Articles - New Hope Lutheran Church

The Sermon on the Mount Series, Sermon 2

The Seventh Sunday After Trinity
July 14, 2002

NKJ Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

Before we begin—we must remind ourselves that Jesus is speaking to the Jews who have incorporated human doctrine into their teachings—and those of the world who are spiritually bankrupt

They think they know God—they have come to rely on human interpretations of the Law

They thought you served God only to obtain His favor—and that once within his favor—you received his blessings in the form of riches and wealth—and lived a comfortable life here on earth

Jesus is correcting that error—He is preparing his disciples to be dispatched for the preaching of the Word—this sermon is part of the training Jesus is giving His disciples in that preparation

The text for today continues with the series of declarations made by Jesus that we have come to call the Beatitudes

TEXT: 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

Forever men have sought to live a life of comfort—have great wealth—to have no trouble or problems

It was natural that the faithful would envy the unbelievers and the wicked who had wealth and comfort—we see that recorded in the Psalms

NKJ Psalm 73:1 A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no pangs in their death, But their strength is firm. 5 They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men. 6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment. 7 Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish. …16 When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me -- 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end. 18 Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. 19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. 20 As a dream when one awakes, So, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image.

Their pride and arrogance are short-lived—they cannot avoid destruction in the end

Just like Jesus spoke of Lazarus and the rich man—those who love God—and serve Him only—will be in Paradise

Those who enjoy comfort and wealth in this life—but despise God—will be destroyed—and suffer for all eternity

The word mourn in our text is the Greek word for suffering a great loss—one who is feeling such agony of the loss that they are wailing

Jesus is speaking of the believers who have such sorrow for their soul—due to sin—the sins they commit—and the sins of this world

The sin of the world which inflicts pain and suffering upon us—and our own sins which condemn us to eternal death

Reflect upon the words that Paul taught us

NKJ 2 Corinthians 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Paul understood pain and suffering for Christ’s sake

NKJ 2 Corinthians 6:4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

So in our text—when Jesus says “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.”

It is to be understood that those who mourn are believers—and they mourn for the world filled with sin

They mourn for their soul which deserves eternal death because of sin—and they mourn for all the lost—who do not understand that Jesus is the only way to heaven

TEXT: 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

Here again—Jesus is teaching not the meekness of a personality of man—but humility before God

And again—He is teaching from a Psalm—one that the Jews would be familiar with

Let’s take a look at select verses from Psalm 37—and see if Jesus’ words become more clear to us

NKJ Psalm 37:1 A Psalm of David. Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. … 9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. … 22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off. … 34 Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. 35 I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree. 36 Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

Evildoers may appear strong and powerful while on this earth—but they will be cut down like grass and wither

We are not to try to become more powerful than they are—but instead—we must put our trust in the Lord—and eventually we will inherit all things

TEXT: 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Jesus knows that neither the Jews nor us would ever be capable of true righteousness

Satan is in constant pursuit of our souls—taunting and tempting us in every way he can

But we are capable of seeking righteousness with a hunger and a thirst—as if we were seeking to find satisfaction for worldly hunger and thirst—we should pursue righteousness

Luther puts it this way “That man is righteous and blessed who continually works and strives with all his might to promote the general welfare and the proper behavior of everyone and who helps to maintain and support this by word and deed, by precept and example”

We are to understand this verse as outward righteousness before the world

We are to maintain this righteousness in our relations with each other—and with our neighbor

Each of us has a lot in life—and it is within that lot that we must seek perfection

Harsh employers or cruel managers can drive a person to want to do as little as possible

Instead—we must perform our best at all times—that is our hunger and thirst for righteousness—because our reward is not a raise or promotion—it is true perfection in heaven

Our thirst and hunger for righteousness is on earth—our “filling” will be in heaven

TEXT: 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

It is wise for us to reflect upon the words of our Lord later in this Gospel

NKJ Matthew 25:35 'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

Again I am reminded of the rich man passing daily the poor sick beggar Lazarus—and looking upon him as an irritant rather than an opportunity to serve his fellow man

The rich man showed no mercy—and he received no mercy

TEXT: 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

First we will have to let Scripture explain Scripture—what is meant by the pure in heart?

We begin with the Psalms

NKJ Psalm 24:4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.

NKJ Psalm 73:1 A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart.

We proceed with the Gospel—and a lesson from our Lord Himself

NKJ Matthew 23:25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 "Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

And now the Apostles Paul and Peter teach us how to obtain that pure heart

NKJ 1 Peter 1:22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

And the Apostle John teaches us how it is that we will see God

NKJ 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

The Sermon on the Mount Series, Sermon 3

The Eighth Sunday After Trinity
July 21, 2002

TEXT: NKJ Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 " You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

TEXT: 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

There are many references to peace in God’s Holy Word—for example Paul teaches

NKJ Romans 14:19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

Pursue peace through edification—teach others the things of God—that they might also understand–and thus bring peace through knowledge—this is pleasing to God

Those who are of one belief—would have nothing to argue about—nothing with which to disturb the peace among themselves

God wants all of us to help others come to the same level of knowledge about our Savior Jesus Christ

NKJ Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head -- Christ --

Paul also teaches that we must bear with one another—knowing that there would be times when we may disagree—know that there is only one Spirit—one Savior—one body—and therefore one doctrine

While some are learning that their understanding may not be Scriptural—we must all be tolerant until the Holy Spirit makes their understanding right—but all the while maintaining peace

NKJ Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Bearing with one another in love—keeping the unity of the Spirit

A peacemaker is certainly one who loves his neighbor—one who loves his fellow Christians

But we are to maintain a unity of the Spirit—the Holy Spirit—the One who teaches us all things—the same Holy Spirit that gave us the gift of understanding—the gift of salvation

NKJ 1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

Paul again teaches us—this time he wants us to understand that Christians have peace through understanding—and that the Bible is not intended to be complicated or confusing—but simple

NKJ 1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

God wants all things in good order—not in some sense of confusion—our peace comes from our understanding of the simple truths of God’s Word

Those that complicate the Word or cause commotion in the church to serve their own purposes—are not teaching God’s Word—but are workers of evil

NKJ Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

Pursue peace—true peace—the simple truths and you will be blessed by God—blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God!

TEXT: 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

The devil cannot stand to see anyone enter the kingdom of God—and he will do everything to persecute—tempt—or otherwise distract you from seeing clearly the way to salvation

That’s why Paul says if you are a Christian—a believer—be prepared to be persecuted

NKJ 2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Jesus also taught us that there would be persecution for all believers

NKJ John 15:20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

Our persecution will be for righteousness’ sake—we will be persecuted because we believe Jesus is the Son of God—sent here to die for our sins—to be resurrected for our salvation

TEXT: 12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

More words written to strengthen His disciples—and us—and to provide us comfort in time of need

When Peter and the other disciples were called before the council of the Pharisees for preaching the Good News—they indeed rejoiced and were comforted at their persecution

NKJ Acts 5:41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

They were rejoicing because they remembered the words of Jesus on that mountain top

The devil becomes angry when we speak the truth of the Word to others—he persecutes us through those of this world

And just as the Apostles rejoiced in that persecution—so must we

TEXT: 13 " You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Having finished the Beatitudes—Jesus continues with the teaching of the 12

Jesus calls the 12 the salt of the earth—why salt? Salt was used to preserve food so it would not go bad

We see many examples of slat being used in the Old Testament—it was used in Jewish sacrifices

NKJ Leviticus 2:13 'And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.

NKJ Ezekiel 43:24 'When you offer them before the LORD, the priests shall throw salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.

Mark records these words of our Lord—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit

NKJ Mark 9:49 " For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50 "Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

How can one have salt within themselves—except that salt be the preserving power of the Word

Just as salt can preserve foods such as meat—so also the Word preserves the heart of man

So then the salt is not the Christians—but it is the Word—which when it is spread about by Christians—preserves those who hear it and are provided the understanding of salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit

So again we consider the words of our text “You are the salt of the earth;

Here’s how we are to understand Jesus’ teaching—Everything that is born on this earth is useless, it is rotten and corrupt before God

The Christians shall be a salt of the earth—spreading the Word to all who will listen—thus salting everything in the world

When the world—and its wisdom hear the Word—it stings like salt in a wound—and they—the men of this world—reject the stinging truth of the Word

We Christians must maintain our saltiness by constantly keeping ourselves in the Word

And it isn’t enough to preach the Gospel—we have to rub that salt in their wounds—pain their consciences—by pointing out the error of the ways of the world—the evil ways

but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

If a message is being preached without the Word of God in its truth—then the “salt” is no longer salty—and it—the false teachings—should be trampled and crushed—as well it will be in the Last Day