THE EIGHT BEATITUDES OF JESUS

Paul calls for the obedience of faith in the beginning and end of his Letter to the Romans 1: The following are ways to be merciful to others as well as to be obedient in faith to Christ our Savior. But Jesus says the pure of heart shall see God! To be pure of heart means to be free of all selfish intentions and self-seeking desires. What a beautiful goal! How many times have any of us performed an act perfectly free of any personal gain? Such an act is pure love.

An act of pure and selfless giving brings happiness to all. Peace is also a fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5: Peacemakers not only live peaceful lives but also try to bring peace and friendship to others, and to preserve peace between God and man. But one cannot give another what one does not possess oneself. Praying for peace will help change your heart. The Lord wants you first to be filled with the blessings of peace and then to pass it on to those who have need of it.

By imitating God's love of man, the peacemakers become children of God. The biblical passage continues to elaborate: Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you" Matthew 5: Jesus said many times that those who follow Him will be persecuted. Before his Conversion , Saul persecuted the early Church in Jerusalem, which scattered the Christians throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria Acts 8: Peter advised "Whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name" I Peter 4: The Woman who brought forth the male child destined to rule all nations with an iron rod was persecuted in Revelation Stephen, Peter and Paul, nearly all of the Apostles, and many Christians in the Roman era suffered martyrdom.

Maximilian Kolbe offered his life in place of a stranger at the Auschwitz death camps on August 14, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor who was hanged on April 9, for condemning the leadership of Hitler in Nazi Germany. Another Central American martyr was Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, who was assassinated while saying Mass at Divine Providence Hospital on March 24, for speaking out against government human rights violations.

Middle Eastern Christians have suffered severe persecution since the crises in Iraq and Syria. In July the terrorist Islamic State marked remaining Christian homes in Mosul with the Arabic letter Noon - for Nazarene, Nasrani, or Nasara - and advised residents that they have 24 hours to leave, convert to Islam, or die.

The Imitation Of Christ

Sixty thousand Christians in Mosul have been displaced from their homes, and over one million Christians have fled Iraq since the beginning of the Iraq War in It is estimated that the present turmoil in Syria has resulted in over , Christian refugees escaping to Jordan, Lebanon, and other Middle Eastern countries. But the Lord promised those that suffer for his sake will be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven! Ignatius Press, San Francisco, The Lord's Prayer and The Beatitudes. The Lord's Sermon on the Mount.


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Doubleday, New York, But what does God call us to do when we are falsely accused or persecuted for righteousness? He does not tell us to hurl back a brick to get even. God does not tell us to hate our neighbor. He does not call us to lash out and accuse. No, the contrary is called for. We are to do several things: First, we are to rejoice and be exceedingly—not a little! We are to put our full trust in God and know that he is more Just than all the powers of the world, and he will work his purposes out.

Do you think that Christ was ignorant of all the pain ahead of him? But he was to follow this commend, and rejoice. We do all this, knowing that the prophets before you were treated the same way. And often we try to avoid that. That human nature must be crucified or else such avoidance will naturally occur. Christ was persecuted for righteousness.

In all of history no one has ever been persecuted more for less of an offense. And when he tells us to rejoice and be glad when this happens, you are in great company.

ON THE BEATITUDES

Note also how Christ receives all the rewards of each of these! To him supremely is given the kingdom of heaven; he is comforted; he is filled; he is blessed. These eight virtues are qualities that are often despised by the world. Jesus is turning worldly thinking on its head. He is teaching us to see things as God sees them. These Sermon on the Mount beatitudes are not virtues honored by the world. These are weaknesses from which worldlings recoil. Power, war-making, the ability to control, the ability to inflict pain——these are the qualities respected and sought by the world. From them flow the influence described by Jesus as salt 5: The key to eternal significance is not to be found in techniques, in programs, or in wise management.

The key is character. Influence flows from virtue. As one pastor pointed out in his Work of the Pastor , an education you can get. Godliness is much more difficult to come by. Christ our Lord not only taught these, but he also lived them. The best example of these first truths in the first gospel is Christ himself. The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support.

The Imitation of Christ 2 of 5

God provides rest for His people, yet the way we rest on Sunday remains a divisive issue in the Church. At that point, people belong in a different way to themselves and in a different way to God. They take on a new way of being and a new way of belonging. This way of life cannot exist without a calling from God. It is a gift of God, freely given, for the sanctification of the person, the service of the Church and the building up of the Kingdom of God.

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Jesus calls people to follow him. It is a radical following of Jesus, a following that is from the roots upwards. It suggests a commitment that involves the whole person. It points to the idea of total self-giving to a worthy cause, to a belief, or to a person.

THE EIGHT BEATITUDES OF JESUS

In fact, we can find numerous examples around us of this kind of commitment -in families, in the caring professions, in public life, even in sporting associations. In the religious sphere, this commitment is to the imitation of Christ who is the greatest example for us. When it came to the ultimate price, the ultimate proof of his own commitment to the will of the Father, he did not draw back.

His was a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. Our salvation and fulfilment in life comes through our following of Christ. This following is based on our closeness to Christ, our reliance on his help, and our imitation of his virtues. It is firstly our closeness to Christ that defines this following. By this closeness we allow ourselves to be influenced by him whereby we become more like him. In this way our life becomes a life of obedience, poverty and chastity.