1997 Issue 4 - Sermon on Luke 6:17-49 - The Third Beatitude - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 1997 Issue 4 - Sermon on Luke 6:17-49 - The Third Beatitude - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/6

(th.

6:21/1)

.The third Beatitude:

"Blessed Are You Who Weep

Now; ,or You Shall Laugh.

The Meaning

oj

You

ho eep Now

The Greek word

for

weep,

daio, denotes audible weeping

and sobbing. Hungering and

sobbing are evidences of our

poverty of spirit, and our

consciousness of it. The Christian

"sobs" over his poverty of spirit,

his sinfulness and unworthiness

before

God.

"Behind the sobbing of the

godly there is the recognition of

the merciless power of sin and of

our

helplessness to

ward off this

power and to

escape. Hence

this

sobbing is

a constant cry

to God in our

distress." -

Lenski. The

present

participle tells

us that

this

sobbing is a

constantly

sobbing. In

fact, as

Martin

Luther said in his 95 Theses, that

our entire life must be a

continuous contrition and

repentance.

This spiritual mourning

for

sin

is sOl lething the world and the

modem

church try

to

avoid. The

Christian is supposed to be always

.jovial and "

bubbly:

we are

told.

"Thus the defective doctrine of sin

and the shallow idea of joy,

working together, of necessity

produce a superficial kind of

person and a very inadequate kind

of Christian life."- lloyd-Jones,

pg. 55. "To 'mourn: (as Matthew

5:4 has it), is something that

follows of necessity from being

'poor in spirit.' It is

qUite

inevitable.

s

I confront God and

His holiness, and contemplate the

life that I am meant to live, I see

myself, my utter helplessness and

hopelessness. I discover my

quality of spirit and immediately

that makes me mourn. I must

mourn about the fact that I am

like that. But obviously it does

not stop there. A man who truly

faces himself, and examines

himself and his life, is a man who

must of necessity mourn for his

sins also, for the things he does.

--- And, as he realizes these

things, any man who is at aU

Christian is smitten with a sense

of grief and sorrow that he was

ever capable of such things in

action or in thought, and that

makes him mourn. But he does

not stop merely at things he has

done, he meditates upon and

contemplates his actions and his

state and condition of sinfulness,

and as he thus examines himself

he must go through the

experience of

Romans

7. ---

Yet

the Christian does not

stop even at that.

The

man who is

truly Christian

is

a man who

'

THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon I May,

1997

mourns also because f the

sins

of

others. He does not stop at

himself. ---

He

is concerned about

the state of society, and the state

of the world....

He moUrns

because ...men can so spend their

life in this world. --- That is why

our Lord Himself mourned, that is

why

He was

'a

man

of .sorrows,

and acquainted with

grieP;

that is

why

He

wept at the grave of .

Lazarus.

He

saw this horrid, ugly,

foul thing called sin which had

come into life and introduced

death into life, and had upSet life

and made life unhappy. ,--- f ie

mourned

over

it and so does His .

truefoUower.... In other wordS,

he must

mourn

because of the

very nature of

sin itself., .

Indeed he

mourns

because he

has some

understanding

ofwhat sin

means to

God , of God's

utter

abhorrence

and hatred of

it, this terrible

thing that would stab, as it were,

into the heart of God, if

it

could,

this rebelliousness and arrogance

of man ....

-

lloyd-Jones, pg.57f.

The Meaning oj For

You Shall Laugh

The person who mourns over

his poverty of spirit is a nuly

happy person--

Blessed

are

those

who

mourn, for

they shall

be

comforted. Blessed are

you

who

weep

now,

for

you shall

laugh.

Wherever there is godly sobbing,

there

is

blessed laughing.

Why?

Godly sorrow

for

sin drives the

true believer to Jesus Christ, who


2/6

said, 1 will not

leave

you

comfortless; will come

t

you, In.

14:18. "Nothing makes the

contrite heart happier than

the

Lord's absolution, (and the Lord's

support); and it cannot hear it

pronounced too often, for without

this all other comfort is vain.

God's Word, God's deliverance

and help, God's support, cheer

and uplift us in tribularion

s

nothing

else

could do. Finally,

God's promises of future

deliverance from all evil in the

heavenly kingdom of glory

now

fill us with happiness.' As our

sobbing sounds in God's ears in

this

vale

of sin and tears, so His

constant grace and help flow to

us.

And

thus those whoare

weeping are most blessed,

for

thty

shall, indeed, laugh.

But

they

who provide their own

laughter --the Lord says, 'I lso will

laugh

at your calamity,' Provo

1:26. - Lenski

How

is

it that he who mourns

is blessed,

Will

laugh and be

comforted?

The

man who truly

mourns because ofhis sinful state

and condition is a man who is

going to repent; he is, indeed,

actually repenting already. And

the man who truly repents as the

result of the work of the Holy

Spirit upon him, is a man who is

certain to be led to the Lord Jesus

Christ. Having seen his utter

sinfulness and hopelessness, he

looks

for

a Savior, and he finds

Him in Christ. Noone can truly

know Him as his personal Savior

and Redeemer unless he

has first

of all known what

it

is to mourn.

It is only the man who cries out,

0 wretched man that I

am

Who

shall deliver me?' who c n go on '

to

say,

'.J

thank God through Jesus

Christ our Lord.' --

f

we truly

mourn, we shall rejoice, we shall

be made happy,

we

shall be

comforted. For it is when a man

sees himself in this unutterable

hopelessness that the Holy Spirit

reveals unto him the Lord Jesus

Christ as his perfect satisfaction.

Through the Spirit he sees that

Christ has died

for his

sins and

is

standing as his advocate in the

presence of

God.

He sees in Him

the perfect provision that God

has

made and immediately he is

c o m f o ~ d That is the astounding

thing about the Christian

life.

Your great sorrow leads to joy,

and Without sorrow there is no .

joy."- Lloyd-Jones, pg. 60.

This

is

not only true at

conversion; it is something that

continues to be true about the

Christian. He finds himself guilty

of sin, and at first it cast him

down and makes him mOUrn. But

that in turn drives him back to

Christ; and the moment he goes

back to Christ, his peace and

happiness return and he is

comforted. -- The man who

mourns truly is comforted and is

happy; and thus the Christian

life

is spent in this

way,

mourning

and joy,

Sorrow

and happiness,

and the one should lead to the .

. other immediately.- lloyd-Jones,

pg.60.

Let us, then, try

to

define this

man who mourns. What sort of

man is

he? He

is a sorrowful man,

but he is not morose:

He

is a

sorrowful man, but he is not a

miserable man. He is a serious

man,

but

he is not a solemn man.

He is a sober-minded man, but he

is

not a sullen man.

He is

a

grave

man, but he is never cold or

prohibitive. There is With his

gravity a warmth and attraction.

The Christian is never a man

who has to put on an appearance

of either sadness or joviality. No,

no; he is a man who looks at life

seriously; he contemplates it

spiritually, and he sees in it sin

and its effects.

--

His outlook is

always

serious,

but

because of

these views which he has, and his

understanding of truth, he also

has 'a joy unspeakable and full of

glory.' --- That is the man who

mourns; that is the Christian.

--

A

deep doctrine of sin, a high

doctrine of joy, and the two

together produce this blessed,

happy man who mourns, and who

at the same time is comforted.

The way

to experience that,

obviously, is to read the

Scriptures, to study and meditate

on them, to pray to God for His

Spirit to rveal sin in us to

ourselves, and then to reveaI'to us

the

Lord Jesus Christ

in

all His .

fullness."- Lloyd-Jones,

pg.62.

tit.

6:22) The FOUlth

Beatitude:

Blessed are you when men hate

you,

and

ostracize you, and

heap

insults upon you, and spurn your

name

as evil, for the sake o the

son oj man. Be

glad in

that day,

and

leap jor joy, jor

behold,

your

reward is great

in heaven;

jor

in

the

same way their fathers used

to treat the

prophets.

The last beatitude stands out

in twO ways: in the elaboration of

the infliction and

in

the full

statement of the1Jle..,sedness.

Lenski.

Matthew records It this

way: Blessed are those who

have

been persecuted for the

sake of

righteousness, for

theirs

is the

kingdom ofheaven. J3lessed are you

when men revile you, nd persecute

you,

and say all kinds oj

evil

against

.

you

falsely, on account of

Me.

Rejoice, and be

glad,

Jar

your

reward

in

heaven

is

great,

for

so they

persecuted the prophets who

were

before you, Mat. 5: 1Of.

The Reality

and

Nature o

the Persecution

of Christians

by

an Evil Culture

May,

1997

t;HE COUNSEL of

Chalcedon

I'

5


3/6

he

Kinds of

Persecuti01l

Christians who are faithful to

Christ must not be naive. We

~ t

expect slander and

persecution fro\fi the evil cultures

in

which we live, simply because

of

our faithfulness to Christ.

Evil

cultures hate faithful Christians,

because they hate Christ, John

15: 18f. Apostate churches will

ostractze,

i.e., excommunicate,

slander and seek to discredit

faithful Christians, In. 9:22.

Evil

cultures

heap

insults on faithful

Christians to discourage and

diScredit them as extreme radicals

who are threats to society.

Slander

is

a powerful weapon in

the hands

6f

evil men. They

will

spurn

your name as

evil,

for the

sake

of the Son ofMan.

Evil men w ll not tolerate

those who think and

live

consistendy with their

name, Christian. They will

take whatever severe

measures are necessary

to silence

us

and stop our efforts

at

advancing the kingdom of God

n

our cultures.

The eason for

the Persecution

Jesus makes clear that His true

followers w ll be slandered and

persecuted by a sinful world,

because of their relationship

to

Him--- for the sake,o the Son of

Man, Lk. 6:22, on

account

of Me,

Mat.5: 10, and not because of our

own faults or lack of wisdom.

Furthermore, not everyone who

claims to be a Christian, nor

everyone who believes in Jesus,

john 2:23-25, will be persecuted

by

the world; bilt only those who

believe that JESUS CHRIST IS

THE SON OF

MAN,

the sUffering

Servant of God, who is the

Sovereign of all individuals and

cultures; because those who serve

jesus as The Son of Man , will

work to bring every area of

life

and every facet of culture into

submission

to

His infallible

authOrity and sovereign rule, Dan.

7: 13-14. his faith in Christ as

the Son of

Man

puts Christ s

servants in direct opposition to

the plans and dreams of

anti-Christian man and of

anti -Christian cultures.

Reconciliation or peaceful

coexistence or religious/ethical

pluralism

is

impossible between

them, unless one side surrenders

to the other. Hence, these

Christians who believe in Jesus as

The Son of

Man

are the most

despised people by an evil culture,

because they are the biggest threat

to

aU

cultures built upon a

principle of revolt against the God

of the Bible.

Being persecuted

for

righteousness' sake, Mat. 5:

10

,

is

being persecuted

for

being like

jesus Christ in your life and

thought. And those who are like

Him will always be persecuted by

this sinful world.

If

the world

hates you, you know that it has hated

Me before it hated you .

If

you were

of the

world,

the

world

would love Its

own; but because you are not

of

the

,world, but I chose you out of the

world, therefore the world hates

you.

Remember the

word that

I said t

you,

A slave

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.

But all these things they will do

to

you for My name's sake, because

they do

not

know

the One woo sent

Me, jn 15:18f.

6 m COUNSEL of ChaIcedon t May, 1997

The Blessedness of eing

Persecutedfor Christ's Sake '

Knowing that he will face

persecution by the world, the

Christian is not to seek

persecution with a

martyr-complex, nor

is he to

grieve over the fact that

he

will be

persecuted, nor should he be

terrified by it, nor should he face

it stoiely with clinched teeth.

Rather, the Christian should

consider persecution for the sake

,of the Son ofMan one of the

greatest privileges and joys of his

life. Although persecution is

painful, it is

also

the cause of

rejoicing in

the

experience of the

faithful. It is a Blessed

experience according to the

judgment ofJesus.

KnOwing that it is a

privilege to suffer for the

sake of Christ, to know the

fellowship

of

His suffering,

being

confonned to

His

death,

Phil.

3:

10, is more

precious to the Christian than

anything

else

in his

life,

Phil. 3:8f.

See James 1:2f; I Pet. 3: 14f; 4:12f;

5: 10;

II

Cor. 6:3-10. The believer

is never more like Jesus, or closer

to

jesus, than when he is ,suffering

for

Jesus

It

is

such a blessed:'

privilege, that the Christian not

only will

be

glad in that day, he

will

want to

leap

for joy. Glad

people leaping for joy describes

Christians who cannot contain

themselves because of the joy they

have in the suffering for Christ

they are undergoing.

WHAT

MAKES

BEING

PERSECUTED FOR CHRIST SO

BLESSED BRINGING THE

CHRISTIAN SO

MUCH jOy?

(1).

It deepens His eloseness to Christ

and advances his likeness to

Christ. (2). Their reward

is

great

in heaven. This reason is


4/6

introduced with the exclamation it

deserves.

Beholdi When evil

people persecute Christians. they

are helping Christians to obtain

the great and gracious

rewards

of

heaven. This

reward

is not

based

on

the merit or degree of

our suffering. but on

the

free .

undeserved and unmerited grace

of

God

in Christ.

Mat. 19:29.

"For

He

is ever such a

God

who

will

let no man do

a

hing for

Him

and His Son unless He reward it

with an abundance that comports

with is own

greatness

and

glory.

This

'

pay'

is 'great' not according

to

our merit. of which none

exists.

but according to

Him

who

bestows

it.

n Lenski

. This

"reward"

is in "heaven," safe and

imperishable with God certain

to

be

bestowed upon us at

the

proper time. See I'hi . 4:19. (3).

"For In the same way thlrtr fathers

used

to

treat the prophets.

When

we suffer for

Christ

at the

hands

of

evil

people and

cu

ltures.

we

are

privileged to join that glorious

company of prophets and

mar }'rS.

who the evil forefathers of

the

present evil cultures also

persecuted

for

the

sake

of

Christ.

"Not

in spite of pur persecutions

are we to

rejOice

as

if ours

were

a

hard lot. but because of our

persecutions. which

make

our lot

such a blessed and happy one.

The wounds and hurts

are

medals

of honor. They attest

more

than

anything

else

could that

we

belong

to

Christ and not to the

world. promotion

is

rapid in war.

and the war for Christ never

ceases. II Tim . 4:7.8. Yet so many

are

afraid

of a

few

scars for His

sake.

n _ j..enski

The Conclusions Drawn From a

Study

o

This Beatitude

FIRST. it tells

us

a great deal

about our

ide;lS

concerning the

Person of the

Lord

Jesus Christ.

If

our conception of

Him

is such

that He can be admired and

applauded by the non-Christian.

we

have a wrong

view

of

Him."

Uoyd-jones. pg. 136.

SECOND. this Beatitude

tests

our ideas as to what the Christian

is. The

Christian is like his Lord .

--- ... the real Christian is a man

who

is

not praised by

everybody.

They

did not praise our Lord. and

they

will

never praise the man

who is like

Him

."- Uoyd-Jones.

pg . 136.

THIRD. fallen. unregenerate

people are at war with God and

His

Christ. Although they may

talk about

God.

they really hate

Him.

Psa.

2. The

unregenerate

world ofJesus' day hated

Him

and

crucified

Him.

And

t h a ~

is

the

attitude of the unregenerate world

toward

Him today.

FOURTH. the Christian is

unlike everybody who is not a

Christian.

Mat.

10:34.

"The

gospel

of jesus Christ

creates

a

clear-cut division and distinction

between the Christian and the

non-Christian. The non-Christian

himself proves that by persecuting

the

Christian.

"-

Uoyd-jones.

pg.

139.

FIFTH. "the Christian's life is

controlled and dominated

by

jesus Christ. by his

loyalty to

Christ. and by his concern to do

everything for Christ's sake."

Uoyd-jones.

pg. 139

SIXTH

,

the

Christian faces

persecution in a particular way:

He does

not retaliate.

He

does not

feel

resentment.

He

does not

let

persecution depress him,. But

instead.

HE

REJOICES WHEN

HE

FACES

PERSECUTION . He

does

not rejoice

over

the mere

experience of persecution; it is

always to

be regretted.

The

Christian feels his heart brealdng

at the effect of sin

in

others that

makes them do this.

Uoyd-jones. pg. 143. Rather, he

rejoices in persecution for Christ's

sake because it is proof of his

union with Christ. and ofthe fact

that he will spend eternity with

Christ.

This is one of the ways in

which our Lord turns everything

into a victory. n a sense

He

makes even the

devil

a cause of

bleSsing. The devil through his

agencies persecutes the Christian

and makes him unhappy.

But

if

you

look at it in

the

right

way.

you will find a cause of rejoicing.

and will turn to Satan and

say

.

'Thank you; you

are

giving me

proof that I am a child of God,

otherwise I should never be

persecuted like this

for

Christ's

sake ."'- Uoyd-jones, pg. 143.

(6:24-26) The Four Woes

The Significance o

These Woes

The Relation o These Woes

to the Beatitudes

These

four woes correspond

to

the previous four beatitudes:

First Woe.

vs.

24

corresponds

to

First Beatitude.

vs

. 2

Second Woe.

vs. 25

corresponds

to

Second Beatitude.

vs.21

Third Woe.

vs

. 25 corresponds

to

Third Beatitude. vs. 21

Fourth Woe. vs. 26

corresponds to Fourth e a t i t u d e ~

vs.22

The Meaning

o

the Word, Woe

The pronouncement of "woe"

upon the qualities of character

and

life

described in these verses

is THE DECLARATION

OF

THE

AUTHORITATIVE

U ~ N T

OF JESUS CHRIST on those who

May, 1997 T ~ COUNSI;L

of

Chalcedon 7


5/6

manifest such attitudes and

behavior. s the beatitudes

are

pronouncements of blessing on

believers, the woes are

pronouncements of curses upon

hypoCrites and other

non-believers.

The

repetition of

these woes is like the tolling of

the bells of

do()m.

-

Lenski.

They pronouce a surprising

verdict on qualities and states

which men have universally

regarded as desirable. -

Morris

The Exposition

o

the Woes

(6:24) The

FiTst Woe:

But

Woe to You Who ATe Rich,

FaT You

ATe Receiving

Your

Comfort In Full.

The Identity

o

the Rich

"You

who

are rich" is the

oppOsite

of

"you who

are

poor.

Both phrases are equally

figurative, referring to spiritual

and moral attitudes and

characters. Just as

the

poor

are

those who recognize and grteve

over their sinful condition in true

repentance, so the "rich"

are

those who imagine that they have

all thal'they need and can

do

without the kingdom of

God,

its

pardon, sonship, and promise of

heaven. They hold themselves

high, talk boldly and proudly, and

are well satisfied with

themselves. - Lenski. The "rich"

may be those who are poor in

money,

jUst

as the

poor

may

include those who have much

money. The focus of both words

is on the hean and the inner life

of a person.

J he

riches

of these

rich

consist of anything in which

their souls trust,

Mk.

10:24, and

with which their souls are

satisfied,

so

that they

do

not trust

in

God and in Christ and i.n His

grace for their salvation. All the

impenitent are thus the rich."- Lenski

Furthermore,

the "rich"

are

those who trust in their riches,

Mk. 10:24. The attainment

()f

wealth and affiuence is their only

ambition. It is their all-absorbing,

life-consuming passion.

The Prominence

o

"You"

Here

Jesus is addressing

hypocrites and other unbelievers

in the audience. Don't forget

Judas was in that audience, as well

as several others

who were

anything but poor in spirit.

The CUTse Upon the

"Rich"

Jesus declares

to

those

who

He

judges

as

the rich, that "you are

receiving

your comfort in full.'

Compare Matthew 6:2,6.

In

this

life they will receive what they

deslte, and that is all. After this

life it is hell.

The term, paraklesis,

(comfort),

is masterly in

every way.

Recall

'the Parae ete: the

Comforter, that predous name for

the Holy Spirit, which.

as

Jesus

spoke, implied thatHe (Jesus) was

the

first

Comforter, who

was

called to the disdples' side as their

aid and support. In the use of

the

word here

the

implication is that,

in whatever

they deem themselves

rich, these rich have

all

the

aid

and comfort they

will

ever

get.

The further suggestion is that the

terrible moment

will come,

perhaps not until in the hour of

death, when

all

their other riches

shall fuil them, when they

will

need what

'the beggarly'

have, the

kingdom of

God,

the everlasting

consolation. and then, when it is

too late, will not be able to obtain

it, 16:25. -

Lenski

(6:25a) The Second Woe: Woe

to You Who Are Well-Fed Now,

FaT ouShaJl Be Hungry.

The Identity o Yau Who

Are Well-Fed Now

8 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon May,

1997

Just as the

"poor"

"hunger,"

so

the "rich" "are

well:fed

now.

And

the perfect paniciple indicates

that they continue indefinitely in .

this condition of being satisfied

and content

with

themselves and

with

all

the

things

on which

they

have set their

heiUtS

ill this world.

The

adverb, '

now,

denotes,

as

it

did in

vs.

21: ill this

life as over

against the life to come. n this

life they may live happy,

prosperous,satisfied

lives;

but

because there is n ) room in their

hearts for

God's

kingdom, God's

righteousness and

God's

Son,

at

death theylose everything and

enter the empty eternal darkness

ofhell.

. The Meaning of You

Shall

e

Hungry ;

The

godly hunger or

righteousness

NOW,

and are

satisfied with it NOW and in

ETERNITY. There

life here and

beyond the grave is blessed. On

the

other hand, those who

do

not

h ~ g r

for

God in

Christ and for

righteousness here, because they

are filled up

with self and material

thillgs, will starve forever. All

that now

satisfieS

so thoroughly

will

prove an

absolute

disappointment in the end. The

money, for

instance,whichjudas

desired so keenly burned in his

hands at last

so

that he threw it

away and fot his foUy had left

nothing but

despair.

When

the final, fatal hunger sets in,

these,

(whatever

we

have

deSire

more than

God),

cannot

satisfy,

and

one

heavenly gift that would

and

could

satisfy

is

forever

removed.

-

Lenski Unless

they

are converted in this Ufe, the "rich"

face the never-endillg future with

a maddenillg ache that can never

be

assuaged, a burning thirst that

can

never be quenched, a

ravenillg

hunger that can never be

alleviated. - Hendriksen


6/6

(6:25b) The Third Woe: Woe

to You Who Laugh Now, For

You Shall

Mourn

and Weep.

The Identity oj You

Who

Laugh

Now

Just as the

poor

sob over

their poveny of spirit,

so

the rich

shall

laugh with

glee in

the

enjoyment

of

their things,

and

in

profound self-satisfaction and

self-esteem. The self-satisfied

have no

time

for soul-searching,

contrition, godly

sorroW

and

true

repentance; their

lives

are

devoted

to the acquisition and enjoyment

of ease and afflue

nce, Fsa. 37:35.

Eat, drink and

be

merry; and let

the future take

care

of itself.

Seize

the moment, actions and ideas

have no consequences.

The

Meaning o You

Shall

Mourn

and Weep

he self-satisfied

may think

that he can live however he

pleases and in the end everything

will

be alright; but, they could not

be fanher from the t11:\lh in their

self-deception.

At the

end oflife

here, when it is too late, they will

mourn and

weep

and sob for

more pleasure and

esC

pe after

death, but because they sought

salvation without repeiltance,

even in de

ath,

they will perish

forever

in hell, where there will be

weeping and Wailing

and

gnashing

oj teeth. See Hebrews 12:15_17.

While the

godly are

sobbing, the

ungodly are laughing; but when,

at the end ofliie, the godly laugh,

the ungodly

will sob. In

eternity

the mourning of the ungodly will

never

cease,

and their tears

will

never be wiped

away

. Comfoned

with their materialism and

egOigrl

now, they

will

remain comfortless

forever.

(6:26) The

Fourth

Woe: Woe

to

You When All Speak Well of

You, For In the Same Way

Their Fathers Used to Treat

the

False

Prophets.

The Identity of the True

Christian Contrasted

With the

Hypocrite

The

clauses

used in v.

22

which describe

the

persecutions of

the godly

are counterbalanced by

only one shon clause in

v.

26

which describes

the

universal

favor enjoyed by the ungodly and

seals

that with the

final

woe .

..

.

Lenski

If a man may be known by the

friends

he

has

he

ma

y

also

be

known by the enemies he has

made.

A

disciple

must

hav

e the

right kind of enemies in

his

discipleship and his testimony

for

Christ.. he

has

made none

such, something is

fatally wrong

as

the

GAR for

clause

explains.

Worldly men

may

regard it

as

a

great achievement to have

all

men

speak

well

of them; in the case of

a disciple this would be plain

evidence that his discipleship is

false. - Lenski

The

point is that the Christian

is unlike

everybody who

is not a .

Christian.

The gospel

of Christ

divides people, Mat. 10:34, and

places a clear-cut antithesis

between the Christian and the

non-Christian.

The

non-Christian

proves

this point

by

his

persecution of the Christian

.

There is an antagonism in the

non-Christian towards

the

true

Chris

tian. That is why

..

the last

Beatitude is such a subtle and

profound test of the Christian.

There is something ...about the

Christian character, due to its

being like the character ofOur

Lord Bimself, which always

calls

fonh this persecution. -- The

non-Christian tends to revile , to

persecute, and to speak all

manner of

evil falsely

against the

Christian. Why?

Because

he is

fundamentally different, and the

non-Chlisiian recognizes this.

Uoyd-Jones,

pg.

l39. See Eph.

6:6; Col. 3:22.

feverybody speaks

well

of

you,

it must be that you are a

decei

ver, compromiser, and

flatterer, II Sam. 15:2-6. When

all

men speak well of you tbere

must

be

something wrong with

you

, You are not taking a stand

for

the

truth. You are not being a

blessing. And you are digging

your own grave. - Hendriksen.

The Meaning of For In the

Same Way Their Fathers Used

to

Treat the False Prophets

Jesus pronounces

His

curse

upon these men-pleasers

FOR

in

the

same

way their

fathers

used to

treat the Jalse prophetS. The

pseudo-prophets of the Old

Testament period basked in the

universal

favor

of the people,

whereas the true prophets

were

ridiculed, persecuted and killed.

As

there is a way in which

to

join

the galaxy

of the latter, so there is

a

way in

which to join the horde

of the former. Just drop

from

your discipleship everything that

displeases the world, both

as

to

doctrine and

as

to

life;

make it so

that it will suit and please the

world and win its applause, then

you

will be in exactly the same

position as the false prophets.

And

your damnation

will

be about

cenain

as

theirs. Lenski. {ie

who

leads a truly holy

life

will

come

into collision with the sins

of tbe ungodly and so fall into

disfavor with them. - Geldenhuys

(TO cmrnNUED)

May,

997

THE COUNSEL of

Chalcedon

9

1997 Issue 4 - Sermon on Luke 6:17-49 - The Third Beatitude - Counsel of Chalcedon

Documents

Transcript of 1997 Issue 4 - Sermon on Luke 6:17-49 - The Third Beatitude - Counsel of Chalcedon