If you have been following this beatitude series, then you know that I was compelled to write it because it seemed to me that most Christians I know do not have a Biblical view of sin. I cannot be certain of that (as I can’t know another’s heart), but based on the words and conduct of many of the professed believers with whom I interact, I made that very troubling assessment. It is of great concern to me because with each read through my Bible, I am more confirmed in my belief that no progress in sanctification can be made in the Christian pilgrimage without an experiential perception of one’s personal sinfulness; it is truly foundational to the Christian walk. That is, one cannot begin his pilgrimage without this foundation; he is spinning his wheels and going nowhere until he gets real about his own sin: owning it; confessing it to God, and to humans when necessary. To state that differently, one is self-deceived, if he is trying to live the Christian life without Biblically dealing with his particular sins. (Please review the obstacles to doing so in post 2b.)
In other words, the necessary beginning of the pilgrimage is experiencing poverty of spirit; but to do that, one has to be reading God’s word and partaking of other means of grace. One cannot begin his walk by becoming a theologian: in any walk, race, pilgrimage, the starting line is where one must begin. Cheaters try to begin further down the road; they want to quickly pass over foundational work. Christ talked about such people in his parable of the two builders in Matthew 7: the two houses looked identical to observers; however, the wise builder’s house was resting on the correct foundation; whereas the identical looking house of the foolish builder was resting on sand (an incorrect foundation). From the outside, they seemed to be the same, they were not!
It is important to make observations to discern just where you are attempting to begin your pilgrimage.
I sought to mark the starting line of the Christian pilgrimage in the posts on poverty of spirit and mourning for sin, which I called the twin root of beatitude fruit, as without this root, no beatitude fruit can be borne (see the post on mercy for the fullest explicit statement of this point).
Furthermore, I argued that without a clear apprehension of one’s sin, the narrow gate will be hidden from him; subsequently, also the narrow way, that leads to life. Why so? Because he will be lulled into self-satisfied complacency via his good self-esteem; knowledge of doctrine; church attendance; Christian performance…such that he will not be moved to seek diligently for the narrow gate–remember, that Jesus is the one who stated that “few” will find it; therefore, it is an absolute certainty that few will find it. We must be concerned to know why that is so!
To state that differently, starting by abiding in God’s means of grace, causes one to begin dealing with sin and to begin experiencing humility; thereby, he simultaneously begins moving towards the narrow gate: he is using the God’s means by which it is discovered.
If you have ever read John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, then you might remember that the conviction Christian experienced after reading his Bible moved him to begin his pilgrimage towards the celestial city (heaven, God). Therein, Bunyan allegorized the struggles of that walk. I read that book after having read through the Bible and was on my own pilgrimage; and my hair stood on end because of the accuracy of his depiction of the Christian’s struggles. Anyone who is born again and striving to live the beatitude life will resonate with his portrayal of it. Bunyan described numerous types of professed believers and how they failed in their pilgrimages: e.g., wanting to start their walk in an advanced state instead of at the beginning, is one error he cited (that would include failure to acknowledge original sin and its personal consequences; to repent and forsake sin…). He also described many typical errors that Christians fall into that takes them away from the true path outlined in the Bible. If you are struggling to follow the Bible, then you will benefit from Bunyan’s portrayal of these things.
These are the matters I have been harping on throughout this series. I hope that I have presented them such that they can be applied to the reader’s life. But presently, I want to discuss Matthew 5:10 and 11; persecution for righteousness’ sake; and for Christ’s sake.
Imagine for a moment that you have experienced poverty of spirit and that you are mourning your sinfulness; that you are submitted to God and the authorities that God has placed over you; that you abide in God’s word and His means of grace such that you know what it is to delight in them; that you love mercy as God commanded in Micah 6:8; and that you are so committed to God’s Way that you avoid most common diversions from His way into the way of self. If that were true of you, then you would be a fruitful worker in God’s kingdom (somewhat like the apostle Paul). You’d be busy reconciling people to God via the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; confronting sin in yourself and others–loving them in these ways, etc. If you lived such a life, then you would be experiencing persecution from every one you encountered who wasn’t living a beatitude-attitude lifestyle, whether they professed to be Christian or not. Consider the following: 1Jn 3:11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 1Jn 3:12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 1Jn 3:13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 1Jn 3:14 If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.
Cain was trying to worship God too, that is, we could call him a professed believer. Yet he persecuted his brother to death; that revealed that he was not born again.
Christ declared that the beatitude life is a blessed life because those who experience it have entered into the kingdom of heaven. Their persecution is evidence that they are part of His kingdom. Undoubtedly, Christ has given such believers grace to persevere amid their persecution and taught them to seek it via His means of grace; like such that witnesses have reported Christian martyrs possessing as they underwent burning, beheading and such persecutions. I presently can’t imagine what that kind of grace is like, and thoughts of such persecution frighten me, but I have hope to know more of such beatitude-attitudes before my pilgrimage on this earth ends.
In discussing each of these beatitude attitudes, I have desired to emphasize that they are indicators that one’s profession is true; that he is not self-deceived, but that he is actually a believer because of his conduct and the world’s reaction to him.
In concluding this beatitude life series, I want to note that Christ apparently distilled those beatitude declarations from the Old Testament. I also want to emphasize that it is the Holy Spirit that works the beatitude attitudes into born again believers. We need to be longing for them in prayer as we sit under God’s appointed means of grace; and we need to receive the providential experiences that God the Father permits to afflict us, as these prune us (see John 15), and conform us to the image of His Son. Furthermore, we must ask God that we be able to identify and own our sins so that we might confess them to Him and forsake them; also, that we might take responsibility for them in our relationships with humans.
It is not pleasant to be thoroughly acquainted with your sins as it prohibits a good self-esteem, which the western world so covets and promotes; and that our pride craves. But the only reason it causes us pain is that we have not yet been enabled by God to esteem God’s narrow, difficult, way of self-denial, the way of the cross that Jesus walked before us. When we have been blessed with such esteem by His Spirit (being taught that via the process of sanctification outlined in this series) then we will be more like our Savior, and the pain generated by our crucified pride will be greatly diminished and in glory, non existent.
I pray for you that you will learn self-examination and also look carefully for God’s hand in the afflictions you undergo during your pilgrimage. And that you are comforted by the evidences you discover.