Matthew 5:21-26

Matthew 5:21-26 NIV

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca*,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

I'm a Star Wars fan. The Jedi Master Yoda once said to a very young Anakin Skywalker, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

In Jesus' teaching on anger he connects the feeling to the act of murder. I've often thought of His teaching in this way: "If you are angry with someone, you have committed murder in your heart."

My difficulty with this teaching is that anger is natural feeling given to us for our own good. Anger, in and of itself, is not sinful or evil. Anger has its healthy purpose, but it also has a dark side.

Feelings are like sensor readings on a car dashboard. They tell us what's going on inside the system. If the oil temperature readout on your car dashboard goes into the high zone, you know you've got a problem that needs attention. In the same way feelings are pointing to something you need. Give feelings your attention so that you can satisfy your needs.

When you feel happy, your needs are being met. When sad, you have lost something or someone. You need restoration, either the returning of what was lost or the restoration of yourself through a grieving process. If you are afraid, you think you are threatened somehow. What you need its security, to feel safe again. When angry, you need justice for some wrong committed.

Life is unfair, wouldn't you agree? We're going to feel anger, but what are we going to do with that anger? The bible has some direction on the topic.

Psalm 4:4 HCSB

Be angry and do not sin; on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.

Ephesians 4:26-27 HCSB

Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.

James 1:19-20 NIV

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

Proverbs 29:22 NIV

An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.

As you can see anger comes with warnings in the Bible. It's a hot potatoe kind of feeling that needs to be dropped quickly.

I appreciate that the Bible acknowledges that anger is a part of being human. Jesus Himself felt anger. He would get angry with His disciples at times when they were so slow to learn about mercy.

Mark 10:13-14 NIV

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

And of course we all know Jesus drove the moneychangers from the temple. He overturned their tables! That seems almost violent, but the Bible commends this action as an appropriate zeal for God's house.

There's no question that anger is a part of being human. God made us this way. And it serves a good purpose, the pursuit of justice, to right what is wrong, to make fair again what has become unfair. But how we respond to this feeling is everything. We can feel angry about injustice, but when we personalize the anger toward someone and begin hating them, we are moving down a path toward violence.

Perhaps the better way to talk about this is a grudge, meaning to willfully hold onto anger. Resentment is a bitter poison to your soul. Unchecked anger will lead you to foolish and even harmful behavior. Anger that festers inside can lead to depression and even physical illness. There are studies that reveal a connection to heart and lung disease from chronic anger. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2104758/) So it is best, for your own sake, to follow the sage advice the Bible gives. Love your enemies. (Mat 5:44) Do not hold a grudge, but love your neighbors as yourself. (Lev 19:18)

Jesus says to be quick to reconcile with your adversary. Not only is this good for you, it's what people who love do. They have concern for all, including their adversaries. They want good for them, because they are God's beloved children. Each person has divine potential, for all humans are made in God's image. Honor their sacred worth and love them as you would love yourself. Treat them as you wish to be treated.

If you curse someone under your breath, if you villainize them in your heart, you are in danger of God's righteous judgment. Jesus warns that contempt for another puts you in danger of the fire of Hell, or Gehenna. Gehenna was the trash dump outside the walls of Jerusalem in the Hinnom Valley. There anaerobic bacteria digested the organic decaying matter producing pockets of methane gas. The gas ignited and burned with fire and smoke. Flies lay their eggs and maggots devour the organic matter. This is the picture of hell. It is a place where the fire is not quenched and the worm never dies. It is a place outside of the holy city where God dwells with his people. It is a place of death and devouring.

Festering resentment is a Hell of its own. Free yourself by calling upon the Saviour for grace to forgive, heal, and love. For if you expect God to forgive you, you must forgive others from your heart. (Mat 6:14-15; 18:34-35)

Footnote:

*Strong's Definitions: ῥακά rhaká, rhak-ah'; of Chaldee origin (compare H7386); O empty one, i.e. thou worthless (as a term of utter vilification):—Raca.

Anger, stress, dysregulation produces wear and tear on the lung
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Matthew 5:17-20

Matthew 5:17-20 NIV

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

This passage has always perplexed me. Jesus says every bit of the law stands as authoritative for the church until all is accomplished. The early church struggled with the liberty the apostle Paul declared was ours in the new covenant in Christ. One issue was that of circumcision. Paul felt that circumcision was no longer necessary. (Gal 5:6) Yet the Law says that circumcision is an everlasting covenant. (Gn 18:13-14) In fact many of the restrictions and observances of the law were cast aside for gentiles. Gentiles eat pork, shrimp and other dietary foods restricted under Moses.

I live in a time when Christians basically pick and choose what parts of the bible will have authority over their lives. Most churches look the other way on many behaviors the bible labels as sin, for instance divorce and remarriage. Some churches ordain women, which I wholeheartedly support, but traditionally was restricted by the church, citing biblical teachings from Paul. (1Ti 2:12) So if every bit of the law of Moses is authoritative for the church, according to Jesus in Matthew, then why did Paul say that Christ put an end to the law?

For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes. (Rom 10:4)

The Greek word translated as "end" means finalized, to reach conclusion, to fulfill purpose, or accomplish goal. So what's really being said in Romans 10:4 is that the law has become inconsequential in comparison to the righteousness obtained through faith in Christ. Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses and its purpose of holiness. He was fully the righteousness envisioned in the law. Not once did He sin. He kept the law perfectly.

When Jesus says he did not come to "abolish" to law, that could be read as destroy, end or, bring to nothing and render the law as vain or inconsequential. Jesus makes it clear He will not destroy the law, but fulfill its purpose. The notion of fulfilling the law means to fill to the brim, to perfect the law, to accomplish the law through complete obedience to God's will.

The teachings that follow this passage in the Sermon on the Mount give several examples of Jesus' ideas on how the church's righteousness will exceed the righteousness of Pharisees, who teach the law and stringently live it out. Righteousness is an inward disposition not gained simply by outward behavior. One can abstain from murder, but still have violent and hateful inclinations in their hearts. One can keep from cheating on their spouse, but that doesn't mean they haven't thought about it. The righteousness that comes from faith in Christ means a transformed heart, one in which Christ has taken residence. Therefore, through faith in Jesus, the believer's heart is empowered by Jesus' heart. When we are led by the Spirit of Christ, we love like Jesus and live like Christ from His own pure and holy motives.

I'm not sure my exegesis to this point has satisfied my questions over this passage in Matthew. I have shown the difference between keeping the law outwardly and living by a righteousness gained through faith. Still, Jesus said not one bit of the law will disappear, meaning lose its authority, until all is accomplished. What does He mean? He says until this current created order is ended, the law will still have authority, every bit of it. I thought perhaps when Jesus says upon the cross that "it is finished", that might be the same word used here in Matthew for "accomplished". They are not the same word, plus Matthew doesn't tell us that Jesus said anything like that in his version of the crucifixion. John's gospel is much later and very different from Matthew's gospel, so I can't draw any conclusions from comparing these sayings from Jesus. What then is accomplished that will bring the law of Moses to its fulfillment and conclusion? What will surpass the law rendering it vain?

I've already pointed to the answer. It is the righteousness that comes by faith through the new covenant in Jesus Christ. Only after the death and resurrection of Jesus did the church begin to see and understand what had occurred and is still happening. A new creation was born in Christ. A new humanity was formed in Christ. A new era in history had arrived. The resurrection changed everything.

In a mystical sense the heaven and earth, of the order established in Genesis 1, has given way to a new creation. In a mystical sense heaven and earth have passed away with the coming of the new creation. In a physical sense nothing has changed. The earth goes on as it always has. The seasons come and go. The stars still shine on. The moon waxes and wanes as it always has. But there has been a fundamental shift in human history after the resurrection of Jesus. Governments changed within a few centuries. Historians point to how Christianity changed the world. The worth of human life rose in esteem. Everywhere the light of the gospel has illuminated hearts and minds to a new way, indeed a new world.

The resurrection of Jesus changed the world, and the new community formed by faith in Him is a sign to all that the new creation has arrived. Therefore the law of Moses, having fulfilled its purpose in the appearance of Christ through Israel, no longer has the authority it once held. Christ is the authority. Christ and Christ alone. I'm not talking about reading the red letters in certain publications of the New Testament. I'm talking about the transformation of the heart which occurs through faith. Christ dwells in the heart of believers giving us power to live in God's righteousness.

Romans 8:3-4 NIV

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Matthew's church was made up of Jewish Christians. They maintained their Jewish identity by adhering the law of Moses as they had since childhood. But they now had a new understanding of righteousness, a righteousness that comes through a transformed heart. Now they could live out the law and the peculiarities of Jewish distinction with the sin conquering power of Christ. Today there are messianic communities that are similar to Matthew's church. They both embrace Jesus as Messiah and they observe the law of Moses. Paul, however, thought it unnecessary to burden those who had not been raised under Moses to charge them with keeping the law. Instead he taught them to live by the Spirit of Jesus, which is love. And love fulfills the law. Christlike love will exceed the righteousness of those who keep the law without a transformed heart.

May your heart be ever renewed in the image of the Son of God, even our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13-16 NIV

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

David Lee Roth of Van Halen tells his audience to "Stay frosty!" This is just another way to say "Be cool". But has anyone ever said to you, "Stay salty"? Jesus follows the opening beattiudes of the Sermon on the Mount with a teaching about good works. His church is salt, providing flavor and preservation.

We use salt to preserve foods like ham or beef jerky. We use salt to bring the flavor out of cooked foods. We add a pinch of salt even to sweets to bring out flavors. Salt is used to melt ice and snow. Salt softens our hard water. Salt is very valuable. In the ancient world Roman soldiers were paid in salt. It's where we get the phrase, "worth his salt".

As a follower of Jesus, are you worth your salt? Jesus paid for you with his own life. He ransomed you from the clutches of sin and death. Now you are His.

1 Corinthians 6:19b-20 NIV

You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Galatians 2:20 NIV

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The price paid for us is unparalleled. The Son of God suffered and died so that we could live free of sin, which separates us from God and leads to death. He rose from the grave having conquered sin in His body, now even victorious over death. He promises those who are faithful to Him to share in His resurrection.

So are you faithful to Him? Are you worth the price paid for your freedom? What are you doing with the freedom the Lord gave you? How are you worth your salt? How does your life shine a light that reveals the love of God?

Today, as we worship the Lord in our various congregations, remember that you are part the body of Christ throughout the earth. You belong to Christ as His bondservant. You are connected to the many members of the body through the Spirit of Christ. Our life together is meant to be a beacon to the hopeless and the hurting, the lost and the soul hungry. The church of Jesus should bring delightful flavor to life, not leave a foul taste. We are to preserve life, keeping it from decay through obedience to Christ. Love fulfills the law of God. Love completes God's mission. God is building a kingdom of Love ruled by Christ over His devoted subjects. You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Let others see. Love them. Serve them. Let them see your good works, so that they praise God.

Stay salty.

Matthew 5:10-12

Matthew 5:10-12 NIV

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This is the eighth and final beattitude. Even though there's a ninth "blessed are" statement, it's simply commentary on the last beattitude.

Matthew 5:10 NIV

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

As I read this beattitude I wonder what righteousness is, but then I've covered that in a previous reflection on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. It is to be in right relationship with God and others by obeying God's law. Love fulfills the law, so do to others what you would have them do to you. However, because of sin, we don't always treat others as we should. Our hearts need to be set free from sin by the greater power of grace. Once we are restored to God through faith in Christ, we are given God's righteousness. We are then assisted by His grace through the Holy Spirit, whom we received upon believing, to grow in divine righteousness. It is not a righteousness of our own, but one given to us through faith.

Why would anyone want to persecute a Christian because of righteousness? Why would someone insult, deride, curse and falsely accuse a person who does what is right according to God's word? It is because those who are of the flesh, meaning controlled by sin, do not want the same things, as those who are lead by the Spirit of the Lord. Our values are in conflict.

Jesus said,

John 15:18-21 NIV

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

Christians are persecuted by those who do not know God, the One who sent Christ Jesus into the world. Seems simple enough, however, let us remember that Christians also fail in their pursuit of righteousness. Though we possess the greater power of grace, we still yield to sinful temptations and stain the reputation of the church of Christ. We are rightfully persecuted when we are guilty of sin. We are rightfully persecuted when we judge others harshly, when our Lord has commanded us not to judge others. We've got enough of our own shortcomings to address than to spend time pointing out others' wrongdoing.

Matthew 7:5 NIV

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

When we are truly seeking God's Kingdom and righteousness, seeking to become like Christ, diligently cooperating with the grace given us, then we will see the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven belongs to you. It is a gift from God to those who truly believe.

Luke 12:32-34 NIV

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This teaching of Jesus, from Luke's gospel, is a good litmus test for American Christians. We are wealthy compared to many in the world. We live in excess. The USA is only 4.4% of the world's 7.1 billion (2015 statistics), yet we consume 80% off the world's resources. Americans are continually bombarded with marketing and advertising pushing us to buy. We have many possessions.

I have a massive music collection and a growing film collection. I've been buying for years. I live music. I love movies. Now with streaming services I have access to nearly everything. Am I willing to sell my collection so I can be generous to those in need of the basic necessities of life? No, I am not. I confess my sinful attachment to the things of this earth. Therefore a part of me longs for this world, not the kingdom of heaven. My heart is divided. When I get more excited about a new Star Wars movie than I do about Sunday worship, there's a telling sign that says my heart does not fully belong to God. I've always been a kind of Christian with his feet in both worlds, the sinful fallen one, and the coming kingdom of heaven. I live in this tension. I suspect most of us do.

The kingdom of heaven is ours if we truly desire it. Our path there means letting go all of our earthly entanglements: possessions, relationships, achievements, pleasures and power. Some choose the ascetic life, but that is not for me. I'm walking on a wire between these two loves, my love of the wonderful gift of this life, and my deep desire for the world to come, the world made new. God's grace has a way of maturing my faith such that less and less I feel I need the things of this world. I trust He will complete the good work He began in me. He will lead us all into the kingdom of heaven when we admit to ourselves that it is our heart's desire.

You may be unpopular when you choose the things of God over the things of this earth, but you are blessed when you do for you are that much closer to your divine destiny, the loving and lifegiving embrace of the Lord. As you let go of the things of this world, you are free to receive the kingdom and in a better place to love others generously as your life shows the way.

Matthew 5:9

Matthew 5:9 NIV

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

I can't help but think of Monty Python's The Life of Brian when I read this teaching of Jesus. There's a hilarious scene where comedic characters are a distance away from a Christ figure teaching on a hillside, who are having trouble hearing him. One of them asked, "Did he say blessed are the cheesemakers? What's so special about cheesemakers?" Another man answers, "Surely it's an allegory. Perhaps he means all purveyors of dairy products." Just hilarious!

The comedic scene is meant to poke fun at the church's various ways of interpreting the scriptures, including the teachings of Jesus. The conversation eventually erupts in some big fight, which isn't too far from the truth. Take a look at what religious violence is unleashed upon the earth in our time. Room for civil discourse is shrinking. Where are the peacemakers? Where are the men and women who will lead this world in learning how to lovingly listen to one another?

Jesus says blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be known as children of God.
The question is, "Who are the children of God?"

The term children of God is literally sons of God. Jesus was addressing Jewish men during the sermon on the mount. This isn't meant as a slight to women. It was the custom of Jewish families for men to be spiritual leaders. Does this mean only Jewish men can be sons of God? No.

Galatians 3:28 HCSB

There is no Jew or Greek (non-Jew), slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

So how do we become children of God? Be peacemakers. That would seem to be the obvious answer. The apostles have much to say on the subject.

John 1:12-13 HCSB

But to all who did receive Him (Jesus), He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

To be born of God is to be a child of God. Nicodemus couldn't understand what it means to be born again. Jesus explained that you are born from above by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit fills the believer in Christ and is at once given the right to be called a child of God.

Romans 8:14-16 HCSB

All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children...

The gift of the Holy Spirit witnesses to our own spirit and we know within our status before the Father. We are His. Such an experience brings heavenly peace into the soul. We are no longer estranged from our creator. We are welcomed back into the garden and given the right to eat from the tree of life. (Rev 2:7) This heavenly peace abides in us. This grace empowers us to be at peace with God, ourselves and the world. As peace filled disciples of Jesus we make peace through the peace that passes all understanding. (Php 4:5-7)

So what does peacemaking look like? It looks like love.

1 John 3:9-10 HCSB

Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. This is how God’s children — and the Devil’s children — are made evident. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother.

1 John 5:1-2 NIV

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.

And what are God's commands? The scriptures are filled with commands, laws, ordinances and godly direction, but Christ simplifies it. Love God fully, love others as you love yourself, and in the church, love one another. If you practice love for God through worship, study of God's word, prayer, tithing and other devotions, if you love others through charity and compassionate service, if you love your sisters and brothers in Christ with godly love that is pure and free of sinful motives, then wherever you go, you will be a vessel of God's peace. You will be a peacemaker and a child of God blessed with peace and a blessing to this world.

Matthew 5:8

Matthew 5:8 ESV

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Have ever seen God? Oh I have seen the presence of God in people. I've seen the joy and the glow in their faces that comes from His love. I've seen God in loving actions. When I serve those in need, I see God. I feel God and sense God's powerful presence. I feel peace, joy, tranquility, and satisfaction. But I've never actually seen God with my own two eyes, like Moses saw God. I've never seen Jesus, like Peter and the early disciples saw Jesus, both living and glorified in His resurrection.

There's a part of me that deeply longs to literally see God, see Jesus. I'm not satisfied with the figurative incarnations I've mentioned before. Like Queen sang, "I want it all and I want it now"! Is that wrong? Wanting all of God is not wrong. Demanding all of God's fullness now is childish, and fails to reflect a mature understanding of the spiritual life.

Seeing God unfiltered in all His majesty is a life threatening proposition for mortals. Think of the moments those who encountered the angel of the Lord.

The parents of Samson were afraid.

Judges 13:22 ESV

And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God."

Isaiah the prophet was afraid.

Isaiah 6:5 ESV

And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"

The patriarch Jacob was amazed he survived his encounter with the stranger.

Genesis 32:30 ESV

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered."

Those who carelessly approached the sanctuary of the Lord without the proper religious preparation as prescribed by the law of Moses, sometimes died or were stricken with disease. God is holy and He does not receive the filth of sinful humanity without atonement.

That gets to the crux of Jesus teaching. The pure in heart will see God. Purity means clean, unblemished, not dirty, stained or soiled. God is holy and pure. Think of the air we breathe. We all need oxygen to survive, but if you were to breathe pure oxygen, your lungs would burn and you would die. Breathable air is a blend of nitrogen, oxygen and argon with trace levels of other gases. The proportion of nitrogen to oxygen is over 3 to 1. In the same way an unfiltered experience of God may very well kill a sinful mortal.

Jesus was fully human and fully God. His mortal frame carried the divine presence in all His fullness. We have the same possibility for our lives through our faith in Christ, to become pure as He is pure.

What makes the heart impure? Sin does. Sin stains the soul and separates us from God. Since we all sin how can we ever hope to have a pure heart? Our thoughts are sinful. Jesus said if you curse someone you've committed murder in your heart. I've murdered a lot of drivers in my heart on my way to work! No. I have no chance of seeing God, except by the grace of God.

God chose Moses and Moses met with God face to Face. Jesus told His disciples,

John 15:16-17 ESV

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

We are chosen in Christ to become the pure of heart. Put yourself in places each day to receive God's love, that love might force from your heart sin, fear, loathing, envy, lust and everything else that does not love.

I end with these words from the beloved apostle John. You will see God in God's time. Therefore pursue that perfect love that drives out fear and fills us with the purity of Christ.

1 John 4:12-19 HCSB

No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us. This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given assurance to us from His Spirit. And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent His Son as the world’s Savior. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God — God remains in him and he in God. And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, for we are as He is in this world. There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us.

Matthew 5:7

Matthew 5:7 NIV

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

This beattitude, the fifth of eight proclamations about those blessed disciples of Christ within the kingdom of heaven, is simple and straightforward. If you show mercy, you will be blessed by experiencing mercy yourself. 

What is mercy? The example in my biblical notes from scholars is "to give aid to one in Mercy is to have compassion for the suffering and needy, the oppressed and marginalized. Mercy is to love the wretched untouchables in our society.

My favorite story of Jesus showing mercy is a time He healed a leper. Everyone avoided touching lepers. By law they had to cover themselves in public and go about shouting "Unclean! Unclean!"

Mark 1:40-42 HCSB

Then a man with a serious skin disease came to Him and, on his knees, begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.” Immediately the disease left him, and he was healed.

Think of what it would mean to include someone who is always left out, treated poorly, abused and maligned. I just saw the film "Central Intelligence", starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. In high school Johnson's character was obese and abused by others. He was cast out into a gym, full of students and faculty, stark naked by four bullies. Kevin Hart's character was the only one to show him mercy. While the whole gym exploded in laughter, he covered the poor boy with his letter jacket. This act of mercy changed the boy's life. He wanted to become like his merciful hero.

Think of the mercy God has shown you by offering His Son upon the cross, instead of allowing the penalty of your sins keep you utterly estranged from God's love and life. You have received mercy. Do you not want to be like your merciful saviour? Be blessed and show the same mercy God has shown you to others.

Don't be so quick to judge. A wise person is slow to anger and does not answer foolish taunts. In this world of increasing violence and the dissolution of our peaceful society, God calls upon His disciples to be merciful as He is merciful. Have compassion. Forgive. Heal with kindness. You will be blessed as one of God's children blessing others.

Matthew 5:6

Matthew 5:6 NIV

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

It's breakfast. I'm hungry. I had a banana. It was quick. Most of my breakfasts are like that. But I crave a big country breakfast, especially on Saturdays. What do you crave?

Jesus says those who crave and are very thirsty for righteousness are blessed for they shall be satisfied. What is this righteousness for which disciples in the kingdom of Christ crave? To be righteous, biblically speaking, is to be in right standing with God. It is to be living in a condition acceptable to God. Righteousness includes the qualities of integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting. To put it simply, righteousness means to do what is right in the eyes of God.

That is the tricky part, isn't it? We all have our own opinions of what is right and wrong. Situational ethics call into question rules based righteousness. What is right in most situations may not be right in all situations. For instance when a mother's life is threatened by her pregnancy, what is the right thing to do? Is it to terminate the pregnancy to save the mother or is it to let the mother die to save the child? Most of us will not have to face such extreme choices. Our natural sense of what is right leads us. We're basically good people. But we all make mistakes. We all fall short of doing the right thing every time. We sin. We miss the mark. Either we do something we shouldn't do, or we neglect doing what we should do. And we don't all agree on what we should or shouldn't do.

For those who believe the bible is God's word, authoritative for the living of our lives, righteousness is not decided by a committee or congress. God reveals what is right and wrong in the stories, laws, letters, poetry and preaching in the 66 books of the bible. For Jews and Samaritans, the first five books, Genesis through Deuteronomy, is the Torah or the teaching. God reveals what is right and wrong in these books. When Adam and Eve did what they were told is forbidden, they sinned and were cast from paradise. When Abimelech took Sarai into his house, when she belonged to Abram, God struck him with disease. Stories like these illustrate what God says is right or wrong, good or evil. When you obey God's word and keep God's laws and observe His religious ordinances, you are righteous. When you live by the spirit of the law, you are generous, compassionate, and just. The needy are cared for by righteous people.

Since we fall short and sin, then none are righteous. The apostle Paul writes about this topic in the first 8 chapters of Romans.

Romans 3:10-12, 17-18 NIV

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

So if none of us are righteous, how can any be blessed in the kingdom of heaven? Remember that Jesus's words are about hunger and thirst, greatly desiring righteousness. It's not that we are righteous, but that we long to be made right with God. What Jesus is saying is that our desire to be made right with God and others will be satisfied in the Kingdom of Heaven.

That does not mean you have to die and go to heaven in order to be satisfied in this desire for righteousness. The Kingdom of Heaven is among us! The Kingdom of Heaven is the gathering of Christ's disciples. The community of Christ is the kingdom of God, at least a pale expression of it. Jesus teaches that the kingdom is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds in the garden and yet it grows to become the biggest of all the plants. The church is like that. It is a small beginning to a great and wonderful Kingdom future.

In the New Testament faith brings a righteousness that doesn't come from obedience to the law. Since we all fail to keep the law 100% of the time, we cannot attain full righteousness. That is why, in Christ, God made the unrighteous righteous, through the death and resurrection of Jesus. All who put their trust in Christ as saviour are made right with God, and gradually are being made righteous as God's Son is perfectly righteous.

The first sense of righteousness comes through the blood of Christ. His sacrifice upon the cross washes away the stain of our sin and makes us right before God, pure and holy. The second sense of righteousness is yet to come, yet to be satisfied. His resurrection gives us death-defying power to resist sin. Through the power of Christ we are truly free! We are free to live in the righteousness of God. And by living in the spirit of God we are empowered to become as Jesus is. That is the promise of scripture!

I don't know how many Christians you know who are exactly like Jesus, but I don't know any. I'm certainly not one of them. Let us remind ourselves again that Jesus promised satisfaction for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. We are going on toward the perfection of our souls through our journey with Jesus in the Spirit. We are righteous in the first sense through our faith in the all sufficient atoning sacrifice of Jesus. We are yet to be righteous in the second sense, made prefect like Jesus, such that every thought, word and deed comes purely from love.

As you think about your life, the way you live, how you spend your time and money, what is getting your attention and resources? Is it the righteousness of God? What do you hunger and thirst for? What do you crave? What does your life say you are working toward?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all you need will be given to you. (Mat 5:6; 6:33)

I leave you with this promise. Your hunger and thirst to be like Jesus will be satisfied.

Philippians 1:6 NIV

I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.