What Does It Mean? Matthew 5:23-24

Recently, I noticed someone using sloppy exegesis to determine the meaning of some scriptures.  That got me to thinking that it might be a good exercise to post not some exposition but rather analysis that I would use to determine the meaning of the text so that I could exposit it. 

Take the following verses out of Matthew. 

Matthew 5:23-24 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  

Now, I don’t remember the exact words the guy used, but when talking about what this verse meant he said something like verse 22 is talking about being angry with your brother (or whomever), so clearly (clearly to him, anyway), verses 23 and 24 are speaking about if that anger is coming between you and God. More particularly, it discusses not harboring anger. 

Hmm, that’s interesting.  Let’s take a look at the passage and see if that’s what it means.  What does the verse say you are doing?  Well, it says “…you are offering…” and that you “remember”.  Both verbs are in the active voice, which just means that you personally are performing the action.  What do you remember?  Well, you remember your brother has something against you.  In other words, he is angry.  What is your brother doing in this verse?  He “…has something against you…”  The verb in this phrase is also in active voice, meaning that he himself is angry.  Therefore, in this verse, are you angry?  No.  Obviously then, it couldn’t possibly be talking about your anger coming between you and God since you’re not the one angry. 

“But wait” someone might say.  We didn’t consider verse 22.  Perhaps that might change the interpretation just like this guy says.  So let’s also look at verse 22. 

Matthew 5:22  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.  

So, who is Christ talking to?  Well, this passage is in the Sermon on the Mount, so He’s talking to His disciples, not just His apostles.  He’s also not indicating any specific individual, but He says “everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”  The word “everyone” would mean “any person”.  So he’s not just talking about you being angry, as this person states.  He’s talking about any person being angry.  Now, there is nothing to suggest or imply that this means that the person in verse 23 who is presenting his gift at the altar is the one angry since verse 23 very clearly says the brother is angry and that you are the one presenting the offering. 

Therefore, what these verses mean is what they say.  If you know someone is angry at you, then you are supposed to attempt to initiate reconciliation.  That would involve you going to that person and discussing the issue face to face.  In fact, because verse 24 says that you are supposed to “leave your gift at the altar”, to fail to do this is sin, since “leave” is an active imperative—in other words, it’s a command not a suggestion.

We have a few more verses to examine.  I pray you are encouraged.

Matthew 5:45-48 Be Distinctive Part II

As we observed the last time in Matthew, Christians are called to be distinctive and one of our distinctive should be in how we treat people. Being good to those who are good to us is pretty easy. Treating people kindly who have been unkind to us—that is not so easy. Jesus gives us clear reasons for doing just that as we examine these verses.

First of all, by loving our enemies as we are instructed in verse 44, we demonstrate the goodness and character of God. Ultimately, as we read in Psalm 1, the unrighteous will get what’s coming to them. Their judgment will be terrible, final, and they shall spend eternity separated from God in the fire of hell. Make no mistake about it, God may tolerate their sin and blasphemy now, but He will not suffer their disrespect forever. While the wheat and the tares grow in the field of this world, though, God provides good things that both enjoy. Therefore, since we are the children of God, when we are good to those who don’t deserve to be treated well we show ourselves to be “sons of your Father, who is in heaven”. Because He is our Father, some of His character should rub off on us and show people that we are truly His children. We should follow God’s example and show kindness to our enemies just as He sends the sun and the rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous.

Secondly, not only does loving our enemy’s demonstrate characteristics of our Father in heaven, but we also show ourselves to be distinct from the rest of the world. Jesus calls this audience to a sobering realization—if they only love their friends they are no different than “tax collectors” or “Gentiles”. Now, to a Jew, these were two of the most hated classes of people there were. The tax collectors (of whom the author Matthew was one) were considered to be the ultimate sellouts. They collected tax for the Roman government so they were seen as collaborators with the Roman’s. The Jewish people despised being under Roman authority or any foreign authority. Further, the tax collectors were allowed to collect more than the required tax and keep the excess for themselves kind of like a commission. When Jesus said “even the tax collectors do the same” that assessment stung. In like manner, when Jesus compared someone who greeted their friends as being no better than a Gentile that statement was also repugnant to His Jewish audience. The Jews referred to Gentiles as dogs. They held them in utter contempt. Therefore, for Jesus to make the comparison that Matthew records in verse 47 would have been particularly insulting to them.

There was a point to these comparisons Jesus made. In short, as we have seen in our study of chapter 5, we are unable to live a righteous life in our own power. There is no way, for instance, that I can show love to my enemies much less WANT to show love to my enemies apart from the power of God’s Holy Spirit living in me. I submit to you that truth is precisely the point that Jesus has been making for 48 verses. We are unable to produce the righteousness that God requires but God can produce that righteousness in us. While we are not yet mature and complete in Christ, Jesus says here that we “are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” One day, we will be able to live completely free from sin and we will be totally complete children of God. However, while we still live in this sinful world we must realize that we will have to make a choice daily, sometimes hourly, to live holy lives as God has called us.

Matthew 5:43-44 Be Distinctive Part I

It is sad to see people who name the name of Christ while living exactly the same as the rest of the world. As Jesus said earlier in this chapter, we are called to be salt in this world. I believe in saying that, He was saying that we should be distinctive. People should be able to tell a difference between a Christian and someone who isn’t a Christian. Sadly, that is often not the case. In these verses, Jesus continues to drive home this point by reminding us how we are supposed to treat people.

First of all, our Lord quotes from scribal teaching of the day when He says in verse 43 that the people had been told to “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy”. The first part of that sentence is from Leviticus 19:18. The second part of that sentence is not found in scripture. Instead, it is the interpretation of the Pharisees as they assumed it logically followed if you were called to love your neighbors, those who dwelt near you or that you considered friends, then you surely must be allowed to hate your enemy’s. It only makes sense, right?

Such was not the case. As our Lord has done in the previous verses, He again demonstrates how the teachers of the law had it all wrong. He tells the crowd that they should in fact “love [their] enemy’s and pray for those who persecute [them]”. Now, this is the exact opposite reaction that we would normally have. As I confessed in previous posts, I have a problem with anger and revenge. The last thing I want to do is be nice to someone who has been unkind to me. However, this is exactly what Jesus calls for Christians to do. He instructs the crowd to show their enemy’s “love” (agapao-25). Now, love in our language represents several different concepts. You could say “I love football, I love pizza, and I love my wife”. However, when you finish that sentence you would be wise to quickly explain what the difference between those three love’s is to avoid getting into trouble. Those living in Jesus’ day did have that problem with the Greek language. The kind of love Jesus calls for here is agape love. This love is selfless, sacrificing, and always seeks the best for the object of the love. In fact, it is a love that really has nothing to do with feeling but rather is a choice. It is a love that is willed by the lover and may actually be the opposite of what that person feels like doing. We are most like God when we display this kind of love and it’s not the kind of love that we normally show apart from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. This love is distinctively Christian.

Further, we are called to “pray” for our enemies. The word translated “pray” means to intercede or make supplication to God. How can we ask God to bless someone who has wounded us or treated us badly? I submit to you we can do that by looking at the example of our Lord. When He was being murdered on the cross, charged with a crime when He was innocent, suffering insults and being mocked, He asked God to have mercy on those who treated Him like that. Now, I’ve been treated badly before and been insulted but never has anyone treated me like that. If He was able to forgive then I believe, since His Holy Spirit dwells in me, that He can enable me to forgive. I can forgive and pray for those who mistreat me and love them as God loves not because I want to or I feel like it but because I choose to. Our Lord set the example and it is up to us to choose to follow it.

Note: I should add that verse 44 reads differently in the NKJV and the KJV. The verse is harmonized with the parallel account in Luke’s gospel in the 6th chapter in the NKJV and KJV. The NASB and most modern bibles follow a reading from older Greek manuscripts. Some people make a big deal out of this variant. I think it’s important to remember two points. 1) The variant makes no doctrinal difference whatsoever. No one is going to be lead astray regardless of which reading was actually the one that Matthew wrote. 2) What we have in the gospels is not a verbatim transcript of everything Christ said exactly as He said it when He said it. We have the words that Matthew was inspired to write by God to communicate to us what He wanted us to know about what Christ said. Therefore, if there is a discrepancy between Matthew and Luke it is really not important because the meaning of what Christ said is preserved for us in the text of the New Testament. We can trust this faithful, inerrant, inspired witness to the truth of Jesus and His message.

Matthew 5:38-42 Revenge is a dish best…NOT served

I really wish that I didn’t believe in verse by verse exposition sometimes. When I was preaching through some of Paul’s epistle’s and I’d get to the last few verses, I’d usually think to myself “What am I going to do with this?” Or the time I preached through the book of Genesis and had to preach about Lot and his daughters after they left Sodom—man I wanted to take a shower with a Brillo pad and lye soap after that sermon. Now, I get to this verse and I’d really love to not have to deal with this. You see, I have a problem wanting to let go of stuff. When somebody wrongs me, my first instinct is to get them back. I see my sin revealed in these verses and it’s painful to look at. How’s about this—let’s just skip these verses and jump to something else. Whatcha think? That be ok?

Yeah, I didn’t think you’d let me get away with it.

Here, Jesus quotes Exodus 21:24 saying the crowd had heard that teaching of “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. Now, if you study where this is taught in the Old Testament, you will find that it is related to judgment in matters of law. Basically, it called for a penalty equal to the crime committed. A person who lost an eye could not demand that the guilty party pay with their life. Now this is right and makes perfect sense in context of judgment in a court of law. However, as per usual, the Pharisee’s took God’s perfect, holy word and perverted it.

They took the holy commandment of God and used it to justify personal revenge. Instead of a judge deciding the penalty of the guilty party, people took matters into their own hands. Instead of “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord” it became “Vengeance is mine, says [insert name here]." Since we’re all sinners in need of a Savior, we don’t have the perspective or wisdom to judge in that manner.

Jesus, therefore, clarifies this false teaching as comprehensively as possible. First of all, He says we are not to seek revenge in personal matters. He says if an evil person “slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also”. Now someone will say, perhaps jokingly, “Well what do I do after he slaps the other cheek? Can I deck ‘im?” We must remember that in the culture Jesus lived a slap on the face was not intended to physically hurt someone but rather was intended to pay the highest form of insult possible to the individual. Now, the natural reaction of some people in a case of being highly insulted is to retaliate. At least, that is my first reaction. However, what Jesus calls for is the exact opposite reaction. By turning the other cheek, Jesus means we are to be willing not only to not take revenge when insulted but to be willing to take further insult. In short, when someone does us wrong, our Lord forbids us to take revenge.

From personal matters, our Lord moves into the realm of the courts of law. If a person was too poor to pay for a judgment made against them in money, their clothing could be taken from them. Now, imagine a situation where a judge has said that a person must surrender his clothing in a judgment. The plaintiff is given legal right to the defendant’s shirt (an undergarment) and coat (an outergarment). According to Exodus 22:26-27, the defendant could say “You can’t take my coat” and therefore use the letter of the law of God to thwart the judgment of the court. Jesus says that is not an option but rather we are to be willing to submit ourselves to the judgment and surrender our shirt and our coat instead of using the law of God as a shield.

In addition, we need to be willing to bear with unreasonable demands from even the government as long as they don’t conflict with the law of God. Jesus says that if someone “forces you to go one mile, go with him two.” Government officials in that day could require a traveler to take a letter between posts on the road. The point Jesus makes is that we should be willing to bear under an unreasonable burden for the sake of peace without making a fuss or seeking redress. Again, we see a willingness to suffer an indignity and inconvenience as our Lord would later set the perfect example at Calvary.

Finally, someone might have the occasion to withhold good For instance, in Star Trek II, Kahn, the bad guy, had trapped Kirk in a cave on a barren moon. Now, Kahn could have beamed Kirk and his people out of there but he said he wanted to pay Kirk back so he left them there to suffer. He felt that, at long last, he had his revenge. Many of us dream of that day when our foe stands before us in need—desperate need. Finally, we will be able to look at their sad, tired, hungry face and refuse to help them. To see them broken in that moment will be such a sweet reward, right? Jesus says we should banish such a thought from our minds. Instead, we should be willing to be generous and “give to him who asks” something from us. Now this isn’t talking about shiftless, lazy people who don’t want to work to take care of themselves, nor does it mean that we give beyond our ability to give and put a burden on our family. We should not use the need of a person as an opportunity to exact revenge on them. Instead, we should exhibit a Christlike spirit of giving and do good when we have the opportunity.

Clearly, living in a world so filled with sin we are going to be hurt and wronged. I’ve had people say things to me and do things to me that I thought I could never forgive them for. With the help of Christ, however, I am able to make the choice to forgive and not seek to take revenge. I have to give glory to God for that. In my flesh, I cannot and would not want to do that. With God’s help, I can and you can too.

Matthew 5:33-37 Tell the truth and shame the devil

In my position as an auditor, I am required to get 80 hours of continuing professional education every two years. One of my favorite types of classes or workshops to attend are ones related to interviewing. I am always on the lookout for fraud and get positively giddy at the prospect of catching someone lying in an interview. Honestly, anyone can pick up on clues that people are lying if they know what to look for. Some people instinctively know the signs of someone who’s trying to pull the proverbial wool over their eyes. One big clue is something that I call a modifier. For instance, if someone prefaces their statement with “Honestly…” or “To tell you the truth…” there is a pretty good possibility that they may be lying. Of course, we know that lying is a sin and is a sin not only against those we tell an untruth to but ultimately against God. Just like we see today, people who lived while Jesus walked this earth also tried to perpetrate falsehoods for whatever reason. The sad part is they tried to use God’s word to their advantage while they sinned.

Jesus said, I Matthew 5:33, Jesus quoted what people had been taught about oaths-“You shall not make false vows but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord”. This doesn’t come from just one verse or passage in the Old Testament but probably had its root in Lev. 19:12 and Deu. 23:23. Since the law of God as revealed through Moses is a revelation of God’s character, God called His followers to be honest and act with integrity. God doesn’t lie so it makes perfect sense for Him to call us to live and speak in a truthful manner.

However, in the day in which Jesus lived, the religious leaders wanted to find ways to lie and get away with it. They would literally look for any loophole they could if it served their purposes and tell half truths in an attempt to deceive other people or make themselves look better than they were. Therefore, they would be careful to avoid swearing by the name of God. However, to try to prop up their statements and make them seem more truthful than they were they would swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or even their own head which was basically the same thing as swearing by their own life. These oaths were supposed to lend a measure of credulity to their statements and encourage people to believe them.

Jesus soundly rebukes the practice here in 34-36. Heaven, He says, is “the throne of God”. Earth is the “footstool for His feet”. He tells the crowd that Jerusalem is “the city of the Great King”. In all three instances, God is sovereign over the thing being sworn by in the oath. Jesus’ point is that instead of serving the purpose of avoiding an oath to God the oathmaker was still swearing by God since everything he swore by was God’s anyway.

Further, He says we should not swear by our head because we “cannot make one hair white or black”. Now, I would love to have hair to make white or black (God only made a few perfect heads, though—don’t hate me because I’m beautiful). However, while we can’t literally change our hair color naturally, I believe Jesus may have metaphorically meant that we have no control over our life. Jesus could lay his life down (John 10:17-18). No other person that ever walked this earth could do that. When Jesus died on the cross it was because He willed it. We cannot will ourselves to die. In other words, again, the person swearing an oath was swearing by something that was God’s in order to make themselves look more honest.

Jesus gives the ultimate motivation for a person to lie. Of course, the simple answer would be to conceal a truth but Jesus says the motivation is really deeper than that. He says we should let our “statement be ‘Yes, yes’ or “No, no’, anything beyond that is of evil”. John 8:44 tells us that Satan was a liar and murderer from the beginning and that he is the father of lies. Know this for certain—if someone is motivated to lie that motivation was given by Satan. Ultimately, the root cause of the sin of lying is giving in to the temptation to try to get out of trouble by concealing the truth and that temptation is given to us by the devil.

Rather than trying to prop up our statements with some sort of profane oath where we’re trying to tell enough of the truth that our conscience won’t bother us, we should just tell the truth. It’s easier to remember and God is honored when His children live consistent with the truths revealed in the Bible.

Matthew 5:31-32 Marriage-Sacred and Binding

Traditionally, we have been told that about 50% of marriages end in divorce. This statistic may not be entirely accurate but according to research by George Barna, Christians divorce at about the same rate as non-Christians. In other words, there is a good chance that about half of you that read this post are going to be mad at me. That’s why I’m glad this is a blog and not a church—I can’t be voted out. The very worst that’ll happen is that I’ll get a bunch of snarky comments. I think I can take that.

First of all, we should observe that the regulations related to divorce had been taught incorrectly to the people. As Matthew notes, Jesus said in verse 31 “It was said, 'Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce '” This was the common perception regarding divorce among some Jewish teachers. All you had to do was put your John Hancock on a piece of paper and voila, instant freedom. While Deuteronomy 24:1 does mention a document it also mentions something else that the Pharisees conveniently left out.

The concept of a no-fault divorce is alien to the Bible. In fact, according to scripture there are only two situations where God gives His divine blessing for a divorce. I Corinthians 7:15 mentions a Christian being married to an unbeliever who no longer wants to be married to the Christian. In such a case, the believer is free if the unbeliever divorces him or her. Jesus mentions the second reason in verse 32 when He says “everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity” not only sins but causes their former spouse to sin. This is consistent with the teaching found in Deuteronomy 24:1-2 where divorce was permitted in the case where a husband discovered his wife was guilty of some sexual sin. The word used here for “unchastity” is the Greek word “porneia” (4202). Originally, this word referred to having relations with a prostitute but it came to mean any sort of sexual immorality. In other words, the divorce if it occurred on these grounds would happen for pretty serious reasons. Such was not the case in the culture Jesus lived in while on earth. In fact, there was a school of thought that a man could divorce his wife for trivial, subjective reasons as overcooking his supper or being difficult to get along with. In other words, once again, the religious leaders had taken something that the Bible taught and watered it down so that it was more palatable to them with none of that wangy aftertaste.

Marriage is serious business and should not be entered into lightly or without an intense reflection as to the commitment you’re making. That commitment is supposed to be for a lifetime and Jesus says here that to break that commitment brings serious consequences. Matthew records that Jesus said a man who divorced his wife for something other than sexual immorality “makes her commit adultery”. The sin of an unbiblical divorce leads to other sin. Since the marriage is dissolved according to the law but not according to God any marriage resulting afterwards is considered by God to be adultery. In God’s eyes, the two people are still married and cannot take another spouse.

Now, the question we are left with is “What now?” I have a good friend from college who was like an older brother to me who told me he was going to divorce his wife a few years ago. His reasons were not in line with reasons the Bible gives for divorce. Basically, he didn’t feel like his wife was pulling her weight to help him out around the house. He did divorce his wife and has since remarried. His grandmother is very unkind to his new wife and the child that they have since had because in her mind they are living in sin. Since marrying his new wife, my friend and his family have started going to church and he says that he is saved. He is very frustrated by how his grandmother acts regarding his new marriage. When I talked to him about it, I told him the questions of whether he should have left his first wife and should have married this woman now were pretty academic—it’s done. He can’t get a divorce and go back to his first wife. If a person repents of the sin of an unbiblical divorce and commits to remain faithful in their current marriage, in the end that is all they can do.

Further, while the Bible does not say physical abuse is grounds for divorce as far as I can tell from my study, it seems quite obvious that God has given human beings an instinct for self preservation. If a man or woman is in a situation where they or their children are in danger and they feel like they have to leave they should by all mean “get out of Dodge”. I was home by myself one afternoon and I heard a panicked knock on my door. A frightened woman begged me to help her get her car loaded so she could run from her abusive husband. He was on his way home and she needed my help to run. I didn’t spend time discussing the theology of her position. I went to her apartment, helped her gather her things, and loaded the car so that she and her child could run. I have read that a fairly prominent denominational bigwig advised a woman who told him she was being abused to go home and pray for her husband. She got beat up that night. Only a moron would suggest such a foolish course of action. If you are being beaten, get yourself some help and get to safety. While I would never advocate divorce in those situations because I can’t find anything that suggests that the Bible considers that acceptable I would certainly understand why someone would get a divorce and perhaps remarry. In the end, we must recognize that God can and does work in situations that are less than ideal and that nothing catches Him by surprise.

Staying committed to a marriage for a lifetime takes supernatural stamina. You cannot do it on your own. It is only through the indwelling power of God’s Holy Spirit that you can love as He loves, forgive as He forgives, and remain faithful as He is faithful. Marriage is serious to God and therefore should be serious to us as well.

Matthew 5: 27-30 Watch What You Watch

We live in a culture that could be best described in one word-perverse. Sexual immorality is rampant in our culture and hardly anyone bats an eye anymore. I have been watching a program that would really be considered a kids program before and had a commercial come on that was, shall we say, less than appropriate for kids. Shows aimed at teenagers regularly feature homosexuality as acceptable and mock the idea of sexual purity as if losing your virginity is some sort of rite of passage. Today more than ever it seems we need to hear what the bible says about sexual sin.

In these verses, Jesus warns us against involving ourselves in immoral sexual relationships.
First of all, He reminds His audience what they have heard taught by the rabbis, that "You shall not commit adultery". Now, in the same manner as we examined murder most of us could say that we have not committed adultery. That is a pretty easy test to pass. The religious leaders of the day taught the letter of the law but not the spirit of it. They taught that murder was a sin but the simmering anger that could lead to murder was not because it was something you could keep hidden from people. In other words, you were only accountable for what you had done and not what you had thought. Personally, I think that kind of moral law would be easy to keep because by that standard I would not have committed nearly as many sins.

However, Jesus doesn't let us off so easily. He says "but". That one single word tells us that these people had a less than full understanding of this commandment and that they had only been taught the surface level of this truth. Jesus came to fulfill the law (v.17) and here proceeds to do just that. Jesus says that "everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart." There are a few observations I would like to make regarding this statement. First of all, while Jesus does direct this to men I believe the principal applies to all people. Men are wired so that they are stimulated primarily by what they see but I've heard women make similar comments about someone they've taken notice of. In fact, reading the Song of Solomon will give some examples of a woman checking out her buff beau to whom she is engaged. However, let's face it the problem of lustful looking is primarily a guy problem. Second of all, the word "looking" (blepo-991) is in the present tense in the Greek so it carries the idea of a continuous action. This is not a passing glace but rather a long, intense look. Now, as Warren Weirsbe notes in his commentary on Matthew it is possible for a man to look at a woman, know that she is beautiful, and not lust after her. However, I personally do not recommend trying to convince your wife or girlfriend of that. However, when a passing glance becomes an attempt to "undress her with your eyes" you have a problem. That leads to my third point, while Jesus says this is sin and it is adultery in your heart it is not the same thing as adultery. This is not a case of "Well, I've already committed the sin in my heart--might as well go ahead and go through with it". Even though the consequences in this world are different, physical adultery and adultery in your heart are both sinful in God's all-knowing, all-seeing eyes.

In verses 29 and 30, Jesus prescribes the kind of mindset that you have to approach sin with. You must take drastic measures to deal with it and you must do it without delay. In both verses, we are commanded to dispose of our eyes or our hands and throw them away. In those verses, the commands to tear out or cut off are written in the aortist imperative in the Greek. This means that they are commands and that Jesus is saying we need to carry them out without delay. In fact, when Jesus says if our eye or hand causes us to "stumble" He is using a word that means to fall into a trap or snare. If you are confronted with sexual temptation and you do not deal with it swiftly you greatly increase your chances of losing that battle. Jesus is not being literal here, however. I could pluck out my eye and still sin with my other eye. I could do the same with my hand. The point is that we must take radical measures to deal with sin particularly sexual sin. This stuff is dangerous, kids. You have to do whatever it takes no matter what to deal with this. Just like Barney used to say on the Andy Griffith Show "Nip it". As Paul warns in Romans 13:14, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."

The truth that Jesus reveals here is that God's definition of purity goes far beyond a surface, superficial level like what the religious leaders of the day taught. The true purity God calls for is purity of the heart. Most men could pass the test of not having committed adultery. However, no man, except Jesus, could claim that they have never committed adultery in their heart. To control your thought life and keep it pure requires more strength than anyone has in and of themselves. It is only through the supernatural power of God's Holy Spirit that we can live a kind of life pleasing to God--pure and holy.

Matthew 5:23-26 Be Reconciled

Jesus, in Matthew 5:21-22, taught how sinful anger was the spiritual equivalent of murder. Certainly, that is a much higher standard than most people would care to have applied to them. Sin isn’t just something we do externally but it is a matter of the heart and our inner attitudes. However, anger is a two way street. Or more precisely, there are at least two parties involved-the person who is angry and the object of that anger. Ultimately, Christ teaches us in these verses that reconciliation is of paramount importance when a relationship is strained by angry feelings regardless if we are the angry party or the object of someone’s ire.

First of all, Jesus teaches us that unresolved anger affects our worship. Notice that He says “if you are presenting your offering at the altar”. The altar in the temple was at the heart of the temple and bringing an offering was required at times and at other times was freewill. However, both kinds of offerings were supposed to be brought with the right heart attitude. During any time of worship we should engage in some time of introspection. Are our motives pure? Do we have unconfessed sin in our lives? We should also ask “Are any of my relationships strained?” During this time of reflection, the Holy Spirit is able to bring to our mind things that might hinder our worship of the heavenly Father. One of those things is a broken or strained relationship.

We see that the Lord has in mind a broken or strained relationship in the word picture He paints. The scene He describes is of us preparing to worship when the Holy Spirit causes us to “remember that your brother has something against you”. See, here’s the thing that we must take notice of and this is something I don’t think I’ve ever thought about before I sat down to write this post. Jesus doesn’t say that we remember that we have done something to someone else but rather we remember that they have something against us. Does that mean that they have a legitimate claim? Not necessarily. I can remember when I served on staff at a particular church in Alabama that there was one member who only had two problems with me—just two little problems. They were “Everything that I did” and “Everything that I said”. Now were there times that I was wrong—I’m sure there were. But I feel quite comfortable saying that most of the stuff she got her knickers in a twist about were things that she assumed she could read my mind and know the motivation of my heart neither of which she could do. However, the point our Lord makes is not that we have actually done something but rather that we remember that someone has something against us. In this context, the term brother does not seem to indicate “fellow believer” but probably has more a sense “the brotherhood of mankind”. In any case, if we know someone has something against us we should not wait for them to come to us but we should take the initiative. Reconciliation is that important to God.

Christ then calls us to go and “be reconciled” to our brother. On the audit that I just finished, there were numerous financial schedules that I had to examine. Several times, the numbers that should have matched did not match, Total Additions to Buildings for example, should have agreed between two of the schedules but they did not. I had to find what the difference was between them so I could say they were reconciled. Was there still a difference when I finished? Yes. However, the disagreement between the two schedules was now resolved because it was explained. If someone is angry with you and you make the attempt to reconcile, they may not want to reconcile the difference. Also, you may have a difference where you simply have to “agree to disagree”. Observe that Christ here does not say that we are responsible for their reaction only that we are responsible for initiating the attempt to be reconciled. We should be willing to humble ourselves and do what we can do to bring peace back the relationship. When we do that, we can proceed with our worship.

In verse 25, Jesus moves from a religious arena to a civil one. He exhorts us to “Make friends quickly” with someone who has a legal claim against us. I have never been sued and I am grateful for that. However, I did have an occasion to sue someone once. A gentleman passed me illegally on a road and hit my vehicle. He promised to pay for the repairs but he never did. I went to the courthouse and took out the paper to have a suit brought against him. When he got the paperwork, he came to my house to attempt to make things right. I worked with him and we settled the matter out of court. It was less expensive for him and less time consuming for me.

Here, Jesus is saying that if someone has a legal claim on us for something, we need to get that settled as quickly as we can because there are going to be consequences if we don’t. He continues in verses 25 and 26 to describe what would have been the legal penalties in that day. The point of the matter is this—we need to live at peace with people to the extent that we are able and we need to be willing to sacrifice to achieve that peace if necessary. Failure to do so can bring consequences not only from man (legally) but from God (spiritually).

Matthew 5:21-22 “Sam, it was mur-dah”

Do you enjoy a good mystery novel or TV show? I always have. I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s watching shows like Matlock and Quincy (that’s where the quote in the title came from). Usually, somebody would commit a murder and the detectives would spend the show trying to solve the crime. Honestly, I just enjoyed seeing the crook get caught. I think there is something inside of most people that wants to see justice prevail and crimes like murder punished. We know that it is wrong to unjustly kill another person. However, in these verses we find that Christ teaches us that the prohibition against murder goes much deeper than the physical act of taking another persons life.

As we prepare to study these verses (21-47) over the next several weeks, I suggest that you should keep verse 48 in mind. Jesus tells His audience that they are to be “perfect” even as God is perfect. That is the target these verses are pointing to as we study them. We should remember that the law is not a burdensome list of do’s and don’ts that a Christian tries to keep to earn salvation but rather it reveals to us the character and righteousness of God and it is our joy to live it out. As we have seen in the beatitudes, we see here our complete inability to keep the law apart from the supernatural indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus teaches here, He reveal the full, spiritual character of the law and demonstrates the hopeless impossibility of producing a righteousness that is acceptable to God through human effort.

First of all, Jesus states the letter of the law. He states it in the way the religious leaders of the day had taught the truth. “You have heard that the ancients were told ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court’.” Both of these statements are true, biblical, and would be affirmed by most people, much less by most Christians. If this was the standard that God used to judge most people would pass this test with flying colors. I’ve never murdered anyone and I would imagine that most of my blog readers would be able to say the same. If that was the extent of the requirements of that commandment, then I could easily be declared “Not Guilty”.

However, Jesus reveals that God’s standard is much more stringent. God holds us accountable for the evil that we have present in our hearts. Jesus says that “everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court” Jesus was not abolishing the law here but was rather revealing the full, spiritual character that had always been present in the law. A person who harbors hatred in his heart toward his fellow man may not be criminally liable before a human court of law but before the throne of God this person has committed a sin and is guilty. Now, we should stop and point out not all anger is sinful. When I see things in my life and I recognize that they are not godly or fitting for someone who is a Christian and I am angry with myself, that anger is not sinful. When I hear about people aborting a baby and I think about the people who helped make that legal in this country and those who want to keep it legal I feel angry. However, that anger is not sinful. When Christ cleansed the temple during his ministry with a whip because He was angry at their hypocrisy, that anger was not sinful. The anger that Jesus equates with murder is called “orgizo” (3710-the root word of the English word Ogre) which describes a simmering, festering kind of anger. You might describe it as holding or nursing a grudge. I picture this describing the kind of anger that you feel toward someone who you swear to yourself that you’ll get back at if you ever get the chance. You hold onto the anger but keep it beneath the surface just waiting for the chance to pounce on your adversary. It is easy to imagine this is the kind of anger Cain had toward Able when God accepted Able’s sacrifice but rejected Cain’s.. This may not be punishable by any law on the books, but the person is still guilty when they hold this kind of anger in their hearts.

However, Jesus goes on to say that it’s not just the heart attitude that a person holds that can be spiritually equivalent to murder. Jesus says the words a person speaks can make them guilty of murder. He says that “whoever says to his brother ‘You good-for-nothing’ shall be guilty before the supreme court” The phrase “good-for-nothing” translates an Aramaic word “Raca” which really doesn’t have an direct equivalent in English. We might call someone “numbskull”, “dufus”, or to quote Archie Bunker from TV in the 70’s “Meat-head”. Basically, it was a term of derision that was meant to insult someone’s intelligence. When anger that we hold in our hearts comes out of our mouths it is sinful but when that anger is a deep seated, nursed, smoldering anger that has poured forth into a verbal expression, Jesus says that is the equivalent of murder. It is from the abundance of the heart that our mouth speaks (Matt 12:34). Jesus says that people who express their anger verbally can be guilty before the Sanhedrin (the supreme court). People who choose not to control their tongues run the risk of breaking the law but they certainly are in violation of God’s moral law. For instance, Genesis 4:8 records that “Cain told Able his brother”. The Bible doesn’t record the conversation but I have the feeling it wasn’t a warm, friendly brother-to-brother talk. It is not hard at all to imagine Cain venting the anger in his heart with loud, angry words.

However, insulting words are not the only words that Jesus equates with murder. Jesus says “whoever says ‘You fool’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” The word “moros” (3474) is translated as “fool” and relates to the spiritual character of the person. It’s not just saying that they’re stupid but more like saying they are godless and deserving of hell. Basically, it is like passing a moral judgment on another person. The anger that once simmered in the heart and produced an insult like “dimwit” now pours forth into an expression of utter contempt for a person. Jesus says that those who make this kind of judgment are guilty enough to go into “the fiery hell” or literally “the fire of hell”. This is a picture of the horrible judgment that awaits unrepentant sinners. They will burn forever in a lake of fire.
Jesus gives these examples to reveal that murder happens in the heart long before the actual act takes place if it ever takes place. Have I ever used my words to cut another person or express a simmering anger that lay within my heart. Yes, as ashamed as I am to admit it, I have. Therefore, even though I haven’t physically murdered anyone I am spiritually guilty of the crime because of what went on inside of my heart. Now we see clearly how impossible it is for us to be right with God under our own power. It’s not just what we do. That’s pretty easy to fake or avoid getting caught doing. There are plenty of unsolved murders in real life. But we cannot fake what goes on it our heart—God sees it and knows it. Therefore, when we sin in our hearts, even if no one else knows about it, we should go humbly to our Father in heaven, repent of that sin, and ask His forgiveness. Praise God that He is faithful and will forgive us of even our secret sins.

Matthew 5:17-20 The Christian and the Law

To the ears of His audience, the statement Matthew records in 5:20 must have sounded pretty startling. These people perceived the religious leaders of the day as being the most holy, righteous men in the world. I imagine it might be like someone telling us “You’ve got to putt like Tiger Woods” or “You’ve got to be as successful in business as Donald Trump”. The issue Jesus was discussing was, of course, much more important than golf or capitalism. He was discussing a right standing before God. Psalm 1 tells us that the unrighteous will not stand in the congregation of the righteous. There will be a judgment and those judged guilty will suffer eternal torment in hell. Therefore, it is paramount for us to understand true biblical righteousness. How can we have a right standing before God and be declared “Not guilty”? Jesus begins in verse 17 to answer that question.

First of all, Jesus states what His purpose is not. He says “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish.” Jesus, since He was omnipotent and fully God, may have realized that there were people there who thought He was teaching some radically new way of relating to God. Therefore, Jesus beings His statement by alerting His audience to not assume they knew what He was teaching and how it related to the Old Testament. In fact, He says he is not looking to tear down (abolish-kataluo 2647) the revealed word of God (the Law and the Prophets). Some people may have thought Him to be a religious rebel or assumed that He was teaching contrary to the word of God. He goes on to state what His purpose was. He says that He came “to fulfill”. The word used here is the Greek word “pleroo (4137)” which can mean not only to bring to completion or to accomplish as in the fulfillment of prophecy but it can also mean to fill as in filling a container or a hole. Therefore, in relation to the Old Testament and all the revealed truth that it taught, Jesus came to accomplish everything that was written there but also to fill these truths fully.

For instance, in the law there were ordinances which were ceremonial in nature related to worship. Items were determined to be clean or unclean. All these ceremonial laws were a shadow of what was in heaven (Hebrews 9) and pointed ultimately to the perfection of God and of Christ. These requirements related to worship and sacrifice in the temple and were a shadow of that which our Lord was the substance. There was also civil law which regulated life for the nation of Israel. These laws were the basis of government in the Old Testament. Jesus ultimately fulfilled these as well by being perfectly obedient in all things. Thus, the ceremonial and civil law truly are filled out or fulfilled in Christ. The law also contained moral law. Christ certainly fulfilled this aspect of the law as well seeing as how there was never a time where He sinned. He was perfect. Therefore, since Christ fulfilled the law by keeping it completely what is the relation of the believer to the law? How does the law relate to us who are under grace?Jesus I believe answers this question for us in the next few verses. First of all, Jesus defines the scope of the law. He says “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished”. The law is for man while we live here on this earth and is perfect, God revealed truth. Christ accomplished everything that was in the law when He lived on this earth. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to live moral lives and keep the law (2 Cor 5:21). We know the ceremonial regulations were only a shadow (Hebrews 9) and Christ Himself even lifted some requirements while He lived on this earth (Matthew 15:11). Civil law changes with the change in governing authorities and Christians are obligated to obey the authorities (Romans 13). The moral law still guides us as Christians by giving us a picture of the holiness of God and what He expects. We are told in verse 19 that we should not “break (luo-3089: to loosen or tear down-similar to kataluo above) these laws or teach others to break them but rather a Christian will be one who “keeps” them—not to earn salvation but rather as a result of having been saved and being indwelt with the spirit of Christ.

To live a godly life is impossible for any man or woman. Paul himself bemoans our fallen existence in Romans 7. The fact is that we are going to sin—daily. Because of our sin, we should recognize our inability to produce a righteousness that, as Jesus says, “surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees”. We must look beyond keeping a list of do’s and don’ts to achieve the righteousness that Christ calls for in these verses. We must recognize that it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can live a life pleasing to God—a life that brings Him glory. It’s not by keeping the letter of the law that we become right with God but by crying out to Him in repentance “I am a sinner. I can’t save myself. Lord, save me.”

Matthew 5:14-16 The Power of Light

In these verses (13-16) of chapter 5, Matthew records Christ’s description of believers as being distinctive. As we saw when we studied verse 13, salt is distinctive and can become contaminated thereby making it unable to function. As we will see in this verse, light is also distinctive. If you were in a pitch black room and someone turned on a pen light, you would immediately notice it. Light instantly penetrates darkness. You and I live in a very dark world. If the light of the gospel of Christ is going to shine in this world, it must shine through us because, as Jesus continues to tell His disciples about their identity, “You are the light of the world”.

As Charles Spurgeon once noted:

“This title had been given by the Jews to certain of their eminent Rabbis. With great pomposity they spoke of Rabbi Judah, or Rabbi Jochanan, as the lamps of the universe, the lights of the world. It must have sounded strangely in the ears of the Scribes and Pharisees to hear that same title, in all soberness, applied to a few bronzed-faced and horny-handed peasants and fishermen, who had become disciples of Jesus. Jesus, in effect, said, — not the Rabbis, not the Scribes, not the assembled Sanhedrim, but ye, my humble followers, ye are the light of the world.

He gave them this title, not after he had educated them for three years, but at almost the outset of his ministry; and from this I gather that the title was given them, not so much on account of what they knew, as on account of what they were. Not their knowledge, but their character made them the light of the world. They were not yet fully trained in his spiritual school, and yet he saith to them, ‘Ye are the light of the world;’ the fact being, that wherever there is faith in Christ there is light, for our Lord has said ‘I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me should not walk in darkness.’ ‘The entrance of thy word giveth light.’”

When He made this unusual pronouncement announcing their true identity, He also explained to them their visibility as His disciples. Matthew records that Jesus said “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden”. By virtue of its elevation, a city that was sitting on top of some high place would be visible to anyone. Nothing special had to be done to attract attention to the city. People would notice it simply because of its existence due to its location. As Christians, we will stick out like sore thumbs and be unquestionably visible if we are living according to God’s word. In fact, as we will see, we should use this visibility to bring glory and honor to our God. If we are the lights of the world (and we are) and we live in a world of darkness (no doubt about that) we not only should be visible but we MUST in fact be visible. There are those in the darkness that need to see the light and we, brothers and sisters, are that light.

Further, Christ does not simply call to their attention their visibility as lights but also their functionality as the lights of the world. Jesus says that lights are meant to be used. People don’t light a light to cover it up but they use it to give “light to all who are in the house”. We’re not called to sequester ourselves away from the world. The fact that God saved us and that Jesus refers to His disciples as lights of the world means that we have a duty to function as lights. We use lights to see, to read, to move around in our home so that we don’t trip over something or stub our toe in the darkness as we get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. If we don’t use a light and do stub our toe or bust our shin, it hurt’s—badly. As Max Lucado once observed we see people in pain in this world because they’re trying to walk in the darkness. Now, we don’t come to these hurting, angry people with Dr. Phil or Orprah style pseudo-psychology or self help garbage. Rather, we shine the true light of the gospel and call these people to repent of their sins and believe in the Son of God. That, my friends, is how we function as God’s light in the world.

Finally, let us further observe that Jesus didn’t simply identify believers as being the light of the world but rather He calls them to “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Dear brothers and sisters, this is an imperative—a command. He is not suggesting that we let our light shine before men; He is giving us marching orders. We are not supposed to hide our light, We are not supposed to withhold our light. In fact, we are supposed to go forth into the world living authentic Christian lives so that the world can see God living in us and through us. When we do that, people will see. Now, not everyone will cheer and pat us on the back. We know from verses 10-12 that when we go to living in this world in opposition to the world system that the world is going to mistreat us. However, there will be those who respond to the call of the gospel. They will repent and believe and they will give glory to God. We bring the saving light of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit uses that light to convict men and women of sin. We can’t save anybody but as we’ve seen in this verse we can be used by God if we will be faithful and obedient to live out the truth of our new life in Christ and shine as lights in a dark world.

Matthew 5:13 Don’t Live a Useless Life

I am an auditor. One of the entities our office audits makes mortgage loans. It’s not a very polite thing to say, I guess, but the people there are difficult to work with. They are uncooperative, argumentative, and have the idea that we shouldn’t have authority to audit them. On the upside, there is one guy there that does a great Foghorn Leghorn impersonation (Ah say, ah say son…). The running joke for those of us who have been on that audit is “Next year, I’m going to get a mortgage from this agency”. If I did that, you see, I would no longer be able to audit that agency. I would no longer be independent and independence in appearance and in fact is required of an auditor. In a sense, you could say that loan would contaminate my independence. In much the same way, a Christian can become contaminated by the world and therefore be useless or ineffective as a minister. Jesus warns, in this verse, against such contamination.

First of all, Jesus declares the identity of believers in this verse. He says “You are the salt of the earth”. Notice, this isn’t directed at all people. In verse 1, we see that His disciples came to Him to be taught. Also, notice that He speaks this in present tense and it is not a command. Jesus is stating a fact not of something that will be true or was true but rather of something that currently is true. Finally, He identifies what His disciples were—salt. Now, I’ve heard all sorts of sermons and you have too as to what this identification of believers as salt means. We know that salt enhances flavor. I have heard a preacher teach that we believers are here to make the world more flavorful—to bring spice or variety. We also know that salt was used as a preservative. They didn’t have refrigerators to keep things from spoiling and there was no Dead Sea Tupperware to help these ancient people stretch their food dollar. Therefore, they used salt to help keep things from spoiling and we, as followers of Christ, are here to help keep the world from stinking. Somehow, these explanations never really seemed right. I think there is a much simpler explanation right here in the text. Let’s examine further while also thinking about salt.

Salt is distinctive. If I have a big ol’ bowl of chili (which I eat over rice--Yeah my wife thinks I’m weird for that, too) and I ate a bite before I added some salt it might taste a little bland. But after I add the salt I can immediately taste a difference. . That is because salt is distinctive. As John MacArthur observes in his study bible, salts in the area of Israel could become contaminated and flat. When that happened, they no longer had a distinctive, salty flavor. Jesus says in this verse that they have “become tasteless” (Greek moraine-3471). This Greek word can mean “to become insipid” or more colloquially “to play the fool”. When the salt became contaminated with minerals like gypsum, for instance, it could no longer function as it was intended.

Brothers and sisters, that is a danger for us as well. We, too, can become contaminated. With what, you might ask. We can become contaminated with this world and its attitudes, behaviors, and sinful lusts. There is a reason why, throughout scripture, we are told to live differently than the rest of the world.. Ephesians 4:1 says “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” Psalms chapter 1 reminds us in verse 1 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” When we live like the rest of the world and allow sin to contaminate us, we lose our distinctiveness. When people here us joke about the same things they joke about we lose our ability to witness to them. Their first thought would be “Well, I don’t know why Joe’s talking to me about this being wrong. He was laughing at my dirty joke the other day.” When they see us live in a manner that is no different than how they live they will not take our gospel message seriously.

I remember a few years ago, my wife and I were eating in a Wendy’s for lunch after church one day. There was a lady in line ahead of us who had obviously just gotten out of church. She was blessing the kid behind the counter up one end and down the other about not having worn some gloves when he dipped her chili. Now, imagine how he would react to another Christian sharing the gospel with him. “If that lady was a Christian, then I sure don’t want any part of that”. I mean, let’s face it. She was wearing the “uniform”. When she acted like the rest of the world acted, it not only contaminated her but in some respects the witness of all Christians. When our witness is compromised and we no longer have our salt-like distinctiveness, we are useless. We cannot “be made salty again” When we compromise our witness, we become useless for ministry and are “no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

Let’s remember this fact as we live. We’re going to fail and sin as we go through this world. However, with the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can grow and become more Christlike and resist the contamination of this world. As Paul writes in Romans 12:1, let us all resist the worlds attempts to conform us to its way of doing things and allow Jesus to live through us in our words and our actions.

Matthew 5:12 Joy in spite of Persecution Part III

I am currently working on the largest audit that our office does during the year. Our team is putting in a lot of overtime and we’re all pretty exhausted. My wife says she feels sometimes like an Audit Widow. I mean, I’m home every evening but I’m still putting in a bunch of overtime which tends to continue to affect me even when I’m not at work because I am so tired. There is one thought that really helps me get through this time of year every year—it will eventually be over. We will eventually finish the audit work, our spring audits are much less stressful, and I can finally take some time off and relax. There will be a reward, someday, for my hard work. In much the same way, Jesus reminds us here in this verse that our hard word of proclaiming the gospel to the whole world and enduring persecution for His precious name will one day pay off.

Jesus tells us that when we face persecution as described in verse 10 and 11 of this chapter, our reaction should be to “Rejoice and be glad”. Observe that these are both present imperatives: they are not suggestions but commands. It seems logical that we would be commanded to do this because obviously our natural reaction to persecution is not going to be to jump up and down in celebration (be glad-agalliao [21] “jump, leap, spring up”) or loudly cheer (rejoice-chairo [5463] “full of cheer”). It would not be normal for someone under persecution to do an end zone dance and shout merrily. The joy that we should have in persecution is empowered by the Holy Spirit as are all the other beatitudes. We see in Acts 5:41 that the disciples were rejoicing to have been counted worthy to be persecuted for the cause of Christ. Our flesh does not enjoy persecution but our reaction to persecution demonstrates the genuineness of our faith in Christ. While we endure trials in our present condition, we can know that our future is truly secure, as Christ teaches us.

He says that those who are spiritually happy (blessed) during times where they are persecuted for their faith in Christ should rejoice “for your reward in heaven in great”. Here on earth, we are the butt of jokes. Our faith is mocked. We are rebuked for holding to biblical morality—and that’s just by people who name the name of Christ. Christians face physical persecution all over the world and many are killed. We may be treated as 2nd class citizens in this world but God will give us a “reward” (misthos-3408). Our faithfulness to the cause of Christ does not earn us a reward as an employee earns wages but rather is a reflection of the generosity and love of our heavenly Father. We may suffer lack here but in our future we can see that we are amply supplied. Jesus says not only are we rewarded but that our reward in heaven is “great” (polus-4183 many in number, large in quantity). While certainly there are Christians who are wealthy, the majority of believers, like the majority of people, are blessed by God but are not wealthy. However,” in heaven” after our lives of faithful service have ended here on earth we will receive this great reward and be able to sing praises to our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. We can be encouraged and encourage one another as we meditate upon this truth. Our lives on earth are sometimes hard but our reward in heaven is worth it all.

Finally, as we suffer persecution in the present, we can be encouraged not only by the promise of our home in heaven but also because of the faithful example of past saints. I read things on the internet and hear people on the radio and TV who mock the word of God. The hatred this world has for the gospel is very discouraging. Sometimes, it seems like it would be easier to just give up an stay silent—just live out our lives in peace and quiet. However, we need to remember that we suffer persecution because we speak God’s truth and that this world has always persecuted those who speak the truth. Jesus Himself says that the world “persecuted the prophets who were before you”. The faithful prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke the word of God to the world without compromise. They were persecuted, stoned, beaten, and ignored. Still they faithfully proclaimed the truth. If you and I proclaim the truth of God’s word to this lost and dying world we should expect to be treated just as these faithful people were treated.

You know, I think that’s pretty good company to be in, don’t you?

Matthew 5:11 Joy in spite of Persecution Part II

I have faced situations that have caused me great anxiety in my life. Probably one of the scariest was the birth of my first child. Kids scared me to death. The idea of changing a poop diaper was particularly frightening. But the thing that was the most terrifying to me was the prospect of seeing my wife go through labor. I wasn’t sure what to expect. We went to the usual child birth classes and I found those to be quite helpful. Once I heard about what sorts of things to expect, practiced the breathing exercises, and talked with other expectant parents I noticed I was much less nervous. It was still scary but I was prepared for what would happen. In much the same way, Jesus prepared us for how we are going to be treated by the world in verse 10 of this chapter. In verses 11 and 12, He provides divine commentary on His word that helps explain the sorts of things that we should expect as we live as redeemed children of the King in this world.

First of all, observe what Jesus says that people will say about us. Jesus says that people will “insult you”. The word insult is “oneidizo” (3679) and the literal meaning of the word is “to cast into the teeth”. It can mean to hurl a personal insult at someone but it also can mean to rebuke or reproach someone. For instance, in Matthew 11:20 the word is used when Matthew writes “20 Then He began to denounce (oneidizo) the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent”. The term is also used to describe insulting or making fun of someone in Matthew 27:44 “44 The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting (oneidizo) Him with the same words”. I have been called a right-wing, narrow minded, ignorant, Bible thumping fundamentalist—and that’s just by other people who claim to be Christians. It should come as no surprise when we proclaim the truth of God’s word and try to live out that truth in this world that the world not only doesn’t give us a standing ovation but calls us names. People call us all sorts of hateful names because of what we stand for and what we stand against. We will be the butt of public jokes. Our faith is now openly mocked on T.V. and in other media. In fact, it seems as though orthodox Christianity is the only truly safe target in all religions for the world to make fun of. We’re also not only insulted, but we’re also rebuked. If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard “The bible says you shouldn’t judge others” I would probably be able to take a nice vacation somewhere with my family. We are told that we are hateful for holding to biblical morality. A law was introduced in this country that could potentially have made it criminal for a pastor to stand in the pulpit and call homosexuality a sin. However, we shouldn’t act surprised when we are scolded for our faith. We have been told here by our Lord to expect it and that we will be blessed for it.

Secondly, Jesus tells us how we will be treated. We will not only be spoken to in a rude, insulting manner, but we will also be “persecuted (dioko-1377). First of all, this word has the idea of chasing or pursuing someone or something. It is the same word Paul uses in Philippians 3:6 when he says that he persecuted the church. We all know how intensely he did that. He went out of his way to go after the followers of Christ and was passionate about it. It seemed as if he had the mindset of wanting to exterminate them like we would want to rid our homes of roaches. In the history of the church, Christians have in fact been treated as vermin in all parts of the world. In the first generation church, men and women were martyred in brutal, horrific ways—burned at the stake, crucified, fed to lions, and drowned. This kind of persecution is not common perhaps in my country but it nonetheless happens in other parts of the world. The fact is, it is not something that should take us by surprise or cause us to lose heart. We can be encouraged by the fact that even though we may face physical persecution our soul is safe and will be in heaven with our Lord when our body dies.

Finally, we see how people will talk about us to others. Jesus says that people “will falsely say all kinds of evil” against us. People will lie about us in order to defame our character and tarnish our witness. In the trial Jesus faced before the Jews, false witnesses were called but they couldn’t get their story straight. Finally, two of those knuckleheads finally were able to lie well enough to say the same thing. They claimed that Christ said He would destroy the temple. The implication was that He would insight rebellion against the Jewish religion. Of course, that had nothing to do with what He meant. In the early church, people falsely reported that Christians practiced cannibalism during the Lord’s Supper. Nero even suggested that it was Christians who burned Rome. Over and over again, people lie intentionally about us and our faith because our faith stands as a testament to the evil of the world system. They say and do all this things to us but in reality they mistreat us “because of Me [Christ}”. Those who want to live in rebellion against God and His word want not only to attack the bible but also those of us who stand for the truth of the bible. We can stand strong in the midst of persecution because we know it is coming and we know through the power of our Lord we can overcome the world in His name.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Matthew 5:10 Joy in spite of persecution

When we do something wrong, we shouldn’t act surprised or wounded when we are punished. That is a lesson I am trying to teach my children—actions have consequences. However, when a person tries to punish us for something that we didn’t do wrong, when we’ve been falsely accused, it is easy to become defensive. The worst kind of situation, however, is when we’ve actually done the right thing and someone tries to give us grief about it. As we try to live the Christian life, we may in fact have to endure persecution. Depending on where we live in this world, we can not only guarantee persecution will happen but that it will often times be violent. Jesus, knowing this, gives this last pronouncement of blessing upon those who would prove themselves to be true by enduring persecution for standing up for the truth.

It is important to observe here that the other beatitudes that have been listed are the result of the believer being changed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Because Christ now dwells in our heart, we recognize our spiritual poverty, mourn over our sin, and desire to be God controlled rather than self controlled. We have a new spiritual appetite and forgive others because we have been forgiven of so much by our gracious God. Because of the Holy Sprit, we now are clean in the deepest part of ourselves. We also seek not only to live in peace with others but more importantly we seek to share with them how they can have peace with God. These changes in our character, due to the Holy Spirit, are positive and noble. We should be esteemed by the world as great citizens and neighbors because we are a blessing to others. We should be welcomed because we have been made into new creatures of the most pleasant kind who exhibit such admirable qualities.

This, as you and I know, is not the case. In fact, becoming a Christian and being conformed more to the likeness of our Savior is more likely to cause us to lose friends rather than gain them. Jesus foreshadows this when He says that those who are spiritually happy (Blessed) are “persecuted”. The word “persecuted” translates a Greek word “dioko” (1377) which means literally “to pursue”. The idea is that of being chased. As Paul says in Philippians 3:14 “I press on (dioko) toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” However, the persecution does not come for having done anything wrong but rather is the result of exhibiting godly character and actions. Jesus says this persecution comes “for the sake of righteousness”. Why would the world do this, we might ask. I mean, if we truly are living peacefully in this world and showing the love Jesus by sharing the gospel why would the world responds with such hate? I believe our answer is in John 3:19-20 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” The world hates us and will persecute us, then, because the truth that we speak and live is a testimony against the evil that is in their hearts. Our presence makes them uncomfortable because of the truth that we reflect.

How can we have hope in the midst of this persecution? When our lives, homes, families, or freedoms are threatened, what can we cling to that will give us peace? Jesus says here that the blessing for those who are persecuted, not for doing wrong but for righteousness, is that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Again, Matthew takes care not to offend his Jewish audience by referring to the kingdom of God although that is certainly what he means. Those whose rights are disregarded and are pursued by those who with to do them harm will find rest. While they are strangers in this world, they will have a permanent home in heaven where they will no longer be persecuted. It is all too easy for us to become discouraged when we hear about or experience persecution due to the name of Christ. However, as the apostle John says in Revelation, our example is “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” (1:5) The rulers of this world might imagine that they have power over us and can torment us because of our faith in Christ, but in the end the jokes on them because He is the one really in control. We may be persecuted here but our home in heaven is forever. We will notice more specifically in the next two verses how we are persecuted and how we will be truly blessed when we get to heaven. Until then, I pray God will use this truth to encourage you to remain faithful as you serve Him where you are.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Matthew 5:9 Children of peace in a world of strife

Particularly in an election year, people are prone to debate. You’ll see all sorts of local and national campaign advertisements where candidates impugn the character of their opponents as well as debates where politicians try to prove that they can talk for extended periods of time without saying a doggone thing. It seems even in the Christian community people catch the political bug. While I would certainly affirm that as citizens of this country we should vote our biblical convictions I think we would do well to remember that our God has not called us to live in constant contention with other people. In fact, as we observe in this verse, the Lord has called us to live in peace.

We see in verse 9 that Christ describes someone as being spiritually happy (“Blessed”) who is a “peacemaker”. Rather than being a source of strife and contention, a person who is called “blessed” lives in peace. In a world like the one we live in, this is certainly a difficult beatitude to live out. I believe scripture mandates, however, that we should live the truth of this beatitude not only in our relationships with others but also in our ministry.

First of all, we should live at peace with other people. In one sense, this is a passive activity. When we are attacked or provoked, when should remember how much our Lord has forgiven us for (v. 7) and then make the choice to react in a manner that exemplifies peace. For instance, as Paul writes in Romans 12:18 “18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” Other people can vilify us and attempt to draw us into conflict. When they do, we can choose to draw upon the power of God’s Holy Spirit and respond peacefully. Also, we should follow the biblical example of interceding to bring peace where we can. For example, Paul wrote the letter of Philemon for the express purpose of reconciling the run-away slave Onesimus to his former master. He knew the penalty the law imposed on run away slaves and he also knew that Onesimus had wronged Philemon. However, he made it his business to intercede and make peace on behalf of Onesimus with Philemon. Further, in the book of Philippians, Paul writes to encourage the church to intercede in a dispute between two Christian women. He writes in chapter 4 verses 2 and 3 “2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” While both of these examples involve Christians, we can and I believe should take opportunities to intercede in conflicts when we have an appropriate occasion to make peace where we can.

Further, I believe our role as peacemakers should influence our ministry. Obviously, we cannot save anyone. There is only one mediator between God and man and that is our Lord (1 Timothy 2:5). Further, we know that in Christ, God made a way for us to be reconciled to Him. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:19 “19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” However, the verse doesn’t end their. Yes, God has done the work through Christ Jesus but, as Paul continues, “He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” We are called, therefore, to take the message that God forgives sinners when they repent of their sins to this whole world. In that sense, we are bringing them to peace with God by announcing that He has made that peace available.

By doing this, we will be identified as “sons of God”. We don’t take this title for ourselves. Just as God announced that Jesus was His Son when Jesus was baptized, we will be recognized as God’s children. It will probably not be proclaimed with a loud voice from heaven while we live on this earth. However, I believer people will recognize the manner in which we live—that we live as peacemakers. We will then have the chance to witness to the life changing power of our Lord. Also, when this life is over we will be welcomed in as joint heirs with Jesus into heaven. There, it will truly be proclaimed that we are “sons of God”. Praise God for His Holy Spirit that allows us to live in a world of strife as peacemakers.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Matthew 5:8 A Clean Heart

As we have studied this chapter in Matthew, we have learned that we must recognize our sin and God’s holiness. In fact, it is obvious that the first three things which our Lord describes as characterizing a person who is “blessed” are impossible for us to attain on our own. We cannot recognize our spiritual poverty (v. 3) apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Likewise, our sin nature might be sorry we got caught in our sin but we are not able to truly mourn over our sin apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit (v. 4) nor are we able to be gentle apart from the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 5). This change in our nature from being a child of wrath to a child of God should result in us living differently. What we see in verses 6-12 of chapter five are the result of verses 2-5. Because we are new creatures in Christ we have a different spiritual hunger (v. 6) and because we have been shown such abounding mercy we should likewise be merciful (v. 7). These are not things that we could, out of our own effort, produce within ourselves. They are the product of God’s work in our lives through the Holy Spirit. It’s a good thing too because not only are we not able to produce those I think apart from the indwelling presence of our Lord we wouldn’t want to produce them. As we come to the verse we’re going to look at today to me is the plainest example that what God requires relating righteousness is beyond impossible for us to acquire on our own. We must have God’s help.

Jesus says in verse 8 that some who is supremely happy in their spirit (Blessed) is someone who is “pure”. The word “pure” translates the Greek word “katharos” (2513). In his commentary on the book of Matthew, Dr. John MacArthur observes that it was used often to describe metals that were refined to the point that there was no impurity in them. Applying this word to a person would mean that they had a single minded devotion to God and served Him with spiritual integrity. The same word is used in the Septuagint in Genesis 20:5 when Abimelech was confronted about taking Sarah into his harem. He replies that he took her “in the integrity (katharos) of [his] heart”. This word was also used to describe physical cleanliness as in Matthew 23:26 Jesus tells the Pharisees to clean the inside of their bowls and plates.

There are a few observations I think we should make regarding this idea of purity. First of all, God isn’t grading on a curve. He doesn’t say 99 and 44/100 percent (bless Ronnie MIlsap’s heart) but rather he calls for complete purity. Having come to that recognition, we then must realize that we are completely incapable of being that clean. Even on our best days we’re still just sinners saved by grace and we will be until we go home to be with our Lord. Certainly we should grow spiritually and I believe as we do we will sin less but we’re never going to free ourselves of this sin nature. What we see here, then, is an unattainable goal—for us. However, God can and will conform us to the likeness of His Son Jesus. Even though we fall short of the standard we need to make ourselves ever mindful of it.

This purity that Christ describes as being characteristic of those who are blessed is not an outward purity. This is not the good china or Sunday go-to-meeting clothes that we think makes us more respectable in the eyes of other people. I mean, most of us can clean up nice enough and put on our best behavior when we need to and if someone only knew us in the best of circumstances we’d come out shining. That is the easy part. That is right doing”. What Christ calls us to here is “right being”. An apple tree is always going to be an apple tree regardless of how bad it wants to be a pecan tree. We can clean the outside of the cup, so to speak, but if we’re not a follower of Jesus in our heart we’re just putting on a show. Christ, in this verse, says that those who are blessed are “pure in heart” (Greek “kardia”-2588). We can clean up our appearance, but if we’re not clean in our hearts there is nothing that we ourselves can do about that. We must pray the prayer of David in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God”. If we are going to have the spiritual purity that is required for a relationship with God, only God can produce that. He does that through the Holy Spirit.

The result of our spiritual purity is that, one day, you and I “shall see God”. Those who pretended to be right with God and put on a good show won’t be able to fake it well enough to remain in God’s presence. In fact, Psalm 1:5 tells us that “the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous”. We can be thankful that in the future we will be able to see God and live with Him in heaven forever, completely free from sin. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Matthew 5:7 When are we most Christlike?

I have to admit something to you who read this blog. I have been dreading this verse for months. Every since I started the book of Matthew over a year ago I knew this was coming and I was not looking forward to it. You see, I started this study of the gospel of Matthew because I recognize there are things in my life that are not Christlike at all. I am ashamed of it. I’m not nearly as much like my Lord as I want to be. Verse 5, which spoke of gentleness, was not easy for me because there are times when I do not exhibit the characteristic of gentleness. In fact, sometimes I’m downright awful and my temper shows. God has done a work in me and I’m better than I used to be regarding my ability to control my temper but I still mess up far more frequently than I care to admit. Then, I get to this verse and I see, yet again, how fall short I fall. I don’t suppose y’all would let me skip this verse, huh?

No? I didn’t think so. Please pray for me that God will continue to use this book to convict me of my sin and the He will enable to remain true to my convictions regarding expositing His word on this blog in spite of my many shortcomings.

Jesus is again explaining what true happiness is about. If someone wanted to know how to have his or her best life now, this is the guaranteed blueprint to do just that. Our Lord teaches here that someone who is “Blessed” (Gr “makarios” 3107-happy) will exhibit the quality of being “merciful”. In his Notes on the Bible, Albert Barnes remarks that we are most like God when we are merciful. We know that God is a merciful God and that He forgives repentant sinners. We should ask ourselves if we seek to be imitators of God and of Christ, how does this quality of mercy work in a practical sense in our daily lives. What should it/does it look like?

I believe one way we can show mercy is by helping to meet the needs of people who are in distress. If we see someone who is cold, hungry, or sick we can take the opportunity to show the love of Christ to them by helping to meet their physical needs. In Matthew 15;32 Jesus instructed His disciples to feed a group of people to whom He had preached because He was moved with compassion for their physical needs. Numerous times, Jesus mercifully healed someone due to having been moved with compassion (Matthew 20:34 and Mark 1:41). Of course, we are not able to supernaturally heal people today—our God alone does that. However, we can help meet people’s needs as a way of showing the mercy of God to these people.

The primary idea in this verse, however, probably has more to do with you and I being willing to forgive someone who wrongs us. I stink at this. I mean, I really stink at this. God has taken me to the woodshed and convicted me of the sin of unforgiveness many times. My flesh wants to avenge wrongs that people do to me. It’s literally like I have a list and when someone does something to me, it goes on that list and I hold onto it until such time as I can pay them back. I am ashamed to admit that. There are things that people have done to me years ago that I still hold onto. I have said I would lay it down but I usually end up having picked it up again. I feel that I have justification for doing this. I am the victim. They hurt me. I want to pay them back for what they did. I have earned the right to revenge myself, right?This verse doesn’t give me that option. There are no real tricky Greek words here. No dazzling verb tenses or tough exegesis involved. If I am not merciful, I will be judged. As I read these words, I am reminded of the parable of the unjust servant in Matthew 18. I think of the mercy my Lord has shown me and continues to show me. I sin regularly yet He continues to forgive me when I repent and ask for forgiveness. My sin is a greater affront to Him than anything any person could ever do to me. The debt, to borrow the image from that parable, that I owed Him was greater than I could ever hope to pay. My Lord didn’t just forgive the debt, He in fact paid for it with the precious blood of His own Son. He charged His Son guilty and declared me not guilty. And there is no catch with Him. It’s not like He’ll bring it up later and use my past sin against me. As Paul said in Romans 8:1 “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. His mercy is such a great blessing in light of my sinful, wicked heart.

When I think of the depth of my sin I also have to admit that it is far greater than any wrong anyone has committed against me. I usually, when someone wrongs me, want to get revenge. At bare minimum, I want to exclude them from my life. I want to have no further dealings with them on any level. It’s like once you’ve sinned against me, you’ve used up all three strikes in one fell swoop. How would I feel, though, if that is how my Lord treated me. He forgives me and restores fellowship. I want to remain unforgiving and break fellowship. Here’s the deal, some of the people with whom I have hard feelings are people that I have to see on a regular basis. My desire to ignore them has made things uncomfortable. I am typing this and reading the clear teaching of Christ in this verse that those who show mercy “shall receive mercy”.

I want mercy. I am thankful for the mercy that God has shown me. I want to be more like my Lord. That having been said, I recognize that my unwillingness to forgive is sin. I find myself convicted yet again and ask God to change my heart and make me more like Jesus. I pray that God will help me to be forgiving so that I will demonstrate His love. Since He forgave me my great debt, I should be willing to forgive people for their totally insignificant debts.

Praise God for His mercy.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Matthew 5:6 A Holy Appetite

In high school, I was a member of the band. I played saxophone. I was invited to a few honor bands where we would be gone for the better part of a weekend. While on theses trips, we usually ate at fast food places. One time in particular, I had been on a three day diet of junky fast food. We pulled into a parking lot with three or four fast food restaurants in walking distance and a grocery store that had a deli. I went to the grocery store deli and got a 5 vegetable plate. My body said “I want something green.”In our spiritual life, we also experience hungers and cravings. We are admonished in I Peter 2:2 to crave the spiritual milk of the Word of God. Jesus, in this verse in Matthew, tells us more about the need of our spirit.

First of all, notice the attitude that He describes. He calls people who have the spiritual hunger that he is talking about “Blessed” which translates a Greek word “makarios” (3107). You could probably translate the word as “Happy” and get a better sense of what it means. People in America are consumed with finding happiness. They act as though it is a commodity that you can purchase in a store on online for that matter. People look for it in jobs, accomplishments, relationships and come to the end of their searches to find themselves still empty and hollow—no closer to happiness than when they started their search. I suspect if most people read these verses and they were asked what they thought about Jesus saying these were the ways to happiness, they would respond in disbelief. Thinking only about this verse, for instance, I can’t imagine anyone saying that being hungry or thirsty for anything would be a key to happiness. In fact, that would be the opposite of being happy in most people’s minds.

This attitude of happiness is related to the appetite of the person Jesus is describing. He says that the person who is “Blessed”will “hunger and thirst”. Now, if a person is hungry or thirsty it stands to reason that they do not have what they are hungry or thirsty for. They hunger or thirst because they lack something. I was traveling to a job interview one summer and I had a leak in my radiator so to keep the engine from overheating between stops I would run the heater to bleed heat off of the engine. I was in a suit and it was a particularly hot summer. When I got to a gas station to get some radiator fluid and gas, I got a large water to drink because I was parched. I can’t think of a more delicious taste that I have ever tasted . It was like drinking cheesecake. I would not have been satisfied by eating some salty pretzels. Water was the only thing that was going to satisfy my thirst.

We should also recognize, regarding hunger and thirst that we can develop an appetite for something that we otherwise didn’t or wouldn’t crave. If we allow ourselves to be exposed to sin and worldliness our unredeemed flesh will crave that. If we want to have an appetite for the things of God, we should exercise spiritually. Paul writes in Philippians 2:12-13 “12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. “. We should exercise our spiritual gifts. We should involve ourselves in ministry. We should study the word of God to draw closer to Him.

Our aspiration in fact should be to draw close to God. As Jesus Himself says in this verse, we should have an appetite for “righteousness” (Gk-“dikaiosune” [1343]). Essentially, He uses something physical to explain a spiritual truth. In the same way our bodies hunger for food and thrist for drink, our spirits as Christians hunger and thrist for God’s righteousness. As we have seen in the verses in this sermon so far, this is the result of a humble heart that recognizes its spiritual poverty (v. 3) and has truly repented of its sin (v. 4) while also being God-controlled (v. 5). A heart that is in that kind of condition will feel the need for the righteousness of God because it will know that its own righteousness is incapable of pleasing God. We will be happy then when we have an appetite for the righteous character of God to dwell within us and live through us.

The most wonderful words in this verse to me are Jesus’ promise that those who have this kind of appetite “shall be satisfied”. The Greek word “chortazo” (5526) translated here as “satisfied” was a term used in dealing with livestock. What it meant was to allow an animal to feed until it was completely satisfied. Quite literally, an animal would be permitted until it did not want to eat anymore. I relate this to a human being at a Thanksgiving lunch. I can remember as a child eating Thanksgiving at my Mawmaw’s house and literally feeling like I was going to pop. We as Christians have the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit and He works to mature us in Christlikeness but we will not be fully “satisfied” until we reach our home in heaven. However, we have the promise here of the One who is completely faithful to all His promises that we will one day have our desire for righteousness satisfied. Praise God for His faithfulness and our future redemption.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.