Spiritual Poverty
I am
studying the Sermon on the Mount this week from Matthew 5-7. This is the most famous sermon ever
delivered. The Lord gathered His
disciples together, went up a mountain, sat down, and opened His mouth to teach
them. Jesus’ healing ministry was important. All of the miracles were definitely
significant and validating. However, the
Gospels and all of the New Testament letters make clear that the ministry of
the word, preaching, is the chief aspect of Gospel ministry. Jesus was never content to only meet physical
needs. The Lord spoke to the hearts of
the people. He spoke to the spiritual
needs of the multitudes. They may have
been hungry, or hurting, or poor, but, more than that, they were in danger of
the wrath to come without the work of God in their lives. This life does not last forever. It is very brief. We need hope for the future, and we need to
know how to pass through the judgment by the grace of God. We also need to know how to live in this life
due to our future prospects. We need to
know how we can be light to our dark world.
The one
theme that stands out from the Sermon and runs throughout comes from the first
line that Jesus speaks after He opens His mouth: “Blessed are the poor in spirit. . . .”
The first step into the Christian experience . . . the first step toward
salvation is a realization and confession of our own spiritual poverty. The kind of person who knows his/her
spiritual bankruptcy is the kind of person who is “blessed” of God, that is,
satisfied in and approved by God. This
is the starting point for the new birth.
We have to know God’s holiness and our sinfulness.
Have you
come to this realization? Have you
confessed this reality? If you have been
a Christian for several years, do you still understand this truth? More can certainly be said, but we will leave
it here for now.