Now has anybody ever Slandered you For the sake of Jesus. Has anyone ever falsely accused you for the sake of Jesus? If you have experienced that, you know. How painful that can be. Our reputations are precious to us.
And it's very difficult to endure it when we are accused of things that we have not done. or of saying things that we have not said. That's painful. And so how in any way Can that be an occasion for blessedness? Notice what Jesus says: that when that happens, You're supposed to rejoice.
And be exceedingly glad. Hello, and welcome to this Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind. I'm Lee Webb. And over the past few Sundays, RC Sproll has been taking us through the Beatitudes, as recorded for us in the Sermon on the Mount. Today he explores how it is that those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake are considered blessed.
Let's join Dactress Broll Now. We're going to be looking again at the Beatitudes. in verses 10 through 12 in the fifth chapter of Matthew. Blessed are those who are persecuted. For righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom.
of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you. And say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad. For great is your reward in heaven.
For so they persecuted the prophets. who were before you. These last two Beatitudes that we've Read this morning. have a common theme. With respect to persecution.
And it has been said in church history that these two. are perhaps the most unexpected. Beatitudes in the list. Because people who endure The things that are mentioned here do not usually consider such experiences as occasions For blessedness. But let's look at them individually if we may.
Blessed are those who are persecuted. For righteousness' sake. For theirs Is the kingdom of heaven. Notice what this Beatitude does not say. It does not say Blessed are those who are persecuted.
Period. Because people in every Corridor of this world experience persecution of all sorts. But not always. For the sake of righteousness. Peter in the epistle focuses attention on the trials.
And sufferings that come in the path of Christian people. And he Emphasizes the point: it is one thing. To suffer. Because we've done evil. But it's quite another thing to suffer.
For doing what is Right. And in that regard we are merely Seeking to be imitators of Jesus Himself. Who suffered perhaps more? Hostility, loathing, and persecution than any single individual in the history of the world. And yet, every ounce of suffering.
That our Lord endured. was altogether For the sake of righteousness.
Now why would righteous behaviour Provoke Persecution Well, the answer to that is simple. Because the unrighteous in this world. cannot stand To behold Righteousness. We remember that those Who hated Jesus most fiercely? were the Pharisees.
Because they had a public pretense of righteousness. That was not real. Their sin. Chiefly involved the sin of hypocrisy. Because while they pretended righteousness, They were in fact unrighteous.
And they in their pretense of righteousness crucified The Son of Glory. Why? Because nothing Exposes The counterfeit. Faster Then the authentic. And when true righteousness appeared on this planet.
In the person of Jesus. The false righteousness of the Pharisees was exposed. for what it was and they He did it. On another occasion, in other contexts, I once told the congregation of a student I had. In my first year of teaching at the university, This young lady Had a four-point average, and in those were in the days where you couldn't.
exceed that four point average. She was brilliant. She was the perennial Person who broke the curve. And when She would break the curve. I noticed that the rest of the students did not cheer her.
for breaking the curve. Rather, they didn't like it. And she was called Goody. Two shoes. And in the second semester of her senior year, she took an examination for me, and when I graded her paper, She received an F.
And I thought there's something Strange going on here.
So I called her in and I said, What's with this examination? And she began to cry. And I said, You couldn't. Make these many wrong answers without knowing what the right answers were. Yeah.
And so this examination tells me that you flunked it deliberately. And she said, yes. I said, why? And she said, because she wanted to get married. And none of the guys would date her.
Because they thought that she was. too smart for them. And so. She made a pretense of failure.
So that she could be accepted. You see this woman in her way. had suffered Because she was doing what was right. You know what happens when Christians will not agree to participate in certain activities that are common with the world? Even if you don't say any word of rebuke to your non-Christian friends.
They will look at you askance and can call you. Holier than thou.
Now, that kind of persecution is not the kind of persecution that people around the world suffer for the sake of Christ, where they can lose their jobs and their lives. If they even publicly declare their allegiance to Jesus. But there are all different tiers and levels of persecution, and no Christian. Can go through life without receiving some. of these things.
Jesus goes into greater detail. In the next Beatitude. Listen to this. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you. And say all kinds of evil against you falsely.
For my sake. Here, what our Lord has in view is specifically the type of persecution that involves slander. Where you are reviled. Where you are falsely accused. And where people tarnish your reputation behind your back.
By accusing you of all kinds of things that you have not done. Again, the Beatitude does not say, Blessed are you when men revile you. And speak all manner of evil against you falsely and persecute you, period. But the blessing is promised when these things happen. For Jesus' sake.
When that happens. You are blessed.
Now has anybody ever Slandered you. For the sake of Jesus. Has anyone ever falsely accused you for the sake of Jesus? If you have experienced that, you know. How painful that can be.
Our reputations are precious to us. And it's very difficult to endure it when we are accused of things that we have not done. or of saying things that we have not said. That's painful. And so how in any way Can that be an occasion for blessedness?
Notice what Jesus says: that when that happens, You're supposed to rejoice. And be exceedingly glad. That's one of the most difficult things in the world to be. the object of slander, and be glad about it. I'll never forget one of the most traumatic experiences I ever had.
As a student in seminary, took place when I was selected by the seminary to give the sermon. In chapel. On the day that was the annual Day when the whole presbytery would convene in the chapel. And all the ministers from some 200 churches would be there, along with the student body of the seminary and the faculty. It was a great honor.
to be selected for that. And I was shocked because Theologically I was in the smallest conceivable Minority among the seminary students. And I remember on that occasion Preaching On the doctrine of sin. And in the context of that sermon, I mentioned that As a student I had learned That sin was an existential failure to achieve authentic existence. I had learned that sin And the final analysis was simply A matter of finitude Something that is a necessary component of creatureliness.
And thirdly, I had learned in the seminary that sin was simply a psychological malady. A type of psychological neurosis. And I said that day. To the faculty, to the staff, to the students, and to the presbytery. I said, I agree that we struggle with all three of these things.
Who among us? Is not neurotic to some degree. Certainly every one of us is finite. We know that. And we understand the limitations that go with finitude.
And if we were to have. Our personal character examined, it would seem as if we're doing everything in our power. To undermine any authenticity of existence we might have as. Existential beings. I said, but not one of these things individually.
Or three of them collectively even begin to touch the biblical understanding. Of the nature of sin. Which is a violation. Of the holiness of God. It is a transgression of his law.
Which such transgression cannot be minimized. By explaining it away in psychological categories. of neuroses. Existential categories of inauthenticity. Or reducing it simply To finitude.
That was basically the essence of that sermon. When the sermon was finished. And I stepped down from the pulpit. There was a rush from the student body that came forward to me. And the students, most of which were liberal in their thinking.
Came to me Moved And excited about the sermon that they had heard. And they told me, they said, boy, that was just what we needed to hear. And it was great. And they're all that. And I was amazed.
I said, I thought they wanted Tor and feather me.
Well, not all of them were happy. And as I made my way to the back of the chapel, The Dean of the Seminary. Came up to me and he was irate. To say the least. His face was red.
His face was contorted with rage. And he began to yell at me, and in front of the whole Presbytery, in front of the whole student body, he physically pushed me up against the back of the wall. And said, you have distorted. Every truth of Protestantism In that sermon this morning. I mean, can you imagine this as your senior?
And publicly, the dean physically throws you against the wall. With that kind of an accusation, I I was devastated. And I walked out of there and I said. Did I really distort? Historic Protestantism.
So I went upstairs to see my mentor, Dr. Gerstner. And I walked into his office. and I told him what had just happened. And he broke out in a grin and he said, Oh, Rubetter Toe.
He said, This is your Blessed day. I said, really? He said, You should be exceedingly glad. I said, I don't feel very glad. Right now.
And I said, well, Dr. Garrison, did I distort? Reformed theology in that sermon? And he looked at me and he said, RC or Roberto, he said, every. Calvinist from John Calvin to B B Warfield.
Are rejoicing in heaven this morning for what they heard out of that pulpit. And he said. You're blessed. That people revived you. Four.
Christ's sake. Obviously I never forgot that. Because as I said Sure, didn't feel very happy. I sure didn't feel very blessed. But in a very small way, not anything to be compared with the.
Heroic behavior that Christians have had to do when they've endured trials and tribulations throughout church history. At least on that occasion. I was able to experience the wrath of men For the sake of the truth. of God. But we don't want to leave this Beatitude without going.
to the next section. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great. is your reward In heaven The whole concept of rewards is something. That we often struggle with. We put so much emphasis That we are justified by faith alone and not by works.
That we sometimes tend to despise whatever works we may be able to. Achieve. And we don't think in terms of Getting into heaven on the basis of merit, because we can't get into heaven on the basis of merit except on the basis of the merit of Christ and Christ alone.
Well, since Christ is our only merit to get us into heaven. What is this business here? about having a great reward in heaven.
Well, there are at least 25 texts in the New Testament that teach, dear friends. That the rewards that will be distributed by Christ in his kingdom in heaven will be distributed according. To our works. What? That our rewards will be distributed.
What I said. According To our works. Again, getting there. It's by faith alone. The reward we experience once we're there.
will be based upon The works that we do in this world.
Now, again. We are justified not by works, but we are justified by faith unto works. That those who are justified are called to live fruitful, godly lives. That produce Good works. And the production of those works will be the basis by which our rewards will be.
Received. And you say, Well, I thought it was all by grace.
Well Augustine put it this way. That when God rewards us for the works that we do. Even the works that we do as Christians are so tainted by sin that they are, as Augustine said, at best. splendid vices. The best work that you ever do will not deserve a reward in heaven.
Nevertheless, even though we won't deserve it. We will receive it. And Augustine used this way of describing that: that when God distributes rewards to his people in heaven. He will be crowning. His Yeah.
Gifts. Isn't that beautiful? That even the work that you do that is pleasing his side is because he has gifted you to do it. And because you do it. It is only by grace that you're able to do it.
And so that good work merits nothing? Yet, God's grace goes beyond the initial grace. To crown that gift. Wiss Reward And the reward that is promised there Is a future one. Though, if we look at the last clause of this Beatitude, you will see.
That there is a Present. Reward Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. Comma. For so they persecuted the prophets. who were before you.
Do you realize that If you are slandered in this world for the sake of Christ. For righteousness' sake. You will indeed receive a great reward when you get into heaven, but even now. You will be numbered. Among the prophets of the Old Testament whom the Bible says The world was not Worthy.
Even now in God's sight. You will be included in that. Select Company. Of those who have gone before us. who have tasted the same slander, Who have tasted the same revulsion?
Who have said. As Jeremiah did. I am in derision. Daily. And God's sight if you experience this You're in the company of Jeremiah.
And of Isaiah and Ezekiel and Daniel. Amos, Micah, Hosea. All the prophets. who have gone before you that is splendid company in which to be numbered.
So that the reward is not future only. but comes to us even now. If we understand The blessed way in which our Lord looks at us. That was RC Sproll on this Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind. Thank you for being with us today.
Today's sermon was one of many that doctor Sprul preached as he worked his way through Matthew's Gospel. and those sermons were brought together to form his expositional commentary on Matthew. To thank you for your donation in support of Renewing Your Mind, we will be glad to send you a hardcover copy of that commentary. You can give your gifts securely online at renewingyourmind.org or by using the link in the podcast show notes. and thank you for your support.
We have concluded Jesus' pronouncements of blessing or benediction, and the Sermon on the Mount now turns to how we should live in light of those blessings and promises. And that's where Dr. Sprull will pick up next Sunday here. on Renewing Your Mind.
