Author: Berean Baptist

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)

In today’s message, we come to the last of Jesus’ eight dynamic statements called “The Beatitudes.” These sayings are the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount and they are descriptions of kingdom citizens. Christ’s kingdom is one of happiness and thus “beatitude” means happiness, for those who possess these qualities have found joy in the salvation of Christ.

No one comes by these qualities naturally. They are begun in the Holy Spirit as He moves upon the heart through the gospel of Christ. In each beatitude, whether poverty of spirit, meekness, mercy, purity of heart—each one requires a special work of God’s Spirit. The last beatitude is perhaps the most difficult because we can never imagine how happiness comes from pain and suffering.

And yet, nothing was modeled more convincingly as a means to happiness than Jesus’ suffering. Hebrews says that Jesus endured the shame of the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. Isaiah wrote, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11).

Christ’s joy was in the redemption of His people. It could not come without the suffering and death of the cross. It is impossible to imagine with an unregenerate heart how this could ever be. However, the apostles who lived it affirmed it. They counted it joy to suffer for Christ (James 1:2). There was pleasure in it (2 Corinthians 12:10). There was rejoicing and glory in it (Acts 5:41, 1 Peter 4:13-16).

This is the product of a heart made new like Christ and a mind renewed in the spirit of holiness. Those who have not been changed will not hold up in times of testing. If faith is not genuine, it will fail. Thus, enduring trials and persecutions is evidence of saving faith. Joy comes when we feel God’s strength surging through our veins.

The tendency of those who are not real in the faith is to shy away from declaring their faith in hostile situations. If you are able to stand strong, if you don’t waver, if you feel God’s power, rejoice! God has just claimed you as one of His own!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Our study today brings us to the Sermon on the Mount’s seventh beatitude. I have chosen the title “The Pacific Beatitude” for today’s message which may be somewhat confusing to many of you. The word pacific simply means “promoting peace.” It seems somewhat ironic that Ferdinand Magellan the great Portuguese explorer named the largest of the world’s oceans, “The Pacific Ocean,” meaning “the peaceful sea.” The mighty Pacific has claimed the lives of thousands, and many of the early explorers were never able to cross its expanse without losing their lives.

The world today can be compared to the Pacific Ocean because there are days when we can travel to the beaches near here and gaze out over the beautiful, serene, deep blue sea and whisper to each other, “How lovely, and how peaceful.” There is a quiet and a calm that can lull us into thinking that every day will be peaceful and calm. But those who sail the seas know far differently. There is no lasting peace on the sea. A peaceful day can very quickly turn into a raging storm.

Likewise, there is no lasting peace among the people of the earth. Politicians promise they can achieve it. Groups and committees are formed to promote it; nations join together in bodies like the League of Nations or the United Nations; but in the end, every peace that is forged breaks down into hatred and strife. It is simply not in the heart of man to be at peace because in all of us evil lurks. A storm is waiting to break out and given enough time, it always will. We can no more tame the human heart than we can stop the wind from making waves on the sea.

Why then does Jesus say, “Blessed are the peacemakers?” It seems He promises an unachievable blessing. Not really—for the one who is able to calm the seas is the one who can give a new heart. He can change our hearts through the gospel. Real peace will never come with the efforts of any Nobel peace prize winner or any human government. Only Christ can bring lasting peace. So, Jesus says “Blessed are the peacemakers.” These are those who herald the life changing, heart cleansing gospel of Christ. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

Today as we look into the sixth beatitude, we come to the apex of these eight sayings of Christ. All of these sayings are critical, they go together, and are present in every true believer. This one, however, is the blessing from which all other blessings flow. We cannot possess any of the others inwardly or outwardly without purity of heart.

This beatitude speaks to the change in nature of the believer. We are all born in sin; we have a sinful nature that was passed on to us by our earthly father, Adam. This nature prevents any of the beatitudes from being a natural characteristic of humans. To realize poverty of spirit, to mourn because of it, to be meek and humbled by it, to seek to remedy it by pursuing righteousness, and to demonstrate with mercy that we have been changed from it, requires a new heart, a new nature that comes only from God above.

It is also a pure heart that enables believers to be peacemakers. We do this by giving others the only thing that will bring peace—the gospel of Christ. Strangely enough those with pure hearts are persecuted for it. It is precisely because our hearts are changed and we are different from the world that we are persecuted. Men need peace because their hearts are not pure, but they seek it in all the wrong ways for this very reason—they are not pure in heart. Do you see why this is the cardinal beatitude?

A pure heart is one that is as God, meaning it has been purified by the washing of regeneration by the Word of God. This is a heart that has been given the perfect righteousness of Christ through faith in Him. Essentially, we can say this is the person that has been justified by faith in Christ alone.

“They shall see God.” They see Him now in the Word. They realize His presence by faith, but they shall see Him face to face. As the hymn writer said, “And I shall see Him face to face and tell the story saved by grace!” If you have a pure heart, one cleansed by the blood of Christ, you shall see God!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

In my life, I have had the privilege of visiting nearly every part of the United States. I have visited every state but Alaska, which is on my agenda sometime before I end up on the wrong side of the grass. I love to travel and I find beauty in every type of landscape. I like mountains and I like the desert. I like oceans and I like forests. But perhaps one of the most beautiful parts of the country to me is the wheat fields of Kansas.

My family is originally from Kansas and as a child I loved to visit there. I especially liked the time of wheat harvest because when the winds blow across the plains, you can really see the “amber waves” as they ripple across acres of ripened grain. The plains states are known as America’s “breadbasket.” We produce food in abundance and we feed ourselves as well as many other places of the world.

While very few in this country actually go physically hungry, there are millions who are starving spiritually. Although spiritual hunger pervades our society, there are very few that are looking to satisfy this hunger. People die every day never having tasted the righteousness that will satisfy their souls. Jesus asked, “What are we profited if we gain the whole world and lose our souls?” He promises that those who seek to satisfy their spiritual hunger with His righteousness will receive not just some righteousness, but all righteousness. They will be filled and their souls will be saved.

But satisfying this hunger is not done by your personal efforts. You can seek it, but you cannot satisfy it. You cannot feed yourself; only Christ can feed you. Do you recognize “the hole in your soul” that needs to be filled? Jesus will fill it if you give up on self and seek Him alone. Perhaps America does not have the resources to feed all the physically hungry in the world, but God certainly has the resources to feed all the spiritually hungry. His word says, “He hath filled the hungry with good things.” If you seek Him, you too shall be filled.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

What does it mean to be “poor in spirit?” Most people have the idea that Jesus is speaking about taking a vow of poverty. They give this beatitude the sense that there is some holiness attached to forsaking all worldly goods and living a meager existence. A vow of poverty can actually be antithetical to Christian teaching especially if it robs us of industriousness or the ability to earn money to be used in the service of God. If Jesus were speaking of material poverty, there would never be any hope for sending out missionaries, supporting pastors, building church buildings, conducting Christian schools, or any benevolent works. The simple truth is the poor cannot feed the poor, missionaries cannot travel without money, pastors cannot physically live on prayers and good wishes, therefore if everyone tried to be blessed by being poor many of our Christian works would never be accomplished.

Holiness achieved by poverty would actually rob the richness of the true meaning of this beatitude. Jesus is speaking of spiritual bankruptcy. We are depraved, vile creatures with no personal worth that commends us to God. It is only when we recognize how destitute we truly are that we are driven to the cross of Christ. We have no hope but in Him. We cannot achieve holiness by giving up anything because we don’t have anything to offer God. “In my hand no price I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling!”

Pastor V. Mark Smith

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. (Ephesians 5:23)

One of the most difficult principles for marriages today is the biblical command for a wife’s submission to her husband. Most husbands gladly seize upon it without understanding the tremendous responsibility it places upon them. Before a wife is willing to submit, she must have a husband who is willing to lead in a loving, Christ-like manner. Ephesians 5:22-33 has 2 ½ verses dedicated to submissive wives and 8 ½ verses dedicated to how the husband should lead his wife.

Among these verses is a very interesting statement made in verse 23. The husband is the head of the wife and he stands in relation to her as Christ does as the saviour of the body, His church. The wife submits to her husband because he is her saviour. Does that statement blow your mind? The husband is the saviour of his wife? How is that possible?

We have to look closely at the word “saviour” because this does not mean saviour as in the sense of personal salvation from sin. The word here means “preserver.” Paul uses “saviour” similarly in 1 Timothy 4:10: For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

Some would love to argue universal atonement from this verse meaning that Christ’s atonement is intended for every person without exception. But the last phrase, specially of those that believe, would make no sense if the atonement is in view. Universal atonement logically infers universal salvation. Since there is no universal salvation, this verse must be interpreted in the sense that Christ shares benefits with believers and unbelievers. The only explanation for this is God’s common grace.

The Bible says God sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Whether you are saved or lost you receive benefits from God because He is the one who gives “life, and breath, and all things.” In 1 Timothy 4:10, “saviour” means that Christ is the preserver of all men in sustaining their physical life, but He is the saviour of those who believe in a much greater sense in that He gives them not only physical life but spiritual life.  The first sense is what the husband is for the wife. He is her protector and preserver. Because he is the one protecting, she should offer submission to him.

So, the idea of submission is a godly principle. It is a Christian principle, a creative principle, and a church principle. It is taught in scripture; it is to be obeyed; and a woman who seeks the filling of the Spirit will gladly put herself in her God given role as a submissive wife. Do it because it glorifies God; and when you do, it will be a blessing to you.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Ephesians 5:25)

In our studies of the Sermon on the Mount, there is a recurring theme of the inability of any person to become righteous with God on the basis of his own merit. When Jesus expounded the Old Testament law, He clearly confronted the people with their shortcomings in how they had failed to reach the perfect standard of righteousness that God requires. Every command spoken by the apostles as they taught New Testament Christians was in effect a command of God. They spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit so that every word spoken under inspiration is as if Jesus had spoken the words Himself.

As Paul gives this command in Ephesians 5:25, it is the Holy Spirit telling us one more time that in the power of the flesh we are helpless to please God. How can we keep this command? We cannot even fathom the depths of the statement much less fulfill it with our sinful heart. I cannot explain to you how much Christ loved the church. Paul steers us in the right direction by saying that Christ was willing to die for His church. Theologians and preachers spend their lives declaring this sacrificial love but none of us can ever touch the bottom of its meaning.

And yet, this kind of love is what Christ demands of husbands. It should be immediately apparent that Paul can only be addressing redeemed, born again believers. No husband that has never received Christ nor known His love would have a clue where to start. But for those of us, who have been touched by the saving grace of God, we know where to begin and we know the one who gives the grace to fulfill it.

The duty of a husband is to be a Spirit filled man. As we become closer and closer to Christ in our daily walk, we learn more about Christ’s love. We reach higher levels of understanding of His love and this knowledge teaches us how to obey the command. Husbands, your ability to love your wife as Christ loved the church is in direct proportion to your spirituality. The conclusion—if you want a happy wife and a happy marriage, spend more time working on the spiritual man!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, [5] And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? (Matthew 19:4-5)

Today in our study of Matthew, we begin a multi-part series on the biblical doctrine of marriage. I have used the term “biblical” to describe this teaching because there is so much confusion about what marriage is, who can be rightfully married, and the proper parameters for a marriage that is God honoring. I do not intend to focus as much on the perversions of marriage as I want to deal with issues that will make our marriages conform to biblical principles.

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus addressed the lowered standards and expectations of the scribes and Pharisees as He dealt with God’s law in connection with the problem of divorce. Divorce would not have been an issue then nor would it be today if we only applied the real meaning and intent of the Ten Commandments. The Commandments are not merely a list of “do’s” and “don’ts.” They are meant to be a regulation of our relationships. Jesus said the entire law rests upon two commandments—love God, and love your neighbor.

Loving God is expressed in commandments one through four and loving your neighbor is expressed in commandments five through ten. I believe in one sense we understand the first four and their relationship to loving God better than we understand the last six and their relationship to loving man. It is easy for us to say “I love God,” because even though He is near us and we can feel His presence, we don’t actually see Him. We see other people and we interact with them regularly, and it is much harder to love them when we see all their faults and blemishes. It is especially harder when those people disappoint us. And yet, fighting through those disappointments and loving others is the thrust of the second division of the law. The apostle John wrote: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20).

The second division of the law is dependent upon the first. If we love God as we should, we will love our neighbor. This is really the key to a successful marriage. Any marriage in which loving God is the focus is one that could never crumble into divorce. If there are issues in your marriage that are tearing it apart, ask this question first: “Am I fully surrendered in my love for Christ?” There is no need to run to the bookstore or to a secular psychologist for the latest advice. Just turn to Jesus’ exposition of the commandments. Love God supremely and you will resolve your conflicts.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

…for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:29b)

Just before the presidential election of 2008, the financial markets on Wall Street were stunned when Merrill Lynch one of the oldest brokerage businesses in New York agreed to sell the firm because they were in near financial collapse. Another respected firm, Lehmann Brothers, was forced to liquidate because of bad investments. What followed could most nearly be equated to an economic earthquake as major brokerage houses, insurance companies, banks, and corporations were on the verge of destruction.

As we all know, this led to a massive monetary bailout by the Federal government. These institutions in which people put their money, their livelihoods, their hopes and dreams were failing. Most believed their futures were safe and sound and all they need do was sit back and watch the dollars roll in. The hard cold reality is now upon us. None of these institutions is safe and some are predicting the Federal government itself cannot long withstand the deficits and financial pressures that it has incurred.

As I think about how this will affect many Americans, I am reminded of the truthfulness of Jesus’ statement in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:19-20). Jesus pits time against eternity. What is most profitable? Astute investors are always looking for a good return, and yet most people are so short sighted that they miss the best investment of all.

Many Christians are working hard to ensure retirement. They put all of their time and energy into brokerage accounts, savings accounts, real estate, or whatever in hopes they will accumulate enough to make their future secure. The Bible definitely teaches the wisdom of financial preparation, but at the same time it teaches that more and more of our wealth should be going into eternal treasures. God gives the ability to work and earn so that His work can be blessed. As we make more and more money, how much have we increased our giving to God?

Profitability in Matthew 5:29, however, is not primarily about money. This is encouragement to consider every part of our lives. Anything that distracts from holiness and righteousness is not profitable. Sin is a bad investment with only negative returns. Negative returns come from any departure from Christ’s sound investment advice. This means in your personal life, your family, your work—if you choose against Christ in any area, you have made an unprofitable, unwise investment.

How is your future adding up? Jesus had little concern for bank accounts because He declared that He must always be about the business of His Father. Believe me, if you want to invest in any kind of business, make it the Father’s business. His business will never fail and always yields the best returns!

Pastor V. Mark Smith