Pureness of Heart

Posted on February 17, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #6)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8, N.K.J.V.)

The Bible doesn’t use the word “heart” in reference to the bodily organ that pumps blood. Instead, it uses “heart” to refer to the center of one’s being. Therefore, to be pure in “heart” is to be pleasing to God, not just in outer conduct but also in inner motives, attitudes, and desires. As God Himself says in 1 Samuel 16:7:

For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (N.K.J.V.)

It should be understood, though, that no matter how pure your heart is, that purity cannot produce sinless perfection in either your outward or inward conduct. Ironically, it is actually your heart (the center of your being) that keeps you from living sinlessly. This “heart problem” of yours stems from the fact that you are a member of Adam’s sin-poisoned, fallen race. This is what God is describing when He speaks through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 17:9 and says:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked… (K.J.V.)

Centuries later, Jesus (God the Son) picked up on this same theme when He said:

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. (Matthew 15:19, N.K.J.V.)

So, if our hearts are such wicked wrecks, who is Jesus referring to in the sixth Beatitude when He talks about “the pure in heart”? He is referring to people who, despite their inborn wickedness of heart, have a burning inner desire to please God. David was a prime example of such a person. Even though his sin-tainted heart caused him to commit many sins (lying, polygamy, lust, covetousness, adultery, murder, and trusting in numbers instead of God) over the course of his life, he nevertheless had a very real desire to please God. This is evidenced by the fact that he cried out to God in the wake of his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah:

Create in me a clean heart, O God… (Psalm 51:10)

Similarly, in Psalm 24:3-4 he spoke of the direct relationship between pureness of heart and godliness of conduct when he wrote:

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. (N.K.J.V.)

Furthermore, it seems clear that David taught this same truth to his son, Solomon. How do we know this? We know it because of Solomon’s words from Proverbs 4:23:

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. (N.K.J.V.)

Getting back to the early life and ministry of Jesus, the Jewish religious elite of that day focused exclusively on the outward appearance and completely disregarded anything involving the heart. They would have had Jesus say, “Blessed are the pure in conduct, for they shall see God.” For example, a Sadducee might have harbored an intense inner hatred for his brother, but that Sadducee wouldn’t have considered that hatred a sin as long as he didn’t actually murder that brother. Likewise, in a Pharisee’s way of classifying sin, he could lust over every woman he met as long as he didn’t have sex with any of them.

You can imagine what an uproar was created, then, when Jesus came preaching a radically different standard. He said, “Sin begins deep inside a person. If you have hatred toward your brother, you need to treat that as murder (Matthew 5:21-26), and if you look at a woman lustfully, that’s nothing less than you committing adultery with her in your heart” (Matthew 5:27-30).

Jesus even reserved His harshest preaching for some of the Jewish religious elite, and that preaching specifically referenced the difference between appearing to be sinless outwardly while being eaten up with sin inwardly. He said:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. (Matthew 23:25-26, N.K.J.V.)

In regards to not only the sixth Beatitude but also all the other Beatitudes from The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is referring to saved people when He speaks of “the pure in heart.” The spiritual process isn’t hard to understand. First, the “pure in heart” have a desire to please God. Second, that desire will ultimately lead them to place saving belief in Jesus as Savior. This process makes perfect sense in light of the fact that God wants everyone to get saved (1 Timothy 2:1-6; 2 Peter 3:9).

And what reward does Jesus promise those who are pure in heart enough to believe in Him as Savior? He says, “…they shall see God.” By this, He doesn’t mean, “They will see God in a sunset, a baby’s smile, or a charitable deed.” No, He means, “They will one day literally see God and they will also literally spend eternity with Him. As 1 Peter 1:3-5 says to Christians:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. (N.K.J.V.)

Isn’t it wonderful that just as the pure in heart have a desire to please God, He has a desire to be around them for all eternity? Yes, Christian, you will get to visibly see God for all the endless eons of the ages to come. Think about that! You’ll see God the Father. You’ll see God the Son. And you’ll see God the Holy Spirit. This promise comes straight from the lips of God the Son, and it’s one that you would do well to meditate upon more often. By doing that, you might just become even more pure in heart for this earthly sojourn.

Posted in Belief, Death, Desires, Eternity, God's Love, Grace, Heaven, Salvation, Series: "The Beatitudes", The Sermon On The Mount | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Got Mercy?

Posted on February 15, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #5)

“Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7, N.K.J.V.)

The Greek noun our New Testaments translate as “mercy” is eleos. Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines the word as being:

the outward manifestation of pity; it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it.

The Old Testament Hebrew’s primary word for “mercy” is checed. William Barclay, in his commentary on Matthew, says of this Hebrew word:

…It is an untranslatable word. It does not mean to sympathize with a person in the popular sense of the term; it does not mean simply to feel sorry for someone in trouble. (It) means the ability to get right inside the other person’s skin until we can see things from his eyes, think things with his mind, and feel things with his feelings.

Putting the Vines and Barclay definitions together, we come up with a working application for mercy. First, mercy assumes need on the part of the mercy-receiver. Second, it assumes the mercy-giver has resources adequate to meet the need. Third, to ideally show mercy, the mercy-giver must place himself inside the skin of the mercy-receiver.

It’s been said that justice is getting what you deserve and mercy is not getting it. Speaking for myself, I’d call that an accurate description of mercy. You see, mercy lives on the same street as compassion and pity, and this is a street the Christian should know well because God expects that Christian to make a regular practice of bestowing mercy upon others. How big a deal is this to God? It’s big enough for James 2:13 to say the one who has shown no mercy will experience judgment “without mercy.” That is a very sobering thought.

Not only does God expect Christians to show mercy, He is even interested in the way we do it. According to Romans 12:8, He wants it to be done “with cheerfulness.” That sets the bar even higher, doesn’t it? It’s one thing to be expected to show mercy, but it’s something else entirely to be expected to do it cheerfully!

But what makes God think He has the right to demand such a lofty standard from Christians? Well, putting it simply, He has the right to demand it because He has cheerfully extended mercy to us. As Titus 3:5 says:

not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Of course, it shouldn’t surprise us that God Himself would extend mercy. After all, Ephesians 2:4 says He is “rich in mercy.” Micah 7:18 says “He delights in mercy.” And Psalm 103:8,11 says: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy…For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (N.K.J.V.)

The good news, Christian, is that if you will meet God’s standard by cheerfully extending mercy to others, you will feel the benefit of that gesture as much as them. As Proverbs 11:17 says: “The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh” (N.K.J.V.). Similarly, Proverbs 14:21 says: “He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he” (N.K.J.V.). And then there is Psalm 18:25, which says: “With the merciful, You will show Yourself merciful” (N.K.J.V.). That last reference goes right along with Christ’s words from the fifth Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (N.K.J.V.).

So, Christian, do you want to be pleasing to God in your dealings with others? Do you want to do good for your own soul? Do you want to be happy? Do you want to obtain mercy from God? If your answer to each of these questions is, “Yes,” then cheerfully show mercy to others. Figuratively speaking, when you find yourself in a position of holding a hammer over the head of a person who has sinned, don’t make a nail out of that person’s head. Instead, remember all the past times when you yourself needed mercy, and look ahead to any future times when you might just need it again.

Posted in Forgiveness, Grace, Humility, Mercy, Revenge, Salvation, Series: "The Beatitudes", The Sermon On The Mount | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Righteousness & You

Posted on February 11, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #4)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6, N.K.J.V.)

With the fourth Beatitude from Matthew’s account of The Sermon on the Mount, we come to another difference between Matthew’s version of the sermon and Luke’s version of it. Matthew lists “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” as being Beatitude #4, while Luke’s account puts “Blessed are you who hunger now…” as being Beatitude #2. As for the reward promised in both versions, it is the same in that the believer will be filled.

As I explained in my post about that first Beatitude, the simple explanation for any and all differences between Matthew’s version of The Sermon on the Mount and Luke’s version of it is that Jesus preached the sermon (or parts of it) on at least two separate occasions in different settings to different audiences. Evidently, He preached the Matthew version exclusively to His disciples while He was sitting atop a mountain, and He preached the Luke version to not only those same disciples but also to a great multitude of people while He was standing on a level site. And since many individuals in that great multitude were no doubt literally poor (Luke’s Beatitude #1), literally hungry (Luke’s Beatitude #2), and well acquainted with crying literal tears (Luke’s Beatitude #3), it would have made sense for Jesus to speak directly to those needs.

However, for the purposes of this entire series and this specific post, I’m sticking primarily with the Matthew version of the sermon because it offers the most Beatitudes. So, with this in mind, I’m going to build this post around Christ’s words, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine). That’s why I’ve entitled the post “Righteousness & You.”

I’ve been a pastor a long time, long enough to have learned some things about professing Christians. One thing I’ve learned is that not many of them hunger and thirst for righteousness. How rare are such Christians? They are so rare that when you do come across one, you are actually taken aback by how much he or she stands out from the crowd. Your reaction is, “Wow, now that’s the way this Christianity thing is supposed to work. That’s the kind of person it’s rumored to produce.”

I take no pleasure in reporting that a high percentage of professing Christians are only interested in living righteously enough to keep God from getting too ticked off at them. The time they spend in prayer is minimal. Their Bible study is barely a blip on the radar. They attend church only if all the planets align and the creeks don’t rise. They give sparingly, even begrudgingly (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) of their finances. They’ve never witnessed to anyone.

Even the professing Christians who do better in some of these areas typically fall short when it comes to thoroughly repenting of sins and making needed changes in their lives. I’ve known professing Christians who were at church every time the doors were open, but they were petty, bitter people who refused to forgive any perceived slight. I’ve known others who made prayer a vital part of their lives but didn’t mind engaging in premarital sex or “shacking up.” Others would give some money to the church but spend even more on alcohol or drugs. To all of these people, the idea of hungering and thirsting for righteousness was foreign. They had just enough religion to keep them at peace with themselves and certainly didn’t have a burning desire for anything more.

Imagine that a man who hasn’t eaten for two days gets the opportunity to sit down at a buffet filled with delicious food. The way that man’s eyes dance over that food is the way the Christian’s eyes should dance over righteousness. The way that man craves that food is the way the Christian should crave righteousness.

Or imagine a woman who has been stranded in the desert for hours. When she is rescued, a rescue worker hands her a bottle of water. At that moment, there is nothing on earth she wants more than that water. That’s how the Christian should thirst for righteousness.

Christian, when you are obsessively hungering and thirsting for righteousness — when righteousness is what you are chasing in life — you won’t have to be goaded into attending church. You won’t have to be begged to pray. Your pastor won’t have to chide you into Bible study. It won’t take a ten-sermon series on stewardship to get you to give generously. You won’t have to be coerced into telling others about Jesus. All of that will come as naturally to you as breathing. It will flow effortlessly out of your hungering and thirsting for righteousness. 1 John 2:29 describes this as “practicing” righteousness:

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him (1 John 5:1; John 3:1-8, N.K.J.V.).

Furthermore, in the fourth of the Beatitudes, Jesus promises that your pursuit of righteousness will not be in vain. He says you shall be filled. I see a two-fold meaning in this promise. First, it only makes sense that the more you devote your life to righteousness, the more righteousness will be exhibited in your life. Second, in regards to your eternal standing with God, the moment you realize your life is stained by unrighteousness and you place saving belief in Jesus, God actually imparts His spotless righteousness to you (Romans 1:16-17; 3:21-26; Philippians 3:7-9). That is an even more important filling.

So, Christian, how hungry are you? How thirsty are you? Are you burdened enough about your level of righteousness to do some repenting? Will you commit to practicing more righteousness in your daily life? When you get hungry and thirsty enough to actually make some changes in how you conduct yourself, you’ll find Jesus standing ready to help you. He’ll be right there with a never-ending buffet and a bottomless well. But you’ll never get to enjoy the blessings of that buffet or that well as long as you are satisfied with the amount of righteousness you currently have.

Posted in Alcohol, Backsliding, Belief, Bible Study, Change, Church Attendance, Confession, Discipleship, Doing Good, Drugs, Evangelism, Giving, Money, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Righteousness, Salvation, Sanctification, Series: "The Beatitudes", Stewardship, The Sermon On The Mount, Witnessing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The True Meaning of Meekness

Posted on February 10, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #3)

“Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5, N.K.J.V.)

The word “Beatitude” is not found anywhere in the Bible, but we use the word in reference to each of the instances where the Bible says “Blessed is…” or “Blessed are…” The word comes from beatus, the Latin word for “blessed.” While Beatitudes can be found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, far and away the most famous list is the one that begins Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

The Greek word for “blessed” is makarios, a word that carries multiple shades of meaning. It can mean happy, fortunate, to be envied, satisfied, joyful, or spiritually prosperous. Needless to say, the word packs quite a punch. To be “blessed” in this way is no small thing!

Of all the Beatitudes, the one that has probably been the most misunderstood is: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The problem has always stemmed from the false notion that meekness equates to weakness. The fact is, nothing could be further from the truth.

Numbers 12:3 says:

Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. (K.J.V.)

If you think Moses was a ninety-pound weakling who couldn’t take care of himself, you really need to read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Moses was a man’s man. He was an outdoorsmen who had a hot temper and could singlehandedly kill an Egyptian.

In addition to Moses being described as meek, would you believe that Jesus described Himself in this same way? In Matthew 11:29, He says:

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest for your souls. (K.J.V.)

This was Jesus, who spent forty days and nights fasting in the Judean wilderness. This was Jesus, who oftentimes slept on the ground. This was Jesus, who lived through a brutal Roman scourging. The idea of Him being weak is preposterous.

In light of Moses and Jesus, it is obvious that meekness means something other than weakness. But what does it mean? It means strength under control. The Greek word translated as “meek” is praus. It’s a word the Greeks used to describe a horse that had been broken. The horse was far from weak, but its strength had been brought under the control of a rider. Transferring this illustration to the life of the Christian, meekness equates to being broken of one’s self-will and being submitted to the Lordship of Jesus.

You see, Jesus wasn’t calling His followers to lay aside their strength and become milquetoast peons. No, He wanted them to be strong, especially in terms of spiritual might. But He challenged them to bring their strength under His control. Just as a rider can’t use a horse that hasn’t been broken, Jesus can’t do much with a person whose strength isn’t under His control.

Jesus did, however, promise an awesome reward for the Christian who lives his or her life this way. The world is still awaiting the fulfillment of this promise, but that fulfillment will occur when Jesus returns to this earth (Revelation 19:11-21) and establishes His 1,000-year kingdom upon it (Revelation 20:1-4). At that time, Christians will indeed inherit the earth and reign over it with Jesus as His bride (Revelation 2:26-27; 5:8-10; 19:6-9).

I feel safe in saying that those who literally heard Jesus make that promise didn’t truly grasp the ultimate meaning of it. That meaning was just too far off in the future. That isn’t to say, though, that they didn’t like the sounds of it. Could there really be a time when Christ’s followers would inherit the earth? Could there really be a time when the Romans wouldn’t rule the known world? Who else but Jesus would have preached such a radical idea in the midst of that culture? And who else but Him would have the power to one day make it a reality?

Posted in Brokenness, Christ's Second Coming, Dying To Self, Obedience, Prophecy, Reward, Series: "The Beatitudes", Submission, The Sermon On The Mount | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Those Who Mourn

Posted on February 8, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #2)

“Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4, N.K.J.V.)

The Greek word for “mourn” in this verse is pentheo. It’s a word that specifically refers to the strongest, most intensive kind of mourning. In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) this same word is used to describe Jacob’s grief when he thought his beloved son, Joseph, was dead (Genesis 37:34).

Okay, so how can anyone who is doing such mourning be blessed? The average commentator’s explanation is to make the mourning a mourning over one’s sins. In other words, the person who is under extreme conviction over his sinful condition, to the point of experiencing this type of gut-wrenching mourning, will find forgiveness and comfort by placing saving belief in Jesus.

However, even though this is certainly a doctrinally sound interpretation, I can’t help but wonder if we should be so quick to explain away the literalness of Christ’s words. Would His disciples really have understood the mourning to be mourning over one’s sins? I doubt it.

That’s why I lean toward thinking that Jesus was emphasizing that He was the answer for death. Mourning does typically walk hand in hand with death, doesn’t it? So, maybe Jesus was saying, “I am now on the scene, and through Me the greatest comfort can potentially be provided for those who are mourning the loss of loved ones.”

As I mentioned in the previous post, the New Testament gives us two versions of the Sermon on the Mount, indicating that Jesus preached the sermon (or parts of it) on at least two occasions in different settings to different audiences. Interestingly, in the Luke version, Jesus doesn’t say anything about those who mourn. Instead, He says:

“…Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.” (Luke 6:21, N.K.J.V.)

Of course, just as mourning walks hand in hand with death, weeping walks hand in hand with mourning. Therefore, it isn’t hard to see the close similarity between “Blessed are those who mourn” and “Blessed are you who weep now.” As for the fact that Jesus got more individually specific in the Luke version by using the word “you,” that might just have been a case of Him tailoring the sermon to fit that day’s audience.

In Revelation 1:18, Jesus says, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and Death” (N.K.J.V.). Since Hades was the Greek word for the general realm of the dead both for saved believers and lost unbelievers, Jesus was pointing out that He has complete charge over the afterlife. That means that if a person knew Him as Savior in life, that relationship continues in death. As Paul wrote to the Christians of Corinth:

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord…We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1,6,8, N.K.J.V.)

Speaking for myself, it brings me great comfort to know that the souls of my loved ones who died in Christ went to heaven to be with Him. For them, death was a promotion and a call home. Rather than mourn a Christian’s passing, we should celebrate it. As Paul said in another passage:

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. (Philippians 1:21-23, N.K.J.V.)

I’ve preached more funerals than I can remember, and in each one I tried to bring some comfort to the family. I have to say, though, that the greatest comfort I ever gave any family came from assuring them that the soul of their Christian loved one was with the Lord in heaven. Such funerals preach themselves. And it is because of these experiences that I can say with certainty that Jesus really does provide comfort for the blessed (the saved) who mourn the deaths of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, even if that mourning manifests itself by way of intense weeping.

Posted in Comfort, Death, Eternity, Family, Heaven, Pastors, Personal, Salvation, Series: "The Beatitudes", The Sermon On The Mount | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Poor in Spirit

Posted on February 5, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #1)

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:1-3, N.K.J.V.)

Christ’s most famous sermon is the one we call The Sermon on the Mount. That word “Mount” comes from the fact that Jesus was on a mountain when He gave this teaching to His disciples (Matthew 5:1). It seems clear, though, that He preached either the entire sermon or selected parts of it at least twice. I say this because Luke 6:17-49 gives us the record of a shortened version of the sermon, a version Jesus preached “on a level place” (N.K.J.V.) or “a plain” (K.J.V.) with not only His disciples in attendance but also a great multitude of people.

Furthermore, there are slight differences in the two accounts of the sermon. In the Matthew version, Jesus promises the kingdom “of heaven,” but in the Luke account He promises the kingdom “of God.” While it’s true that both descriptions refer to the same kingdom (compare Matthew 5:19-20 with Matthew 6:33), it’s also true that the word “heaven” brings a different image to mind than the word “God.”

Another example of certain differences in the accounts is found in the sermon’s opening. Whereas the Matthew version quotes Jesus as saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (N.K.J.V.), the Luke version omits the words “in spirit” and cites the quote as, “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God” (N.K.J.V.). It is from the word “Blessed” that we get the word “Beatitude,” which refers to a state of blessedness.

Evidently, Jesus changed the wording of the first Beatitude in order to accommodate the two different audiences for the two occasions He preached this sermon. Up on the mountain, it was just Him and His disciples in attendance. Down on the level place, they were joined by “…a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon” (Luke 6:17, N.K.J.V.).

And why had that multitude sought out Jesus? They had come “…to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits” (Luke 6:17-18, N.K.J.V.). It isn’t hard to understand that people who were either diseased or demon possessed were poor. Just as diseased people had trouble holding steady jobs and had to spend large amounts of money on doctors (Luke 8:43-44), demon possession could also take a major toll on a person’s finances.

Of course, the fact that Jesus would say to a crowd of such people, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” offers us a glimpse into why He was so popular with the common people. In large part, the Jewish people still lived under the Old Testament mindset that wealth was evidence of the blessing and favor of God. Poverty, therefore, was considered akin to being under God’s judgment, disfavor, or curse. Jesus, though, was a teacher who flipped that mindset completely on its head. According to Him, the kingdom of God belonged to the poor rather than the rich. That was mind-blowing news if you were a poor person in that culture!

Even before preaching the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had preached a sermon at Nazareth in which He had referenced Isaiah 61:1-2 in saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine). Later, He would have word sent to the imprisoned John the Baptist, telling John, “…the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Luke 7:22, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine). Clearly, Jesus wanted poor people to realize that the kingdom of God wasn’t just for the rich.

Still, we must understand that the Sermon on the Mount is not the gospel. No one goes to heaven just because he or she is monetarily poor. One must be spiritually born again by believing in Jesus as Savior and thereby becoming indwelt by God the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-18, Romans 3:10-26). Even those who were in attendance to hear Jesus preach were not saved simply by virtue of their poverty. No, they had to place saving belief in Him as Savior.

To apply this first Beatitude correctly to yourself, think of being “poor in spirit” as being a deliberate choice you make rather than being a natural personality trait you either innately have or don’t have. To be “poor in spirit” is to walk in a constant realization of your utter spiritual helplessness without God. It is to abandon any and all attempts at creating self-righteousness for yourself and throw yourself completely upon the divine righteousness (Titus 2:5-6, Ephesians 2:8-9) God imputes to the one who places saving belief in Jesus (Romans 4:1-8; Galatians 3:6-9). It is to truly grasp the teaching of Isaiah 64:6 — that all your supposed works of righteousness are, in reality, like “filthy rags” in the sight of an infinitely holy God.

Furthermore, to be “poor in spirit” is to be humble in nature. It is to approach God as a lowly servant (Matthew 8:5-8), a respectful child (Matthew 18:4), or even a pitiful beggar (Matthew 15:21-28). The person who struts toward God and thinks, “He’s lucky to get me” isn’t “poor in spirit.” Neither is the person who says, “I’m going to allow God into my life, but I’ll be bringing as much to the relationship as He does.” The Greek word translated as “poor” is ptochos and it refers to abject poverty. The one who is this “poor in spirit” knows that he brings nothing to God because, frankly, he doesn’t have anything to bring.

So, tell me, is this you? Do you think of yourself as such a spiritual beggar? Or do you pull back from having such a degrading opinion of yourself? Since Jesus (God the Son) thought you were valuable enough to die for in payment for your sins, it’s obvious that God places immeasurable value upon you. But with that understood, He expects you to see yourself as nothing in comparison to Him.

You see, God doesn’t necessarily want you to be monetarily poor as you live upon this earth — even though He doesn’t promise that you will be rich, either — but He does want you to be “poor in spirit.” This will allow you to have the attitude that will make it easy for you to not only experience salvation by believing in Jesus but also to look to Him each day to meet all your needs. That is, after all, what beggars do. They look to someone else to take care of them. And Jesus will be that person to you in regards to not only your eternal existence but also your earthly one if you will allow Him to be.

Posted in Attitude, Belief, Brokenness, Depravity, God's Holiness, Humility, Needs, Pride, Salvation, Series: "The Beatitudes", The Sermon On The Mount, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Will God Meet My Need?

Posted on February 2, 2010 by russellmckinney

In the mid-19th century, poverty characterized the people of the northeast Highlands of Scotland. During those days a man named John Murray was praying for guidance by a riverside. Many of his neighbors were immigrating to America, and he was wondering if he should join them. As he was praying, he heard a loud thud on the grass behind him. A salmon had leaped right out of the water and was lying there for him! Murray took it as an answer that the Lord could provide for him in Scotland.

Philippians 4:19 says: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (N.K.J.V.). This verse is very well known, for good reason. However, I would like to point out one important fact about the verse’s application.

That fact is: The verse was written by a Christian (the apostle Paul) to other Christians (the Christians of Philippi). You see, it’s not just anyone who can rightly say, “God has promised to supply all my need according to His riches in glory.” Technically, God isn’t obligated to provide for those who do not know Jesus as Savior. Pay careful attention to the closing words of the verse: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

I’m not saying that God won’t supply the need of a lost person. The truth is, He typically does supply those needs. As Jesus said, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45, N.K.J.V.). I’m simply pointing out the vast difference between knowing God as one’s heavenly Father and merely knowing Him as “the man upstairs.”

When our two sons were little fellows, Tonya and I used to frequently take them shopping with us. With that scene in mind, imagine us all inside a shopping mall one afternoon. It’s 6:00 p.m. and the boys haven’t had supper. They look at me and say, “Dad, we’re hungry.” At that point, a trip to the mall’s food court will be in order because I’m the father of those two boys and that means I’m obligated to provide for their needs. Well, that is how God responds to the genuine needs of a Christian. He meets them because of His fatherly obligation.

Now imagine another boy, a total stranger, coming up to me in the mall that day and saying, “Mister, I’m hungry. Will you buy me something to eat?” Based upon my assessment of the situation, if I sense a genuine need in the child, I might very well buy him something to eat. But I’m not obligated to do it, am I? Do you see the difference? I meet my boys’ need out of parental obligation, but I meet the other boy’s need out of something else, call it love, mercy, pity, charity, kindness, or compassion.

So, I’ll leave you with two thoughts. First, if you do not know Jesus as your Savior, you are not a child of God. You are loved by God and desired by Him, but you are not His child. You must believe in Christ as Savior to actually join the family (John 1:12). And then, second, if you do know Jesus as Savior, you really shouldn’t worry about the meeting of your needs. Remember that your heavenly Father has inexhaustible “riches” and is obligated to take care of you, even if he has to drop a salmon on your bank to do it.

Posted in Adversity, Children, Faith, Family, Fatherhood, God's Love, God's Provision, Needs, Parenting, Personal, Prayer Requests, Problems, Trusting In God, Worry | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Burned Spot

Posted on February 1, 2010 by russellmckinney

In the days when America’s west was being settled, prairie fires were one of the scourges of the land. The very thought of these fires struck terror into the hearts of the people. With dry grass standing high, sometimes as high as a horse’s head, the fires could sweep across vast acreages and not lack for fuel. To get caught out in the open in the midst of such a fire meant certain death.

Over the course of time, though, people figured out an odd way to remain alive during such a typically fatal time. First, you used water or dirt to create a large circular pattern in the grass surrounding you. Second, you used a match to start a fire inside that circle. Third, once all the grass inside the circle was burned, you laid down inside the circle and covered your face to avoid smoke inhalation. The prairie fire would rage all around the burned circle but not come inside it. It couldn’t come inside it because the grass to fuel it there had already been consumed.

When God looks down upon the earth, He still sees a certain spot just outside the old city of Jerusalem. It is a burned spot (think of it as a circular area) the fires of His holy wrath consumed some two thousand years ago. The spot goes by different names: Calvary (Luke 23:33), Golgotha (John 19:17), and the Place of a Skull (Matthew 27:33). Scholars debate its precise location, but God knows exactly where it is. It was at this spot that Jesus died on a Roman cross for the sins of the world. The burning of the spot reached its climax when Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

The fact is, the fire of God’s wrath must sweep through the life of each sinner. His indescribable holiness demands it. Those who have believed in Jesus as Savior are granted the privilege of standing inside the burned spot of the cross because Jesus has already taken God’s wrath for us. This allows us to watch in safety as God’s wrath rages all around us. On the other hand, those who have not believed in Jesus as Savior must face the fire of God’s wrath out in the open, on their own. As John 3:16-18 and 36 put it:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God…..He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Assurance of Salvation, Belief, Christ's Death, Coming Judgment, Crucifixion, Eternal Security, Forgiveness, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, Good Friday, Grace, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No Church Today

Posted on January 31, 2010 by russellmckinney

We had to cancel church today due to our second big snow in six weeks. Whereas the December storm dumped a foot on us, this one only gave us six or seven inches. I suppose we should be grateful that the weather guys missed the forecast a little. We were supposed to have gotten a foot again.

I really do hate cancelling church. The fact is, I could get there. I have not one but two all-wheel-drive vehicles and am pretty good at driving on snow and ice. I could get the parking lot scraped too. My brother-in-law, Ben, has a big blade on his jeep and volunteers to handle that job for me.

So why cancel? I do it because I don’t want anybodygetting hurt by trying to get to church on a wintry morning. If one car ended up in a ditch, I’d feel terrible. If one elderly person slipped and broke a hip while getting in or out of a car, I’d feel terrible. If one mother’s feet gave way and she went down while holding her child, I’d feel terrible. I know we aren’t supposed to live in fear of what could happen — and I’m really not a “doom and gloom” person — but I don’t think God wants us to completely abandon common sense in some misguided zeal about never missing a church service.

As I listened to the church closings on our local radio station this morning, it became obvious that 95% of the pastors took the same cautious approach I did today. No church was having regular services. One was only having an 11:00 worship service, and a couple were having 2:00 services this afternoon. But 95% just cancelled everything.

For me, a Sunday morning without church is like a basketball court without goals. It’s just not right. I’m not one of these people who secretly cheers when church gets cancelled. (Seriously, if you are such a person, you need to do some soul searching and figure out why getting to “legally” skip church excites you.) And it’s not just the fact that I want to preach. It seems like I’m always preparing sermons or preaching them. The thing is, I really do miss the fellowship and community of church. I enjoy being around my brothers and sisters in Christ. I enjoy them being a blessing to me and me being a blessing to them.

Oh well, my prayer on days like today is that cancelling services will help the members realize how much they enjoy coming to Disciples Road Church. It’s the “absence makes the heart grow fonder” thing. I don’t ever want church attendance to become rut or ritual to them. I don’t even want it to become mere “religion.” Christianity got off track when it became a religion. It was always supposed to be a relationship, a relationship between the believer and Jesus. And as a integral part of that relationship, the believer is supposed to attend church on Sunday, the first day of the week, as a way of celebrating Christ’s resurrection on that Sunday morning so long ago. Yes, Christians are supposed to do that celebrating every Sunday, not just Easter Sunday.

On a completely different note, I did get one bit of good news this morning. My scales weighed me at 187 pounds. So, I’ve lost 14 pounds in 20 days since I started my diet and exercise program. If you want to know the specifics of how I’m doing it, go back and read the post entitled “It’s Diet Time Again.”

My goal is still to get somewhere between 175 and 180 pounds. From there I’ll just be trying to maintain. I’ve been in that range before, and I’ve even held it for a couple of years, but it doesn’t happen naturally. What naturally happens is me drifting back up over 200 pounds. Since I know that full well, maybe I can prevent it from happening this time and stay at my ideal weight. Now if I can just figure out a way to safely have church after a big snow on Saturday. That one is a little more problematic.            

Posted in Christ's Resurrection, Church, Church Attendance, Dieting, Easter, Personal | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Importance of a Child’s Salvation

Posted on January 30, 2010 by russellmckinney

“Parenting” series: (post #4)

This post will be the fourth and last in my series on parenting. In the previous three posts, I’ve dealt with the importance of obedience in a child, the importance of individuality in a child, and the importance of spanking a child. Now, with this one, I want to talk about the importance of a child’s salvation.

Let us never forget that little boys and little girls need salvation. Salvation isn’t just for the drunk lying in the street, the convicted killer on death row, or the Muslim terrorist. It is also for young sons and young daughters.

To get us into this, let’s look at 2 Timothy 1:1-5, where the apostle Paul writes:

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. (N.K.J.V.)

You’ll notice that Paul, in verse 5, talks about a genuine saving faith, which equates to an authentic belief in Jesus Christ. Paul says to Timothy, “This saving faith (this authentic belief in Christ) was first in your grandmother Lois. She then passed it down to her daughter (your mother) Eunice. Then Eunice passed it down to you.”

By reading between the lines just a bit, we see that Lois and Eunice created an atmosphere in their family wherein Timothy wanted to personally put saving faith in Jesus. That atmosphere started when Lois put saving faith in Christ. Her salvation then played a big part in her daughter, Eunice, putting saving faith in Christ. And then Eunice’s salvation, in turn, played a big part in her son, Timothy, putting saving faith in Christ. In this way, salvation became something of a family affair for that family.

Now, with this understood, I want to devote the rest of this post to offering some practical advice about how parents should share the gospel with their small children. I’ve put this advice under the headings of three general statements, and I don’t think you’ll have any trouble following along. Ready? Here we go.

Statement #1 is: Parent, before you ask your child to believe in Jesus as Savior, it’s a good idea for you to have a basic foundation of Jesus already in place in that child’s life.

When it comes time for a child to seriously deal with Jesus and His offer of salvation, it will be so much better if there is a basic foundation of Christ already in place in that child’s life. But how does a parent lay such a foundation? The obvious ways include taking the child to church every Sunday and buying the child a children’s Bible. The sad truth is that many parents fail even in these basic areas.

Moving on from these basics, there is what I’ll call the spoken word. By this I mean that from a child’s early days that child should hear his or her parents talking to Jesus and about Jesus. Really, Jesus should be as much a part of the home as any of those who are living there.

First, here are a few examples of how a child can hear a parent talk to Jesus. Parent, at mealtime let your child hear you say, “Jesus, we thank you for this food.” When it rains, say to your child, “Well, Jesus is sending us some rain.” When your child goes to bed, make your child’s bedtime prayers to Jesus. Get on your knees beside the child’s bed, have the child close his or her eyes, and then pray something like, “Jesus, thank you for watching over us today. Thank you for this home. Thank you for this warm bed to sleep in.” Then, after your child has heard you pray such a prayer night after night, you should let the child do the praying. Hopefully, the child will learn to pray like you pray. And, by the way, be sure to remind the child that Jesus is God. If the child tries to act silly during the prayer time, just say, “Now remember, you are talking to God.”

You see, if you will talk to Jesus correctly in front of your child, you can build all kinds of great theology into your child’s thinking long before the child is mature enough to formally believe in Jesus as Savior. Just through the things your child hears you pray, that child can learn that Jesus is: God, our creator, our sustainer, our protector, and our provider. Then, when the child is mature enough to honestly deal with the issue of believing in Christ as Savior or rejecting Him, the child will have all of that wonderful foundation already in mind. Basically, if a child already thinks of Jesus as God, creator, sustainer, protector, and provider, it won’t be too hard for him or her to add Savior to the list.

Now let me mention a few examples of how a child can hear a parent talk about Jesus. Parent, when you go to the beach, stand with your child on the shore, look out at the ocean, and say, “Didn’t Jesus create a big, beautiful ocean?” When a problem comes up, say to your child, “Don’t worry, Jesus will help us with this.” At Christmastime, tell your child the story of how Jesus left heaven, became a baby, and was born to a virgin named Mary. At Easter, tell the child the story of how Jesus died for the sins of the world and then arose from the dead. At all times of the year, read Bible stories about Jesus to your child. And as you do all this, make it a point to talk about Jesus as a real person. Don’t let Him get lumped in with SpongeBob SquarePants, Elmo, or Big Bird.

What I’m saying is, let your child hear you using the spoken word to talk to Jesus and about Jesus. In a hundred different prayers and a hundred different conversations, use the words you speak to saturate your child’s world with Jesus. This is a great way for you to lay a basic foundation of Christ in that child’s life.

And now, with that ground covered, let me move on to my second statement, which is:

Statement #2: Parents, when it comes to the matter of salvation, don’t rush your child.

Any right-thinking parent wants their child to be saved from that fiery place the Bible calls “hell.” That’s perfectly understandable. However, what each parent should remember is that children under the age of accountability are not in immediate danger of “hell.” Let me explain.

If you look for the term “the age of accountability” in the Bible, you won’t find it. That doesn’t mean, though, that the idea of an age of accountability is wrong. While it’s true that each child is born a sinner, it’s also true that infants and small children simply do not have the ability to understand the concept of salvation, let alone God’s plan of salvation. The issue is not the child’s innocence, because each child is a born sinner. The issue is the fact that the plan of salvation is totally beyond the understanding of a child. How can you share the gospel with a child when that child can’t even understand your language? I know that Romans 1:20 teaches that every adult on planet earth is without excuse before God (even those who have never heard about Christ), but adults aren’t the same as little children.

Matthew chapter 18 comes into play here. In that chapter we find the story of Jesus calling a little child to Himself. In using that child as an object lesson to teach His disciples, Jesus says to them, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10, N.K.J.V.) Isn’t it interesting that little children have angels who always behold the face of God the Father in heaven? I don’t know everything there is to know about that, but I sure like the sounds of it.

In addition to that passage, we also have the story from 2nd Samuel chapter 12. In that story, David’s infant son dies and David says of him, “I will go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2nd Samuel 12:23). Now, when David thought about the afterlife he certainly wasn’t planning on spending eternity apart from God, was he? Remember that this is the same guy who wrote in Psalm 23:6, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Therefore, by putting David’s two quotes together, we learn that he thought of the soul of his dead, infant son as being with God. Furthermore, 2nd Samuel chapter 12 isn’t just a story from the life of David. It is also a part of the inspired word of God. That means that those words aren’t just wishful thinking on David’s part.

Because of these passages and some others I could mention, I have enough confidence in the idea of an age of accountability to say that a parent shouldn’t rush their small child to “make a decision” for Jesus. Parent, the last thing you want to do is coerce your child into making some shallow, uninformed, false decision for Christ. You certainly don’t do that child any favors by creating a false assurance of salvation in the child.

If you do create such a false assurance, here’s what will probably happen. After your child makes that false decision, you will follow that up by getting the child baptized as soon as possible. Next, following that baptism, you will want the child to officially join the church membership roll. But that will be disastrous because both the baptism and the church membership will be a sham. In such a case, the church will get hurt because ideally each person on the church’s membership roll is a true Christian. And then also, the child will get hurt because he will grow up thinking that he is on the way to heaven when in reality he isn’t.

Of course, the age of accountability is different for each child. Anyone who knows children knows that children don’t mature at the same rate. That’s why I can’t tell you how old your child will be when he or she has the mental capability to genuinely believe in Christ as Savior. All I’m saying is, please don’t rush your child on this. There is far too much to lose by making this mistake.

And now, finally, my third and last statement on how parents should share the gospel with small children is this:

Statement #3: Parent, when you explain the plan of salvation to your child, keep it simple.

When you are giving your child the gospel, stay on topic and stick with the essentials. You don’t need to include a teaching on the Rapture. You don’t need to get into what the Bible says about bodily resurrection. You don’t need to try to explain election and predestination. You don’t need to bring up the topic of spiritual gifts. Just stick with the basic, vital, mandatory information.

  • The child is a sinner
  • Jesus is the Son of God
  • Jesus died to pay for the child’s sins
  • The child needs to believe in Jesus as Savior

On the other hand, don’t oversimplify things and pronounce the child a Christian when he or she isn’t. Just lay out the bare bones of the gospel and see how the child responds. Ask the child, “Do you understand this?” Even if the child says, “Yes,” don’t just take the child’s word for it. Quiz the child to see if he or she really does understand. If the understanding is there, then you can push on to the decision part. If the understanding isn’t there, the child is probably too young to grasp what you are saying. In other words, he or she hasn’t reached the age of accountability yet. But always, always, always, keep your presentation of the gospel simple.

Well, there is so much more that could be said on this subject, but I’m going to leave it all for someone else and go ahead and close out this post and this series. Parent, just know that your child’s salvation is THE most important goal in bringing up that child. It’s sad that so many parents put such careful thought and work into planning for their children’s college education, while those same parents give precious little attention to leading those children into saving belief in Christ.

What we need today are some parents like Lois and Eunice, parents who long to see their children become Christians and who understand how to create a home atmosphere wherein that can happen. In my opinion, if we had more parents like Lois, more children like Eunice would follow, and if we had more parents like Eunice, more children like Timothy would follow. You see, these are the kind of parents we need today, parents who are committed to seeing their children authentically saved. And I’m asking you right now, will you be such a parent? If you will, then may the Lord help you with the challenging task, and may your tribe joyfully increase.

Posted in Baptism, Belief, Children, Church Attendance, Evangelism, Parenting, Salvation, Series: "Parenting", Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments