Beatitudes: A Picture of Sanctification
Matthew 5:1-11,
Sunday night, Pastor Walden dealt with the subject of sanctification. He used 1 Thessalonians 5:22, 23:
And then he mentioned the negative and the positive of sanctification set before us in those two verses. We have to put off and we have to put on; theologians have called the negative mortification, and sometimes the positive has been called vivification. But it's interesting, if you look back to the chapter previous to 1 Thessalonians 5, which is 1 Thessalonians 4, you have a similar emphasis. 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality.” And then if you look back to the third chapter, 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 13 he picks up that matter of sanctification again, “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all as we do for you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”
Now, it's very easy, I'm sure you know, to find the doctrine of sanctification in your Bible. Of all the blessings that we receive in Christ, it is probably the one that's developed the most and delineated the most in our Bibles; the doctrine of sanctification or living a holy life. And you can find that in Paul’s epistles, in Peter, and in John. And if you read again, the whole New Testament, even going to the Old Testament from beginning to end, you will find that sanctification is a critical issue. It's a critical issue. And we find commandments, warnings, encouragements, incentives, prayers, all having to do with sanctification. And I would argue that the Sermon on the Mount is the greatest. I think we could say it's the longest single discourse on practical holiness. He deals with the standard of holiness, God's moral law. He applies the 6th commandment and the 7th commandment. He deals with the heart sins of anger and lust. He deals with the wonderful influence of witness. Because we are holy, we are the light of the world, the salt of the earth.
And then he deals in that same sermon with the ultimate aim of holiness. Matthew 5:48, some think this is the climax of the sermon, “You therefore, be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” But notice how the sermon begins. Again, go back to those Beatitudes, it's the character of a sanctified person. What does a holy person look like? Matthew 5:3-11, those Beatitudes are nine descriptives of every true child of God. There's no Christian who can ever say that one of these blessings are not part of my experience. No, they belong to everybody, every Christian, if he's a Christian, and possesses a poverty of spirit, of humility. Every Christian mourns or grieves over sin. Every Christian should hunger and thirst after righteousness. Every Christian should have a purity of heart. Every Christian should be a peacemaker or should be actively engaged in making peace. Every Christian is going to be persecuted for righteousness' sake, we suffer because of Christ.
And when you think of the Beatitudes, I don't think we always think this way, at least I haven't, think of Jesus. He epitomizes and captures every one of those Beatitudes. I know there might be one or two where you have to qualify, I realize that. But He shows us what it means to be poor in spirit. Was there anyone more humble than Jesus? He mourned and grieved, not over His own sin, I realize that, but He was a man of sorrows. He put on a perfect display of meekness and gentleness. And no one hungered and thirsted after righteousness more than Jesus. “Blessed are the merciful.” Again, who was more merciful than Jesus? Every one of His miracles, you could say, characterized a deed of mercy. And He was pure in heart, perfectly pure in heart, in Him there was no sin. And He was the peacemaker of peacemakers, He's called the Prince of Peace. And He was persecuted for righteousness' sake, wasn't He? I think someone said this,
Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to him. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Sunday night, Pastor Walden dealt with the subject of sanctification. He used 1 Thessalonians 5:22, 23:
“Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
And then he mentioned the negative and the positive of sanctification set before us in those two verses. We have to put off and we have to put on; theologians have called the negative mortification, and sometimes the positive has been called vivification. But it's interesting, if you look back to the chapter previous to 1 Thessalonians 5, which is 1 Thessalonians 4, you have a similar emphasis. 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality.” And then if you look back to the third chapter, 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 13 he picks up that matter of sanctification again, “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all as we do for you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”
Now, it's very easy, I'm sure you know, to find the doctrine of sanctification in your Bible. Of all the blessings that we receive in Christ, it is probably the one that's developed the most and delineated the most in our Bibles; the doctrine of sanctification or living a holy life. And you can find that in Paul’s epistles, in Peter, and in John. And if you read again, the whole New Testament, even going to the Old Testament from beginning to end, you will find that sanctification is a critical issue. It's a critical issue. And we find commandments, warnings, encouragements, incentives, prayers, all having to do with sanctification. And I would argue that the Sermon on the Mount is the greatest. I think we could say it's the longest single discourse on practical holiness. He deals with the standard of holiness, God's moral law. He applies the 6th commandment and the 7th commandment. He deals with the heart sins of anger and lust. He deals with the wonderful influence of witness. Because we are holy, we are the light of the world, the salt of the earth.
And then he deals in that same sermon with the ultimate aim of holiness. Matthew 5:48, some think this is the climax of the sermon, “You therefore, be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” But notice how the sermon begins. Again, go back to those Beatitudes, it's the character of a sanctified person. What does a holy person look like? Matthew 5:3-11, those Beatitudes are nine descriptives of every true child of God. There's no Christian who can ever say that one of these blessings are not part of my experience. No, they belong to everybody, every Christian, if he's a Christian, and possesses a poverty of spirit, of humility. Every Christian mourns or grieves over sin. Every Christian should hunger and thirst after righteousness. Every Christian should have a purity of heart. Every Christian should be a peacemaker or should be actively engaged in making peace. Every Christian is going to be persecuted for righteousness' sake, we suffer because of Christ.
And when you think of the Beatitudes, I don't think we always think this way, at least I haven't, think of Jesus. He epitomizes and captures every one of those Beatitudes. I know there might be one or two where you have to qualify, I realize that. But He shows us what it means to be poor in spirit. Was there anyone more humble than Jesus? He mourned and grieved, not over His own sin, I realize that, but He was a man of sorrows. He put on a perfect display of meekness and gentleness. And no one hungered and thirsted after righteousness more than Jesus. “Blessed are the merciful.” Again, who was more merciful than Jesus? Every one of His miracles, you could say, characterized a deed of mercy. And He was pure in heart, perfectly pure in heart, in Him there was no sin. And He was the peacemaker of peacemakers, He's called the Prince of Peace. And He was persecuted for righteousness' sake, wasn't He? I think someone said this,
"The cross was the greatest act of persecution ever inflicted upon a human being."
And brethren, when we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” what are we praying? Well, we're praying for holiness. We're praying for the world at large, I know that, but we're also praying that the kingdom would come in terms of our own experience, that King Jesus would reign and rule over our hearts and our lives more and more.
When you pray, “Thy kingdom come,” you could be praying for yourself. And it wouldn't be a bad idea when we pray for ourselves to take those nine Beatitudes and pray them in. Pray for a greater poverty of spirit. Pray for a greater mourning over sin. Pray for a greater hunger and thirst after righteousness. Pray to be a greater peacemaker in the church, at home. The Scottish Presbyterian, Murray McShane, I think he died at the age of 28, was known for his holiness. And here's what he said,
When you pray, “Thy kingdom come,” you could be praying for yourself. And it wouldn't be a bad idea when we pray for ourselves to take those nine Beatitudes and pray them in. Pray for a greater poverty of spirit. Pray for a greater mourning over sin. Pray for a greater hunger and thirst after righteousness. Pray to be a greater peacemaker in the church, at home. The Scottish Presbyterian, Murray McShane, I think he died at the age of 28, was known for his holiness. And here's what he said,
"Make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be."
And so, yes, we can always grow in grace. We'll never, ever come to that place of perfection. We can always become more like Christ, 2 Peter 3, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus.” Ephesians 4, “We are to grow up in every which way into Him who is the head.” Well, that's what we should be praying. When we get up and pray for ourselves, but even when we pray for one another, that we would become more and more like Christ.
Posted in Pastor Devotional