Sunday: Blessed are the persecuted

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Blessed are the persecuted

Why persecution follows peacemaking

Why is a believer persecuted? It is for righteousness sake.

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones wrote “it is interesting…that this particular Beatitude follows immediately the reference to the peacemakers…He is persecuted because he is a certain type of person.”

Not exactly a compelling reason to strive for righteousness or peacemaking is it? But it is true throughout Scripture. Why did Cain kill Abel? Why did Saul pursue David? What put Daniel in the lions’ den or the three Hebrew boys in a fiery furnace? What did Job do to deserve what happened to him?

Many times in life and in the Bible, we see that doing the right thing often leads to unpopularity in the world. There is a reason for that. This is not our home, as we live in a fallen world and God has prepared us for the kingdom of heaven.

Same reward, different degree

  Secondly, look at the reward. We are back where we started. After climbing the steps of the Beatitudes, have we come to the bottom rung? Hardly! Look at Matt. 20:1-16. Laborers hired at the end of the day got exactly what those who worked for at the beginning of the day. They complained, but the owner said, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?”

   When we see all that we have suffered for righteousness’ sake compared to what we might have received without the salvation through Christ, no wonder we will cast our crowns at the feet of Jesus. The reward of the kingdom of heaven is no more deserved at the top of the staircase than it was at the bottom. A true servant of Christ will say as the servant He spoke of said in Luke 17:7-10, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.”

So is there a point in attempting to live the Beatitudes, if we are going to get the same reward as everyone else? By all means! Persecution has the same reward of the kingdom of heaven as being poor in spirit, but so much more.

Matthew 13:43 explains the story of the wheat and tares, “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” God will remember our labor and our persecution and He will reward us. Matthew 5:12 explains further, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Verses about God rewarding us.

God will reward you openly for righteous works done secretly.

⁴ Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. ⁶ When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. ¹⁸ No one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. ²⁴ Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ. ¹⁸ The nations were angry with you, but now the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants. You will reward your prophets and your holy people, all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest.

 (Matt. 6:4, 6, 18, Col. 3:24, Rev. 11:18, 22:12).

Rewards for small acts will never be lost. Salvation is free, but rewards are according to our works, especially loving our enemies.

⁴² And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded. ⁸ they will be rewarded individually, according to their own hard work. ³⁵ Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don't be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked. 

 (Matthew 10:42, 1 Corinthians 3:8, Luke 6:35)

Some outwardly righteous works won’t receive any heavenly rewards.

¹ "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.  ² "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  ⁸ Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. ¹⁴ If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.   

(See Matthew 6:1-2, 2 John 1:8, 1 Corinthians 3:14)

Why are you being persecuted?

   Finally, let us note again what righteousness is and why that is the source of our persecution. It is not the act of being noble or good or even being what the world would call “right.” The Biblical definition of righteousness is “right standing with God,” and not with the world.

  This is not Murphy’s Law of “No good deed will go unpunished.” This is Kingdom’s Law that says that “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking (that is, living selfishly), but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” In Matthew 5:10, He says “for righteousness’ sake,” and then in the very next verse, He says, “for My sake,” making persecution for righteousness and for Christ as being equal.

Blessed are you who have spent time in this devotional this week
for Christian Home Week. May God richly bless you and
make you a blessing to others. Amen.

Monday Blessed are those who mourn

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Mourning follows a poor spirit

The first step to spiritual happiness begins with a poor self-spirit, a humility springing from admitting that we cannot save ourselves. In response, God gives us the kingdom of heaven. In verse 4, we see the truly saved will have a godly sorrow over sins. Happy are those who mourn? The Apostle Paul explains in 2 Corinthians chapter 7:9-11.

⁹Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

The second step in the Beatitudes acknowledges our sins in a profound way: to mourn with a deep sense of grief, often associated with the death (Mark 16:10, Luke 6:21). Coming face to face with the seriousness of our sins, we have a deep sense of sorrow that greatly needs comforting. Mourning produces a genuine repentance (a change inside) and a burden is then lifted off, and God’s healing comfort will come in.

Questions: How does sorrow bring about repentance and salvation? Do ALL Christians mourn over their past sins? Have you come to a place in your life where you have mourned over your sins? Has God forgiven you?

Godly mourning is better than worldly pleasures

Godly mourning is lacking in many “feel good” churches preaching positive messages, affirming the congregation’s self- esteem. But the mourning over our sin and the receiving God’s comforting forgiveness allows us to come face to face with how sinful we are and there is a very real need for a Savior. Read Ecclesiastes 7:

² Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart. ³ Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. ⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

The Bible warns against the “pleasures” of sin being short-lived. Hebrews 11 says, “²⁴ By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” That “pleasure of sin for a season” (KJV) has no eternal rewards.

Questions: How can good come out of sorrow? Give an example. Can people be sorry for their sins, but not repent? Does sorrow without repentance lead to salvation?

Godly mourning is broader than just our sins

Christians also mourn over sins in the world. Paul lamented over sinners in 2 Cor. 12:21 “I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness….” There is a godly sorrow which should burden us to share the gospel.

Some say that Christians shouldn’t judge others or call out sin as sin. But if that were so, would our nation have ever brought to an end the evils of slavery? We should sorrow over sins and the lost world.

Question: What are some of the world’s sins over the ages for which the church has mourned and then seen changed?

Good mourning: comfort from God

   The beatitudes are steps of progress in our salvation. The second reward is in our comfort. The word for comfort is paraklethesontai. Those who know Greek will quickly recognize the cognate word, Paraklete, a word which Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; ¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth…²⁶ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you…⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you… (John 14:16-17a, 26; 16:7.)  

We have the kingdom of heaven and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. If you mourn over your sins and the sins of the world, God will comfort you.

Question: Which is more important: that you have the kingdom of heaven (eternal life) or God’s Comforter within you right now?

Others will also comfort you

Not only will we be comforted by God, but others will also comfort us. The first two chapters of 2 Corinthians uses “comfort” more than anywhere else in the Bible. Do you need some comfort? Read the following:

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

If you read 1 Cor. 5 with this passage, you will see a church which did not mourn over sin. Paul prompted the church to have godly sorrow, sinners repented, and the church was restored and comforted.

Question: Has God comforted you and then used you to comfort others?