Blessed Are Those That Are Persecuted
Beatitudes Of The Bible • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
We have been studying the “Beatitudes of the Bible.”
Having finished up looking at the Old Testament passages we then turned our attention to the New Testament wherein we have been looking at the beatitudes of Matthew 5:1-12.
Last week we examined “Blessed Are The Peacemakers” and how we must help the lost find peace in Christ.
This week we are going to be looking at the last beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed Are Those That Are Persecuted.”
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Let’s now look at our lesson for today.
The Persecuted
The Persecuted
Defining The Word.
Defining The Word.
The Greek word here, dioko, is an interesting on to say the least.
Out of the 45 times we find this word in the N.T. 31 times it is translated as “persecuted” in one shape or another.
However, when we look at the other 14 times it’s used in the N.T. and its use in the O.T. in the LXX we see the word holds another mean, it’s literal meaning which is “pursuing” or “to chase.”
Which in the context of dealing with affliction it means “to pursue for the purpose of harassing or attacking.”
The idea is that there are those, because of religions beliefs, that are pursued for the soul purpose of harassing and attacking.
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
It’s this definition that leads to our understanding that…
Faithfulness = Persecution
Faithfulness = Persecution
The reality is, over and over, God has specifically stated that faithfulness is the direct link to persecution i.e. to be harassed and/or attacked.
It has been made abundantly clear that if you “truly” follow Jesus you will suffer persecution.
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 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 also keep yours.
20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
In fact persecution is a test determining if we have left sin and moved to righteousness.
1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
This is why we cannot be surprised, as Christ-like disciples, if the world hates us.
13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
Now, to be clear Jesus is not saying that everyone that that suffers, for any reason, will be rewarded with heaven.
Only those who “suffer as a Christian” (1 Peter 4:16).
That is why when a Christians suffers there is blessings for him or her.
Persecution = Blessing
Persecution = Blessing
History tells us that no one understood persecution better than the apostles. According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs it reveals…
Peter was crucified upside down during the persecution of Nero.
Andrew was crucified in the region of Achaia.
James was executed by Herod Agrippa I which we also read about in Acts 12:1-2.
Philip was scourged, thrown in prison, and finally crucified in Asia Minor.
Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia.
Thomas was killed by being thrust through with a spear.
Bartholomew was beaten and finally crucified in India.
James the younger, at the age of 94, was killed by being beaten with a club and stoned by the Jews.
Matthias was stoned and beheaded in Jerusalem.
How could anyone hear these things and think, persecution equals blessings or happiness?
The answer is very simple, because it is suffering for Christ our Savior.
The reality is Jesus the Christ, the blood-stained lamb of God, has suffered so much more than us.
We are much more like the recipients than the apostles concerning our suffering today.
4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Jesus suffered so much for us, can we not joyously suffer “some” for him?
“The meager suffering that we may be called upon to endure for his sake is so much less than what he suffered for us, we should be able (and willing) to endure it with joy.” 1
Summary
Summary
Have you ever had to suffer for doing the right things? Has being a Christian at times made your life difficult?
In those situations did you, like Moses, chose to be faithful no matter the cost (Hebrews 11:25)?
If you haven’t been faced with persecution, for the sake of Christ, in a while maybe it’s time to reevaluate your godliness.
By that I mean, maybe it’s time for you to reevaluate your comfort zone with “this old sinful world.”
If this old sinful world doesn’t seem to care one way or the other about you then they aren’t being pricked by God’s Word (Hebrews 4:12) by you like they should.
26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
Thankfully this persecution has it’s reward and that reward is…
The Kingdom Of Heaven
The Kingdom Of Heaven
Revile, Persecute, Utter Evil = Promise.
Revile, Persecute, Utter Evil = Promise.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Paradise now and heaven eventually won’t be filled with those that passed through this life with ease and simplicity.
As Abraham reminded the rich man in Luke 16:25, “you in your lifetime received the good things…and you are in anguish.”
Why, because, as Jesus put it…
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Paradise now and heaven eventually will be filled with those that were persecuted for righteousness sake.
Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Michaiah, Peter, Paul, James, and everyone else who was faithful unto death is awaiting heaven because they rejoiced at the blessing persecution has now brought them.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Summary
Summary
Paul beautifully and masterfully wrote the church in Corinth about the great promise we will one day receive if we suffer as a Christian.
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters because of Christ…
13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.
Why, because…
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
EndNote
EndNote
Beatitudes of the Bible by Eddied Parrish pg. 21