Beattitudes Part 2

3. Craving Kingdom Righteousness

Matthew 5:6–7 NASB95

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Fourth, the blessed person hungers and thirsts for righteousness. This speaks of a person who has a starving spirit and a parched soul that crave righteousness. But the text reveals even more: righteousness means all righteousness. The blessed person is starved and parched for all righteousness. A person must starve and thirst for all righteousness if they wish to be filled with the fullness of life.

The blessed person hungers and thirsts both to be righteous and to do righteousness. To do righteousness is not enough. To be righteous is not enough. Both are essential in order to be blessed. Some stress being righteous and neglect doing righteousness. This leads to two serious errors:

➢ The error of false security. Such people stress that they are saved and acceptable to God because they have believed in Jesus Christ. But they neglect doing good. They do not live as they should, obeying God and serving others.

➢ The error of loose living. Such people go out and do whatever they desire. They feel secure and comfortable in their faith in Christ. They know that wrong behavior may affect their fellowship with God and other believers, but they think their unrighteous behavior does not affect their salvation and acceptance with God.

A righteousness that stresses being righteous but neglects doing righteousness is a false righteousness. Righteousness in the Bible means being righteous and doing righteousness. The Bible teaches nothing about being righteous without living righteously.

On the other hand, some people stress doing righteousness while neglecting to be righteous. This also leads to two serious errors.

➢ The error of self-righteousness and legalism. Such people believe they are saved and acceptable to God because they do good. They work hard, behave morally, keep certain rules and regulations, do the things a Christian should do, and obey the main laws of God. But they neglect the most basic law: the law of love and acceptance—that God loves them and accepts them not because they do good, but because they love and trust the righteousness of Christ.

➢ The error of being judgmental and critical. People who stress that they are righteous (acceptable to God) because they do good deeds often judge and censor others. They feel that rules and regulations can be kept by others because they keep them. Therefore, they judge, criticize, and censor anyone who fails to keep them. The problem with this stress is that it too is a false righteousness. Again, righteousness in the Bible is both being righteous and doing righteousness. The Bible teaches nothing of being acceptable to God without being made righteous in Christ Jesus.

When most people think of righteousness, they think of doing good—doing good deeds, good works, and helping their fellow man. As they walk through life, they face appeal after appeal for help, and they help. And they feel comfortable with themselves because they have helped. They feel their good deeds make them acceptable and righteous before God. But the Bible does not say that people never do good; it says that people are not righteous—not perfectly righteous within their hearts.

Christ does not say, “Blessed are the righteous,” for no one is righteous. He says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” People are not righteous, not perfectly righteous. Our chance to be righteous is gone. We have already come short and missed the mark. We are already imperfect. We have but one hope: that God will love us so much that He will somehow count us righteous. That is exactly what God does. When we genuinely “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” we will repent and place our faith in Christ. God then takes Christ’s righteousness and imputes or credits it to us. He fills us with Christ’s righteousness. God does this because He loves us.

Every person has some inner pull and influence that urges them to do good. That pull and influence needs to be nourished. In fact, it has to be nurtured or else it weakens, and it can be subdued and weakened so much that it is killed completely. It becomes hardened against doing anything except what self wants to do.

Righteousness is the only thing that will fill and satisfy our innermost need. Food and drink will not. Any honest and thinking person knows there is nothing anywhere on this earth that can meet their deep need for life (permanent life, life that never ends). Only God can fill a life and satisfy the deep need for permanent life. This is the reason Christ calls us to hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Matthew 5:6–7 NASB95

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Consider discussing how hearts that hunger for righteousness and practice mercy reflect God's kingdom values. These attributes not only distinguish believers but also provide glimpses of Christ’s love and justice to the world, offering hope to the hopeless.

4. Practicing Purity and Peace

Matthew 5:8–9 NASB95

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

You might emphasize the significance of purity in heart and peacemaking as essential characteristics of a disciple. These create a visible contrast with the world's darkness, and by reflecting Christ's peace, we manifest God’s kingdom here and now.

5. Persevering in Persecution

Matthew 5:10–12 NASB95

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