Blessed Pursuit of Righteousness: Christ satisfies those who long for His uprightness - Matthew 5.6 Kingdom Living - Sermon on the Mount by Pastor Bob Turner Opening Illustration Ordered Alisha flowers for our anniversary. Matthew 5.6 - Focus Text There are 2 things to notice in the structure of the Beatitudes: 1.) Bookends v.3 - The result of being "poor in Spirit" & needing God's goodness is "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". v.10 - The result of being "persecuted for righteousness" & endure reviling because of Christ "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". 2.) Supply & Demand v.6 - We are to "hunger & thirst" for the righteousness of Christ. v.10 - We have received the righteousness of Christ. What is "Righteousness"? How do we define it? v.3- Those who confess they need God... & are given the Kingdom. v.4- Mourning for own sin... & getting comfort from God. v.5- Those who are defended by God... & having an eternal inheritance from God. v.6- Being zealous for God's uprightness & satisfied in Christ's uprightness alone. v.7 - Those who are merciful to sinners...!& have received mercy themselves. v.8 - Those who are pure in heart... & those who are confident they will see God. v.9- Those who try to make peace between God & sinners... & those who are called "sons of God" v.10 - Those who persevere, even under persecution... & are given the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mt. 5.20 I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Righteousness from Christ to us seems to have outward & inward effect on our lives. vv. 21-26 Not just refrain from murder... but hate. vv. 27-30 Not just refrain from adultery... but lust. vv. 31-32 Not just refrain from divorce... but immorality. vv. 33-37 Not just refrain from lies... but overdone promises. vv. 38-42 Not just refrain from revenge... but sinful response. vv. 43-48 Not just refrain from minimum love... but minimum life. This seems impossible! I can never be like that!! Now you're starting to get the point. It doesn't say "Blessed are those to whom righteousness comes easy or natural to them..." It says: "Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness" Meaning they long for a righteousness that s not of their own. It is foreign to them & belongs to Someone else completely... They hunger for it... They thirst for it... They need it desperately because, in and of themselves, they simply acknowledge that they do not have it. And so...
You are to hunger for the righteousness of Christ! You are to thirst for the righteousness of Christ! And you are so happy, fortunate, blessed from God when you do. Because He promises something amazing... You will be satisfied!! John Piper asks this question - Why doesn't Jesus say they should hunger & thirst for God? (Psalm 42.1-2) He says they are blessed when they want & need righteousness. Being specific! I think its because Christ did not want people to fool themselves & interpret this however they wanted. He doesn't just say "God" because the hypocritical Pharisees claimed to be following "God". So I believe Jesus wanted to give His followers a more specific & clear example of what it was to follow the King in the "kingdom of heaven". I believe Jesus wanted to make it tangible! So he not only uses a specific word - "righteousness"... but He then defines it throughout the rest of His sermon. Matthew 7.21-23 The closing of His sermon describes those who are not righteous, because they lack something... The true righteous not only are those who have an outward righteousness... but an inward one as well. Matthew 7.24-27 He then tells them not to fool themselves into thinking that just hearing & being near Him is enough, they must put their full trust on Him & Him alone. So the righteousness that Christ is talking about is both an inward & an outward righteousness. It is not just hearing... but doing. It is not just doing... but being. Opening & Closing Illustration - "Satisfaction Guaranteed" Flowers for my wife's anniversary. They Shall Be Satisfied! Christ delivers!
1.) Pursuit of Righteousness Deeply longing to be near & like God 2.) Personal Righteousness Wanting to live fully for God 3.) Propitiated Righteousness Wanting to be made right by God 4.) Private Righteousness Living for the eyes & reward of God 5.) Public Righteousness Working to show the glory of God 6.) Promised Righteousness Trusting completely in the word of God 7.) Plenty in Righteousness Fully satisfied & completely happy in God 1.) Pursuit of Righteousness Deeply longing to be near & like God Righteousness = Uprightness w/ God. Blessed are you when you become like the grass in Wisconsin's summer of 2012, desperately needing rain. When you thirst for God's uprightness to be given to you daily! Blessed are you when one day without devoted time of savoring Christ's righteousness feels like a massive drought! Hunger - Strong desire for something. Thirst - Strong desires to attain some goal. To hunger and thirst after righteousness means to yearn after God s favour, image, and felicity. We must truly and really desire them, as one who is hungry and thirsty desires meat and drink, who cannot be satisfied with any thing but meat and drink, Give me these, or else I die" So we must not only desire spiritual blessings, but take pains for them. 2.) Personal A cry of my own heart in need, not simply for others. They hunger and thirst for righteousness (v. 6), meaning that they long both to DO and to BE what is right and just. Righteousness in our text has reference, first, to the righteousness of faith whereby a sinner is justified freely by Divine grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. As the result of his Surety s obedience being imputed to him, the believer stands legally righteous before God. - Personal righteousness (wanting to live fully for God)
3.) Propitiate Needing a satisfactory effect that is not of my own doing. A legal imputed righteousness from Christ. imputed = credited from another resulting in a satisfactory status a declared (legal) or imputed (banking) right standing This is another example of Matthew s CIRCUMLOCUTION, a substitution of another word or phrase for the name of God (cf. vv. 7 8). To "hunger & thirst for righteousness" means to constantly be in desperate want & need for God to impute (credit) to you His goodness, His right-standing holiness, & His personal happiness in reference to godliness. Not uprightness w/ God by keeping Law to earn it. But rather uprightness w/ God gifted or credited to you. Righteousness received on faith... which produces godly living. For They - Them & only them! In the first three Beatitudes we are called upon to witness the heart exercises of those who have been awakened by the Spirit of God. First, there is a sense of need, a realization of their nothingness and emptiness. Urgency! Second, there is a judging of self, a consciousness of their guilt and sorrowing over their lost condition. Third, there is an end of seeking to justify themselves before God, an abandonment of all pretences to personal merit, a taking of their place in the dust before God. Fourth, (here) the eye of the soul is turned away from self to Another. righteousness in our text has reference, first, to the righteousness of faith whereby a sinner is justified freely by Divine grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. As the result of his Surety s obedience being imputed to him, the believer stands legally righteous - Legal righteousness (wanting to be made right by God)
4.) Private Inward reckoning of my spirit & attitude towards God. - Spiritual righteousness (relationally between us & God) - Private righteousness (living for God's eyes & reward) Second, this righteousness, for which the awakened sinner longs, is to be understood of inward and sanctifying righteousness, for as we so often point out, justification and sanctification are never to be severed. The one in whom the Spirit graciously works desires not only an imputed righteousness, but an imparted one too; he not only longs for a restoration to God s favour, but to have God s image renewed in him. The one-time work of justification always includes the on-going work of sanctification. "Justification & sanctification are never to be severed." - A.W. Pink 5.) Public Outward rendering of my actions & lifestyle towards others. (2) a personal kingdom ethic, which is Matthew s use of the term (cf. 6:1 For Synagogue usage). It involves both justification and justice; both sanctification and sanctified living! - Public righteousness (living to show the world God's glory) Satisfied = Filled. Will Have Plenty! Inward satisfaction. Future, Passive, Indicative. To be "satisfied" is to know in Christ what it means to never thirst again! :) 6.) Promise Jesus' guarantee of our satisfaction in righteousness. are blessed in those desires, and shall be filled with those blessings. their righteousness shall be complete 7.) Plenty The abounding goodness of our God that overflows from us.