3:21-23). With this eternal perspective in view he can afford to relax in God andreceive what He has for him. Then one day he will come into the fullness of his inheritance, whenhe will find this Beatitude fulfilled literallyIt is the meek, the humble, the God-controlled who will receive what God has promised:the earth. It is a gift. It is not seized. The gift of inheritance comes to the heirs of God, to thosewho know how to live in humility and patience.meek.When the Kingdom of God descends, the earth will be renewed, and it will belong to theMeekness then, is not weakness. It implies rather power and strength held in check, understrong control.

54In this Beatitude, Jesus once again challenged and cut across the accepted standards of theworld of His day and ours. The world is yours if you can get it.” Jesus rejected this and said, “Theworld is yours if you renounce it! It is the meek, not the aggressive, who inherit the earth.”Napoleon confessed:“Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself have founded empires. But uponwhat did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force, and they have crumbledinto dust. Jesus Christ alone founded His empire upon love, and at this momentmillions of men would die for Him.” 5Meekness is the attitude that does not demand its own rights, and on having its own way.The meek person will yield to no one where a point of principle is involved, but he will be strongenough to give way when a matter of purely personal advantage is at stake. The exercise ofChristian meekness would end a lot of church squabbles!“The meek, among a pushy, grabby people, absorb hurt rather that mete it out.”If injured the meek person will seek no revenge; if insulted, he will not threaten; if abused,he will not strike back; if treated unjustly, he will not retaliate. He does not insist on his own rightsbut has decided to leave his rights with God alone. He is always a gentleman.As someone put it, “The grace of meekness is a rare exotic flower, foreign to the smoggy,sooty world in which we live.”The meek man is not a human mouse inflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather hemay be as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson in his moral life; but h has sloped being fooledabout himself. He has accepted God’s estimate of his own life. He knows he is a weak and helplessas God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sightof God of more importance than angels. In himself, nothing; in God, everything. That is his motto.

55CHAPTER 4 THE HAPPINESS OF THE STARVING SOUL

56THE HAPPINESS OF THE STARVING SOULMatthew 5:6I. INTRODUCTIONII. CREATED WITH SPIRITUAL LONGINGA. SUBSTITUTESIII. THE MEANING OF RIGHTEOUSNESSA. LEGAL RIGHTEOUSNESSB. MORAL RIGHTEOUSNESSC. SOCIAL RIGHTEOUSNESSD. ETERNAL RIGHTEOUSNESSIV. THE KIND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BE SOUGHTV. HOW TO DISCOVER GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESSA. HUNGER AS A STARVING PERSONB. THIRST AS A PERSON DYING FROM LACK OF WATERVI. GOD’S PROMISEA. FILLEDB. SATISFIED

“The ill of all ills is the lack of desire.” 157--FaberThe devil had a great anniversary at which his emissaries were convened t report the resultsof their several missions.“I let loose the wild beasts of the desert,” said one, “on a caravan of Christians; and theirbones are now bleaching on the sands.” “What of that?” said the devil. “Their souls sere saved.”“I drove the east wind,” said another demon, “against a ship freighted with Christians, andthey all drowned.” “What of that? said Satan. “There souls were saved.”“For ten years I tried to get a person to be at ease about his soul, and at last I succeeded,and he is ours,” said another demon. Then the devil shouted and the night stars of hell sang for joy(From a sermon preached by Martin Luther).Spiritual sloth, indifference, has done much to populate hell as many of the more “serious”sins we speak about. As Faber put it, “The ill of all ills is the lack of desire.” And this lack of desirenot only keeps us from entering the kingdom of heaven, but it also keeps us from experiencing theriches of the kingdom, from being effective servants in the work of the kingdomTo a world that says, “Happy is the person who is able to make a lot of money, who hasmany friends, who enjoys statues and prestige, whose health is good for he is satisfied” Jesus says,“Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”(Matthew 5:6)St. Augustine spoke of this hunger when he wrote, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, OGod, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” C. S. Lewis reasoned, “If I findin myself a desire which no experiences in the world can satisfy, the most probable explanation isthat I was made for another world.” 2 We find this fourth Beatitude God’s answer to man’s longing.It is not enough that a person recognizes his own spiritual bankruptcy, that he has no claimupon God. It is not enough that he mourns as a person mourns the death of someone for the sinand the sorrow and the suffering of the world and for his own sin. It is not enough that a person ismeek, having a humble attitude toward God and a gentle spirit toward others. To enter and workeffectively in the kingdom of heaven a person must have an insatiable desire for spiritual things—he must hunger and thirst after righteousness.

58CREATED WITH SPIRITUAL LONGINGWe all hunger for something. We were created with spiritual longing. The Bible states thatGod has set “eternity” in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). There is a God-shaped vacuum in all of usthat only God can fill (Pascal). Just as it is normal for the deer to thirst after the water brooks(Psalm 42:1,2), so it is natural for man to thirst after God for God made man for fellowship withHimself. The problem is that he often does not know that his thirst is for God. And so he tries tosatisfy that thirst with a substituted that leaves him even thirstier.The prodigal son hungered for excitement and pleasure and found them in the far country.But they did not last and so he found himself hungry again. He was so hungry that he begged forleft-over food from his father’s hired men (Luke 15:17). Until the time the famine hit him, theprodigal would have settled for nothing less than the finest luxuries the far country had to offer,but now that he was starving even just leftovers would have satisfied him.John warns us that our spiritual appetites can never be satisfied by the world—“thecravings of sinful man (the lust of the flesh), the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what he hasand does” (the pride of life) (I John 2:16). All of these things are passing away.Yet most people seek happiness itself. Everybody wants to be happy. Everything in thisworld is designed for happiness. And happiness is most often sought through things such as fortuneand fame, power and pleasure, status and success. But the Bible is clear: happiness comes onlythrough righteousness. Happiness is a byproduct of seeking God and His righteousness. If we seekhappiness we receive neither happiness nor righteousness, but if we seek righteousness, we receiveboth.MEANING OF RIGHTEOUSNESSBut what does Jesus mean by righteousness? It certainly was not a legalistic definition ofrighteousness that Jesus had in mind. He was not suggesting that His followers should set up achecklist of “do’s and don’ts” in order to please God.In the Old Testament the righteous were not those who always did right and never didwrong; rather, they were those people who took their relationship to God seriously and attemptedto live out the implications of that relationship in love, loyalty and obedience.Biblical righteousness has at least four dimensions: legal, moral, social and eternal.LEGAL RIGHTEOUSNESSThe legal dimension to God’s righteousness is usually referred to as justification. TheBible states: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with Godthrough our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). By receiving Jesus Christ into our lives by faith in

59His atoning death we become righteous or just in God’s eyes. Justification, therefore, has to dowith a right relationship with God. We have “peace with God.” We are acquitted. It is a legal termwhich means that we stand before God as though we have never sinned. We are no longer rebelsfor we have been brought into a relationship of peace and love with God Almighty.The prophet Isaiah repeatedly equates righteousness with salvation (Isaiah 45:8; 46:12-13;51:5; 56:1; 61:10). The word “salvation” therefore could be substituted for the word“righteousness” in this Beatitude: “Happy are those who hunger and thirst for salvation, for theywill be filled.” The person who gives up all hope of saving himself, of becoming righteous throughhis own moral and religious efforts and hungers and thirst for a salvation that he can only receiveas a gift from the merciful hand of God is promised happiness.MORAL RIGHTEOUSNESSA second aspect of biblical righteousness is moral righteousness which is usually identifiedas sanctification. Not only must we hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness in order to enter thekingdom of heaven, but we must also yearn for His righteousness in order to grow and developinto mature and effective workers in the kingdom.The same hunger and thirst, the same desperation that we experienced at the time weentered into the kingdom of heaven, must also characterize our lives. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones putsit:“There are large numbers of people in the Christian Church who seem to spend thewhole of their life seeking something which they never find, seeking for some kindof happiness and blessedness. They go around from meeting to meeting, andconvention to convention, always hoping they are going to get this wonderful thing,this experience that is going to fill them with joy, and flood them with some ecstasy.They see that other people have had it, but they themselves do not seem to get it . . .Now that is not surprising. We are not meant to hunger and thirst after blessedness.If we want to be truly happy and blessed we must hunger and thirst after righteousness.We must not put blessedness or happiness or experience in the first place.” 3The object of our searching must always be God and His righteousness. This is God’smethod for experiencing His sanctifying grace: “But seek first His kingdom and righteousness,and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).At the point that we were born again we entered into God’s kingdom and became membersof His family. That was legal righteousness. And it was a one-time decision. Moral righteousness,however, is a continuous, on-going process. Therefore we can never look back at a point in timeand say that we “were sanctified.” Although we may and should have had an experience, a crisis,where we unreservedly and totally turned our lives over to the work of the Holy Spirit, such an

60experience is not final. Sanctification is never of the Holy Spirit, such an experience is not final.Sanctification is never an accomplished fact. In addition to the crisis there should be crises. Wenever graduate on this side of eternity in the school of sanctification. Paul, the apostle, testified:“Not that I have already obtained all this [that is, knowing Christ and thepower of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings”], orhave already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for whichChrist Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to havetaken hold of it” (Philippians 3:12-13).Because Paul had not reached perfection he vowed:“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwardin Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).Then Paul explains what Christian maturity is: “All of us who are mature should take such aview of things” (Philippians 3:15a). In other words, Paul identifies maturity as the realization thatwe have not reached perfection in the Christian life, we have not been sanctified. The quest forrighteousness, therefore, is not a settled gain but a continuous pilgrimage. At no time can we say,“We have arrived; we are completely righteous.”God’s sanctifying work—His work within us to make us more holy—is a life-long process.The issue is not whether we have been sanctified but whether we are being sanctified. We cannever rest on our spiritual laurels. We are in the process of “becoming.” We are “becomers.”Moral righteousness, sanctification, has to do with righteousness of character and conduct.Following this Beatitude Jesus contrasts His righteousness with pharisaic righteousness. He pointsout to His followers:“For I tell you that unless hour righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees andthe teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”(Matthew 5:20)Pharisaic righteousness was primarily made up of external conformity to rules andregulations. It was legalistic, meticulous observance of the traditions of the elders—the religiousestablishment. Biblical righteousness on the other hand is a matter of an inner righteousness ofheart. The righteousness we are to yearn for is right attitudes, motive, thoughts words andconduct.

61Negatively sanctification means “turning from sin, turning from the things that displeaseGod.” The closer we get to the light of God’s holiness the more sensitive we become to the dirt ofour own lives. As we grow in moral righteousness we increasingly get rid of those attitudes,thoughts, words and actions which are not pleasing to the Lord and which do not contribute to ourgrowth.Positively sanctification means our growth in increasing likeness to Jesus Christ.Sanctification has to do with the increasing manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit (“love, joy,peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”—Galatians 5:22) inour daily lives—in our relationships with our mates, children, parents, friends; on the job; in theclassroom; on the freeway.Moral righteousness means that we are increasingly hungering and thirsting for a closer andmore intimate relationship with God Himself whereby His own character becomes more visible inour own lives as He lives His life through us by His Holy Spirit.SOCIAL RIGHTEOUSNESSA third dimension of biblical righteousness is social righteousness. Righteousness is notlimited to a personal, moral righteousness of character and conduct; it includes a socialrighteousness of fairness and justice. Righteousness is not only private but corporate. All of societyand culture is at stake. The Old Testament prophets thundered the message of liberation fromoppression and prejudice. Their message was one of promoting “civil rights, justice in the lawcourts, integrity in business dealing and honor in home and family affairs.4 The structures ofsociety therefore, must be changed if they promote injustice. The laws of the land need to bechanged if they deny people civil rights, if they encourage crime. Christians are called upon to beinvolved in every sphere of society. As Luther characteristically put it:“The command to you is not to crawl into a corner or into the desert, but to run’out, if that is where you have been, and to offer your hands and feet and yourwhole body, and to wager everything you have and can do.” 5Luther continues by pointing out that what is required is:“A hunger and thirst for righteousness that can never be curbed or stopped or sated,one that looks for nothing and cares for nothing except the accomplishment andmaintenance of the right, despising everything that hinders this end.” 6Anticipating the usual Christian objection, “This world is so corrupt, what’s the use.Politics is too corrupts a profession for Christians to be involved in “ Luther answered, “ If youcannot make the world completely pious, then do what you can.” 7

62ETERNAL RIGHTEOUSNESSThe fourth aspect of biblical righteousness is eternal righteousness which is usuallyreferred to as glorification. In this life our hunger and thirst after God’s righteousness will not betotally satisfied. While we receive a deep satisfaction and fulfillment that the Beatitude promises,we do not experience that promise in its fullness. “At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” saysPaul, “. . . God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through . . . your wholespirit, soul and body (will ) be kept blameless” says Paul (I Thessalonians 5:23). At the coming ofJesus our bodies will be redeemed, even creation itself will be redeemed (Romans 8:19-23). Thenwe enter into eternal righteousness where we are totally covered with the righteousness of God.When we become legally righteous—justified—we are saved or freed from the guilt of sin.When we are becoming morally righteous—are being sanctified—we are being saved from thepower of sin. When Jesus comes back again, when we become eternally righteous—glorified—wewill be saved from the very presence of sin. No wonder we will be eternally happy in heaven! Forthen there will be a “new heaven and an new earth, the home of righteousness” (II Peter 3:13).TOTAL RIGHTEOUSNESSIn this passage Jesus also makes plain that we are not to merely seek righteousness buttotal righteousness. In referring to righteousness instead of the normal Greek usage of thegenitive case, the writer uses the accusative case which points to the fact that we are to hunger andthirst for all of God’s righteousness. The reason for this grammatical usage is that normally wehunger and thirst for part of some supply of food or drink. When hungry we usually want just partof a loaf and not the entire loaf and when thirsty we want some water but not the whole pitcher ofwater. But when it comes to righteousness, we are not to settle for partial or imperfectrighteousness; we are to crave the whole thing—all of God’s righteousness.Most of us want just enough righteousness to make us respectable. Our self-esteemdemands that. We don’t want to be bad people but neither do we want to be saints. We just wantto be good, upright citizens respected by everyone. But we do not want to have anything to dowith fanaticism. C. S. Lewis confessed:“When I was a child I often had toothache, and I knew that if I went to mymother she would give me something which would deaden the pain forthat night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go the my mother—at least,not till the pain became very bad. And the reason I did not go was this. I didnot doubt she would give me the aspirin; but I knew she would also dosomething else. I knew she would take me to the dentist the next morning.I could not get what I wanted out of her without getting something more,which I did not want. I wanted immediate relief from the pain: but I couldnot get it without having my teeth set permanently right. And I know those

dentists: I knew they started fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth whichhad not yet begun to ache. They would not let sleeping dogs lie; if you gavethem an inch they took an eel.Now, if I may put it that way, Our Lord is like the dentists. If you give Himan inch, He will take an eel. Dozens of people go to Him to be cured of oneparticular sin which they are ashamed of (like masturbation or physicalcowardice) or which is obviously spoiling daily life (like bad temper ordrunkenness). Well, He will cure it all right; but He will not stop there. Thatmay be all you asked; but if once you call Him, He will give you the fulltreatment.” 863C. S. Lewis illustrates this same truth with another parable:“. . . imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house.At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting thedrains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that thosejobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he startsknocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seemto make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is buildingquite a different house from the one you thought of –throwing out a newwing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards.You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He isbuilding a palace. He intends to come an live in it Himself.” 9In this Beatitude Jesus is saying that we are to yearn to come not merely a “decent littlecottage” for God to dwell in but a “palace.” We must crave all that God intends for us. Nothingless will do.HOW TO DISCOVER GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESSJesus’ promise for satisfaction hinges on hungering and thirsting. But our experiencethreatens to dull the force of Jesus’ statement, “Happy are those who hunger and thirst afterrighteousness.” For most, if not all of us, the hunger and thirst Jesus is talking about is somethingwe find it very difficult to relate to. Most of us know pangs of prolonged hunger only when wedecide to lose some weight. And then food is always available if the pain were to get too intense.When you are hungry all you can think about is food.Jesus’ hearers on the mountainside could feel the urgency of His words. Hunger and thirstare primary experiences of longing, basic appetites that these followers knew all about. In Jesus’day people often experienced hunger and thirst. More than once they had worked from dawn todusk under the Galilean sun with only a few drops of water to keep them cool and refreshed. Many

64times they had experienced drought where their wheat shriveled and their supply of bread shrank tonothing. Groaning bellies and burning throat were not something they had watched on televisionfrom the comfort of their rocking chairs in the living room. In a desert country where the sun wasscorching and sand and wind storms were frequent thirst and often hunger was man’s constantcompanion. It was to such a world that Jesus spoke about hungering and thirsting. To such a worldhungering meant the hungering of a starving person, and thirsting, that of a person who would diewithout water.Jesus is here then confronting His followers with the issue of how much they really wantGod’s righteousness. Do they want it as much as a starving person wants food or a person dyingbecause of intense thirst wants water? Only when they want it that much, only when they are thatdesperate, will they be filled.The significance of water in the Bible is seen in the following account which deals with partof the British liberation of Palestine in WW I as described by Major V. Gilbert in his book, TheLast Crusade:Driving up from Beersheba, a combined force of British, Australians, andNew Zealanders were pressing on the rear of the Turkish retreat over arid desert.The attack out-distanced its water-carrying camel train. Water bottles were empty.The sun blazed pitilessly out of a sky where the vultures wheeled expectantly.Our heads ached,” writes Gilbert, “and our eyes became bloodshot and dim in theblinding glare . . . Our tongues began to swell . . . our lips turned to a purplish blackand burst. . .Those who dropped out of the column were never seen again, but thedesperate force battled on to Sheria. There were wells at Sheria, and had they beenunable to take the placed by nightfall, thousands were doomed to die of thirst. ”Wefought that day,” writes Gilbert, “as men fight for their lives. . . .We entered Sheriastation on the heels of the retreating Turks. The first objects which met our viewwere the great stone cisterns full of cold, clear, drinking water. In the still night airthe sound of water running into the tanks could be distinctly heard, maddening inits nearness; yet not a man murmured when orders were given for the battalions tofall in, two deep, facing the cisterns.The wounded would drink first, then those on guard duty, then company by company.It took 4 hours before th last man had his drink of water, and in all that time theyhad been standing 20 feet from a low stone wall, on the other side of which werethousands of gallons of water.‘I believe,’ Major Gilbert concludes, ‘that we all learned our first real Bible lessonon that march from Beersheba to Sheria wells.’ If such were our thirst from God,for righteousness, for His will in our lives, a consuming, preoccupying desire,how rich in the fruits of the spirit would we be.” 10

65There is a story of a young man who went to Gautama Buddha and asked to be shown thepath of true deliverance. Buddha led him down to a river. It was bathing time, and the seekerassumed he was to undergo the rite of purification. When they were some distance out in thestream, buddy suddenly grabbed the fellow and pushed his head under water, and held it there.Finally, in a last gasp the seeker wrenched himself loose and his head came up. Quietly Buddhaasked him, “When you thought you were drowning, what did you desire most?” “Air,” said theman. Then Buddha replied, “When you want salvation as much as you wanted air, then you will getit.”The kingdom, says Jesus, belongs to those who are insatiably hungry and unquenchablythirsty for it.THE PROMISEJesus’ promise to those who have an ardent craving, an intense yearning, a profound senseof need is that they will be filled:“Happy are those who hunger as a starving person hungers for food and thirstas a person dying for lack of water for they will be filled.”Luke puts it:“Happy are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied” (Luke 6:21).Then he adds a warning: “Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry”(Luke 6:25). Luke makes it plain here that the hungry and thirsty person here is the one.God’s promise is “filling” or “satisfaction.” The word “satisfied” as used by Luke wascommonly used in describing the feeding and flattening of cattle, since it is derived from the termfor “fodder” or “grass.” Here is a picture of contentment. People with intense spiritual longing willbe well-fed like hefty livestock. The word “filled” as used by Matthew describes the animal orperson who has eaten all that he can eat. The idea is that a person is “gorged” or “stuffed.” Nodegree of hunger is left. The verb is passive which indicates that it is God who fills such a person.CONTINUAL FILLING AND YEARNINGBut the filing and satisfaction is a continual thing. For the hungering and thirstingcontinues. In fact, it actually increases in the very act of being satisfied. The Christian life is amoment-by-moment way of life whereby we become increasingly hungry and thirsty to know Jesusmore dapple and intimately. The more we know Him the more we want to know Him.

66Bernard of Clairveaux expressed this continuous yearning in his hymn, “Jesus, Thou Joy ofLoving Hearts”:“We taste Thee, O Thou living Bread,And long to feast upon Thee still;We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead,And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.”God’s filling and satisfaction will only be complete when He, the Living Water(John 4:10,13-14) and the Bread of Life (John 6:35) comes back to take us to be with Himforever. For only then will we “know fully, even as (we) are fully known” (I Corinthians 13;12 ), only then “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2).Until that final day of His return we are to continue to intensely hunger and thirst for God’srighteousness. And the more we hunger and thirst the more we become filled and satisfied and themore we become filled and satisfied the more we hunger and thirst for more. We cannot haveenough of God. Our consuming ambition is to experience his righteousness.God has promised:“The poor and needy search for water, but there in none; their tongues are parchedwith thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel will not forsake them.”(Isaiah 41:17)Only a deep sense of spiritual poverty and destitution creates intense desire. God is eager tosatisfy the craving of a yearning heart. God wants to meet those who have a passion for Hisholiness. He invites those whose hunger is not appeased by a light snack and those whose thirst isnot quenched by a soft drink. God fills and satisfies those who hunger to the point of starvationand who thirst as a person dying for lack of water. For God to meet our need we must first feelthat need.Count Nikolaus Von Zinzendorf put it:“Let not conscience make you linger,Nor of fitness fondly dream;all the fitness He requiresIs to feel your need of HimGod gives to us His matchless grace,If only we believe;But not until we see our needWill we His love receive.”

67When the prodigal son was hungry he began to fee swine. It was only when he was finallystarving that he turned back to his father.To a smug and self-satisfying world Jesus says:“Happy are those who long for total righteousness as a starving person longs forfood and a person perishing of thirst longs for water, for that man will be well-fedand satisfied.”

68CHAPTER 5 THE HAPPINESS OF THE MERCIFUL

I. INTRODUCTION69THE HAPPINESS OF THE MERCIFULMatthew 5:7A. EXAMPLES OF CRUELTY & INSENSITIVITY1. People of Micah’s Time2. People of Jesus’ Time3. People of Our TimeII.MEANING OF MERCYA. PARDON1. Example2. Mercy & Grace3. SourceB. IDENTIFICATION1. Examplesa. The Good Samaritanb. Jacob Brightc. Old Testament Examplesd. Jesus ChristIII. THE PROMISEA. FORGIVENESSB. MERCY

70Over 700 years before Christ (740-720 B.C.) The prophet Micah spoke against the crueltyof Israel’s leaders:“Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’slight they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields andseize them, and housed, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowof his inheritance” (Matthew 2:1-2).The powerful people were stealing the homes and farms of the poor by charging exorbitantinterest and foreclosing when the poor people could not meet their payments. The powerful wereconstantly taking advantage of the powerless. They were totally indifferent to the needs of thepeople.No wonder God threatened judgment (Micah 3:9-12). In response to this threat the leadersasked the terms on which God would withhold judgment.“With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with then thousand rivers of oil?Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin ofmy soul” (Micah 6:6-7).In other words, “Shall I offer more religious service?” Then comes the reply:“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).Instead of oppression there must be justice, instead of proud rebellion there must be humbleobedience and instead of cruelty there must be mercy. “To love mercy” was essential to please andhonor God.The Roman world of Jesus’ day knew very little about mercy. Most of the Romanphilosophers said that mercy was “the disease of the soul.” a sign of weakness. While they gloriedin justice, courage, discipline and power, they looked down upon mercy. And so the world beforeand during the time of Jesus had known a lot of cruelty. In addition to the cruelty describe in vividdetail by the prophets there was the cruelty of the ancient military and social systems where themajority of the people were slaves, and these slaves were beaten, tortured, and killed without legalrecourse, children were abandoned and women exploited. Men were pushed to the limit in thebuilding projects where massive blocks of stone were pushed an dragged for the building oftemples, theaters, and aqueducts. Captives were auctioned as slaves, newborn babies, especiallygirls, were often drowned if the father so wished, children were maimed to make them moreprosperous beggars; young women were raped in the market place by enemy troops. It was againstthe dark backdrop of human degradation that Jesus proclaimed his fifth Beatitude:

71“Happy are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).But is our so-called “progressive, modern, civilized society” really so different?Just a few years ago Kitty Genovese was stabbed in New York city by a man who hadnever seen her before. Three times he returned to repeatedly stab her. It took 35 minutes to killher, at least 35 people watched from windows but not one tried to aid her, or call the police. Whenfinally one man did decide to call the police, he used someone else’s phone in case the call shouldbe trace. She died that night as more than 35 witnesses stare in silence.At 3:40 in the afternoon, an 18 year old switchboard operator in the Bronx was stripped ofher clothes, raped and stabbed by an intruder. She ran down the hall screaming while 40 personswatch as her assailant chased her down a flight of stairs and attempted to drag her upstairs again.Two passing policeman had to push through the crowd to help her.Even though these two crimes were committed in full view of witnesses there was greatdifficulty in getting testimony in court.No one wanted to get involved!Not long ago one of the nationally known picture magazines had a photograph of a manprostrate on a subway stairs from repeated stabbing in his stomach. For 30 minutes scores ofpeople passed him by without extending a helping hand. The editorial comment was about thecoldness of the modern man in the face of distress. What was forgotten was that the photographerof the magazine did nothing for 30 minutes for the inflicted individual except to snap pictures andmake his own living.Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.Have things really changed?To our own world that is probably more indifferent than cruel, to our own society whichsays, “Happy are the hard-boiled, for they never let life hurt them” Jesus says,“Happy are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).or “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).Take focus of Jesus’ whole Sermon is on heart attitude. Jesus’ primary emphasis is onbeing rather than doing, disposition rather than action. “A Christian is something before he doessomething.”

72One of the temptations of zealous and devoted people is that they become censorious.Harshness is often confused with conviction. So-called “righteous” people are often hard to livewith. For they are sure their own list of do’s and don’ts must be obligatory for everybody. Inmatters where the Bible leaves Christians free to make their own decisions, they try to bindpeople’s consciences in legalism. Religious people tend to exalt their own opinions and judgmentsto the status of an eleventh commandment. There is something desperately wrong with ourChristianity if it makes us hard and denunciatory. In this Beatitude Jesus is saying that Hisfollowers must temper their eager search for righteousness with a spirit of mercy.While the first four Beatitudes have to do primarily with our attitudes toward God assinners--spiritually bankrupt, mournful for sin, meekly humble and desperate for His righteousness--the last three Beatitudes focus mainly on our attitudes toward others. The last three Beatitudesreveal the transformed character of the person who has experienced the righteousness of God,particularly in regard to others. “Mercy,” says Jesus, is a logical response of the person who hadbeen filled with God’s righteousness.MEANING OF MERCYPortia’s speech in the courtroom scene from Shakespear’s “merchant of Venice”illumines the “quality of mercy” unforgettably.“The quality of mercy is not strained.”It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.””The quality of mercy is not strained” for it is given generously without restraint. What ismore generous than the “gentle rain from heaven” bringing life and refreshment to the dry andparched earth” so it is with mercy—it is not something we strain after; we just open up andreceive. It is from heaven; it is God-sent; it is from the Father.The word “mercy” (chesed) occurs more than 150 times in the Old Testament. Nine-tenthsof the time the word is used in reference to God. The word “merciful” occurs 30 times in the OldTestament, 25 of which clearly describe God, and four of which refer to human beings (Proverbs11:17; 19:11; 20:6; 28:22). In the New Testament the word “merciful” occurs elsewhere only inHebrew 2:127, in reference to Jesus’ role as high priest. The biblical concept of mercy dealsprimarily with two aspects;1. The pardon given one in the wrong (Exodus 34:6-7; Isaiah 55:7;Matthew 18:32-34), and2. The kindness shown one in need(Psalm 86:15-16; Isaiah 30:18; Ezekiel 39:25; Matthew 10:47).

73This form of mercy is also referred to as an “act of mercy” or “alms’ (Matthew 6:2-4). 2Notice it is pardon given one “in the wrong” and kindness shown one “in need.” Mercyalways presupposes a problem, a need.PARDONDaniel testified, “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we haverebelled against Him” (Daniel 9:9). Mercy and forgiveness are often associated together inScripture. David also links mercy with pardon:“Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord: O Lord, hear my voice.Left Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared” (Psalm 130:1-4).Micah shows that God’s mercy in Israel’s only hope since it offers pardon:“Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives thetransgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stayangry forever but delight to show mercy” (Micah 7:18-20).Here we see that God not only shows mercy in pardoning and forgiving His waywardpeople, but He “delights” to do so (Micah 7:18).Pardon, forgiveness, is only possible because of God’s mercy. Mercy without forgivenessmakes no sense. For forgiveness is an expression of mercy. Mercy is the source but forgiveness isthe fruit. The two are inseparable. And this is the source of the parable of the Unmerciful Servant.“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settleaccounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owedhim ten thousand talents (ten million dollars) was brought to him. Sincehe was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and hischildren and all that he had be sold to repay the debt (in keeping withMosaic law–Exodus 22:3). The servant fell upon his knees before him.‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ theservant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go. Butwhen that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owedhim a hundred dinero (twenty dollars). He grabbed him and began to chokehim. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to hisknees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ but he

74refused. Instead he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he couldpay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they weregreatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled allthe debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy onyour fellow servant just as I had on you”’ In anger his master turned him overto the jailers (torturers) until he could pay back all he owed” (Matthew 18:23-34).Although the king completely forgave his servants debt of ten million dollars, the servantwas unwilling in turn to forgive a fellow servant of an obligation of a mere twenty dollars. Whenwe who have been forgiven an incalculable debt of sin (ten million dollars) to God are unwilling inturn to forgive the minor offenses (twenty dollars) of another, our profession of faith in JesusChrist becomes a mockery and void of reality.Mercy is a forgiving spirit, a non-retaliating spirit. It is the spirit that gives up all attemptsat self-vindication and does not return an injury for an injury, but rather good in the place of eviland love in the place of hatred.The point of the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant is that we are to be to others what Godhad been to us. We are to freely and graciously forgive others as God in Christ has so freely andgraciously forgiven us.MERCY AND GRACEWhat is the difference between mercy and grace? Lenski points out that mercy always dealswith what we see of pain, misery and distress whereas grace deals with the root problem. Whilemercy deals with the symptoms; grace deals with the problems. While grace focuses on the pardonfor the crime itself; mercy offers relief from the punishment which results from the crime. Whilegrace removes the sin, mercy eliminates the consequences of sin—punishment. Mercy is notgetting what we deserve (hell); grace is getting what we don’t deserve (heaven).THE SOURCEWhile mercy is the source of forgiveness, love is the source of mercy. Paul put it: “Butbecause of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy . . .” (Ephesians 2:4).Because God is love (I John 4:8,16) He loves and His love expresses itself in mercy andmercy expresses itself in forgiveness and kindness. While mercy is bigger than forgiveness love isbigger than mercy because mercy presupposes a problem or need whereas love does not.Therefore, as Jonathan Edwards had pointed out, God’s characteristic of mercy can only be

75exercised in reference to man. Without man—because he is in need—God’s mercy could not bedisplayed. Mercy cannot be exercised in reference to the Godhead. While there is no mercywithout love, there is love without mercy.God’s mercy is seen everywhere. Whether we look to the events of history or to theprocess of nature, we are confronted with the outgoing mercy of God.KINDNESSMercy, although it includes pardon, is much broader in scope. Mercy is the outgoingkindness of the heart of God. It is to God, says Isaiah, that mercy belongs (Isaiah 62:12). AndGod’s mercy is so infinite, says the psalmist, that it reaches the heavens (Psalms 36:5, 57:10), andit is so enduing that it lasts forever (Psalms 89:1-2; 100:5; 103:17). One of the most often repeatedof all statements in the Old Testament is that the mercy of God endures forever (I Chronicles16;34; II Chronicles 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Psalms 106:1; Psalms 107:1; 136; 138:8; Jeremiah 33:11).IDENTIFICATIONGod’s mercy reaches down to anyone in need. And as God’s servants we are to be channelsof His mercy to others. The term “mercy” is rich in meaning.“It does not mean only to sympathize with a person in the popular sense ofthe term; it does not mean simply to feel sorry for someone in trouble. Chesedh,mercy, means the ability to get right inside the other person’s skin . . . Clearly thisis much more than an emotional wave of pity; clearly this demands a quitedeliberate effort of the mind and of the will. It denotes a sympathy which is notgiven, as it were, from outside, but which comes from deliberate identification withthe other person, until we see things as he sees them and feel things as he feels them.” 3This is sympathy in the literal sense of the word. Sympathy is derived from the two Greekwords, sun, which means together with, and paschein which means to experience or to suffer.Sympathy then means “experiencing things together with the other person,” literally going throughwhat he is going through. The word we use today for this is often empathy—to feel with.We are called upon to identify with the sorrowing, to “get inside their skin.” PsychiatristPaul Tournier of Geneva Switzerland is a great example of what William Osler used to say to hismedical students: “Young gentlemen, the first requisite in the care of the patient is to care.”Tournier’s caring technique had led to his unique kind of practice which is called the ‘medicine ofthe person.” Because of his Christian compassion Paul Tournier enters into full empathy with thepatient by identifying with him completely. Therefore it is the task of the helping person not just totreat the disease which a patient has but to treat the patient who has the disease. The focus is the

person and not the disease. Thus people never become just “patients” or “cases” but they areforemost human beings. The healing ministry of mercy requires imaginative understanding- -anentering into the life of another.76Robert Browning is considered a great poet partly because he was always able to puthimself in other people’s experiences. He saw what they saw, caught their point of view, felt whatthey felt and said what he thought they would have said.We must not insulate ourselves from the hurts of society, watching from a distance,keeping the needy safely at arm’s length. We mush get involved, we must touch and offerassistance that alleviates some of the pain.Mercy then, is more than feeling. It is feeling that expresses itself in a tangible way. This isthe pint James makes.“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of yousays to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep war and well fed,’ but does nothingabout his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16).We evangelicals have tended to spiritualize everything and hide behind our prayers. Prayeris simply is not enough if a person has a physical need. Physical need requires physical help.John, the apostle, asks similarly:“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but hasno pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (I John 3:17).God is not looking for passive pity but active involvement. The disciple of Jesus offersmore than pious words; he offers a helping hand. Mercy is meeting, not just a feeling, a need. Jesusis looking for givers not takers—people who selflessly give of themselves in whatever form isneeded the most at the particular time. To the poor it is money, to the hungry, food, to the thirstyit is drink, to the lonely it is company, to the distressed it is comfort, to the despairing it is hope.THE GOOD SAMARITANThe story of the good Samaritan gives a clear example of what it means to be “mercy-ful”full of mercy. A lawyer is Israel who was skilled in the interpretation of Mosaic Law and of therabbinical traditions came to Christ and asked what righteousness really means. He put Jesus to thetest concerning His interpretation of the standard of righteousness that God requires of those whowant to enter His kingdom. Instead of answering the shrewd lawyer directly, Jesus asked him thequestion: “What is written in the Law?” He answered that God’s requirement is: ‘Love the Lordyour God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your

77mind,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:29). The lawyer is saying in effect that theonly reason he had not lived up to such a standard of right of righteousness is that he does notknow who his neighbor is.And so Jesus takes the opportunity to tell him by sharing a story that forces him to dealwith the issue himself.“A man was going down form Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the handsof robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leavinghim half dead, A priest happened to be going down the same road, and whenhe saw the man, he passed by the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came tothe place and saw him, passed by the other side. But a Samaritan, (an outcastto the Jews), as he traveled, came where the man was: and when he saw him, hetook pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oiland wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and tookcare of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to theinnkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse youfor any extra expense you may have’” (Luke 10:30-35).Then Jesus turned and asked the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think was aneighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (Luke 10:36).The answer was too obvious to refuse so the lawyer had to confess, “The one who hadmercy on him” (Luke 10:37).Jesus concluded His lesson by telling the lawyer: “God and do likewise” (Luke 10: 37).G. M. Trevelyan in his book Life of John Bright tells the story of Jacob Bright, John’sfather. One day as he was coming up the hill from town to his home he found a poor neighbor introuble on the road. His horse had been in an accident and had to be killed. People were crowdingaround the man saying how sorry they were. To one who kept on repeating this most loudly, JacobBright said: “I am sorry five pounds. How much are you sorry?” So Jacob Bright passed the hataround to buy the man another horse.That is what mercy is all about. Mercy is an attitude of identifying with someone in needand an act of reaching out to the person with a helping hand. Mercy, therefore, is a manifestationof righteousness.

78OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLESIt was because of mercy that Abraham, after he had been wronged by his nephew, pursuedand secured the deliverance of Lot and his family from Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 14:1-16).It was because of mercy that Joseph, after his brothers had so grievously mistreated him,freely forgave them and provided the grain they so desperately needed (Genesis 50:15-21).It was because of mercy that Moses, after Miriam had rebelled against him prayed to Godto heal her after she had been stricken by God with leprosy (Numbers 12:13).JESUS CHRISTBut it is in the person of Jesus Christ we see mercy personified. It was because of his mercyto the lost, rebellious sinners like you and me that Jesus exchanged the glory of heaven for theshame of the earth. His death was brought about by the two cruelest forces of the ancient world:the imperial might of the Romans and the religious fanaticism of the Jews. The empire thatsystematically enslaved 60 million people was in no mood to trifle with a man who was a rival toCaesar.Mercy does not set aside or belittle justice. Mercy does not minimize the offense of theCross. It painfully deals with it. “If I were God,” cried Martin Luther, “and the world had treatedme as it had treated Him, I would kick the wretched thing to pieces.” Not so with God. He actedout of mercy to fallen, sinful man. In his sinful state man could do nothing to save himself, so Godstepped forward to do everything that needed to be done. Jesus identified with rebellious, obstinatesinners throughout His ministry and finally became sin for us, bearing our shame and guilt on thecruel cross at Golgotha. He took the penalty of our sin against Himself in order that mercy mightrejoice over justice (James 2:13). He took the stain upon our lives and wiped it away. It is at thecross that we see the full meaning of mercy.“He saw me ruined ruined in the fall,He loved me notwithstanding all;He saved me from my lost estate--His loving-kindness (mercy), O how great!”It is this mercy we sin about:“Mercy there was great, and grace was free,Pardon there was multiplied to me,There my burdened soul found liberty- -At Calvary.”

79Frederick William Faber wrote,“There’s a wideness in God’s mercyLike the wideness of the sea;there’s a kindness in His justiceWhich is more than liberty.”Christ’s death on the cross fulfilled His role as merciful high priest (Hebrews 2:17).“When Jesus Christ died on the cross, all the work of God for man’s salvationpassed out of the realm of prophecy and became historical fact. God has nowhad mercy upon us. For anyone to pray, ’God have mercy on me’ is theequivalent of asking Him to repeat the sacrifice of Christ. All the mercy thatGod ever will have on man He has already had, when Christ died. That is theTotality of mercy. There couldn’t be any more. And God can now act towardus in grace because He has already had all mercy on us. The fountain is nowopened, and flowing, and flows freely.” 4At the cross love and mercy triumphed over justice for every condition was fulfilledthat was required to set us free from the guilt and power of sin. And all God requires is ourbrokenness.THE PROMISETo those who are merciful God promises mercy:“Happy are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).Portia in the “Merchant of Venice” stated: “The quality of mercy is twice-blessed: it blesseshim that gives, and him that takes.” When mercy is extended mercy is received.The principle that to be forgiven we must be forgiving runs all through the New Testament.As James put it: “. . . judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who had not beenmerciful” (James 2:13). Jesus finished the story of the unforgiving debtor with the warning: “Thisis how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart”(Matthew 18:35). The Lord’s Prayer is followed by two verses which explain the petition:“Forgive us our debts (trespasses) . . .” (Matthew 6:12). These verses state: “. . . as we also haveforgiven our debtors. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father willalso forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:12,14-15).

80It is clear in the Bible that only the merciful shall receive mercy. But does this mean thatreceiving mercy form God depends upon our showing mercy to others” Does this mean that wemust first show mercy in order to receive God’s mercy” If it does, then the whole scheme of divinegrace would be overthrown. If we can merit mercy by practicing mercy then we are saved by ourattitudes and action. What is meant by this Beatitude and the other Scriptures is that “we cannotreceive the mercy of God unless we repent and we cannot claim to have repented of our sins if weare unmerciful towards the sin of others.” 5The disciple of Jesus Christ is to be merciful not because of the mercy he hopes to receivein the future, but because of the mercy he has received in the past. Having been recipients of God’swondrous mercy, Jesus’ followers cannot help but act mercifully towards others. The point Jesus ismaking is that if we are not merciful, we have not really experienced the mercy of God.The trouble with the unmerciful servant in Jesus’ parable (Matthew 18:21-35) was that helooked upon the king’s mercy as something that could have been earned if only there had beenenough time to work. For he pleaded, “Be patient with me and I will pay back everything”(Matthew 18:26). This debtor had never come to grips with his real condition. He was never reallybroken move his sins. And so he approached mercy in a commercial rather than spiritual way. Hestretch a deal. We cannot strike deals with God. Therefore this rebel was unable to extend mercyto his fellow worker.“Through justice by thy plea, consider this, That in the course of justice,none of us should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;And that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.” 6“On that day” refers to Jesus’ return. In Jude 21 God’s saints are also exhorted to bewaiting “for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jude is here referring to the ultimateacknowledgment of us as His own redeemed people at His second coming in glory.But we have a down payment of mercy now for God’s way is to give us mercy not only inthe future but in the present. God’s promise of mercy is cyclical. When we do that God gives usmore of His mercy. And the cycle continues. As recipients of God’s mercy we become channels ofHis mercy to others.To a cold heartless world Jesus says,“O the happiness of the person who gets right inside other people untilhe can feel as they feel. O the happiness of the person who forgive thosewho hurt him, who reaches out in loving action and help those who are inneed. For such a person will received mercy.”

81CHAPTER 6 THE HAPPINESS OF THE PURE HEARTED

82THE HAPPINESS OF THE PURE HEARTEDMatthew 5:8I. INTRODUCTIONA. GOD’S STANDARDB. PHARISEES’ STANDARDII.A. THE HEART1. Emotions2. Intellect3. Willa. Source of Problemb. Source of BlessingIII. THE MEANINGA. “PURE IN HEART”1. Clean2. Unmixed3. Singleness of HeartIV. THE PROMISEA. THE FUTUREB. THE PRESENT

“The greatest heresy is not error of doctrine, but impurity of life.”--Anonymous83Have you ever had the misfortune of taking pictures with your camera out of focus: someof the subjects in the photographs you hardly recognize. What you wanted t be clear and bright isblurred and distorted. And the tragic thing is that some of the scenic spots you photographed youwill never had another opportunity to visit and some of the people you tried to catch with yourcamera you may never see again.How often this tragedy is repeated in our every day lives. We are taking pictures all thetime, we are seeing things but often what we see is out of focus. While it is costly and wasteful totake pictures using a camera with the lens out of focus how much ore tragic it is to move throughlife and never really see it in perspective.In His sixth Beatitude, Jesus gives us the clue, the directions of how we can get in focus:“Happy are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).When life is in focus, we are able to discern the real.GOD’S STANDARDThe language of the Beatitude was taken most likely from Psalm 24. The psalmist asks thequestion. “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place?” (Psalm 24:3)In other words, “Who can stand in the presence of God?” God answers:“He who has clean hands and pure heart,who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. . .Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face,O God of Jacob” (Psalm 24:4,6).God demands total honesty and integrity. Only those who are sincere and loyal before Godwill be able to stand in His presence.PHARISEES’ STANDARDLife was out of focus for many people during Jesus’ day. This was especially true o f thereligious leaders, the Pharisees. Why? Because they looked through the lens of the law. Theythought that by the meticulous observance of the Law they could see God. By turning to religionthey thought if only they were devoted enough to the laws, ceremonies, rules and regulations oftheir religion that would make them worthy before God. But what happened was they “cleaned theoutside of the cup while the inside was full of evil” (Luke 11:39).

84In Matthew 23 we find the most severe rebukes against hypocrite anywhere in the Bible.And these harsh words are on the lips of Jesus. They are a strong contrast to the Beatitudes.Instead of eight “Happy are you,” there are eight “Woe unto you” (Matthew 23:13-16,23,25,27,29).Jesus warned these Pharisees and teachers of the law:“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! Yougive a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin (garden plants). Butyou have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice,mercy, faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, withoutneglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallowa camel.Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You cleanthe outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed andself-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish,and then the outside also will be clean” (Matthew 23:23-26).Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on theoutside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everythingunclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteousbut on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:23-28)The religious people of Jesus’ day had reduced religion to external behavior—they wereprimarily concerned about outward cleanliness. As a result, life was out of focus. They did not seeGod.Jesus lays all the stress on inner cleanness, knowing that“The heart is the part that makes us right or wrong.”--AnonymousYet how many of us today, like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, try to clean ourown lives by turning to ethics, religion, asceticism, etc. Before we get too comfortable in ourdenunciation of the scribes and Pharisees we Bible believing Christians need to be reminded thatmuch of our emphasis had been on conduct and behavior rather than thoughts, attitudes andmotives. Is it any wonder that we find our lives remain out of focus? Our hearts remain as corruptas ever.

85PRIMARY ORGAN OF SPIRITUAL INSIGHT“Mysticism,” said John Wesley, “is just heart religion.” The aim of Christian mysticism is to“see God” and its method is “purity of heart.” the primary organ of spiritual insight, says Jesus, isnot religious—meticulous adherence to the law, nor is it educational—intellectual pursuit as taughtby Aristotle and other rational systems—even Evangelical rationalism; rather, the primary organ ofspiritual knowledge is the heart. While there is no honor in mental laziness we need to realize thatthe knowledge of God is beyond our mental abilities. While Christianity is not irrational; it is suprarational.Awhile apologetics may help us in furnishing “a reason for the hope that is in us; it is notthe path by which we ultimately find that hope, if only his heart be pure.THE HEARTChristianity, then, focuses on the heart. But what is the heart? Biblical psychology is notalways as scientifically precise as we Westerners would like it to be. We have a fetish for precisionand therefore often get frustrated with biblical truth which is not always so precise. The danger isthat we force precision on things that are not precise. And that is pure heresy.Because of Paul’s distinctions of “spirit, soul and body” in I Thessalonians 5:23, many havesuggested that spirit is God-consciousness, the soul is self-consciousness, and that the body isworld-consciousness. It has also been taught that the soul includes the God-given functions ofintellect, emotion and will. While these may be convenient categories, they are not alwaysconsistent. For instance, the word “soul” (psuche in Greek and ruach in Hebrew) is sometimesused to refer to the whole person including the body as several Old Testament passages tell aboutthousands of “ruach” who died in battle. Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to loveGod with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, thus indicating for functions of personality.The word “heart” is used in a very comprehensive way in the Bible. Sometimes the Bibleuses it to indicate the emotions:“Do not let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1).Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothingbut sadness of heart” (Nehemiah 2:2).Most people think that the heart mostly refers to the emotions. But this is not true. Inreferring to the emotions the Bible usually refers to the lower part of the stomach (”bowels ofcompassion”). The Jews usually spoke of their emotions in terms of what they felt in their stomach.We also use the expression, “that make me sick to my stomach.”

86The heart more often refers to the intellect:“Immediately Jesus knew in His spirit that this was what they were thinking intheir hearts” (Mark 2:8).“The word of God . . . judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrew 4:12).In fact in Hebrew there is only one word for both heart and mind (leb).The heart also had to do with violation:“But Daniel resolved in his heart not to defile himself” (Daniel 1:8).“But make up your heart not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.”(Luke 21:14)We usually speak of “making up our mind” and that is how the New International Versiontranslates this verse, but the actual word used is not mind but heart.The heart then includes the emotions, the mind and the will. The heart means “the innerperson with his many functions.” It is the center of a person’s personality. It is the control area of aperson’s life. Solomon put it, “above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”(Proverbs 4:23). The heart of man is the totality of his being.PROBLEM AND BLESSINGThe heart, says the Bible, is the source of man’s problems. While we are prone to blamepeople and circumstances, and at times even God, for our troubles; it is the heart that is really theculprit. We need to constantly be reminded that man fell while he was in a perfect environment- -paradise, the Garden of Eden. It is not the environment that corrupts the heart; it is the heart thatcorrupts the environment. A corrupt environment can certainly influence a person but the realsource of our trouble is our heart.Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, put it:“The heat is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”(Jeremiah 17:9)The heart has not changed over the millenniums of time. God’s indictment before the Floodis as true today:

87“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had done, and that everyinclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5).Jesus underlines this truth even more:“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality,theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:19).We need a heart that is pure before God.The first prerequisite for seeing God is admitting that my heart I desperately sinful.But how can a person be pure in heart? Can the heart be changed? Definitely! Godpromised through the prophet Jeremiah:“I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people,and I will be their god, for they will return to Me with all their heart” (Jeremiah 24:7).God promised the people of Ezekiel’s day:“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will removefrom you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).A “heart to know God” or a “new heart, a heart of flesh” is described by John as being“born again” and by Peter as becoming “participants in the divine nature” (II Peter 1:4). To see, toexperience God, we must be changed from the inside out and not from the outside in. Your need isnot external reformation abut internal re-creation.PURE IN HEARTWhat does it mean to be “pure in heart”? First it means inward purity. The word “purity(katharos) is used 28 times in the New Testament and has three meanings, the first two being verysimilar. Ten times it is translated clean. The idea is to cleanse from filth and impurity. This word isclosely related to the Latin “castus, in-cestus” from which we get the English word “chaste.” Weoften use this word in reference to sexual purity. But that is not its only meaning.Our English word cathartic comes from this Greek word. A cathartic is an agent used by adoctor for the cleansing or purifying of the physical system in which causes poor health. Thepsychologist or psychiatrist also uses catharsis on the emotional level, to cleanse the person ofthought, attitudes and feelings which are destructive. And spiritual catharsis is the cleansing of theinner person. The three of course, are interrelated. Spiritual and emotional impurity eventuallyaffect the body.

88What Jesus demands is a heart that has been cleansed of all impurity. David recognized thisneed in his own life as he cried out to God:“Surely You desire truth in the inner parts:You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will bewhiter than snow. . .Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spiritwithin me” (Psalm 51:6-7,9-10).In order to see God our hearts need to be cleansed by god Himself. Inward purity is a mustif we are to know God.The word “pure” was also used of corn which had been winnowed or sifted and cleansed ofall chaff, an army which had been purged of all discontented, cowardly, unwilling and inefficientsoldiers.UNMIXEDThe second meaning of the word is closely related to the first. And this becomes themeaning when the word “pure” is used together with another word (akeratos). This combination isused in reference to milk or wine that is unadulterated with water, or of metal which has no tingeof alloy in it. The meaning, therefore, is that of unadulterated, untarnished--free from pollution.This means sincerity, integrity.It is seldom that we do even the finest actions from absolutely unmixed motives. If we givegenerously to some good cause there are often feelings of self-approval and even hope that we willbe thanked, praised and even honored. If we do something that involves sacrifice often there aretinges of self-pity because we felt obligated or self-righteousness as we saw ourselves as martyrs. Ifpreachers happen to preach a decent sermon there is always the danger of self-satisfaction andpride. John Bunyan was told by someone that he had preached well. Bunyan replied, “The devilalready told me that as I was coming down the pulpit steps.”This Beatitude calls us to the most exacting self-examination. For do we not often performour finest deeds from very mixed motives? Outwardly we may appear so altruistic, but inwardly weare self-gaining, wanting recognition. Is our church attendance and attempt to meet God or afulfilling of conventional tradition? Do we serve God and man to benefit others or to impress themwith our spirituality? Is the work we do in church done for Christ or for our own prestige? Fewthings are done with pure motives.

89Purity means sincerity as opposed to hypocrisy, and moral blamelessness in contrast to anexternal show of piety. To be pure is to be genuine, guileless.SINGLENESS OF HEARTBut purity also means singleness of heart. It was the Danish Philosopher,Soren Kiekegaard who said:“Purity of heart is to will one thing.”The idea is that of integrity rather than duplicity, a double heart, a divided heart. It meansundivided devotion to God.Peter Marshall stated this problem of double-mindedness and duplicity in a poem.“We want Him, and yet we don’t want Him,We want His way, and we want our way.We pray, “Thy will be done,” but we mean our will.We want to be clean inside, and still want to do the things that make us unclean.We long for purity, but we covet popularity.We want to play on both sides.We want to be Christian, but we don’t want our friends to think we are queer.We want so see the Kingdom, but meanwhile we vote against the Kingdom.We want to be friends with everybody.”Saul was double-minded. He tried to please God and man at the same time. He feared Godand he feared people. He wanted God’s approval and he wanted man’s approval. He sought honorfrom people as well as from God (I Samuel 15:30).David, on the other hand, was pure, not because he was sinless, but because his heart wassingle. Samuel pointed out that God was seeking for a man “after His own heart” (I Samuel 16:7).David was God’s man after His own heart.David recognized the problem of double-mindedness for he cried out to God:“Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth;give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart . . .” (Psalm 86:11-12).Archbishop William Temple defined this concept of singleness as a “passionate aspirationtoward the holiness of God.” This singleness of heart in David is evident as we red his book ofPsalms. He willed to do one thing: to passionately seek after God.

90“I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart . . .” (Psalm 9:1).“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing inyour sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 26:2).“Test me, O Lord and try me, examine my heart and my mind” (Psalm 26:2).“My heart says of You, ‘Seek His face!’ Your face, O Lord, I will seek.”(Psalm 27:8)“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.”(Psalm 57:7)“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in You.”(Psalm 25:21)“My eyes are ever on the Lord . . .” (Psalm 25:15).God, and God alone, was David’s focus. It is better to say, “This one thing I do” than tosay, “these 40 things I dabble in.” David did not dabble; he sought God. And God honored him forit.CONDUCT AND THINKINGKierkegaard’s emphasis on the will is in line with the Lord’s emphasis. When people werequestioning His authority and authenticity, Jesus laid down this test:“If any one chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether My teachingcomes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17).Correct action leads to correct thinking!Conduct conditions thinking as thinking conditions conduct. The Corinthians had a saying,“East drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” Most of us would say that their sensual living wasthe result of their lack of belief in immortality. But could it not also be that it was their sensualindulgence which dimmed their faith in immortality? Not only does belief shape conduct, butconduct shapes belief. Notice the frequent use of the word “walk” in the New Testament. “Walk inlove,” “walk in the light,” “Walk in newness of life.” “We enter into truth feet first even more thanhead first. The things we miss seeing are the things we miss being.” 1

91David saw God, Abraham saw God, Jacob saw God, Job saw God, Moses saw God—because they all threw themselves at His mercy trusting Him for their righteousness. They did notfully perceive and understand God, but they did experience him. They willed one thing: to knowGod. God promised through Jeremiah,“You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).Purity of heart is singleness of heart which leads us to a vision of God Himself.THE PROMISEThe promise to those who are pure is that “they will see God.” Seeing God is the highestquest of anyone. Since nothing is higher than God, seeing Him is the greatest joy that any humanbeing can experience. It was such a joy that motivated the people during biblical times as well assaints throughout church history.Job confessed, “My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen you. (Job 42:5).Prophet Isaiah testified, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord . . .” (Isaiah 6:1) Jesusanswered Philip, “. . . Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show usthe Father’? Don’t you believe that I an in the Father, and that the Father is in Me” (John 14:9-10).Jesus came to reveal the Father to us.The intense quest to see and know God is for the most part lacking in the church of JesusChrist today. While there is great emphasis on organization, programs, activities, church growth,there is little interest in experiencing a vision of God—more intimate relationship to Him.David was desperate in his quest to see God. He cries out in one of his psalms:“O, God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You: my soul thirsts for you,my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”(Psalm 63:1)And David in this same psalm was also able to testify:“I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory” (Psalm 63:2).Although David had seen God, he wanted a clearer vision of Him. He was not satisfied. Hewanted more.

92GOD CANNOT BE SEENThere is a sense in which God cannot be seen. John says, “No one has ever seen God . . .”(John 1:18). Even the great patriarch Moses was unable to look upon God in His essence. WhenMoses asked for a revelation of God, God replied, “You cannot see My face, for no one may seeMe and live” (Exodus 33:20). The God revealed part of Himself to Moses:“There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by,I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passedby. Then will I remove My hand and you will see my back; but My face must notbe seen” (Exodus 33:21-23).Paul describes God as he visited the third heaven:“Who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no onehas seen or can see” (I Timothy 6:16).Just as the naked human eye is blinded by gazing directly at the full light of the sun, so thespiritual eye cannot behold God in His fullness. This is why Moses hid his face at ht burning bush.The Bible states that Moses did so “because he was afraid to look at God” (Exodus 3:6b).In our own day of flippancy and chumminess with Almighty God, we too need to bereminded of the awesomeness of seeing and experiencing God. Our own disrespectful attitudesonly reveal that we have not seen and experienced God very deeply.THE FUTUREThe ultimate fulfillment of this promise will be experienced in heaven when we shall seeGod “face to face.”PRESENTThis promise is also partially fulfilled now. We can see God to a certain extent now throughthe eyes of our hearts. The Sermon on the Mount points us to the One who preaches the sermon.”The blood of Jesus, His son, cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7). The pure in heart are thosewho are washed and therefore forgiven: “You are already clean because the message I have spokento you,” said Jesus (John 15:3). This word “clean” is the same word in the Greek as “pure.”Such purity doesn’t come only once-for-all, but it is also a daily experience as wecontinually yield our lives to God. Purity, and thus vision of God, has begun but must becontinued. Cleanness of heart brings clearness of vision. Sin so befogs the heart, that God becomesinvisible. There are moral and spiritual conditions for spiritual vision.

93“It is one of the simple facts of life that we see only what we are able tosee; and that is true not only in the physical sense; it is also true in everyother possible sense. If the ordinary person goes out on a night of stars, hesees only a host of pinpoints of light in the sky; he see what is fit to see;but in that same sky the astronomer will call the stars and the planets by theirfamiliar names, and will move among them as his friends; and from that samesky the navigator could find the means to bring his ship across the trackless seasto the desired destination. The ordinary person can walk along a country road,and see by the hedgerows nothing but a tangle of weeds and wildflower’s andgrasses; the trained botanist would see this and that, and call it by name andknow its use; and he might even see something of infinite value and raritybecause he had eyes to see. Put two men into a room filled with ancient pictures.A man with no knowledge and no skill could not tell an old master from aworthless one, whereas a trained art critic might well discern a picture worththousands of dollars in a collection which someone else might dismiss as junk.There are people with filthy minds who can see in any situation material for aprurient laugh and a soiled jest. In every sphere of life we see what we are ableto see.” 2While we cannot see God in His fullness now, the more intimately we get to know Him themore clearly we will see Him. The eyes see what the heart loves. If the heart loves God and issingle in devotion to Him, then the spiritual eyes will see God. Nothing blurs our spiritual visionlike sin. We are therefore either becoming more fit in seeing God as we keep our hearts clean orwe are becoming less fit in seeing God by entertaining sin that soils our lives.But keeping away from the soil of sin is not enough. That is only the negative aspect ofwhat it means to see God. The positive aspect is focusing on God Himself. By transparentlycoming to God (“unveiled face”) to gaze upon Him we become increasingly transformed into hisimage:“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformedinto His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is theSpirit” (II Corinthians 3:18).The pure hearted have nothing to hide and nothing to prove. They came in their nakednesssincerely and single-mindedly to focus their attention on the God who made the, sustains them andredeemed them and who Himself transforms them into His image.To a world full of deceit where happiness consists of being able to sin a little withoutletting it bother one’s conscience, Jesus says,“O the happiness of the person whose motives are pure, who with singleness of heartis seeking God, for that person will be able to see God.”

94CHAPTER 7 THE HAPPINESS OF THE PEACEMAKER

I. INTRODUCTIONA. PRESENT WARB. FUTURE PEACE95THE HAPPINESS OF THE PEACEMAKERMatthew 5:91. Israel’s Hope2. Jesus’ MissionII. DOMINANT THEMEA. WHOLE BIBLEB. NEW TESTAMENTIII. THE PEACEMAKERA. THE TASKB. HUMAN FAILURE1. Sources of failurea. Opposition of Devilb. Disobedience of ManIV. MEANING OF “PEACE”A. CESSATION OF STRIFEB. MAN’S HIGHEST GOODC. RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS1. Between People Themselves2. Between People And GodV. THE PROMISE

96If someone were to come to earth from another planet to find out what our primarybusiness is he would probably conclude that it is war. What industry are we more engaged in thanwar?PRESENT WARProfessor Quincy Wright, in his book, A Study of War, lists by country the number of warsthat occurred between 1480 and 1941: Great Britain, 78; France, 71; Spain, 654; Russia, 61;Austria, 52; Germany, 23; china, 11; Japan, 9; the United States, 13. But during this same periodour own nation had 110 wars with the American Indians. 1Current world rearmament costs one million dollars per hour. In the developing countries,250 million dollars were spent on weapons in 1980 and only $15 million on economicdevelopment. The fallowing figures show the growth of military spending (in billions) in the world:1972: $291; 1975, $406; 1980, $647; 1982: $818; 1984 (est.): $967; 1985 over $1 trillion. 2Since 1945 there have been 127 war-like conflicts on the earth with about 32 million dead.About forty-five of the world’s 164 nations are presently involved in war with casualties estimatedbetween 1 and 5 million. About 5000,000 combat troops are involved.It is estimated that only 8% of the time since the beginning of civilization has there beenany semblance of peace on earth in a world-wide sense. Only since the Boxer Rebellion in China in1900 we have had over 897 million casualties of war (though 1983). 3William Tecumseh Herman, the Civil war General whose union army blazed a savage trailfrom Atlanta to the sea best captured the moods of war and of the men who fight when he stated:“War is hell.”While Sherman was referring to the suffering caused by war his statement points tosomething deeper—the cause and origin of war. Like hell itself, war is them manifestation of thedevil himself. But lis is also the inevitable result of human sin.War, however, does not keep God from accomplishing His plan and purpose for this world.In fact, our sovereign Lord has even used war to protect His people Israel from corruption byenemy nations and He has used it as a means to judge both His people and their enemies.This does not mean, of course, that God condones the sin that makes people hostile andcruel. God hates the savagery which is the inevitable byproduct of war. And He is working towardthe day when war and all forms of inhumanity will be set aside.

97FUTURE PEACEThe prophet Isaiah envisions the day when God’s good purposes will triumph over man’sinhumanity and the devil’s evil strategy:“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chiefamong the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will streamto it.Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lordto the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walkin his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train forwar anymore” (Isaiah 2:2-4).One day God’s will is to become the law of all peoples. The true worship of God will becelebrated by people from all nations. Political disputes will be settled by God Himself, so that waras a tool of international diplomacy will no longer be necessary. And the vast resources of war willbe put to peaceful purposes.ISRAEL’S HOPEBut the atmosphere during Jesus’ time was anything but peaceful. The Jews, in general,regarded the Gentile nations with bitter contempt and hatred, and they expected that, under theleadership of the Messiah, there should be an uninterrupted series of attacks on those nations untilthey were completely destroyer or subjugated to the chosen people of God—the Jews. Happinessto the Jews meant the day when their Messiah would avenge on the heathen nations all the wrongsthey had done to Israel.JESUS’ MISSIONHow different is Jesus’ attitude! His spirit is expressed by the angelic anthem whichcelebrated His nativity: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”To those who wanted to see their Messiah flex His muscles and destroy the wicked Romans, Jesussaid:“Happy are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

98Jesus has previously pointed out to His followers that they are not to be self-sufficient, butconsciously aware of their own spiritual bankruptcy; they are not to be self-satisfied, but mournfulbecause of their sinfulness; they are not to be self-important, but lowly or meek; they are not to beself-righteous, but intensely yeaning for the righteousness of another; having tasted of the mercy ofGod, they are to be merciful in their dealings with others; having received from the spirit of God anew spiritual nature, their hearts are to be single in devotion to Him. And now Jesus adds aseventh Beatitude: Having entered into the peace that Christ made by the blood of His cross, theyare now to be used by Him in bringing others to the enjoyment of such peace.DOMINANT THEMEThe concept of peace dominates the Bible. It opens with peace in the Garden of Eden andcloses with peace in heaven. And the reason there is war in between is because of the opposition ofSatan and the disobedience of man. But at the cross Jesus Christ became our peace and some dayHe is coming back as the Prince of Peace who will establish His kingdom of peace.There are nearly 400 references to peace in the Bible. The word “peace” is used 88 times inthe New Testament and it occurs in every book. Virtually every New Testament epistle begins andends with a prayer for peace for those who read and listen to them. Six times in the NewTestament God is called the “God of peace.” One of the Old Testament names for God is“Jehovah-shalom”--the Lord is our peace” (Judges 6:24).God is not only a God of peace as far as His person and His nature are concerned but He isa God of peace as faro as His will is concerned:“’For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosperpeace and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).Jesus’ last will and testament to His followers was:“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you” (John 14:27).While Jesus did not have possessions and worldly goods to leave with His disciples He didhave peace to leave with them.THE PEACEMAKERSome have misconstrued this Beatitude to say, “Happy are the peace lovers.” But peacelovers are not always peace makers. A person may be a part of a club, committee, board or familyand realize that there are certain things that need to be straightened out, dealt with. But because ofthe desire and love for peace such a person may not do anything. For the sake of peace manyharmful situations continue to exist with the naive hope that they will improve by themselves.

99Such an evasion of an issue ultimately does not lead to peace but disaster. And such acompromising person is not a peacemaker but a troublemaker. His failure to meet issues head onwhen needed contributes rather than dissolves the problems. Biblical peace is not the result of theevasion of issues but the facing of the, dealing with them until they are adequately taken care of.Jesus’ seventh Beatitude demands not the passive acceptance of things which may be painful whenfaced up to but the active facing of things though the way to peace is through struggle.HUMAN FAILUREOn the cosmic level we human beings have not been a total failure in bringing about peace.The peace we hail today begins to collapse tomorrow. Ever since the days of the prophet Jeremiah,people have cried, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” Our generation has never known peaceon a world-wide basis. During most of our history the air has been filled with rumblings of pendingwar until today at the so-called peak of “scientific enlightenment,” the menace of global conflictthreatens our atomic age with effect psychologically. The specter of destruction so powerful as towipe out civilization with one single push of a button hovers over us constantly. When was there atime when peace was more imperative than now?“‘Peace upon the earth?” was said, we sing it, and pay a million priests to bring it.After two thousand years of mass, we’ve got as far poison gas.’” 4Peace that we do have is merely that brief glorious moment in history when everybodystops to reload. Mussolini described it, “National stammer about peace at Geneva and prepare forwar everywhere.” After World War II nations developed an agency for world peace with themotto; “To have succeeding generations free from the scourge of war.” But the efforts of theUnited Nations have not brought one day of peace since its founding in 1945. As someone said,“Washington has lots of peace monuments. They build one after each war.” Peace monuments area testimony of the absence of peace and not its presence. Man’s quest for global peace is a mirage,a pipe dream.SOURCES OF FAILUREWhy? It is because of the opposition of the devil and because we have no peace in ourown hearts. While the tense world situation implies that what the world needs most is peacebetween nations, there is a necessity for cessation of hostilities on another front—one which iseven more significant than the present international crisis. The need for inner peace andcontentment transcends even a need for peace between nations. And it is to this area that theseventh Beatitude refers primarily. For no one can become a peacemaker until he had found peacewithin his innermost self.

100The issue is primarily inner peace because that is the source for global peace. The worldhas no peace because individual people have not peace. We human beings do not have a very goodability to get along with each other. Every relationship is fragile. People have mental and emotionalillnesses as never before. There are family breakups, chaos in the schools, riots in the streets.Because man has no peace in himself, neither does his world since it is merely the extension ofhimself.But why is this?HUMAN NATUREBecause of man’s inherent evil nature, James asks?“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desiresthat battle within you? You want something but you don’t get it. You kill andcovet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight” (James 4:1-2).People are at war with each other because they are at war with themselves. The Greekfathers of the early church interpreted this seventh Beatitude:“Happy are those who make peace within themselves.”Clement of Alexandria interpreted this blessing to be bestowed on those who have “stilledthe incredible battle which goes on in their own souls.” St. Augustine understood it to be a blessingon those who have “composed and subjected to reason all the motions of their minds, and whohave tamed their carnal desires.” 5They drew this concept from Plato’s picture of the human soul. He saw a human beingas the soul of the charioteer who is trying to drive two horses. One is gentle and tame and theother is wild and undisciplined. He called the gentle, tame horse Reason and the wild horsePassion. And the soul must somehow drive and double harness Reason and PassionEveryone of us is to some extent a split personality. In psychological terms the Beatitude wouldsay:“Happy are those who are integrated personalities.”This is basically the same thing that James is talking about. Because of the “desires thatbattle within” each of us there is that inner conflict between good and evil. We are always tuggedin two directions at once; every one of us is at least to some extent a walking civil war.Theologically this is what is called the battle between the Spirit and the flesh, the new nature andthe old nature. And whichever is fed the most, wins. In such terms what Jesus is saying is:

101“Happy are those who have fed their spiritual nature for they know what innerpeace is.”This does not mean that the inner struggle is completely over, that the inner warfare hastotally ceased; it means that a person is not a slave to his corrupt sinful nature but is enabled by theholy spirit to live in victory over it. He is an overcomer for he increasingly is being freed from thepower and domination of his sinful nature.CESSATION OF STRIFE WITHINHere then we find the first meaning of the word “peace.” It is the cessation of strifewithin. And the Christian is the only person who is able ro really minister peace in this sense for healone has experienced peace since he had been given a new nature which frees him from thedomination and power of the sinful nature.MAN’S HIGHEST GOODBut peace is much more than the cessation of warfare whether inner or outer. Peace meanseverything that contributes to man’s highest good. The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom”and it is never only a negative state; it never means only the absence of trouble; in superficial sensefor when war is over we often say, “Peace has come.” Yet there are the devastated countries, thecities in ruins, the town blasted, the people in excruciating suffering. No Hebrew would call that“peace.” All that is is truce. A truce just means that there is no shooting for a while. Peace onlycomes when the truth is known, the issue is settled and the parties embrace each other. Peace isman’s well-being, his highest good. The Arabic equivalent is “Salaam” which also does not meanwishing another person only the absence of evil, but the presence of all good things. Biblical peace,therefore, does not mean only freedom from all trouble but it means enjoyment of all good.Since “Shalom” means everything which contributes to man’s highest good this seventhBeatitude means:“Happy are those who make this world a better place for all people to live in.”Abraham Lincoln once said:“Die when I may, I would like it to be said of me, that I always pulled upa weed and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”Jesus calls us to lift the world to a higher plane.

102RIGHT RELATIONSHIPSBut peace means more. The Jewish Rabbis loved to dwell on the aspect of peace which hasto do with establishing right relationships between people According to the Rabbis this is thehighest task any person can perform. And this is most likely the primary meaning Jesus had in mindwhen He spoke this Beatitude.In every society and even every church there are people who are “storm centers” oftrouble, bitterness and strife. These people are quarrelsome busybodies who are always stirring uptrouble. They are constantly busy starting fires of strife and wherever they find a little fire burning,they take delight in adding fuel to the fire. They are like the person described by Solomon in thebook of Proverbs:“Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by meddles in a quarrel not his own.”(Proverbs 26:17)The dog howls and a molehill is turned into a mountain. Such people are effective tools ofthe enemy. There are others who wear their feelings on their sleeves and are easily upset. Othersare exclusivistic thinking that only they have the whole truth. And so they do not associate withother with a different point of view. In his book Great Church Fights Leslie Flynn exposes thistendency toward exclusiveness with a pointed poem:“Believe as I believe, no more, no less;That I am right, and no one else, confess;Feel as I feel, think only as I think;Eat what I eat, and drink but what I drink;Look as I look, do always as I do;And then, and only then, I’ll fellowship with you.”--Source UnknownSuch people make peacemaking very difficult. Yet that is what we are called to do. We areto be people in whose presence such pettiness and bitterness cannot live, to bridge guilt ofseparation and hard feelings, to heal any kind of breaches—to reconcile people in the name ofJesus. The peacemaker is a uniter of people.It is not enough to have a peaceable disposition. A peacemaker is more than one whorefuses to disturb the peace; it is the person who exerts himself to make the peace. And since peaceis more a positive than a negative concept, being a peacemaker is not simply burying hatchets butpromoting the highest good of other people.It is not always possible to be at peace with everyone. This is implied in Paul’s statement:

103“If it is possible, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).True peace is possible only when both parties embrace. The point is, however, that we doour part to bring peace even if the other person does not respond to our overtures.To the Ephesian Christians Paul wrote:“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”(Ephesians 4:3)Similarly Paul wrote to the Roman Christians:“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”(Romans 14:19)Peace is to characterize the body of Christ, the church. Once we have attained peace wemust do everything we can to maintain that peace.We are specifically instructed with reference to behavior in, and the policy of, the church,that “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (I Corinthian 14:33).Stress is laid upon our attitude toward others for Christians are again admonished inScripture to:“Make every effort to live in peace with all men . . .” (Hebrew 12:14).Peace is so important to God that it ought to be our pursuit. Paul admonished youngtimothy:“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love andpeace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”(II Timothy 2:22)The really happy people, says Jesus, are those who bring harmony amount people, whoreconcile those who are estranged, in whose presence tension and discord give way to harmonyand peace. Only those who have first tasted peace with God at the cross of Christ can thereforebecome peacemakers.

104RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GODOnly those who have first tasted peace with God at the cross of Christ can becomepeacemakers. People are at war with themselves and with each other because they are at war withGod. God has His enemies: the world (James 4:4), the flesh (James 4:1; I John 4:16) and the devil(James 4:7). Whoever sides with these enemies declares war with God. And whenever you declarewar with God you become a troublemaker.Peacemakers are those who not only bring people together with each other but also thosewho bring people together with God. Because they themselves have experienced peace with Godthey have a message to share that their God is a God of peace who had made peace with manthrough the death of His dear Son Jesus Christ.“For He Himself is our peace, who made the two (Jew and Gentle) oneand has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishingHis flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purposewas to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, bywhich He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you whowere far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we bothhave access to the Father by one Spirit” (Ephesians 2:14-18).Here we see reconciliation with God and with each other. Such peace is not offered at anyprice. Truth cannot be sacrificed for peace. God’s peace comes to man only when he is willing toown up to his sin. There is no peace apart from repentance. Peace can be experienced only as aperson embraces the cross of Christ. There is no other way.James wrote, “Pacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness” (James3:18). Peace is never sought at the expense of righteousness. Biblical peace only takes placebetween two people when they have seen their own sin or error and have brought their bitternessand hatred before God and embraced each other. For true peace is born out of purity.The writer to the Hebrews said: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to beholy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrew 12:14). Peace cannot be divorced frompurity, holiness. True peace does not come when truth is compromised. Principle must not beabandoned for harmony. For such harmony is not harmony at all. It is merely a truce or cease-fire.Jesus never sacrificed the truth for peace. Even though on three separate occasions inJohn’s gospel Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, yet on each occasion we are told that there wasdivision because of Him (Matthew 7:43; l9:16; 10:19). One of the accusations against Jesus at thetrial was: “He stirs up the people all over Judea by His teaching” (Luke 23:5). Truth dividespeople. It divides those who want to do what is right and those who do not “this is why Jesus said

105of Himself: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bringpeace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). He then goes on to explain that His message of salvationwill turn people either toward God and each other or against God and each other (Matthew 10:35-36) Truth forces us to take a stand either for it or against it. We cannot remain neutral.The only real peacemakers are those who bring people to righteousness, to the truth, toGod Himself. Because the Christian has experienced reconciliation he is to be an agent ofreconciliation. Paul put it:“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old had gone, thenew has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself throughChrist and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconcilingthe world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. AndHe has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’sambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We imploreyou on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (II Corinthians 5:17-20).In the closing scene of the movie “Ben Hur” Judah Ben Hur who was a man of strife,conflict and discord met Jesus. He testified to his encounter with the Nazarene: “Jesus took thesword out of my hand.”A peacemaker is one who helps others to give up their swords. This is true whether theswords are directed at God, at themselves, at others or all three.THE PROMISEJesus’ promise to the peacemakers is that they will be “called the sons of God” (Matthew5:9). This is a typical Hebrew expression. Because the Hebrew language is not rich in adjectives, itoften uses the phrase “son of . . .” plus an abstract noun when describing something or someone.Therefore a person may be called a “Son of peace” instead of “peaceful man.” Barnabas is called a“son of consolation: instead of a “consoling and comforting person.” Therefore when thisBeatitude states: “Happy are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.” What itmeans is : “Happy are the peacemakers for they will be doing a god-like work. The person whomakes peace is engaged in the very work the God of peace is doing (Romans 15:33;II Corinthians 13:11; I Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrew 13:20). The peacemakers will be known bytheir likeness to their heavenly Father. 6The reward of the peacemaker then is not to become a son of God but to be called “agodly son.” He is already a son of God It is not his pedigree but his reputation that is in view. Aspeople see him involved in the costly ministry of bringing peace, they see in him in the image of hisMaster and recognize the family resemblance.

106The resemblance between my sister and I are so marked that strangers seeing us togetherrecognize us a brother and sister. So it is with the peacemaker. He so resembles God by hisattitudes, words and actions that people recognize him as a son of God. He acts like God, lookslike God and reminds people of God. Therefore, they call him “son of God.”The Beatitudes do not leave us gazing at heaven; they end leaving us gazing at a scarredand warring earth. God’s righteousness and purity lead to peacemaking. God’s purity is not apurity that builds walls of separation about itself by taboos and exclusions—it is not a protectedpurity; it is a purifying force. The renounced in spirit and the pure in heart are not called the sonsof God until they become lovingly aggressive in the sacrificial ministry of peacemaking.Peacemaking is not peaceful co-existence with evil, the crafty art of evasion of issues,peace at any price. Peacemaking is not peace-loving, peace hoping, peace talking. It is not passivevirtue but a sacrificial activity. It is a ministry which calls for uncommon tact, insight, honesty,fairness, courage and patience, blended with warm love. And such a ministry must penetrate allareas of life- -at home, the church, the community, the office, the factory, the store, the school, andon the international scene if we have contact with that. Peacemaking must be thought of in termsof all persons with whom we come in contact.Jesus is calling us to a ministry that is impossible unless we ourselves have first experiencedpeace—peace with God, peace with ourselves, and peace with each other. Then, and only then,can we be peacemakers. Jesus calls us not only to a reputation for being a love of peace, but abridge between warring factions, a healer of breaches, a promoter of unity, one who pours oil ontroubled waters.To a world that says,“Happy are they who complains for they get their own way; happy are theywho make trouble for they get people’s attention.”Jesus says:“O the happiness of those who produce right relationships between peopleand God and between people themselves for they are doing a god-like work!”

107May St. Francis of Assisi’s prayer be ours:“Lord make me an instrument of thy peace!Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love.Where there is injury . . . pardon.Where is doubt . . . faith.Where there is despair . . . hope.Where there is darkness . . . light.Where there is sadness . . . joy.O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seekTo be consoled . . . as to console,To be understood . . . as to understand,To be loved . . . as to love.For,It is in giving . . . that we receive,It is in pardoning . . . that we are pardoned.It is in dying . . . that we are born to eternal life.”

108CHAPTER 8 THE HAPPINESS OF THE PERSECUTED

109THE HAPPINESS OF THE PERSECUTEDMatthew 5:10-12INTRODUCTIONI. PERSECUTION IS INEVITABLEA. DISCIPLES D. NEW TESTAMENT SAINTSB. JESUS E. PAULC. OLD TESTAMENT SAINTSII.KINDS OF PERSECUTIONIII. REASONS FOR PERSECUTIONA. MORALITY C. POLITICAL INSURRECTIONB. RELIGION D. SOCIAL LIFE1. Atheism E. WORK2. Cannibalism3. Immorality F. HOME LIFEIV. THE MEANINGV. WHY PERSECUTED?VI. THE RESPONSEA. SUB-CHRISTIAN1. Retaliate 4. Resentment2. Sulk 5. Stoicism3. Self-PityB. CHRISTIAN1. ”Rejoice and be glad”a. Why and How?(1) Authenticity(2) United with Christ(3) Purifying our Lives

110(4) Nearness of Christ(5) Walking the same road as the prophets,the saints and the martyrs walked.(6) Great Reward(7) Show our Loyalty to Christ

111“Hast thou no wound? Yet I was wounded by the archers;Spent, leaned me against a tree to die,And rent by ravening wolves that compassed me, I swooned:Hast thou no scar? No hidden scar on foot or side, or hand?I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;I hear them hail thy bright, ascendant star:Hast thou no scar?No wound, no scar? Yet as the Master shall the servant be,And pierced are the feet that follow meBut thine are whole. Can he have followed far.Who has no wound, no scar?”--AnonymousImagine Jesus setting up a recruitment office in downtown Minneapolis. On the office doorperhaps He would use but two words, “THE WAY.” As we come nearer the office, we seesomething written on the windows-some statements or slogans. We count them; there are eight.Evidently they are the kind of qualities He is looking for in recruits. “Those who are spirituallybankrupt,” “those who are mournful over their own and others’ sinfulness,” those who aresensitive to others and relate to them in a merciful way,” those who do everything they can to bringabout peace between people and their God and between people themselves,” and “those who arewilling to take a stand for Christ and suffer the consequences.”In George Bernard Shaw’s play, “Saint Joan,” in a conversation the Archbishop says toJoan, “You are in love with religion, aren’t you?” Joan answers, “Well, maybe I am; I had neverthought of it that way. Is there any harm in it?” The Archbishop relies, “There is no harm in it, butthere is danger.”There was danger for Joan and there is danger for any follower of Jesus of Nazareth. AndJesus as a Recruiting Officer did not hesitate to let His followers know what was in store for them.He was always up front, candid.To a world that says, “Happy are those who escape trouble and avoid failure” Jesus says:“Happy are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirsis the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).Then Jesus goes on and amplifies this eight Beatitude:

112“Happy are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kindsof evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is yourreward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who werebefore you” (Matthew 5:11-12).Jesus did not come to offer an easy life; He came to make people great. He never said,“Follow Me and life will be a bed of roses” (ss some preachers seem to imply.). Rather He said onmany different occasions, “Follow Me and you will suffer great hardship.” Jesus never watereddown the demands of discipleship. He did not paint His cause with pleasant colors. To attractfollowers, Jesus did not present His mission in its best light. He did not make His demands a littlemore attractive than they really were. Jesus thinned out the crowd of followers right from the startby telling them the truth and nothing but the truth. “The citizen of the kingdom of heaven, “Hewarned, “will be persecuted and face all kinds of pressures and problems.”PERSECUTION IS INEVITABLEPersecution is part and parcel of what it means to live for God. It has always been so. Butin the context of these Beatitudes it seems especially misplaced. This promise of persecution doesnot seem to fit with the previous beatitude which spoke about peacemaking. But it is notmisplaced. Wrong treatment often comes upon those who do what is right. Those who want tolive for God and serve others soon discover that being mistreated isn’t the exception. It’s the rule!In this eighth and last Beatitude Jesus did not say, “If people insult you, persecute you andfalsely say al kinds of evil against you” but “when people insult you, persecute you and falsely sayall kinds of evil against you . . .” (Matthew 5:11).Already when Jesus spoke these words He was encountering stiff opposition from thereligious leaders of His day (mark 3;6). Ten of the twelve disciples whom He addressed would dieat the hands of evil men. According to church history Andrew because he persisted in preachingwas ordered crucified. He was fastened with cords to a cross, so that death might be slow. Peter,after nine months in prison, was crucified upside down. Paul was beheaded by Nero.When Jesus sends His disciples forth to minister He clearly outlines to them what they areto expect:“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakesand as innocent as doves. But be on your guard against men; they will hand youover to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On My account youwill be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to theGentiles . . . Brother will betray brother to death, and father his child, children will

113rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate youbecause of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you arepersecuted in one place, flee to another . . .” (Matthew 10:16-18; 21-23).Then Jesus explains why this is so:THE MODEL“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It isenough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.”(Matthew 10:24-25)Suffering was part of Jesus’ whole life and ministry. Therefore His followers, if in anysignificant way, they are to follow Him, must also follow in His footsteps of suffering. For thefollower is not above the leader. This is Peters’ argument as he presents Jesus as our pattern, ourexample:“For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust sufferingbecause he is conscious of God. . . .To this you were called, because Christsuffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.”(I Peter 2:19,21)“Unjust suffering” is part of what it means to follow Jesus, to walk in His steps.By the end of the first century the word for “witness” and the word for “martyr” hadbecome the same Greek word (martus). The original meaning is “witness” but it also came tomean “martyr,” because during those days a person who was a true witness to his faith in JesusChrist most likely also became a martyr for that faith.Jesus pointed out to His disciples that the day would come when those who killed aChristian would think that they were rendering service to God (John 16:2).OLD TESTAMENT SAINTSWhen we begin to live they way God wants us to we find opposition, pain and suffering.Persecution has always been the lot of God’s people. Cain slew Abel because “his own works wereevil and his brother’s righteous” (I John 3:12). Joseph was sold to an Egyptian and thrown intoprison for righteousness’ sake (Genesis 37, 39). Moses was reviled again and again as he sought tofollow God’s directives (Exodus 5:21; 14:11; 16:2, 17:2). Samuel was rejected because he soughtto please God (I Samuel 8:5). Elijah as despised and persecuted by his people for his faithfulness to

114God (I Kings 18:17; 19:2). Micah was hanged by King Jehoshaphat because he refused to flatterthe king but instead always told him the truth (I Kings 22:8). Nehemiah was oppressed anddefamed because of his unswerving obedience to God’s commands (Nehemiah 4).The last part of Hebrews 11 catalogues the sufferings of Old Testament saints:“Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a betterresurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained andput in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in tow; they were put to deathby the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute,persecuted and mistreated . . . they wandered in deserts and mountains, and incaves and holes in the ground” (Hebrew 11:35–38).The writer then ends this section with these words:“. . . the world was not worthy of them” (Hebrews 11:38).What a testimony! And the same is true of the New Testament saints. Persecution is theChristian’s common lot. Persecution is inevitable.James told the Christians of his time:“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever (not if) you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverancemust finish its work so that you may be complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).Similarly Peter said:“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after (not if)you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firmand steadfast . . .Dear friend, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as thoughsomething strange were happening to you” (I Peter 5:10; 4:12).Suffering is not “something strange” but rather something to be expected!Paul put it bluntly:“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, butalso to suffer for him . . .” (Philippians 1:29).

115In writing to young Timothy Paul testified:“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose faith,patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of thingshappened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yetthe Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godlylife in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Timothy 3:10-12).The followers of Jesus Christ, says Paul, are “destined” for persecution:“We (Paul and Silas) sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker inspreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, sothat no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that wewere destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you thatwe would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you will know.”(I Thessalonians 3:2-4)There is no need to be “unsettled” by persecution when we realize that we were “destined”for them. Suffering is God’s design, His intent, for the Christian. Thomas Watson, the Puritanwriter put it:“Though they be never so meek, merciful, pure in heart, their piety will never shieldthem from suffering. They must hang their harp on the willows and take the cross.The way to heaven is by the way of thorns and blood. . . .Set it down as a maxim,if you will follow Christ, you will see the swords and staves. Put the cross in yourcreed.” 1PAULPaul blazed a trail that was marked by blood. This was true virtually everywhere he went.He compares his own life and reputation with that of the false apostles of Corinth:“We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you arestrong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry andthirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hardwith our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, weendure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we havebecome the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world” (I Corinthians 4:10-13).Unlike many Christians today who are engaged in self-glorification, who are the superstars,the sanctified celebrities, the latest sport hero, the elite Paul testifier. “We’re refuse, scum, dregs ofsociety.” Instead of putting forth his impressive pedigree: “Studied under the great Gamaliel; speak

116several languages; personal friend of many rulers, kings, famous men; came back to serve Christafter having been virtually dead (Acts 14:19-20); ascended into the third heaven” (II Corinthians12a;1-5) Paul simply referred to himself as a “nobody” in the world’s eyes.In his second letter to the Corinthian believers he states:“We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not bediscredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way:in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses, in beatings,imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger. . .”(II Corinthians 6:3-5)In comparing himself with the so-called “super-apostles” of Corinth Paul testifies:“I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been floggedmore severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I receivedfrom the Jews forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods,once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day inthe open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger fromrivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in dangerfrom Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea;and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gonewithout sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food;I have been cold and naked” (II Corinthians 11:23-27).KINDS OF PERSECUTIONThe vicious hatred, contempt, the people had for the Christians is seen in their ingeniousways of people had for the Christians is seen in their ingenious ways of persecuting them.H. B. Workman in his book, Persecution in the Early Church summarizes the terrors theChristians faced:“If we confine ourselves to strictly historical cases, the savagery, thoughto a large extent part of the judicial process of the age is appalling. Some,suffering the punishment of paricides, were shut up in sacks with snakesand thrown into the sea; others were tied to huge stones and cast intoa river. For Christians the cross itself was not deemed sufficient agony,hanging on trees, they were beaten with rods until their bowels gushed out,while vinegar and salt were rubbed into their wounds. In the Thebias, duringthe persecution of Diocletian, Christians were tied to catapults, and sowrenched limb from limb. Some, like Ignatius, sere thrown to the beasts;others tied to their horns. Women were stripped, enclosed in nets, and exposed

117to the attacks of furious bulls. Many were ‘made to lie on sharp shells,’ andtortured with scrapers, claws and pincers before being delivered to themercy of the flames. Not a few were broken on the wheel, or torn inpieces by wild horses. Of some the feet were slowly burned away, coldwater being poured over them while lest the victims should expire too rapidly.Peter, one of the servants of Diocletian, was scourged to the bone, than placednear a ridiron that he might witness; the roasting of pieces of flesh from hisown body. At Lyons they tried to overcome the obstinacy of Sanctus ofVienne ‘by fixing red-hot plates to the most delicate parts of his body.’ Downthe backs of others ‘melted lead, hissing and bubbling,’ was poured; whilea few, by the clemency of the Emperor, escaped with the searing of their eyes,or a tearing off of their legs . . . to say nothing of the rack, the hobby-horse,the claws, and other tortures preparatory to sentence.” 2Nero wrapped Christians in pitch and set them aflame, and used them as living torches tolight his gardens.Christianity is a blood-bought faith. This is true in an ultimate sense in the case of thevicarious suffering of Jesus, but it is also true of His followers in that they often had to pay withtheir lives for their faith in Jesus’ death for them.REASONS FOR PERSECUTIONThe main reason for the hatred of the Christians was the fact that they were different. Thevery word used in describing a Christian is “saint” (hagios) which means “holy” or “that which isdifferent,” or “set apart from other things and people.” A Christian is a person who is differentfrom others, who is set apart from the world to serve the true and living God.MORALITYChristians were different in that they had a completely different moral standard. Chastitywas a new virtue. The Christian ethic in itself was a criticism and condemnation of pagan life andstandards. And people will always seek to eliminate that which condemns them. That’s why theygot rid of Jesus. He was the conscience of His day and so the people sought to eliminate thisdisturbing conscience. The same was true of John the Baptist and all the other followers of Jesus.RELIGIONChristians also had a totally different religion. The Christians, like the Jews, weremonotheists—they believed one God. And it was this very belief that caused the populist to accusethe Christians of being atheists. The heathen could not understand an image less worship. And sothey figured they must not believe in gods. And this was an insult to their own gods. And the

118welfare of the state depended on allegiance to the gods. For without such allegiance the godsmight take revenge by sending disaster upon the state. Thus the Christians threatened the securityof the state.Their religious allegiance also made them vulnerable to the accusation of cannibalism.The words of the Lord’s Supper—“This is My body” and “This cup is the new covenant in Myblood”—were taken and twisted into a story that Christians sacrificed their children and ate theirflesh.Their weekly “love feasts” (agape) were interpreted to be orgies of lust and thus Christianswere accused of immorality. Because they met in “secret” and greeted each other with the “kiss ofpeace” they were accused of all kinds of immoral practices.POLITICAL INSURRECTIONThe Christians were also accused of political insurrection because they were alwaystalking about the earth being destroyed by fire. So they were accused of planning an insurrectionthereby trying to destroy everything that was stable and established. This reference to the newheaven and the new earth was misconstrued to apply to their own world.The Christians were accused of being political revolutionaries because they refused toworship the Emperor Caesar. Yearly they refused to burn incense to Caesar and confess publiclythat “Caesar is Lord.” Such refusal was interpreted as disloyalty to him and his political empire.The only crime of the Christian was that he valued Christ above Caesar. For such loyalty Christiansdied by the thousand.SOCIAL LIFEChristians were also different in their social life. In the ancient world most feasts were heldin honor of some god. Prayer would be offered to the heathen gods. The feasts and parties wereheld in the precincts of a temple, after a sacrifice had been made, with an invitation to dine “at thetable” of some god. Refusal t do so was interpreted by the pagans to be boorish and discourteouson the part of the Christians. A person had to be prepared to be lonely in order to be a Christian.WORKThe Christians faith often disrupted their work. Certain vocations were off-limits. Theycould not be gladiators or actors. Masons were often involved in building the walls of heathentemples. Tailors often kept busy making robes for heathen priests. Tertullian forbade a Christian tobe a school teacher, because such teaching involved using textbooks which told the ancient storiesof the gods and the observance of the religious festivals of the pagan year. When one man came to

119Tertullian to tell of his business difficulties, he ended by saying, “What can I do? I must live? “Mustyou?” said Tertullian. If it comes to a choice between loyalty and a living, the Christian must neverhesitate to choose loyalty.HOME LIFEChristianity also affected the home life. It often happened that one member of a familybecame a Christian while the other members did not. Thus the family became divided. In such acase it is true that Christianity did not come with peace but with a sword. Such a disruption setmembers of the family against each other as foretold by Jesus (Matthew 10:34-37). Therefore,Christians were accused of “tampering with family relationships.” Because the Christians’ love forJesus was stronger than that for their fellow family members they became the target of hostility.After all, homes were disrupted.Christians became accused of virtually everything. Tertullian cynically stated:“If the Tiber floods the city, or if the Nile refuses to rise, or if the sky withholds itsrain, if there is an earthquake, a famine, a pestilence, at once the cry is raised:‘The Christian to the lions.’” 3St. Augustine says that in North Africa such accusations became a proverb which stated:“If there is no rain, blame the Christians.” 4Christians became scapegoats for any and every disaster in the world. Because theymanifested the characteristics laid out in the Beatitudes the Christians were hated and thuspersecuted. The spiritually bankrupt are scorned by those who feed on pride. The purr in heartwho insist on truth and goodness interfere with those who follow their prejudices and passions.The merciful, when they advocate forgiveness while the crowd is crying for vengeance, aredenounced as weaklings, sentimentalists. The peacemakers who purse a course of reconciliationpast the point where hotheads call for strife, are reviled as traitors and scorned by their fellowcitizens.The righteous are a standing rebuke to wrongdoers. They haunt them with their highergoodness as the compassionate look of the stoned Stephen haunted Saul of Tarsus.THE MEANING“Revile (oneididzo) means “to cast in one’s teeth, to abuse someone with vile, vicious,mocking words.” this was the word used by Matthew in describing Jesus’ crucifixion as He wasmocked, made fun of, scorned (Matthew 27:44).

120We must not only be ostracized—chase out of the groups we used to be in, but we alsomust be willing to be made fun of, to be the butt of vicious accusations as Jesus was(Luke 22:63-65).The word “persecute” means “to purse, drive, chase away, harass,” or as a law term, “toprosecute.” Jesus is saying that happy are those who allow themselves to be persecuted. And theGreek construction (passive perfect participle) indicates that the person who manifests the attitudeof the Beatitudes is willing to accept whatever comes.Are we willing to suffer the consequences of taking a stand for Jesus? Are we wiling to tellit like it is and accept the reaction without self-pity? Or do we tend to accommodate ourselves sothat we are more accepted by others? The follower of Jesus must be willing to be chased, pursued,harassed, and if need be, killed.Probably the most difficult aspect of persecution is when it comes in the form of falseaccusation. Jesus promised His followers that if they manifested the Beatitudes in their lives thatpeople will “falsely say all kinds of evil against you” (Matthew 5:11). It is one thing not to beliked, it is one thing for people not to like what we say, but it is another when they claim we saythings we don’t say. When our motives are impugned, our speech perverted and our actionsmisrepresented it becomes difficult not to zealously defend ourselves.We have already seen how that the early church was the butt of countless false accusationsShe had learned to practice what Peter preached:“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doingwrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”(I Peter 2:12)The best defense of malicious rumor is a life of sterling integrity!REASON FOR PERSECUTIONPersecution must always come because of our allegiance to Jesus. Jesus put it:“Happy are those who are persecuted because of righteousness . . .Happy are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kindsof evil against you because of Me” (Matthew 5:10-11).The heart of the question of persecution is “Why?” “Why is a Christian persecuted?” Jesusanswers: “because of righteousness” and “because of Me.” Jesus is not saying, “Happy are thosewho are persecuted.” Jesus was not approving of any kind of persecution. Persecution in and of

121itself is not a blessing. Only the kind of persecution that results from obedience to Jesus is blessed.Only those who are persecuted because, by God’s grace, they are determined to live as Jesus livedare considered happy.There is no promise of happiness to those who are persecuted for being a nuisance, afanatic, a fool, and acting strange. God calls us to suffer as “fools for Christ” but the truth is thatmost of us suffer because we’re just plain “fools.” There is no happiness for those who are justweird or peculiar. Such people become a stumbling block rather than a stepping stone for thosewho are sincerity seeking God.Peter makes it plain that there is no happiness in suffering that results from sin.“If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for thespirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as amurderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However,if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that youbear that name . . .For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust sufferingbecause he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receivea beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing goodand you endure it, this is commendable before God” (I Peter 4:14-16; 2:19-20).Persecution which does not result from dong good is not persecution at all but merelypunishment. Punishment is the result of doing evil whereas persecution is the result of doinggood. Persecution that is blessed by God is that which results from doing good, for being like JesusOUR RESPONSEBut how did Jesus expect His disciples to respond to persecution? “Rejoice and be glad”said Jesus to His followers (Matthew 5:12a). Unlike the unbeliever the disciple of Christ must notretaliate and try to get even. Nehemiah is an example of the spirit that refused to strike back whenthere is great opposition form hostile neighbor (Nehemiah 5:2-3). Nor must Jesus’ followers sulklike a child. Self-pity also had no place for the suffering Christian. And resentment is out ofcharacter for the Christian. Even stoicism—grin and bear it attitude—should have no place in theChristian’s life.The only Christian response to suffering is joy. Anything less is sub-Christian. All otherresponses are reactions. And such reactions are all forms of negative and thus harmful thoughtsand attitudes.

122WHY?How can happiness be promised t those who are persecuted? Why are they to rejoice?First, persecution is a mark of authenticity. Persecution, says Jesus belongs to all who followHim. If there is no persecution in our lives then we better question our sonship.Second, persecution is evidence of being united with Jesus Christ.Jesus puts it:“If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are notof the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”(John 15:19)Persecution means that we share in Jesus’ sufferings.Third, persecution is God’s method of purifying our lives. Peter puts it:“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had tosuffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greaterworth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be provedgenuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”(I Peter 1:6-7)Problems are sent our way so that we may be shaped, developed and perfected by them.Without persecution a Christian remains soft. The fires of persecution strengthen our lives as thedross is drained away.Fourth, persecution helps us to experience in a unique way the nearness of Christ.Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego (Daniel 3:24-25) illustrate the fact that when we are calledupon to go through deep waters that God’s presence is experienced in a magnificent way. Thepsalmist put it, “. . . even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear noevil; for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).Fifth, persecution is evidence that we’re walking the same road as the prophets, thesaints and the martyrs walked. To suffer for what is right and good, to suffer for God’s cause, isto share in a great succession of saints who have gone before us. Instead of getting caught in thecommon longing for comfortable religion, the attitude of Jesus’ disciple is expressed by ReginaldHeber’s hymn, ”The Son of God Goes Forth to War”:

“They climbed the steep ascent of heavenThrough peril, toil and pain:O God, to us may grace be givenTo follow in their train.”Jesus said:123“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the sameway they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:12).It’s not just misery that loves company, but so does persecution. To be persecuted meansto be identified with that great company of saints that blazed the trail before us.Sixth, persecution promises a great reward. Jesus said: “Rejoice and be glad, becausegreat is your reward in heaven . . .” (Matthew 5:12).What is loss in this life for the sake of Christ will be gain in heaven.Paul testified:“No eye had seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has preparedfor those who love Him” (I Corinthians 2:9).Some say that to want rewards is sub-Christian. But this is to be super-spiritual—morespiritual than God is. For he promises reward for faithful living and service. Abraham sought thereward of a city whose architect and builder was God (Hebrew 11:10). Moses gave up hisEgyptian heritage, identified with his suffering people “because he was looking ahead to hisreward” (Hebrew 11:26). Even our Lord endured the excruciating pain of the cross and scornedits shame “for the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2). Paul in contemplating his future rewardtestified:“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory thatfar outweighs them all” (II Corinthians 4:17).While rewards are not to be our primary motivation in serving God or man, they arelegitimate by-products of faithful service.Finally, persecution gives us an opportunity to show our loyalty to Jesus Christ. It iswhen things become difficult that there comes the acid test of the loyalty of the Christian.Persecution give to the believer the opportunity to show that he is not ashamed of the gospel ofChrist, and that he does not shrink from showing to whom he belongs and whom he serves.

124One of the most famous of all the martyrs was Polycarp, the aged bishop of Smyrna, wholived in the first and second centuries A.D. The mob dragged him to the tribunal of the Romanmagistrate. He was given the inevitable choice—sacrifice to the godhead of Caesar or die. “Eightyand six years,” came the immortal reply, “have I served Christ, and He has done me no wrong.How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” so they brought him to the stake, and he prayedhis last prayer:“O Lord God Almighty, the Father of Thy well-beloved and ever-blessed Son, bywhom we have received the knowledge of Thee . . . I thank Thee that Thou hastgraciously thought me worthy of this day and of this hour.”As Polycarp finished this prayer, he literally went up in smoke. Perhaps in his last momentshe was remembering Christ’s promise given to the church of Smyrna of which he was bishop, byJohn in his book of the Revelation: “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.”Here was the supreme opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty to Jesus Christ.There are so many of us who have never in our lives made anything like a real sacrifice forJesus Christ. The moment when Christianity seems likely to cost us something is the moment whenit is open to us to demonstrate our loyalty to Jesus Christ in a way that all the world can see.Persecution was seen as a privilege for the follower of Jesus. Peter and John left theSanhedrin “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name”(Acts 5:41). Paul and Silas in the Philippian dungeon with their backs bleeding were “praying andsinging hymns to God” (Acts 16:25).But what about the rest of us who will never be great martyrs for the sake of Jesus? God ispleased with those who are martyrs in their hearts, “living sacrifices”, who are totally andunreservedly sold out to Him. And God sees the little sacrifices as well as the big ones. Small andsubtle insults patiently borne for his sake pleases God as much as the far more spectacular acts ofsacrifice.It may take as much grace to spend 40 years at the same desk in the same office and watchother people being promoted ahead of him because he refuses to do certain unethical thingsdemanded of officers in his company as it would for Polycarp to be burned at the stake for hisvibrant testimony. It may take as much grace for a young woman not to enjoy the popularity thatother beautiful girls enjoy because she refuses to be made a plaything for the pleasure of her malecompanions as it takes to be thrown to the lions.Such truth may bring comfort to us all. But if we have not know persecution, even in littleand subtle ways, we desperately need to search our own hearts before God. Then we need to prayfor the righteousness of character as found in the Beatitudes that will either repel or draw peopleto Jesus Christ.

125CHAPTER 9 GOD’S PEOPLE: SALT OF THE EARTH

126GOD’S PEOPLE: SALT OF THE EARTHMatthew 5:13INTRODUCTIONI. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SALTA. A COMMON SUBSTANCEB. A PURE SUBSTANCEC. A HIGHLY VALUED SUBSTANCE1. Preservative2. Flavor3. ThirstII.A WARNING

127Can you imagine what it would be like to live without refrigeration? No more ice cubes,freezers or refrigerators. No more frozen food: frozen meats, vegetables, fruits, ice cream.Without the modern advantages of refrigeration how would we preserve blood, medicinechemicals which are so critical to our scientific technology? How we utterly depend uponrefrigeration in our daily lives!And Jesus says that we Christians are the refrigerators of the world. This does not soundvery appealing when you recognize that there are good many cold and frigid Christians already andway too many churches that are storage freezers.The people whom Jesus addressed His Sermon needed salt as much as we needrefrigeration today. In Israel 90 degree temperatures are common for over half the year. How werethe fishermen who caught fish in Galilee going to take their catch on the two day journey to themarket in Jerusalem without having their fish spoil? They would do so only with large quantities ofsalt. Meat and fish had to be placed between two solid layers of salt to be transported to themarkets and kept from spoiling. The Jews were totally dependent on salt.It was to such people that Jesus proclaimed:“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, How can it be madesalty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampledby men” (Matthew 5:13).Up to now as we have looked at the Sermon on the Mount many of us may have gotten theimpression that the really happy people are too good for this world and only fit to live in heaven.But now, Jesus calls them not the joy and delight of heaven, but “the salt of the earth.”In order to define the nature of their influence, Jesus resorted to two domestic metaphors:salt and light. Every home used and still uses both salt and light. During His boyhood Jesuswatched His mother use salt in the kitchen and light the lamps when the sun went down. Salt andlights are indispensable household commodities.Jesus’ statement that His disciples are “the salt of the earth” describes the influence, therole, which His followers are to play in the world. Christian character as so beautifully delineatedby Jesus in His Beatitudes is manifested in Christian influence which must express itself in Christianconduct.Jesus is saying that while it is true that the Christian is to be spiritually bankrupt, mournfulfor sin, meek, thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, working to make peace and willingto be persecuted for his faith, such character qualities must never be in isolation from the world inwhich he lives.

128The disciple, says Jesus, is to manifest character qualities in a way that will affect the worldpositively as salt affects the medium to which one applies it. Though sometimes unseen andunnoticed, the Christian, says Jesus, exercises a potent influence in society.WORLD IN DECAYAt the end of the 19 th century there was a feeling of confident optimism in the westernworld based on the belief in progress. Many believed in a biological and philosophical (ethical)evolution which would eventually solve all man’s troubles and lead to something similar to the“golden Age” of the ‘Greeks. The prognostications of the philosophers, poets, and leaders towardthe end of the last century was that wars were going to be abolished, diseases would be cured,suffering would eventually be eliminated. Through education most of the problems were going tobe solved. And as all the nations were thus exposed to education they would solve their differencesthrough conferences instead of war. The whole world, therefore, would eventually be Paradise.Today such optimism seems rather naive and foolish. Our age is known more and more forits pessimism and even cynicism than for its empty optimism. Even those who are still confident insome areas are more guarded in expressing their limited optimism. There is an increasingawareness that something more than a theory of progress is necessary. Man has to be radicallychanged from within if society is to be changed. And this is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers.Peter points out that through faith in Jesus Christ we have become partakers of the divine nature”(II Pet. 1:4). And thus clay has become salt.And the salt is to influence every strata of society. The principles of the Gospel mustimpinge upon the religious, political, economical and social aspects of society. What an awesomecalling and responsibility! We have been called by God for the purpose of salting the whole world.A COMMON SUBSTANCESalt is one of the most common substances there is. It is found everywhere. Unlike gold,silver, uranium and other substances salt was available to everyone. Every home, however poor,used and still uses salt. And Jesus’ message to His followers was not that they were “gold of theearth,” “the silver of the earth” or “the uranium of the earth.” Rather they were “the salt of theearth”–a very common substance.It has always been God’s method to use the common, the simple, the humble. Paul put it:“Brothers, think, of what you were when you were called. Not many of you werewise by human standards: nor many were influential: not many were of noblebirth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; Godchose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowlythings of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–tonullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him” (I Corinthians 1:26-29).

129God used mere dust to make man. He chose Abram, a man from an idolatrous family, tobegin the plan of redemption. He chose Israel, a tiny nation, to be His covenant people. He choseDavid, a shepherd boy with a sling and a few stones, to deliver the Israelites from the Philistinetyranny. He chose Mary, an illiterate peasant girl, to give birth to the Savior of the world.God’s method has always been, and still is, to use the small things and the little people ofthe world to accomplish His great purpose and plan for this world. For the smaller the instrumentGod uses the more likely He will be recognized as the source of what takes place. Thais eliminatesboasting on the part of man and places glory where it belongs . . . upon God Almighty.Not the famous, the great, the rich, the successful, the politicians, the educators, theeconomists, the scientists, the doctors, the entertainers, the sports figures or even the ministers–butyou who know Jesus Christ will salt the earth. You, who are spiritually bankrupt, who mourn foryour own and the world’s sins; you, who are humble, gentle, merciful, peacemakers; you, who arepersecuted and purified and whose greatest desire is for God–you, whatever your vocation,wherever you live, whatever your race, color, status–you are the salt of the earth.A PURE SUBSTANCESalt was and is not only commonplace but it was also connected with purity. The Romanssaid that salt was the purest of all things because it came from the purest of all things: the sun andthe sea. Salt was the most primitive of all offerings to the gods and Jewish sacrifices were offeredwith salt (Leviticus 2:13). So then, if the Christian is to be the salt of the earth he must be anexample of purity.One of the characteristics of the world in which we live is that moral standards are low,constantly changing, or non-existent. Moral standards–standards of honesty, diligence in work,conscientiousness all tend to be lowered. The Christian is called upon to hold high standards ofpurity in conduct, speech and even thought. While the Christian cannot withdraw from the world,he must, as James said, “keep himself from being polluted by the world? (James 1:27).If Christians become contaminated by the impurities of the world, they lose their influence.Richard Quebedeaux in his book, The Worldly Evangelicals, points out that we live today in thekind of world where it had become increasingly difficult to tell who’s Christian and who’s not. Ithas become fashionable for Christians to have just enough of the world so they can live their liveswithout being distinctive. But Jesus’ point in this verse is that the influence of Christians in and onsociety depends on their being distinct, not identical:“The glory of the gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from theworld, she invariably attacks it. It is then that the world is made to listen to hermessage, though it may hate it at first.” 1

130Indistinguishable Christians are useless. They have nothing of offer. They are mere parrotsof society. And therefore only fit to be discarded: “thrown out and trampled by men.”A HIGHLY VALUED SUBSTANCEPerhaps the words heard more often around the dinner table than any others are “Pleasepass the salt.” In the ancient world salt was so highly valued that the Greeks called salt “divine.”the Roman soldiers were given their salt rations and if they were careless in their duties they weresaid to be “not worth their salt.” Our English word “salary” literally means “salt money.”Salt was also used and still is throughout ancient societies as a sign of friendship. In Arabcountries if a person partakes of salt by eating with another person, he is under his care andprotection. God speaks of a covenant of salt that He made with David (II Chronicles 13:5).In the world where there was no notary public who could authenticate the legality of adocument when two people entered a business agreement salt was used as two parties would eattogether and thus establish a Covent that was not to be broken. And God prescribed salt as anecessary part of the sacrifices (Leviticus 2:13). Without it the offering was unacceptable.A popular roman phrase stated, “There is nothing more useful than sun and salt.” In thetime of Jesus salt was connected in people’s minds with three special qualities.PRESERVATIVEIn the ancient world salt was the most common of all preservatives. In the tropical climateof the Mediterranean world where there were no refrigerators nor deepfreeze units salts was usedto keep things from decaying and becoming rotten, especially fish and meat. Salt was able to resistspoilage and keep tins from deterioration. It is the foe of corruption as it destroys germs and fightsharmful bacteria.Jesus said that those who followed Him were the salt of the earth, therefore, He wasteaching that the world apart form God is rotten because of sin and that through His power Hisdisciples would have a preserving and purifying influence upon it. The Christian must be thecleansing antiseptic in any society in which he happens to be; he must be the person who by hispresence defeats corruption and makes it easier for others to be good.Christians then are to “keep civilization from spoiling, society from rotting, and the worldfrom degenerating.”2 A society characterized by savage violence, deception and depravity, if left toitself, will deteriorate and ultimately self-destruct. Without the hidden salt of Christian influence,civilization would have crumbled long ago.THE WORLD IS EVIL

131Two opposing errors have been made by Christians in their approach to the world. The oneerror which has always infiltrated programs concerned with expressing the Christian’s socialresponsibility is the view that the world is basically good and will gradually become better throughsocial action. Liberal churchmen have misunderstood Jesus’ statement as saying, “You are thesugar of the earth.” This view emphasized sweetening a world which is basically sweet.But Jesus says that the world is basically rotten. This means that even though it may appearsweet and healthy for a time, it is dead spiritually. The world is a whole system which denies Godand exalts man. And this is why Jesus said:“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” (John 17:16).Peter described this world system as “a dark place” (II Peter 1:19). Salt, not sugar, is whatthis decaying, evil world needs so desperately.THE WORLD SHOULD BE LEFT TO ITSELFThe other error usually committed by conservative Christian s is that because the world isrotten, the Christian should ignore it and try to disassociate himself from it as much as possible.Some Christians have retreated to monasteries to live lives of contemplation while other haveretreated their while, middle-class, safe and comfortable churches. And all the while the rest of theworld goes to hell!The fact that the world is decaying should not encourage the Christian to isolate himselfand stand on the sidelines and wait for the grand collapse. Too many Christians are like Jonah whosat outside the city of Nineveh and hoped judgment would fall. Jesus looked upon the city ofJerusalem and wept over it because He knew that judgment was inevitable. Although Abrahamknew how corrupt Sodom was, he continued to pray that the city might be spared. Both Joseph inEgypt and Daniel in Babylon acted on principle and zealously worked toward justice and thusprovided divine salt in the midst of their corrupt societies. Both Moses and Paul who knew howblind their people were, yet they were willing to be damned that Israel might be saved. And theydid not give up their praying for their obstinate people.Jesus calls His disciples to be the preserving force in the world wherever God places him.Salt sitting by itself has no influence. It has to be rubbed into the meat. And Christians must allowGod to rub them into the world if they are to have any meaningful influence.A fisherman would no think of carding the fish in one hand and salt in the other. Yet howoften Christians carry their business in one hand and their faith in the other! How often Christiansworship and serve God on Sunday and carry out their secular work during the week without anymeaningful integration of the two. This means religion in one hand and entertainment in the other,politics in one basket and Christian conviction in the other.

132Lord Cairns had the reputation that whenever he entered the British Parliament no materhow late it was or how tense the atmosphere is presence always brought harmony and peace. Hisvery person brought an impact on that August political body. And the secret for this influence wasCairn’s practice of having spent at least two hours in prayer and devotion before entering theParliament. Cairns provided salt in the tense and difficult world of politics.Salt is only useful when it loses itself. Christians must be Christians at work, their faithmust impinge upon their political views, their Christian principles must be applied to their homelife, whenever and wherever they find themselves they must allow their faith, their character, tomanifest itself in the real world.Jesus’ saying that we are “the salt of the earth” is a lesson in humility for salt has value onlyin what it does to something else. It’s value is in not being alone. Salt alone is nothing. Salt byitself is useless. Salt must always make contact. It’s no good in a salt-shaker. It’s only good onyour egg, meat, potatoes and gravy.While salt adds flavor it is nevertheless obscure. No one ever comments, “Wow, this isgood salt.” Instead we usually say, “This food is really tasty” the focus is never on the salt. In thesame way our focus must never be on “the salt of the earth”—the Christian.Since salt is no good in the salt-shaker, Christians have to be taken out of the salt-shakerand spread around. And this may seem as if we get dirty and dissolve or disappear. But God is theone who provides the flavor, and the flavor does not disappear when the salt is dispensed ordissolved. In fact, the salt must dissolve if the flavor is to be released.This is why God sometimes uses persecution to shake the saltshaker. The salt must fall outbefore it will do any good. Sometimes this means that we need to give up some of our owninterests and extend ourselves in getting involved with non-Christians. This also means that wemust extend ourselves in area of the world where we do not see many Christians.Little does the world realize that it is the presence of God’s people that prevents the finalcollapse of this world system. It was Lot’s presence in Sodom that kept God from destroying thecity. Christians are preservers. Our influence is essential for survival.Also, do you know what happens when a physical body does not give off salt throughperspiration? It retains water and becomes bloated. If Christians are not dispersed in this work ofpreservation the church will become bloated and unhealthy. Like the Dead Sea which only takes inwithout giving out, selfish, solitary, isolated Christians also become dead–dead in their influencefor God in this world.

133Jesus does not invite us to become hermits, but Christians in the world–not of it, but in it.We’re to be insulated from the evil values and practices of the world but not isolated form itspeople. Remember how Jesus was viciously criticized by the overly-separated of isolated Phariseesof His day when He mingled with the publicans and sinners? Jesus told them:“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what thismeans: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have t not come to call the righteous,but sinners” (Matthew 10:12-13).“Salt” and “earth” must never be divorced!FLAVORA very obvious quality of salt is that it leads flavor to things. Food without salt is insipidand tasteless–sickening. Christianity is to life what salt is to food. Christianity lends flavor tolife. The tragedy is that so often people have associated Christianity with exactly the opposite.They have connected Christianity with that which takes the flavor out of life.Swinburne stated:“Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown gray from Thy breath.”After Constantine had made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire anotherEmperor called Julian, who wished to put the clock back and to bring back the old gods, came tothe throne. He complained, according to Ibsen:“Have you looked at these Christians closely? Hollow-eyed, pale-cheeked, flatbreastedall; they brood their lives away, unspurred by ambition: the sun shinesfor them, but they do not see it; the earth offers them its fullness, but they do notsee it; the earth offers them it’s fullness, but they desire it not; all their desire isto renounce and to suffer that they may come to die.” 3Julian saw Christianity as a religion that took the spice out of life.Oliver Wendell Holmes once said,“I might have entered the ministry if certain clergyman I knew had not looked andacted so much like undertakers.”Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote in his diary, as if he were recording somethingextraordinary:

134“I have been to Church toddy, and am not depressed.”During a sermon when a minister said to his congregation, “You are the salt of the earth” ateenager in the balcony whispered, “Pass the pepper.” Too many Christians look as thought theylived on a diet of vinegar.We need to discover the lost radiance of the Christian faith. That our world is insipid isobvious. All we have to be convinced of that is to look at the pleasure mania. Because people findtheir lives dull and boring and meaningless they rush out to this entertainment or that. People findthey have to drug themselves in various ways because they feel their need for flavor.In an anxious world, the Christian ought to be the one who remains serene. In a depressedworld, the Christian ought to be the one who experiences and manifests joy. In a dull and boringworld, the Christian ought to be the one who finds zest in living.Do you go around with a long face as if the world and everything you know is depressing?Or is it obvious to everyone that the Spirit of the living God resides in you?The story is told of a king who asked his three daughters how much they loved him. Twoof them replied that they loved him more than all the gold and silver in the whole world. The thirdand youngest said, “I love you better than salt.” The king was not especially elated with her remarkand dismissed it lightly as an indication of her immaturity. But the cook, overhearing theconversation, left salt out of the king’s breakfast the next morning. He was thus confronted withthe deep meaning of his daughter’s remark that she loved him so much that nothing was goodwithout him.Nothing in this evil, wicked world is good without the flavor of Christians!THIRSTYFinally, salt makes one thirsty. Without salt in food, there would be an improper intake ofliquid which leads to dehydration, illness and possibly even death. The danger was especially truein the desert countries around Palestine. There a traveler would always have with him a sack of saltto prevent dehydration. Even in our own day, many who work manually in the summer heat usesalt tablets. Those tablets create a thirst so as to prevent dangerous dehydration.When Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth” He was saying that God has put Christiansin the world to create thirst for Him on the part of those who are spiritually dead and dyingbecause they have not tasted of the living water that Jesus offers. God has placed Christians tocreate a thirst for Jesus Christ, their Master and Lord.

135Jesus’ fourth Beatitude, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, forthey will be filled” (Mt. 5:6) shows the need for hunger and thirst. Without an appetite, there willbe no eating and drinking, and without eating and drinking there will be no sustaining. Withoutappetite a person eventually dies. The presence of Christians creates that appetite as unbelieverssee and hear of the spiritual, eternal water offered by Jesus, the fountain of life.Until a person recognizes his need for water he will never be filled. God has placed Hisfollowers to awaken this unbelieving world to its desperate plight so there will be a longing for thatwhich God so willingly wants to supply–living water.The crucial question is: Do you make anyone thirsty for Jesus Christ? Does your presenceamong non- Christians make it evident to them that their lives are shallow, that they are missingsomething that you have? Is your life so filled with love, joy and peace that unbelievers cannot helpbut long for that same love, joy, and peace? Does your attitude of spiritual bankruptcy point outtheir own need for God’s mercy and grace? Does your mournful attitude toward sin awaken themto their need to take their own sins seriously? Does you intense hunger and thirst for the things ofGod wake them up to their own need for all that God offers? Does your forgiving and mercifulspirit point up their own bitter and vengeful attitudes? Does your integrity and single-mindeddevotion to God awaken them to their divided loyalties? Do your efforts to bring peace remindthem of their own inner struggles and strife with others and with God? Does your willingness tosuffer for your faith starkly point out to them their own apathy and lack of convictions? Do you somanifest the nature of Christ that people say, “That’s what I want; that’s what I want to be like”?Do you make people thirsty for Jesus Christ?THE LIVING WATERIn Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles it was the custom for the priests to go to thepool of Siloam each day and to return bearing large containers of water that were then emptiedupon the altar in the Temple. This happened for seven days during the feast until the last day whenthe ceremony was repeated seven times. On that last day, during the Feast of Tabernacles whenJesus attended He stood up and cried out in a loud voice:“If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me,as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”(John 7:37-38)Jesus Christ is the only one that can satisfy the great thirst of the human soul. Ourresponsibility is not to satisfy the thirst, but to help create the thirst and point people to Jesus.

136SELF-EXAMINATIONThis metaphor of salt leads us to some very searching questions for self-examination. AmI aseptic in my influence or do I spread the virus of sin? Does my life exhibit purity and thus holdhigh moral standards? Does my life help in stemming off the growing avalanche of immorality? Ismy life pungent or bland? Do I live an insulated or isolated life? Do I have a saltshaker mentality?Has the type of separation I have practiced cut me off from fruitful contact with people of theworld such as those among whom the Lord moved so freely? Do I make people thirsty for God?A WARNINGJesus ends this statement or parable with a warning:“But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longergood for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”(Matthew 5:13; see also Mark 9:50)The fact that salt can lose its savor or taste is sobering. The glistening whiteness of the saltmay still be present, but the flavor is gone. Unlike our own salt, the salt of Palestine’s was notpure, but mixed or adulterated with other minerals. When exposed to dirt, rain or sun it tended tolose its distinctive savor and ability to arrest decay and corruption. It then became “good fornothing.”In the same way the disciple can lose his distinctive influence for Christ in the world. Heloses his savor when he allows the world to squeeze him into its own mold. The Christian loses hisdistinctiveness when he allows the impurities and standards and values of the world to infiltrate hisspiritual life. For then he becomes a compromising Christian who is powerless to arrest thecorruption of those around him.Because of this danger of being contaminated by the world, many Christians remain in theirin their saltshaker’s. Instead of mixing with the people of the world, they remain aloof. But thecentral danger Jesus is warning us about is not that our inner life will be corrupted when we are inthe world, but rather that if we remain in storage, in our saltshaker’s, that we will lose ourtastiness. And thus we will become insipid and “not worth our salt.” And such salt cannot even beused for manure.Could it be that when Jesus refers to tasteless salt which is worthless and thus thrown awaywhere people trample on it, He is referring to the religious, pious Christians who keep all tothemselves in their saltshaker’s (churches or homes) and will not make contact with theunbelieving people of the world? Is He pronouncing judgment on those who are so spiritual thatthey spend all their time talking to each other about the promised, the prophecies or thepeculiarities of the faith? Is He warning those super spiritual people who are so taken up with their

137own mystical experience and “spiritual goose bumps” that they totally ignore the real job of saltingthe earth? Is He referring to the attitude expressed by Peter, James and John on the Mount ofTransfiguration when they asked Jesus to put up three shelters and continue to worship on themountain (Matthew 17:4; Mark 9:5)? Is Jesus’ warning referring to those who are so heavenlyminded they’re no earthly good?We need to remember that salt is shaken and sprinkled because it is so potent. Too muchsalt ruins food. Christians need to spread out rather than stay huddled together. Too muchfellowship leads to the spiritual disease call “koinonititis.”We must no longer retreat into our churches and have God all to ourselves for our ownprivate enjoyment. If we are not salting the earth our Christianity is not the brand Jesus is talkingabout no matter how much we’re enjoying it.God did not call out a people for His sake–the church–to exist as a relaxation society forthe soul or an athletic club for the exercise of the spirit. Salt never exists for itself. It must be in theworld. Therefore, salt the earth!

138CHAPTER 10 GOD’S PEOPLE: LIGHT OF THE WORLD

139GOD’S PEOPLE: LIGHT OF THE WORLDMatthew 5:14-16I. INTRODUCTIONII. ITS DESCRIPTIONA. Not “become”B. Not “have”C. Not “are”III. ITS INFLUENCEA. Reveals DarknessB. Condemns DarknessIV. ITS MEANINGA. God is LightB. God Created LightC. Israel is Light to the GentilesD. Jesus is the Light of the WorldE. Disciples are the Light of the World1. Jesus is the Source–the Sun2. The Disciples are the Reflected Light–the moonV. ITS NATURE: TO SHINEA. VisibleB. GuideC. WarningVI. ITS PURPOSEA. To See Our Good DeedsB. To Praise and Glorify God the Father

140A professing Christian got a job in a lumber camp that was known for its ungodliness.When a friend heard that he had been hired he said to him, “If those lumberjacks ever find outyou’re a Christian, you’re going to be in for a hard time!” He responded, “I know it, but I reallyneed the job!” The next morning he left for the camp. After a year had passed, he decided to comehome for a visit. While in town he met the friend who had warned him about the ridicule anpersecution he would receive from the other lumberjacks. His friend asked, “How did it go? Didthey give you a hard time because you’re a Christian?” “Oh, no, not at all,” the fellow replied,“They didn’t give me a bit of trouble—they never even found out than I’m a Christian.That is the very attitude Jesus warns against in His next point in the Sermon on the Mount.He uses two illustrations in describing the proper function of His disciples in this world. The firstwas salt. He said, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). “You are the preservative of acorrupt society,” You are the flavor of an insipid world.” “You are those who create thirst forGod in an apathetic, indifferent age.”And now Jesus adds another metaphor to describe His followers: light. He says:“You are light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do peoplelight a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it giveslight to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men,that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).“If salt represents secret influence, light stands for luminous radiance . . . If salt signifiesinternal worth, light stand for external witness.” 1Yet how many Christians, like the fellow in the lumber camp, hide their true identity! Theseare believers who go to church on Sunday, pray and read their bibles in the privacy of their homes,socialize with other fellow-believers while all the time their loved ones, their neighbors, their fellowworkers who are not Christians are completely unaware of their relationship to Christ. These“secret” Christians never do or say anything to give evidence that they are followers of JesusChrist.Such secrecy is a denial of what a Christian is. For a disciple of Jesus is a “light.” Just as itis the nature of a light to shine so it is the nature of a Christian to shine. Being a Christian is publicinformation; it should never be kept a secret! To be ashamed of the gospel is to be a shame to thegospel.Here in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus commands His followers to be what He Himselfclaimed to be. For He said:“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5)

141When Jesus tells His disciples that they are the light for the world He is telling them thatthey are nothing less than that they should be like Him—their Lord and Master.Jesus’ statement must have sounded fantastic to His tiny band of weak disciples in anobscure place of the world. They—“the light of the world”—who were not even known in Rome,the headquarters of the world. Yet they, not the Caesars, were the light of the world. They, theweak things of the world, the foolish things of the world, the lowly things of the world, thedespised thing of the world-they, and only they-are “the light of the world.” (I Corinthians 1:26-28).Now centuries later we know the feebleness of the Caesars: the powerful, the influential,the wise and intelligent and the light-giving power of that little, despised group that followed Jesus.ITS DESCRIPTIONIn describing His followers Jesus did not say the impossible: that they were to “become”the light of the world. Rather they are already the light because Christ has called them and indweltthem by His own presence. Nor does Jesus say that they “have” the light. The light is not aninstrument which has been put into their hands, such as their preaching and teaching. The pointthat Jesus is making is that the “light” is the disciples themselves. The same Jesus who claimed, “Iam the light,” tells His followers: “you are the light. And since it is the property of light to shine,you will shine for Me.”ITS INFLUENCEJust by being himself, a Christian shows a different type of life and exerts great influence.Ans this points out the contrast to the lifestyle of the world. Light reveals darkness and the brighterthe light the greater the contrast. The more saintly a person is the more obvious their ownsinfulness becomes. Such a person doesn’t need to say much for by just being who he is he ismaking people ashamed of their own attitudes, words and actions. By providing a standard such aperson is showing that there is another kind of life. By the Christian’s values the non-Christian isshown the corruption of the value system of the world. The Christian by who he is shows that thethings of the world belong to darkness.The tragic thing is that people actually prefer the world’s darkness to God’s light. An oldwoman in the bush country of southern Rhodesia confessed to a missionary:“You missionaries have brought us the light, but we don’t seem to want it. Youhave brought us the light, but we still walk in the darkness.” 2Plato reasoned biblically when he stated:

142“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark the real tragedy of life iswhen men are afraid of the light.”Jesus said:“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darknessinstead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hatedthe light, and oil not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”(John 3:19-20)People prefer their own imperfect and sinful way of doing things instead of the holy andperfect standard of Jesus Christ. But there are those who do seek the truth according to Jesus:“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seenplainly that what he has done has been done through God” (John 3:21).While the great majority of people remain in their darkness there are those who seek thelight of truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they desperately need our witness.The sad thing is that so many of those who live in darkness do not even know it. A fewyears ago a national news magazine pointed out that according to a survey most Americans seethemselves as better than they are:“It is the particular heresy of Americans that they see themselves as potential saintsmore than as real-life sinners.” 3THE STANDARD—JESUSThis statement could be extended to the whole world in general. But evil is no less realbecause most people are unwilling to acknowledge it. And Jesus Christ exposed the nature ofdarkness in a way that had never been done before. And people hated Him for it. Brooke Westcottput it this way:“The light which reveals the world does not make the darkness, but it makes thedarkness felt. If the sun is hidden, all is shadow, though we call the shadow onlywhich is contrasted with the sunlight; for the contrast seems to intensify thatwhich is however left just what it is before. And this is what Christ has done byHis coming. He stands before the world in perfect purity, and we feel as men couldnot feel before He came, the imperfection, the impurity of the world.. The line ofseparation is drawn forever, and the conscience of men acknowledges that it isrightly drawn. Whether we know it or not the light which steamed from Christ is

143ever opening the way to a clearer distinction between good and evil. His comingis a judgment. The light and the darkness are not blended in him, as they are inus, so that opinion can be doubtful.” 4The entrance of Jesus into the world exposed the world’s darkness. His moral goodnessrevealed the depth of the darkness of men’s hearts. His pristine purity made the people seethemselves as they really were, and they hated Him for it. His utter holiness revealed andmanifested the hidden things of darkness that were within them. And they finally crucified Him forit.The gospel of Jesus Christ offends people for it makes a person face himself and points outto him that“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”--ShakespeareIf your own works seem bright and good to you it is only because you have never reallybeen exposed to God’s intense light. As long as you live in darkness you can compare the relativemerits of human goodness and be totally blind to the darkness you are in. As long as you measureyour goodness by your own low standard you may feel satisfied and even superior to other people.But if you turn to Jesus and ask Him to reveal Himself to you His purity, His righteousness andgoodness will show you your great need for Him.From the Renaissance of the 15 th century and the Enlightenment of the 18 th century to thepresent, people have trusted knowledge to serve as the light of life. But knowledge has not, andnever will, supply light for life. Light, says Jesus, is found in simple believers.When Jesus was on this earth He was the light of the world. But now His followers are.And we are to have the same affect that Jesus had by just living the Christian life.THE MEANINGThe Bible opens majestically as God speaks:“Let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).St. John says:“God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5).When Jesus makes His entrance into this world He comes as “the light of the world.” God,who creates light, comes into our midst as the Light.

144But then He says hat His followers are “the light of the world.” What is He saying?The Metaphorical use of light was highly meaningful in Jewish life. Light was the metaphorfor the essence of God’s gifts. It is the source of life (Ecclesiastes 11:7). “Seeing the light” meant“being alive,” or “being born” (Job 3:16,20; Psalm 49:19). The word was also used to designate“salvation” or “rescue form danger.”In the Old Testament God made it plain that he who receives light becomes light and shinesboth outwardly (Ecclesiastes 8:1) and inwardly (Proverbs 4:18; Daniel 5:11). God meant for Israelto become the light that lightens the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6; 60:3; 62:1). God was often called “thelight of the world.”In the New Testament God is called not only “light” but “the Father of lights” who is thefountain of all good gifts (James 1:17). Conversion is referred to as inner “illumination” (Hebrews6:4; 8:12). Christian are “sons of light” (Luke 16:8; John 12:36; Ephesians 5:8). Christians thenhave taken over the role once given to Israel. Israel’s commission to be the light of the world hadnow fallen upon Jesus’ disciples because Israel failed to fulfill her commission.But how could these weak, common ordinary people with no influence be “the light of theworld?” How are they to function in the world morally and spiritually the same way that the sun,moon and stars function physically?REFLECTED LIGHTThe key is found in keeping Jesus’ sayings, “I am the light of the world” and “You are thelight of the world” together. These two statements must always be taken together since theChristian is only “the light of the world” because of his relationship to Him who is Himself “thelight of the world.” Because the Christian has kindled his torch at the Light of the world he can inturn be the light to the nations of the world.They were light by virtue of sharing His light. They were the lighted lamp; He is the sourceof light. Theirs was only a borrowed light. He was the Light, they were the luminaries (Philippians2:15). He was the Sun, collectively they were the moon, reflecting the Sun’s light. Only as theyfaithfully kept in contact with the light could they fulfill their role of being luminaries in a darkworld. Only as they constantly reflected His glory could they hope to bring light and life to a worlddarkened by sin. If they let their light shine before men the true light of God in Christ will be seen.We cannot produce our own light. The Jews were convinced that no person can light hisown light. While Jerusalem was a light to the Gentiles, it was God who lit Israel’s lamp. We canonly shine with the reflection of His light.

145When Christ was on earth He was the Sun. But when He left, the Sun went down, but themoon came up. And the moon is a picture of the church—of Christians. In thinking of His ownministry and mission He said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12) but when He was preparingto leave this earth He said, “You are the light of the earth.” The church shines because of the Sonjust as the moon glows because of the Sun. The radiance of the disciple shines because his hearthad been lit by the presence of Christ.COLLECTIVE RADIANCEAs a little girl was sitting in church looking admiringly at the figures on the stained glasswindows which radiated as the rays of the sun shone through them she asked her mother, “Whoare these people?’ “They are saints,” replied her mother. As they left the church, the young girlsaid, “Mother, I now know what a saint is: A saint is one through whom the light shines!”She was right. But too often we focus our attention on the individual followers that theywere “the light of the world,” not “the lights of the world.” Jesus was emphasizing to His disciplesthat they were the light of the world collectively, as a group, as the church of Jesus Christ, as thebody of Christ, as the family of God. There is no place for individualism in the Christian faith. Godcannot afford to have rugged individuals doing their own thing, putting on their own show, runningtheir own program causing needless duplication, unnecessary waste, undue competition and tragicfragmentation.God’s light and glory is shown most clearly when His followers submit to Him and to eachother and work together as one organism to accomplish His plan and purpose in this dark and evilworld.THE NATURE OF LIGHT: VISIBLEIt is the nature of light to shine and thus to be visible. Christianity is meant to be seen aswell as heard. Someone perceptively pointed out:“There can be no such thing as secret discipleship, for either the secrecy destroys thediscipleship, or the discipleship destroys the secrecy.” 5A person’s faith in Jesus Christ, his transforming character, must be visible to all people. Itmust not only be visible within the four walls of a church building. Lighthouses beat no drums,sounds no trumpets, ring no bells, fire no cannons, expect no applause. They just shine! “A city ona hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). A person whose character is expressed by the Beatitudescannot help but shine. And such a person cannot be ignored and forgotten.

146The city of the Christian community is like a city on a hill. A worshiping, fellowshiping,witnessing and serving community shines brightly in a selfish, self-centered, individualistic,impersonal world.If the city represents the church, the lamp represents the individual Christian. One lamp in agiven area may prove strategic. You cannot force others to light their lamps but you can be surethat your lamp is lit. And if your lamp is lit your faith will be visible in the ordinary activities ofeveryday life. Your relationship to Jesus should be visible in the way you teat a salesman across thecounter, in the way you order a meal in a restaurant (and even whether you leave a tip), in the wayyou serve your employer or treat your employees, in the way you behave on the basketball court orthe football field, in the way you drive your car, in the daily literature you read or the televisionprograms you watch.A Christian must be as godly in the workshop, classroom, factory, laboratory, tennis court,kitchen as he is in church. For Jesus did not say: “You are the light of the church.” but You arethe light of the world.”THE ARENA OF WITNESSThe arena of witness is the world, not the church!Because it is the primary function of light to shine it must never be hidden.“A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under abowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house?”(Matthew 5:14-15)We flick a switch and have more light than we need. But the Jews of Jesus’ day had tocarry little clay dishes with oil and wicks if they waned light. We tend to take light for grantedunless one of our cities has a power failure, but the Jews knew the utter necessity of light. Withoutthat lamp their one-room house was in total darkness. To put a bowl over a lamp, therefore, wasutterly ludicrous.To more fully appreciate light it may be helpful next time when we go to pray not to comeinto God’s presence with a neatly worded prayer on our lips but to sit in a dark room with an unlitcandle in our hand and just sit there long enough to feel the darkness of the world, to catch aglimpse of the black-out of hope in a world without Christ. Then when we have experienced andfelt the darkness, the fears, the loneliness, the alienation, the hopelessness which a Christless worldfeels we light the candle and thank God for the gift of His light.

147ESSENCEWithout light there is no truth and no hope. Yet how often Christians have hid their lampand put in under a bowl! Perhaps when Jesus warned against this He was thinking of the Qumrancommunity, which was located on the western side of the Dead Sea, about 100 miles south of theJordan river. It was here that the Dead Sea scrolls were accidentally discovered a few years ago.Here was a monastic community who were known as the Essenes. They called themselves“the children of light.” But they isolated themselves; they withdrew from the “wicked world.” Asso-called “children of light” they took no steps to let their light shine and thus failed to exert anyinfluence on their world. They had put their lamp under a bowl. Tragic!This tendency to withdraw fro the world has always been with Christian communities. ButJesus calls us to penetrate the world as salt and shine in the world as light. Light, like salt, is usefulonly as it expends itself. The believer, with his transformed character, is a beacon to those indarkness. The light, not the lamp, is important. The Christian must not protect himself but must bewilling to be spent and to spend himself that the light may shine.Only we ourselves can hide our light. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day tried to hide thelight of the apostles. But the more they; threatened the light, the more brightly it shone. Thehistory of the church is the story of the light shining in darkness and the darkness trying to put itout (John 1:5). But the “blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”What stars are to the night sky, Christians are to a dark world. God has placed us here todispel darkness. But we cannot do that by cursing the darkness; instead we must turn on the light.Darkness cannot remain when a light is turned on. And this is true no matter how thick thedarkness is. We must be true to our nature as God’s light–we simply allow Him to shine throughus.A GUIDEA light is a guide. A ship is unable to maneuver into a harbor safely without the line oflights which marks the Channel. City streets become difficult and dangerous when they are unlit. Alight is something that helps us to see our way, to guide us. As disciples we must by our exampleand verbal witness make the way clear for others in finding their way through lie as God intended.Peer pressure often makes people do things that they normally would not do. This is truepositively as well as negatively. By providing moral leadership we can enable those who do nothave the moral strength and courage to do what is right. By our taking a stand we prod others todo the same. There are people waiting and hoping that someone will take a stand and do what theydo not dare to do by themselves. But with the example and support by stronger people they canovercome their cowardice and be true to God.

148A WARNINGA light can also be a warning light. A light is often the warning which tells us to stopwhen there is danger ahead. As Christians we are to warn people of their impending doom if theyfollow the ways of the world. Great caution must be exercised in this ministry for often warningsdo more harm than good. When we warn we must do so not in anger and frustration with a criticaland condemnatory spirit, but in love. It was said of one teacher and principal that when she wouldrebuke one of her students she would always do so “with her arm around that person.”THE PURPOSEWhy are we to shine? Jesus answers by saying:“. . . let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praiseyour Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).But Jesus begins this answer with the phrase, “In the same way” (Matthew 5:16). This is areference to the previous verse and therefore what Jesus is saying is:“In the same way that people put a lamp on its stand to give light to everyonein the house, let your light shine before men. . .” (Matthew 5:15-16).OUR GOOD DEEDS TO BE SEENBut the purpose of this shining is that people may not only hear about our faith in God butthat they may see our good deeds:“. . . that they may see your good deeds . . .” (Matthew 5:16).Light by its nature attracts attention. You don’t need to ask people to look at you whenyou turn a light on in a dark room. It happens automatically. By your distinct character and by yourgood deeds you will shining. There is no need to attempt to show off how bright and sparkling youare, all you have to do is to be yourself and do what God has called you to do–selflessly givingyourself in loving service to others.Paul told the believers at Philippi:“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may becomeblameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depravedgeneration, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out theword of life–in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run orlabor for nothing” (Philippians 2:14-16).

149The believer has been given light and is to let the light shine by holding forth the word oflife–God’s Word. Communicating God’s Word by our lips and by our lives is to let the light shine(Philippians 2:14). For if a believer has become a light it is because of the ministry of the Word.Jesus focuses on the living rather than the proclaiming aspect of God’s Word in this sectionof His Sermon: “that they may see your good deeds.” Peter, like Jesus, emphasized theimportance of living as well as proclaiming the gospel:“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doingwrong, they man see you good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.”(I Peter 2:12)The Christian witness must be that of a radiant life as well as the spoken word. Origen andothers (many of whom became early church fathers) were impressed, previous to their conversion,with the invincible witness of the lives of early Christians. While they could have refuted theirtheological statement, they were unable to refute the faith that evidenced itself in love, joy, hopeand courage.GOODNESS THAT IS ATTRACTIVEWe let our light shine by doing good works before people. In Greek there are two wordsfor good. There is the (agathos) which simply defines a thing as good in quality; there is alsoanother word (kalos) which means that a thing is not only good, but that it is also attractive,winsome and beautiful. And this is the word Jesus used here. The good deeds of the Christian mustbe not only good; they must also be attractive.God requires a certain winsomeness in Christian goodness. Too often so much of so-called“goodness” is harsh, cold and austere. Such goodness is born in a self-righteous spirit most clearlyand pathetically demonstrated by the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Such “goodness” repels rather thatattracts. Christian goodness is born in humility and has an element of charm which makes it abeautiful thing.OUR GOD THE FATHER IS TO BE PRAISEDOur good deeds are meant to draw attention, not to ourselves, but to God. Jesus said:“. . .let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praiseyour Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

150This statement seems to contradict the instructions that Jesus gave concerning “secretdevotions” (Matthew 6:1-18). But the two teachings address themselves to very differentproblems. In Matthew 6 Jesus warns against proud and self-seeking display whereas here He warnsagainst the danger of keeping our lights hidden. And the crucial question hinges on the reason thelight shines. If it is for man’s glory it is genuine piety.Here is a warning against what someone has called “theatrical goodness”–goodness whichdraws attention to itself. D. L. Moody, the evangelist, spoke at a conference where there weresome young people who were very serious and zealous about their Christian faith. One night theyheld an all night prayer meeting. As they were leaving after having spent all night in prayer theymet Mr. Moody in the morning who asked them what they had been doing. They told him and thensaid, “Mr. Moody, see how our faces shine.” That goodness which is conscious, which drawsattention to itself, is not Christian goodness.PRAISE AND GLORIFYTo “praise” or “glorify” God is to reveal His true character or nature as it has beenmanifested in Jesus Christ. God’s true character was obscured in Jesus’; day by legalism, formalismand by pagan religions. In our own day God’s real nature has been obscured by all kinds of cultsand “isms.” God’s character has also been hidden by a kind of Christianity which has shown no realcharacter where God is an indulgent grandfather who is always loving but who had no moralintegrity. By other God has been shown to be a celestial policeman who is ruthlessly looking topunish anyone who is having fun of any kind.God needs to be seen as He really is: loving and just, compassionate and righteous,merciful and holy. And this dark and evil world will only see God’s true character as they see Hisnature manifested, demonstrated in the live of His people. Christianity must be a city on a hill withits lamps on its stands giving light to everyone in this dark and hopeless world. God must not onlybe talked about; He must be shown through the lives of those who know Him that others mayknow Him as He is, in truth.EXAMPLESLike John the Baptist, the church at Athens was a “burning and shining light.” In thedarkness of heathenism the Christians of Athens were so luminous that it was said that of everytwo citizens, one was a Christian. No wonder that this church became the headquarters for theChristian church and the launchingpad for God’s world-wide missionary enterprise.It was said of Henry the Fifth after the Battle of Agincourt:“Neither would he suffer any ditties to be made and sung by the minstrels of hisglorious victory, for that he would wholly have the praise and thanks altogethergiven to God.” 6

151Our focus as Christians must never be on what we have accomplished, but on what Godhas enabled us to accomplish through His Spirit. We are not to draw attention to ourselves but toHim who died for us. As long as the focus is on our own goodness, on the praise and thanks andglory and prestige that we will receive we have not even begun to understand Christianity.Jesus tells us to fear men’s glory, not to seek it. Our good deeds are to cause people toglorify, not us, but God.CONCLUSIONBetween 1940 and 1950 for the first time in history church members came to be themajority of the population in U.S. From 1850-1950, church membership moved from a smallminority to a substantial majority. But what impact has it made?The Wall Street Journal had a front-page article subtitled, “An Evangelical Revival IsSweeping the Nation, but with Little Effect.” This is like saying that an earthquake shook the U.S.form Los Angeles to New York City, measuring 9 on the Richter scale without anyone feeling it.Either there is a revival which has great effect, or since there is little effect there is no revival.Either the light dispels the darkness or the darkness shuts out the light.A.W. Milne ministered as a missionary in a section of New Guinea where there werecannibals. Mr. Milne died preaching the gospel in that area. His converts, some of whom wereformer cannibals, asked permission to place a marker on his grave on which they inscribed:“Here lie the remains of A.W. Milne. When he came to us there was no light.When he died there was no darkness.” 7Elton Trueblood has perceptively stated:“Christianity lives or dies not by what goes on in the churches, but by what goeson outside of them.”Unless our faith manifests itself in the world it is dead and not living faith (James 2:14-17).Faith that does not issue in deeds is useless (James 2:20). Worship that does not manifest itself inservice is futile. Lamps that do not shine and produce light are worthless.Christianity has spread through great shining lights. Hugh Latimer cried out to NicholasRidley as they were both led to the stake in Oxford England, in 1555:“Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light sucha candle by god’s grace in England as (I trust) shall never be put out.”

152And he was right. Lamps that refused to flicker even in persecution has had a tremendouseffect on the dark non-Christian world. While Christianity has shone brightly through such glowinglamps as Paul, Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, John Huss, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Graham and ahost of others, it has spread at lest as much, and probably much more, through the simple lamps inmany of the homes. Not every Christian is called upon to give great light in the crises hours ofhistory, but every Christian can light a candle, a lamp, so that in his own corner of the world, atleast, the darkness shall not overcome everything that is good and noble.An ardent congressman who was fighting the British government said of Lord Irwin,“He is a Christian to his finger tips.”Are you a Christian to your finger tips? Are you a light in this dark world? Has your lifebeen lit by Jesus Christ as He has come to dwell in you by the Holy Spirit? Or are you trying toproduce light by your own puny goodness?God has called us to reflect Christ’s light to those around us. This is possible only as westay in touch with our source of light–the Light of Jesus Christ. We are merely reflecting Hisinexhaustible light. As reflectors of His Light we are clearly seen in the world, lights that guide,warn and shine forth their good deeds and thus draw attention not to themselves, but to God.

153NOTESINTRODUCTION1John R. W. Stott, Christian Counter-Culture (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978),19.2Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life (New York: Fleming H.Revell Comp., 1916), 15.CHAPTER 11C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1953), 111.CHAPTER 21Gerhard Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. I (Grand Rapids: Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964), 659.2William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. I (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press,1975), 94.3Ralph Sockman, The Higher Happiness (New York: Abingdon Press, 1960), 44.4Stott, Christian Counter-Culture, 42.CHAPTER 31Warren Wiersbe, Live Like A King (Chicago: Moody Press, 1976), 86.2H. S. Vigeveno, Climbing Up The Mountain, Children (Glendale, Ca.: Regal Books,1968), 22.3Charles Rahn Kennedy, The Terrible Meek (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1922), 41.4Josh McDowell, New Evidence That Demands A Verdict (Nashville: Thomas NelsonPublishers, 1999), 15.5Ibid.

154CHAPTER 41The Confessions of St. Augustine, in A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-NiceneFathers, Vol. I (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), 1. Also in “HeartsAfire – Vance Havner – Chapter 8 http://www.ccel.us/havner2.ch8.html (12/13/2010), Page 5 of7.2Lewis, Mere Christianity, 28.3Martin Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Vol. I (Grand Rapids: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1959), 67.4Stott, Christian Counter-Culture, 45.5Ibid.6Ibid.7Ibid.8Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1719Ibid., 174.10James Montgomery Boice, The Sermon On The Mount (Grand Rapids: ZondervanPublishing House, 1972), 47- 48.CHAPTER 51Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 96.2Robert Guelich, The Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation For Understanding(Waco, TX: Word Books, 1982), 277.3Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. I, 98.4Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans PublishingCompany, 1940), 4.5Stott, Christian Counter-Culture, 47.

1556Shakespeare, The Merchant of VeniceCHAPTER 61Sockman, The Higher Happiness, 126.2Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. I, 107.CHAPTER 71Daniel Baumann, Which Way To Happiness? (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1981), 103.2U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency3Encyclopedia Brittanica, “Darkest Hours” by J.R. Nash.4Winter Words in Various Moods and Metres, “Christmas: 1924,”5William Barclay, The Beatitudes & The Lord’s Prayer for Everyman (New York: Harper& Row, Publishers, 1964), 89.6Ibid., 99-100.CHAPTER 81Thomas Watson, Beatitudes (London: Banner of Truth, n.d.)2Barclay, The Beatitudes & The Lord’s Prayer for Everyman, 114, 115.3Tertullian, Apology 40.4St. Augustine, The City of God, 2.3.CHAPTER 91Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 41.

1562Vigeveno, Climbing Up The Mountain, Children, 42.3Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. I, 120.CHAPTER 101Oswald J. Sanders, Real Discipleship (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972),41.2Boice, The Sermon on the Mount, 77.3Ibid., 78.4Brooke Foss Westcott, The Revelation of the Father (London and Cambridge: Macmillanand Company, 1884), 52.5Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. I, 123.6Ibid., 126.7Walter B. Knight, Knight’s Treasury of Illustrations (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. EerdmansPublishing Company, 1963), 203.

157BIBLIOGRAPHYSt. Augustine, The City of God, 2.3.Barclay, William. The Beatitudes & The Lord’s Prayer for Everyman. New York: Harper & Row,Publishers, 1964.__________. The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. I. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975.Barnhouse, Donald Grey. God’s Discipline. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans PublishingCompany, 1940.Baumann, Daniel. Which Way To Happiness? Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1981.Boice, James Montgomery. The Sermon On The Mount (Grand Rapids: Zondervan PublishingHouse, 1972.The Confessions of St. Augustine, in A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,Vol. I. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979.Encyclopedia Brittanica, “Darkest Hours” by J. R. Nash.Guelich, Robert. The Sermon On The Mount: A Foundation For Understanding. Waco, TX:Word Books, 1982.Kittel, Gerhard. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. I. Grand Rapids: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964.Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1953.Kennedy, Charles Rahn. The Terrible Meek. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1922.Knight, Walter B. Knight’s Treasury of Illustrations. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans PublishingCompany, 1963.Lloyd-Jones, Martin. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Vol. I. Grand Rapids: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1959.McDowell, Josh. New Evidence That Demands A Verdict (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers,1999.Sanders, Oswald J. Real Discipleship. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972.Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice.Smith, Hannah Whitall. The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life. New York: Fleming H. RevellCompany, 1916.Sockman, Ralph. The Higher Happiness. New York: Abingdon Press, 1960.Stott, John R. W. Christian Counter-Culture. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978.Vigeveno, H. S. Climbing Up The Mountain, Children. Glendale, Ca.: Regal Books, 1968.Tertullian, Apology 40.Thomas Watson, Beatitudes. London: Banner of Truth, n. d.Westcott, Brooke Foss. The Revelation of the Father. London and Cambridge: Macmillan andCompany, 1884.Wiersbe, Warren. Live Like A King. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976.

158