the beatitudes
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Matthew 5:1-12 marks the beginning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the greatest sermon ever preached. These 12 verses specifically are called The Beatitudes, and it is something of a guide on how Christians are supposed to act. I heard one minister say that the characteristics described in The Beatitudes are the characteristics of Jesus, so, by striving to make them our characteristics, we are striving to become more like Jesus.
I would invite you to read the whole passage, and I pray that the words would take root in your heart, but I would like to discuss for a moment the first of these Beatitudes.
Verse 3 says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." I read a book a long time ago in which the author said that the Beatitudes are like a ladder. You have to take the first step before you take the second step, and you can't just pick and choose which steps you take. The first "step" is being poor in spirit, the author said, and nothing else is possible until that step is taken.
Being poor in spirit means that we must accept the fact that, as sinful human beings, we are morally bankrupt. On our own, we are thoroughly (and terminally) infected with the disease of sin. There is not one single human on the planet who is not sinful. The Bible says that "the wages of sin are death," which means that none of us is good enough to get into heaven on our own. Just one sin (and ALL of us have committed lots more than one sin) is enough to sentence us to eternal death separated from God.
We have to accept the fact that we are so poor in spirit that we have to rely on God's free gift of salvation to get eternal life. If we don't choose to repent of our sins and to accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Lord of our life and our Personal Savior, we will spend eternity in hell separated from God. If we DO repent, and we do accept salvation through Jesus, our sins will be washed away and we will have eternal life. As it says in Romans 10:9-13,
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."[e] For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
It's just that simple. It starts with us admitting that we are less than worthless on our own!
Matthew 5:1-12 marks the beginning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the greatest sermon ever preached. These 12 verses specifically are called The Beatitudes, and it is something of a guide on how Christians are supposed to act. I heard one minister say that the characteristics described in The Beatitudes are the characteristics of Jesus, so, by striving to make them our characteristics, we are striving to become more like Jesus.
I would invite you to read the whole passage, and I pray that the words would take root in your heart, but I would like to discuss for a moment the first of these Beatitudes.
Verse 3 says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." I read a book a long time ago in which the author said that the Beatitudes are like a ladder. You have to take the first step before you take the second step, and you can't just pick and choose which steps you take. The first "step" is being poor in spirit, the author said, and nothing else is possible until that step is taken.
Being poor in spirit means that we must accept the fact that, as sinful human beings, we are morally bankrupt. On our own, we are thoroughly (and terminally) infected with the disease of sin. There is not one single human on the planet who is not sinful. The Bible says that "the wages of sin are death," which means that none of us is good enough to get into heaven on our own. Just one sin (and ALL of us have committed lots more than one sin) is enough to sentence us to eternal death separated from God.
We have to accept the fact that we are so poor in spirit that we have to rely on God's free gift of salvation to get eternal life. If we don't choose to repent of our sins and to accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Lord of our life and our Personal Savior, we will spend eternity in hell separated from God. If we DO repent, and we do accept salvation through Jesus, our sins will be washed away and we will have eternal life. As it says in Romans 10:9-13,
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."[e] For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
It's just that simple. It starts with us admitting that we are less than worthless on our own!
posted by hondo at 7:36 PM
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