Believers Are the Saints
Introduction
Whatever is true in the Bible, the so-called experts deny. They are the ones who love the fake documents (Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) while attacking the 5,000 items of evidence, which are called the Majority Text, the Apostolic witness. Sinaiticus is a forgery and Vaticanus is the Greek version of the Latin Vulgate, so it clearly much later than the New Testament era. Vaticanus was known and rejected in the creation of the first Greek New Testament (Erasmus). Sinaiticus did not see the light of day until Count Tischendorf claimed he rescued leather pages destined to be burnt to keep the library warm, an image or smell too powerful to overlook from the glory-seeking liar.
The fake New Testament in Greek is the basis for all modern translations - NIV, RSV, ESV, TEV, NRSV, Beck Bible. However, they do not agree with each other or even with the previous "scientific" text. Moreover, they change the English or German every few months.
This genius army of scholars considers the Sermon on the Mount to be patched together, a gathering of sayings. How do they know this? They simply declare it to be true. However, these three chapters are clearly the introduction and the substance of Jesus' entire ministry.
KJV Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
This is an actual event in His ministry where Jesus taught His established disciples and the crowd that was with Him. There are two ways to address a crowd. One is to be higher than the rest, for the voice to carry and people to hear accurately. The other is to use a watery pulpit, a fisherman's boat, near the shore, with people seated on the shore rising up, so they can see and hear.
Verse 2 emphasizes the importance and solemnity of the occasion. We see many examples of this today. The main speaker may be talking to others or greeting them in some way. When he goes up to the podium, the audience settles down and begins to listen.
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
There are many who practice the arts of bullying, menacing, undercutting others. Bookstores are full of advice about these people and their victims. The unbelieving world admires them until they fail - and they often do so in a spectacular way.
This is not about management but how we respect and honor God. Blessings are not about having material things, power, privilege, and all those things that lead to haughtiness.
2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
This is an age of opposing and rejecting the Law. Often the lawless mourn only their suffering from the results of their hedonism and self-centeredness. There is much howling and gnashing of teeth repentance in this world (either self-centered or showing off for others) but godly sorrow for sin is true repentance (his pun - without repentance). King David is our stellar example in his Psalms of repentance.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Meek and lowly are two attributes of Jesus. See Matthew 11:29f. The public ministry of Jesus took place in a land where the Roman Empire ruled, charged taxes for being ruled, and would spend plenty of time destroying Jerusalem and the Temple only 40 years after His death and resurrection. We can safely say that the Christian religion which lost Jesus Christ, His Apostles, and so many leaders have inherited the world, especially in contrast to Rome, which was the empire of the world and is now a tourist spot.
Many church leaders are bullies who have power but little faith. They rule for a few years and are soon forgotten -- or else they are remembered for their destructive actions and dogmas. They serve to wake up the meek and lowly to honor, respect, and love the Word of God. Without the bad and faithless leaders (denominations, professors, famous pastors) we would lack the energy and the will to stay with the true Word of God.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
This is such a beautiful and comforting verse. Growing up in a bakery, after a side-gig at Dairy Queen, I learned that one can be surrounded by desserts and still be hungry. Working shifts where I could eat anything I wanted, we were happy to go out and enjoy a real meal, or buy sausage from a nearby grill.
This righteousness is the righteousness of faith. The contrite long for forgiveness, and this reminds us of the great mercy and love of God, who pours out His love and grace on all those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, dying for our sins and rising from death, ascending into heaven.
The parallel between the Feedings of the Multitudes and Holy Communion are impossible to ignore. Just as Jesus mulitplied the loaves and fish, so He gives us His body and blood miraculously with the elements, for forgiveness of sin, suporting our faith, and preparing us for eternal life. Just as food is received individually, so is this Means of Grace received one by one.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mercy multiplies mercy, and evil multiplies evil. The only way to stop the bad cycle is our own contrition for sin. There is too much bullying, slander, and coldness in our society.
Lenski, Matthew, p. 191
The first four beatitudes look
toward God, the next three toward men. These treat
of three virtues which mark the godly as blessed. “The
merciful” are, of course, the same persons as those
referred to in the previous beatitudes. Luther well
says that in all the beatitudes faith is presupposed as
the tree on which all the fruit of blessedness grows.
This, then, is not mere natural mercy as it is occasionally found among men generally but the mercy growing
out of our personal experience of the mercy of God.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
There are many Biblical references to this, which we might call "sincerity." The Latin of sincerity means "without wax" because broken clay pots were patched with wax and melted in the sun. They looked good on the outside but fell apart in the sun. The Greek word was "tested by the sun," which is another way of looking at the same deception. Some who pretends to care and then is the opposite - that person is not sincere and may fall into all kinds of trouble and godly wrath.
God's will is that we believe in Jesus Christ and His Word, following in His steps. There is no loss in keeping His commandments and teaching, no matter what others say and do.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Life is paradoxical, a seeming contradiction. Those who advance themselves with deception and guile are called good company men and women. Those who establish peace through sound (healthy) doctrine from God are called trouble-makers, disturbers of Zion, heretics, and suitable for expulsion. The Reformation began with pastors and laity cruelly imprisoned and killed for teaching the Scriptures. In England, it was against the law (Henry VIII) and men were executed for that time.
The Bible seldom uses peace in relation to murder or warfare. The main reason to use peace is to express the result of forgiveness through Christ and fidelity to God's Word. People can use the Law all day long, and many do that with man-made laws, but the only true peace comes from access to the grace of Christ through faith in Him, knowing the good news is from the faith of Jesus first of all.God's Word establishes and enlightens believers while hardening the unbelievers.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
I have often heard that questioning Church Growth is "slander" and worse. I never realized that the Eighth Commandment was intended to support and protect Calvinism, marketing, and lawlessness. That is always a shock, to realize that those who swore allegiance to the Scriptures were so hardened against the Scriptures and the Reformation. Mockery of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation was a clear sign that the leaders had no use for the historical watershed. Now they must endure the bitter taste of institutional failure, since they have set up this scenario in the last 50 years (or more).
I hear what the Fuller Lutherans are saying (so much like the other denominations, the most vocal, the Church of Rome -
- Institutional success.
- Good managers.
- Borrowing business methods.
- Looking for things that appeal to people.
- Ancestor worship - the ultimate test (yes, even in Rome, where cousins, nephews, and other relatives are automatic leaders).
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