SERMON OUTLINE

Blessed Are the Merciful   Matthew 5.1-10

An Outline of the Beatitudes

V3, Foundation. Heart attitude that motivates all

V4-6, Three heart responses. Heart attentiveness

V7-9, Three outward responses. Heart in action

V10-12, The world’s response. Heart antagonism

First four are character. Last four are conduct.

Introduction

-The Beatitudes as a progressive description of Christian salvation and maturity. The foundation for salvation and spiritual growth is seeing ourselves as God sees us either as sinners in need of salvation in Christ or as Christians in need of the life of Christ. The “poor in spirit” mourn and repent, are meek/humble/teachable, and hunger for righteousness.

-Being before doing. Attitudes before actions. Spiritual life before Christian behavior.

Mercy and Grace

-To express kindness and to act to relieve pain, misery and distress caused by sin. Sympathy, pity, compassion with action.

-Mercy is relief from the consequences of sin. Grace is pardon from the crime of sin. Mercy seeks to reduce the pain of sin. Grace seeks to cure the problem of sin. Mercy reverses the damage of sin. Grace pays the price for sin.

Works Salvation or Proof of Salvation?

-Do we earn God’s mercy and forgiveness? Matthew 6.12, 14; 18.21-35; James 2.12-13

-If yes we are hopelessly lost for eternity and salvation is by works.

-This means that a person is only forgiven when they are truly repentant (1 Thessalonians 1.9) True repentance produces a merciful and forgiving attitude, a proof of the mercy and forgiveness of God.

Conclusion

1) Mercy and forgiveness are obvious.

2) Mercy and forgiveness must mark all Christians.

3) Mercy and forgiveness must be expressed to all.

SERMON NOTES

Blessed Are the Merciful              Matthew 5.1-10

-On Communion Sundays we have been working our way through the eight Beatitudes and this morning have come to the fifth one, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy”. Let me remind you once again to think of the Beatitudes as a progressive description of Christian salvation and maturity.

-Christian salvation and maturity begin with the conviction of sin and knowing our great need of God. When we see ourselves as righteously bankrupt before our Holy God we are ready to be saved from our sin. When we see our great need of God we are ready to seek God and grow spiritually. The foundation for salvation and spiritual growth is seeing ourselves as God sees us either as sinners in need of salvation in Christ or as Christians in need of the life of Christ. That is what the first Beatitude, “poor in spirit” means. The promise to the “poor in spirit” is that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Because of the great importance of seeing ourselves before a Holy God in order to grow spiritually, we should spend as much time as we can in His presence and in meditation on His Word. Want to grow spiritually? Spend time with God in prayer and in His Word and see who God is and see yourself as God sees you.

-Those who know they are “poor in spirit” mourn over their spiritual condition and God comforts them with forgiveness and the fullness of the Spirit of God.

-Those who have been forgiven and filled with the Spirit are meek/humble. They accept who they are before God and are humbled by God’s love and Grace. They are teachable and willing to be examined and to be directed toward the truth.

-The meek hunger and thirst for righteousness that will replace their sinful and godless past and that will enable them to draw closer to God and be a blessing to others.

-There is a progressive desire in the true Christian to draw closer to God. An acceptance of God’s evaluation of our lack of righteousness before Him leads to an attitude of mourning over sin, a teachable humility, and a hunger for God’s righteousness. The Christian is one who is willing to be evaluated by God and God’s Word as well as the exhortation of other Christians in order to draw closer to God. The whole attitude toward God slowly changes because God is working in that life.

-When we come to this fifth Beatitude we are moving from the inward work of God in the Christian to the outward expression of God toward others. The last four Beatitudes outwardly express the inward attitudes of the first four Beatitudes. Attitudes, good or bad, are eventually expressed in actions.

-We need to be a Christian before we act like one. I am not saying that a person cannot imitate Christian morality and ethics in their lifestyle. What I am saying is that acting like a Christian does not make you a Christian. A true Christian is a Christian before he or she ever acts like a Christian. First there must be a change of heart and attitudes and then a change in outward behavior follows.

-The Gospel calls people into relationship with God in Christ and proclaims the truth of God. It does not call people to conform to a Christian standard of behavior. The way Jesus presents these Beatitudes to us in going from attitudes to behaviors teaches us that spiritual life comes before Christian behavior. We should be more concerned with our relationship with God and our righteousness before God than with our outward performance. If we are righteous before God our outward performance will likely be right as well and will express a true relationship with God.

-To be merciful means to show mercy. To show mercy is to express kindness toward another and to act to relieve their pain and suffering. To show mercy is to sympathize with someone in what they are going through, to walk in their shoes, to be in their skin, and then to help them in their struggle.

-Mercy is similar to Grace but not the same as Grace. Mercy shows sympathy and compassion toward the pain, misery and distress that sin has caused. Grace is God’s response to the guilt and condemnation of sin. Mercy offers relief for the consequences of sin in this fallen world. Grace offers pardon for the crime of sin. Mercy seeks to reduce the pain that sin has caused while Grace seeks to cure the problem of sin. We need both Grace to alleviate the problem of sin, and Mercy to relieve the pain of sin. God came both in Grace and Mercy. In Grace God came to pay the price for our sin on the cross, and in Mercy He came to reverse the damage of sin by love, forgiveness, healing, restored relationships, the strength and presence of His Holy Spirit in trials and tribulations, and the encouragement of a future hope.

-Jesus is the fullest example of Grace and Mercy. Jesus died on the cross for the cure of sin but also brought relief from the consequences of sin by healing, casting out demons, forgiving, and loving those around him.

-This Beatitude has produced some wrong teaching in certain branches of the church because it seems to say that God’s mercy is earned by showing mercy to others. We have similar statements in other places in the Matthew. One is found in the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6.12. “Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.” And verse 14, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

-A second statement which implies that we earn mercy or forgiveness by being merciful or forgiving others is found in Matthew 18.21-35. [Explain parable]

-Jesus summarizes the parable by saying, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Does this statement mean that God forgives me only if I forgive others and to the extent that I forgive others? (See also James 2.12-13)

-If this Beatitude and parable do teach that God shows mercy to us and forgives us according to the mercy and forgiveness that we show to others then we are hopelessly lost for eternity and will end up in hell. In order for me to be accepted by a Holy God and receive the gift of eternal life I need to receive God’s full mercy and forgiveness. To receive God’s full mercy and forgiveness I would need to be perfect in the mercy and forgiveness I give to others. That is not possible. To make God’s mercy and forgiveness conditional on the mercy and forgiveness I show to others cannot be God’s way of salvation because no one could be saved from their sin under these conditions. I praise God that the Bible does not teach that God’s mercy and forgiveness depend on my mercy and forgiveness to others.

-If my salvation depended on my mercy and forgiveness to others the Bible would be teaching salvation by works which we know is not the teaching of the Bible. Salvation is by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ which paid the penalty for my sin. God’s grace offers salvation to me in Jesus Christ when I do not deserve it, not when I have earned it by showing forgiveness and mercy to others.

-So what does this Beatitude mean when it says that the merciful will be shown mercy? What does the Lord’s prayer and the parable of Jesus mean when they say that we are to be forgiven even as we forgive? What Jesus is saying in these three teachings is that a person is only forgiven when they are truly repentant. To be truly repentant means that I recognize my sin and that my sin is separating me from God. I see that because of my sin I cannot come before a Holy God. And so I am determined to turn from my sin and go in God’s direction. On the basis of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, God forgives me and gives me new life so that I can go in that new direction away from my sin and toward God. 1 Thessalonians 1.9 expresses well this repentance when Paul writes, “you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God”.

-True repentance which leads to faith and God’s forgiveness and mercy, and the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in me produces a heart that is willing to forgive and be merciful. If the heart is not willing to forgive and be merciful it means that no true repentance has taken place and therefore no salvation.

-If you are a Christian this morning forgiveness and mercy must be evidenced in your life. If they are not God will discipline your life until they are.

-I will end with three statements

1) In these last days mercy and forgiveness stick out like a missing thumb. This is especially true on a one to one basis. In this time of human rights, and my rights, and my needs, and victim mentality, the expression of mercy and forgiveness is noticed. Christians should be noticed by their love to others, and that love is shown in forgiveness and mercy.

2) Love expressed in mercy and forgiveness must mark the Christian. In too many ways the church imitates the world and is not mature in Christian love. Our union with Jesus Christ and the fruit of the Holy Spirit must be expressed in our lives and in our communities. That is what will make a difference in Welland. Christians living as Christians in their homes, workplaces and relationships is more effective than any evangelism program we can put together.

3) Love expressed in mercy and forgiveness should be our attitude toward all those who are in bondage to sin, even those that persecute us. Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. Mercy and forgiveness is how the lost will know there is a God of mercy and forgiveness in heaven ready to forgive them.

-Remember “Blessed are the merciful” is Beatitude number 5 but is the result of Beatitudes 1 to 4. Make sure you follow the process which begins with seeing yourself as God sees you, mourning and repenting over your sin, taking on a humble teachable attitude, and seeking after righteousness. Mercy is the active expression of that maturing process.