If we must be truthful to ourselves and look around Christendom
today, we cannot but wonder if the standards of God had been lowered. Several
teachings have diluted the word of God, others have taken God’s word out of
their contextual meanings entirely; in fact new bibles carrying these strange
teachings now abound in the market. One hilarious teaching is that there is no
hell and even the devil will be saved at the end! As a child of God carrying
the Spirit of the Lord Most High, one wonders if we are still worshiping the
same God! Jesus Christ in Matthew 5 gave the code of conduct of those that
desire to reign with Him. The beatitudes as they are called are not qualities
that one may have or choose from as you would in a grocery shop! They are
character qualities of a heaven-bound child of God. They are to be the basis of
our virtues and ethics that will in-turn enable us be ready citizens of heaven.
They form the foundation of an authentic Christ-like life. As profound as they
are, imbedded in them are ‘codes of conduct’ of all who desire eternity in God.
They are the character qualities that we must imbibe because in them are
secrets we all need to understand in order to inherit eternal life. Let’s take
a look at two of the codes for now.
Firstly, Mathew 5:3 says “Blessed
(happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous – with life-joy and
satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward
conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant),
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (AMP). A person who is poor in
spirit is one who understands his need for the Savior and his need for
forgiveness. They are humble enough to realize that on their own there is
nothing they could contribute to receiving the kingdom of God or to receive anything
in this world for that matter. In essence, they are nothing without Jesus
Christ! They are humble before God, hopelessly reliant on God. They are not
self-righteous and pretentious. A doctrine was actually coined out of this
because it was viewed from the terms of financial and material possession. Such
believe that for anyone to truly inherit the kingdom of God, they must be
without worldly possessions. This interpretation is sadly not true! King David
spoke in this vein by the Spirit, when he declared: “Riches and honor come from
You, and You are the ruler of everything. In Your hand are power and might, and
it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all” (1Chronicles 29:
12).
Secondly, "Blessed
and enviably happy [with a happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor
and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those
who mourn, for they shall be comforted” Matthew 5:4 (AMP). Jesus is
speaking about those who mourn over the damning effects of sin on humanity:
those that are saddened by the ravaging effects of sin and darkness upon the
souls of men. The truth is, if you do not feel this pain, to effectively
witness for Jesus will be insincere. Jesus Christ by this is mandating potential
citizens of heaven to intercede on the behalf of people and communities, in witnessing,
prayers, fasting and acts of love. Why is this so important today? Because we
can no longer judge the worth of a person’s faith or calling by the measure of
great physical displays and manifestation of spiritual gifts but only through
the fruits of such a life (Matthew 7: 15-23). Strength is released to you as
you desire this in the name of Jesus Christ. God bless you.
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