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"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matt. 5:7). God commends merciful people but condemns the merciless. Scripture shows that those whom God blessed most abundantly were abundantly merciful to others. Abraham, for example, helped rescue his nephew Lot even after Lot had wronged him. Joseph was merciful to his brothers after they sold him into slavery. Twice David spared Saul's life after Saul tried to kill him. But just as sure as God's commendation is upon those who show mercy, His condemnation is upon those who are merciless. Psalm 109:14-16 says, "Let the iniquity of [the merciless...

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matt. 5:7). There are many ways to show mercy. God delights in mercy, and as a believer you have the privilege of showing mercy in many ways. In the physical realm you can give money to the poor, food to the hungry, or a bed to the homeless. God has always wanted His people to be that way. Deuteronomy 15 says, "If there is a poor man with you . . . you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from [him]; but you shall freely open your hand...

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matt. 5:7). Mercy is compassion in action. Mercy is not a human attribute. It is God's gift to those who seek Him. Psalm 103:11 says, "As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him" (KJV). The verb form of "merciful" appears many times in Scripture and means "to have mercy on," "aid the afflicted," "give help to the wretched," or "rescue the miserable." In general it refers to anything you do to benefit someone in need. The noun form is used only...

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matt. 5:7). Mercy is a characteristic of true believers. Like the other beatitudes, Matthew 5:7 contains a twofold message: to enter the kingdom you must seek mercy. Once there, you must show mercy to others. The thought of showing mercy probably surprised Christ's audience because both the Jews and the Romans tended to be merciless. The Romans exalted justice, courage, discipline, and power. To them mercy was a sign of weakness. For example, if a Roman father wanted his newborn child to live, he simply held his thumb up; if he...

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6). Your relationship with God is the measure of your righteousness. Righteousness means "to be right with God." When you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you passionately desire an ongoing and ever-maturing relationship with God Himself. Righteousness begins with salvation and continues in sanctification. Only after you abandon all self- righteousness and hunger for salvation, will you be cleansed from sin and made righteous in Christ. Then you embark on a lifelong process of becoming as righteous as Christ—a process that will culminate when you...

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6). Your appetite for righteousness should equal your appetite for food and water. David was a man after God's own heart. In Psalm 63:1 he writes, "O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." He communed with God and knew the blessings of His sufficiency: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. . . . He leads me beside...

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6). Only Christ can satisfy your deepest needs. Within every man and woman is a hunger and thirst only God can satisfy. That's why Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). Sadly, most people search for happiness in the wrong places. The prodigal son in Luke 15 is one example. He turned from God to pursue sinful pleasures, but soon discovered that sin cannot satisfy...

"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). Someday God will reverse the curse and return the earth to His people. God said to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Gen. 1:28). But their sin cost them their sovereignty and brought a curse upon the earth (Gen. 3:17-18). The apostle Paul said, "The anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing...

"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). Gentleness is power under control. The Greek word translated "gentle" in Matthew 5:5 speaks of humility, meekness, and non-retaliation—traits that in our proud society are often equated with weakness or cowardice. But in reality they are virtues that identify kingdom citizens. The same word was used by the Greeks to describe a gentle breeze, a soothing medicine, or a domesticated colt. Those are examples of power under control: a gentle breeze brings pleasure, but a hurricane brings destruction; a soothing medicine brings healing, but an overdose can kill;...

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4). Sin is a serious issue with God. He never winks at it or takes it lightly. Satan desires to desensitize Christians to the heinousness of sin. He wants you to stop mourning over sin and start enjoying it. Impossible? Many who once thought so have fallen prey to its power. It usually doesn't happen all at once. In fact, the process can be slow and subtle— almost imperceptible. But the results are always tragic. How can you remain alert to the dangers of sin and protect yourself from...

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4). When your sins are forgiven, you are a happy person! Human sorrow is mourning over some tragic or disappointing turn of events. At such times believers are assured of God's sustaining and comforting grace (2 Cor. 1:3-4). But when Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4), He was referring to godly sorrow, which is mourning over your sin. "Mourn" in Matthew 5:4 translates the strongest Greek word used in the New Testament to express grief. It is often used of the...

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4). Human sorrow is a natural and healthy emotion, but beware of mourning over unfulfilled sinful desires. Most people in our society have an amusement-park mentality. They spend much of their time and money on entertainment, wanting to enjoy life and avoid problems whenever possible. To them, Matthew 5:4 is a paradox. How can someone who mourns be happy? The answer lies in the difference between godly sorrow and human sorrow. Godly sorrow is sorrow over sin; human sorrow is sorrow over some tragic or disappointing turn of events...

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). If you are poor in spirit, certain characteristics will mark your life. The Puritan writer Thomas Watson listed seven ways to determine if you are poor in spirit (The Beatitudes [Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1971], pp. 45-48): You will be weaned from self—Psalm 131:2 says, "Like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me." When you are poor in spirit you will focus not on yourself but on glorifying God and ministering to others. You...

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). Poverty of spirit is a prerequisite to salvation and to victorious Christian living. In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus tells of two men who went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee boasted to God about his self- righteous efforts; the tax collector humbly acknowledged his sin. The Pharisee was proud and went away still in sin; the tax collector was poor in spirit and went away forgiven. The Greek word translated "poor" in Matthew 5:3 was used...

"Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . those who mourn . . .the gentle . . . those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . . the merciful . . . the pure in heart . . . the peacemakers . . . [and] those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness" (Matt. 5:3-10). By the world’s standards, Christ’s definition of happiness is shocking and contradictory! A quiz in a popular magazine characterized happy people as those who enjoy other people but aren't self-sacrificing, who refuse to participate in negative feelings or emotions, and who...

"When [Jesus] saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And opening His mouth He began to teach them" (Matt. 5:1-2). Only Christians know true happiness because they know Christ, who is its source. Jesus' earthly ministry included teaching, preaching, and healing. Wherever He went He generated great excitement and controversy. Usually great multitudes of people followed Him as He moved throughout the regions of Judea and Galilee. Thousands came for healing, many came to mock and scorn, and some came in search of truth. On one such occasion...

"Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen" (Matt. 6:13). The Disciples’ Prayer is a pattern to follow for life. The implications of the Disciples' Prayer are profound and far-reaching. An unknown author put it this way: I cannot say "our" if I live only for myself in a spiritual, watertight compartment. I cannot say "Father" if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child. I cannot say "who art in heaven" if I am laying up no treasure there. I cannot say "hallowed be Thy name" if I am not striving for...

"Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matt. 6:13). Don’t let your trials turn into temptations. When we hear the English word temptation, we usually think of a solicitation to evil. But "temptation" in Matthew 6:13 translates a Greek word that can refer either to a trial that God permits to refine your spiritual character (James 1:2-4), or a temptation that Satan or your flesh brings to incite you to sin (Matt. 4:1; James 1:13- 15). Both are valid translations. I believe "temptation" in Matthew 6:13 refers to trials. Even though we know God uses trials...

"Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matt. 6:13). Have a healthy sense of self-distrust. At the moment of your salvation, judicial forgiveness covered all of your sins—past, present, and future. Parental forgiveness restores the joy and sweet fellowship broken by any subsequent sins. But concurrent with the joy of being forgiven is the desire to be protected from any future sins. That's the desire expressed in Matthew 6:13: "Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." That petition seems simple enough at first glance, but it raises some important questions. According to...

"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. . . . For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions" (Matt. 6:12, 14-15). An unforgiving Christian is a contradiction in terms. It's possible to confess your sins and still not know the joy of forgiveness. How? Failure to forgive others! Christian educator J. Oswald Sanders observed that Jesus measures us by the yardstick we use on others. He didn't say, "Forgive us because we forgive others,"...