SERMON OUTLINE

Persecuted for Righteousness   Matthew 5.10-12 

Introduction  

An Outline of the Beatitudes

V3, Foundation. Basic 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.

-Progressive description of Christian salvation and maturity

-Beatitudes from the perspective of the heart [Outline above] 

What Kind of Persecution to Expect?

-All who seek to live as Christians will be persecuted

-Persecution ranges from mild to mortal.

-Canada, insults, mocking, irrelevance and insignificance.

-Communist, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim more serious. 

Why are we Persecuted?

-For many good and bad reasons. Only persecution for righteousness is blessed by God. 1 Peter 2.20; 4.15

-For righteousness and because of Me. Do not be deceived

-For living like the Beatitudes in the world. John 15.18-19

-“Are persecuted” Perfect Passive. Past choice to live righteously and godly with expectation of persecution 

What is Promised to the Persecuted?

1) The kingdom of heaven.

2) Great rewards in heaven. Romans 8.17

3) Assurance of salvation.

Conclusion

Be Blessed. Seek God and live for God.

SERMON NOTES

Persecuted for Righteousness               Matthew 5.1-12 (10-12)

-Since March our communion Sundays have focused on the Beatitudes. Today we end this study on the Beatitudes with the eight and last Beatitude, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Verses 11 and 12 provide an expanded commentary on this last Beatitude. 

-I want to encourage you one more time as we finish this study to think of the Beatitudes not as 8 independent statements but as a progression that describes Christian salvation and maturity. In these Beatitudes there is an outline for us of the process of spiritual growth. This process always begins with the recognition of our spiritual need and progresses through repentance, humility, submission, learning and obedience. The process of spiritual maturity outlined here produces Christ-like character. The world’s response to Christ-like character in us is either repentance or persecution.

 -I also want to draw your attention to the outline in your bulletin, “An outline of the Beatitudes”. This outline presents the Beatitudes from the perspective of the heart.

An Outline of the Beatitudes

V3, Foundation. Basic Heart attitude that motivates all (sense of need)

V4-6, Three heart responses. Heart attentiveness (mourning, meekness, hunger)

V7-9, Three outward responses. Heart in action (mercy, purity, peace-maker)

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

First four are character. Last four are conduct.

-Seeing ourselves as “poor in spirit” is the attitude that motivates the heart to respond to God. The heart that recognizes its great need of God’s forgiveness and God’s truth becomes attentive to God. The heart mourns over sin and cries out for God’s salvation. God meets this spiritual need with the comfort of forgiveness and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Having experienced the love and Goodness of God, the heart is humbled and submitted to God and becomes teachable and willing to be directed in God’s truth. This leads the heart to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Heart attentiveness to God leads the heart to action. Obedience to God’s truth produces a character of mercy, purity and peace-making. Christ-like character causes the heart of the world to be antagonistic because the world hates the righteous life of God that is manifested in faithful and obedient Christians and wants to get rid of that godly life.

 -Now let’s turn our attention to verses 10 to 12 and ask three questions.

1) What kind of persecution should the Christian expect? Expect is the right word here because the Bible teaches us that all Christians who live as Christians will be persecuted. We should expect persecution. Persecution will vary from mild to mortal. We can expect to be insulted, ignored, slandered, physically attacked, and even killed.

-In Canada persecution takes the form of social isolation, insults, mocking, hatred, ridicule and pity for being so gullible, simpleminded and stupid. Perhaps the most common form of persecution in Canada is being treated with an attitude of irrelevance and insignificance because of our outdated, old-fashioned, unscientific, head-in-sand and pie-in-the-sky beliefs.

-In Communist, Catholic, Muslim and Hindu countries, persecution takes the form of banishment from the family, loss of work, loss of identity and citizenship, social exile, physical attacks, destruction of home and removal of possessions and property, rape, prison, starvation, and sometimes death.

-If you are truly living as a Christian you will be persecuted.

 2) Why is the Christian persecuted? There are many reasons why a Christian may be persecuted but there is only one reason for which God blesses the Christian for persecution. A Christian can be persecuted for taking a certain political stand or for speaking for or against a controversial issue. A Christian can be persecuted for being forceful, disruptive, obnoxious, over-zealous, and just plain ignorant in witnessing. A Christian can be persecuted for continuing to pester someone and bothering a person who is not interesting in hearing what they have to say. A Christian can be persecuted for not properly doing their job because they are spending too much time on personal stuff. A Christian can be persecuted for being self-righteous, bigoted, intolerant, pushy, angry, boastful, and argumentative. Peter writes, “How is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” “If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.” (1 Peter 2.20; 4.15) Make sure you are persecuted as a Christian for the right reason.

–Verse 10 makes it very clear that God blesses those who are persecuted because of righteousness. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.” Verse 11 says, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Notice that verse 11 says, “falsely say all kinds of evil against you”. There should be no reason to accuse and persecute us except that we are living a righteous life and reflect Christ through the character of our lives.

-We need to make sure that we are being persecuted because of righteousness and because we are standing with Christ in this evil world. We need to make sure we are not deceiving ourselves by thinking we are being persecuted for righteousness and for Christ when it is for another reason.

-A Christian should be persecuted because the previous 7 Beatitudes are evident in his/her life. The Christian who is “poor in spirit” exposes the pride and selfish heart of mankind. The Christian who mourns over sin and confesses their need for God’s forgiveness as a sinner condemned before a Holy God, condemns the world around him. The meek attitude that submits to God and is willing to follow God pronounces judgment upon the rebellion of man against God. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and obey God’s truth expose the self-seeking, greedy, godless attitudes and behaviors of the world. Mercy, purity, peace-making, are praised in name by the world but rejected in practice because they call others to transformation and justice. 2 Timothy 3.12 says, “Everyone, who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” If you want to live godly you will be persecuted. We are to be persecuted for our Christ-like character, our love of God, our righteous living, our godly attitudes and behaviors, and our words of truth, in this sinful, ungodly, unrighteous, Christ-hating world. Living a godly and righteous life is confrontational in this sin filled world. Be ready for persecution if you choose to live a righteous life. John 15.18-19 says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

 -The verb “are persecuted” teaches us something important. The verb is in the passive voice and the perfect tense. The perfect tense means that an action made in the past continues to have present consequences. The passive voice means that others are persecuting us. What this verb is teaching me is that at one point in my life as a Christian, I chose to live a righteous and godly life, fully knowing that others would persecute me for this choice. As a result of that choice I continue to live in righteousness and I expect persecution because of it. Have you made that choice to fully and publicly live a Christian life? Have you chosen to live completely for God knowing that persecution will be the result? Have you decided to refuse to bow to the world, the flesh, the Devil and to the fear of man and chosen to openly stand with Jesus?

-That choice needs to be made ahead of time, before you are put on the spot where you must decide for God or for self-protection, before you are called to compromise your faith. I think we comply too much with the world to be persecuted by it. I think our lifestyle is not much different from the world so we are not persecuted. I think we fear man more than we fear God and therefore do not suffer much because of our compromising.

 3) What is promised to those who are persecuted because of righteousness and because they stand with Jesus? Three things.

1 The kingdom of heaven is promised. Persecution does not earn a place in heaven but is a sign that we are on our way to heaven because we love God and not the world.

2 Verse 12 says that “great is our reward in heaven”. Persecution earns rewards in heaven. Romans 8.17 goes even further, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” We live in the shadow of heaven and God has great rewards to give us in heaven for our obedience to Him. As you live in the fast approaching reality of heaven and heaven’s great rewards, choose to live righteously and godly in this present evil world and stand with Christ.

3 Assurance of salvation is promised. How wonderful it is to know that we belong to God. When we are persecuted because of righteousness, because we are living godly lives, because we are identified with Christ, we can be sure that we have God’s salvation in us because in the past God’s people who have lived righteous and godly lives have always been persecuted by the world. The prophets are an example of the persecution of the righteous and of those that stand with God. As we are persecuted like the prophets of old we are assured that God is with us and that we belong to Him.

 -Do you want your life to be Blessed? Seek God and live God’s way. Ask God for His perspective on Holiness and on your sin. That is how the maturing process starts. Ask God to show you your need of Him. Mourn over your spiritual poverty. Submit to God. Humble yourself before God. Seek God in prayer each day and in His Word and get a hunger and thirst for righteousness that only God can satisfy. Develop Christ-like character as you obey God’s Word and submit to God’s daily discipline. When you experience persecution from the world you will know that your seeking God is not in vain.