Blessed are those who are persecuted because of Righteousness
Matthew 5:10-12
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Slide
Good morning.
We are a week away from Easter and this is the day that is known as Palm Sunday when we remember Jesus coming into Jerusalem.
Even as we have just partaken of Communion remembering what Jesus has done for us by dying on the cross to pay for our sins by sacrificing his body and shedding his blood, while we remember that, Jesus lived knowing that was coming.
As he was heading to Jerusalem, He told them again what would happen to Him.
Matthew 20:18-19
18 "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"
And even while he knew what awaited Him, we are told that He “resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)
He did this because He had come into the world to bring salvation (John 12:47), and to do that he needed to make atonement, not for His sins, but for the sins of the world. (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17).
For those who are Christians here today, we understand that. We know that intellectually, but I think sometimes we read the words that he was “to be mocked and flogged and crucified” so many times, that we forget or maybe never even think about what that really means and what he really suffered for us.
Not only was he spit upon, insulted, ridiculed and mocked, but the physical torture he endured was unbelievable. If you have seen “The Passion of the Christ” you understand the brutality that was endured.
The scene in the Passion where he endures the scourging is near unbearable to watch because it is so brutal. But, that is what we must understand if we are truly going to recognize the absolute love that Jesus has for us. He was willing to suffer the unbearable for you.
But even more so, after the brutality of that beating, He suffered even more, when He took the sin of the world upon his shoulders and suffered an eternities worth of separation from the Father as He turned His back on the sin that His Son took upon Himself.
Jesus knew, long before He suffered both the physical suffering and the suffering of our eternal punishment, that it was coming.
He understood this as He began his ministry.
He understood this as he loved people.
He understood this as the people turned against him at the end and cried out Crucify Him!
Even as He began the Sermon on the Mount, He knew what was coming, He knew the persecution and suffering He would endure.
We need to understand this, because even as Christ has removed the suffering of separation from God that we deserve, we are still going to face suffering and persecution in this life, even when we are doing the right thing, the things God wants us to do.
Jesus knew that and even wanted us to be prepared for it.
Turn with me to Matthew 5:10-12
We will finish up this series in the beatitudes today. As we have gone through these beatitudes, we have seen that they often turned our thinking upside down.
We would not expect blessing from so many of the things Jesus mentioned. And we certainly would not associate blessing with what we are going to look at today.
Read with me
Slide
Matthew 5:10-12
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Pray.
Blessed are those who are persecuted?
Persecution sure doesn’t seem to be part of the blessed life.
We tend to think the blessed life would include everyone liking you.
Now it is important that we understand that it is not just because people are persecuting you that makes you blessed. It is the reason that people are persecuting you that brings blessing.
Persecution for Righteousness, not rudeness
There are some people, some people who claim to be Christians in fact, who are offensive, and rude, and people don’t like them, and they think they are being persecuted and will receive blessing.
The fact is that they are not being persecuted because of righteousness, but because they are offensive and rude. There is no blessing in that.
But as we strive to live our life for the Lord, living it the way he wants us to, acting in love toward others, but not following the crowd, we are going to face persecution.
Now this is somewhat counter intuitive to us.
We raise our kids to understand that doing the right thing will be good for them.
We would think that doing the right thing, the thing the Lord wants us to do, should bring blessing, not persecution.
How is persecution a blessing to us?
Just as we need to teach our kids that doing right will not always produce immediate rewards, but it is still beneficial in the long run, living righteously, while sometimes is going to bring persecution, will bring blessing in the long run, in eternity for us.
Throughout the Bible Jesus tells us that we are going to face difficult times on this earth, but we need to live in His strength and power to live the way He wants us to, and trust that our reward is in eternity, not in this life.
Transition
So this morning, as we have been doing, we are going to delve into this beatitude a little deeper and look closer at Righteousness as well as some of the persecution we can expect in this world so we are prepared and strengthened to endure
to the glory of God and
to our eternal benefit and blessing.
Now, there are a couple things that we need to understand about Righteousness.
First, we need to understand that
Righteousness is received from the Lord through Faith
Slide
We need to understand that we aren’t getting persecuted for our own Righteousness, or what would really be known as self righteousness.
The persecution that brings blessing is the persecution we receive for being in relationship with the Lord.
Jesus equated being righteous and being in relationship with Him as the same thing.
Look at
Matthew 5:10-11
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
We receive righteousness as a gift when we enter into relationship with Jesus.
A few weeks ago, when we talked about hungering and thirsting for righteousness, we saw that the only righteousness that matters in our life is the one that comes from God through faith.
Romans 3:20-22
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
So the persecution that brings blessing is because we are in a relationship with Jesus, because we are Christian.
Secondly, we need to understand that this righteousness we receive from Jesus is going to be displayed in our life through obedience.
Righteousness is displayed in our Life through obedience
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Because we are followers of Jesus, because we are in a relationship with Him, our lives are going to be transformed and we are going to live differently.
A relationship with Christ changes us and that change is going to show in our lives.
We are not going to be living the same lives that we did before we came into relationship with Christ. That is not possible. Change will happen.
Listen to what Romans 6:20-22
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Romans 6:20-22
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
When we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, we are set free from the control of sin and we have the ability, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to follow God.
His Spirit works inside of us to bring conviction when we are not living how he wants us to. He is there to guide us to live righteously because we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves of God, followers of His.
And the evidence of us being either slaves to sin or slaves to God, is the fruit, either the lack or abundance of, that is produced in our life.
He tells us that we will recognize a tree by its fruit.
Those who are in a relationship with Christ and have received His Righteousness, will bear the fruit of righteousness.
And as we bear that fruit and live in obedience to Christ, we will face persecution.
What will this persecution because of Righteousness look like in our lives?
Slide
Well, Jesus talks about that in verse 11.
First we see that
Christians will be persecuted through Verbal Insults
Matthew 5:11a
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you…
We are going to face people insulting us verbally. No matter how we respond to people, because we follow Christ, we are going to face this.
Naïve – Abstinence vs. “safe sex”
Christians have been called naïve and worse because we believe and encourage Christ’s teaching regarding abstinence until marriage rather than “safe sex.”
In this day of so many STD’s and unwanted pregnancies, you would think that people would see the wisdom of following Christ instead of our desires and appetites.
Intolerant – Christ the only way to Heaven
Christians have been called intolerant because they believe and follow what Christ said that He is the only way to heaven and that nobody can get into heaven except if they are a follower of His.
It is not intolerant, it is due to a loving God that we have any way to get to heaven. Without Him, we would all be lost.
Now, I do believe that sometimes we face verbal insults, not for our being a Christian and our following Christ, but for the way we communicate. I have heard people who have claimed to be Christians and are just downright offensive in how they communicate, even if what they are communicating is true.
Facing persecution because we are rude brings no blessing, either now or in eternity.
But standing for truth and communicating in love will still bring persecution in this life, but it will also bring reward and blessing in eternity.
Now some people may say, “big deal about the verbal insults.”
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Well, I am not sure that I entirely agree that words will never hurt people, but the persecution that we face for being followers of Jesus will sometimes be with sticks and stones because
Christians will be persecuted through Physical Attacks
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Matthew 5:11b
11 "Blessed are you when people … persecute you
The word that is translated as persecute is “dioko” (dee oh koh). It means to pursue in a hostile manner; to harass, trouble, or molest.
This is a pursuit to harm physically.
We haven’t faced this too much in this country. We aren’t too often facing physical attacks because we are followers of Christ.
But throughout the centuries and around the world physical attacks have happened to people simply because they claim to be followers of Jesus and do the things He has commanded.
And these things He has commanded us are not killing others or hurting others, but seeking to tell them the gospel of Jesus Christ.
A google search of Christian persecution found this in the past week.
In Somalia, an Islamic militant group said they “aim to get rid of the barbaric and non-Islamic culture in the country," This was a few days after this group shot and killed a leader of an underground Christian church there. They burned and destroyed his home after killing him.
http://www.christianpersecution.info/index.php?view=7816
In countries like Iran, China, Vietnam, Nigeria, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and at least 20 other countries, physical attacks on people who claim Christianity and follow Jesus occur on a regular basis.
In a host of Islamic countries, it is a crime punishable by imprisonment and death to share your faith in Christ to other people.
And while we don’t experience this here too often yet, I believe we will at some point.
And we should not be surprised when we do.
Peter writes,
1 Peter 4:12-13
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12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
Christians will face persecution through physical attacks.
And we see that
Christians will be persecuted through False Accusations
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Matthew 5:11c - "Blessed are you when people … falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Jesus faced false accusations.
He was accused of subverting the nation.
He was accused of opposing paying taxes to Caesar. (Luke 23:2)
We, too, are going to face false accusations because we follow Christ.
You may be called homophobic because you believe the Bible calls homosexuality a sin.
You may be accused of being a killjoy because you won’t go out to get drunk.
You may be accused of being stupid because you won’t cheat on your taxes.
While the beliefs that we hold or the actions we take as Christians maybe be true, that accusations are false.
I don’t hate homosexuals just as I don’t hate heterosexuals engaging in sex outside of marriage.
I believe what Jesus teaches regarding sex, that it is designed to be between a man and woman within the bounds of marriage, and that following Christ is the way to live the full life with peace and joy in spite of circumstances.
So I speak the truth of those things in love, not because I hate sinners, I am one of them.
No, but I strive to speak the truth of the Bible because I love people and want to encourage people to follow Christ and change behavior that is ultimately detrimental to them.
Because of that, we are going to face persecution and false accusations.
Transition
Boy, this Christian life sounds great, doesn’t it? Follow Christ and be verbally insulted, physically attacked and falsely accused. Are you ready to sign on?
If this is what following Christ has in store for us, why should we become a Christian?
Matthew 5:12 - Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
We should follow Christ and endure this persecution because
Righteousness brings blessings that are eternal rather than temporary
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Living in Christ, receiving His righteousness and living in obedience to Him, while it will bring suffering and persecution now, it will bring blessing and reward in eternity.
If you could have $50,000 a day for a week or in a year have $500 a day forever, which would you choose?
If you choose the $50,000 a day for a week, you will have a good year, but probably a poor retirement. Ask a large portion of multimillion dollar lottery winners who have nothing today.
If you save for retirement today, you are forgoing short term spending for benefits in the long term, being able to live in retirement.
When we live Righteously in Christ, we are forgoing short term comfort and enduring suffering and persecution, but we will receive long term, eternal blessings.
Paul says in Romans 8:18,
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“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
And in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18,
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he says, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
The author of Hebrews tells us about Moses in Hebrews 11:24-26
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and says, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
We need to keep our eyes on the eternal looking ahead to our reward. If we follow Christ, if we come to receive Him as Savior, we will face persecution and suffering in this life, and we will forgo the very short term pleasures of sin, but we will receive an eternity in heaven and we will receive rewards even beyond that.
When we Receive Christ as Savior and follow Him in righteousness we will experience our eternity in heaven and store up rewards in heaven so that even now, we can “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”
Conclusion
Have you received Christ as Savior?
Are you ready to have your eternity set even if that means persecution now?
If you are, then if you haven’t received Christ as your Savior, then do that.
When you recognize your need for a Savior and believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, the promised Messiah that was to come, and you believe He died in your place, for your sins, and believe He rose from the dead, then do what the Bible tells us and Confess that belief with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and your belief that he died and rose again.
The Bible tells us that when we do that, we will have salvation.
And while we will face persecution, blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven and great is your reward.
Let’s pray.
