Sorta moved this over from another thread by Ironside coz its
all talking about The Beatitudes
Hungering and Thirsting for righteousness
Mt 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Our text readily divides itself into three: a) The promise of
blessedness, b) the characteristics of those who will be blessed
and c) the reason why they are blessed.
I. The promise of blessedness:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, For they shall be filled.
II. The kind of persons who will be blessed:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, For they shall be filled.
II. The reason why they will be blessed:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
I. The promise of blessedness:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, For they shall be filled.
A. The meaning of the word Blessed
The text that we have here is a text of promise. It promised
Blessedness to anyone who possesses the characteristics stated in
our text above. What does Blessed mean? Blessed means Happy. The
text could be rendered: Happy are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness for they shall be filled. The text promises true
divine happiness. Who are those who will be truly happy?
II. The kind of persons who will be blessed:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, For they shall be filled.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are the persons who
are promised true happiness. The words hunger and thirst for
righteousness denotes strong desire for righteousness. It pictures
a person in need of righteousness as if the person will suffer
terribly if unsatisfied.
.
A. The Tense of the verbs
The tense of the words hunger and thirst are in the present
tense. Present tenses in Greek are actions that are continuing and
progressing.
Continuing- this persons hunger and thirst for righteousness is
not a one time event only. It is an on-going and continuing desire
for righteousness.
Progressing- his hunger and thirst for righteousness does not wane
over time. On the contrary, it intensifies [progresses] the longer
it remains unsatisfied.
B. The Mood of the verbs
The mood of the words hunger and thirst are in the participle
in Greek. Participles are those verbs ending in ING like : running,
walking, talking and etc. Actually, the verse is actually
saying:
Blessed are those who [are continually and progressively]
hungerING and thirstING for righteousness, For they shall be
filled.
The use of the participle combined with the present tense with
regards to the verbs hungering and thirsting, accentuates and
emphasizes the kind of hungering and thirsting the Lord Jesus is
talking here. This signifies an intense kind of hungering and
thirsting for righteousness.
An Illustration
Picture a man trudging alone in the desert with the hot beams of
the sun scorching him to thirst and hunger. Tired, weary, hungry
and thirsty, he wades through the sandy desert with a heavy step
dragging his body forward. His mouth is dry with thirst, his
clothes are drenched with his own sweat, his face is ruddy red with
the heat of the sun. Imagine his thirst for water and hunger for
food. It is constant, intense and intensifying, continuing and
progressing. Imagine the unspeakable delight and happiness he would
experience if he found water at last. Thats the feeling of the
person here we are considering in our study. Only it speaks of
hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
C. The kind of righteousness referred
Righteousness here is not just any other righteousness for in the
original, there is a definite article before the word
righteousness. The original reads somewhat like this:
Blessed are those who [are continually and progressively]
hungerING and thirstING for THE righteousness, For
they shall be filled.
The righteousness referred here refers to divine and perfect
righteousness.
III. The reason why they will be blessed:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
The reason is stated why those who hunger and thirst for THE
righteousness will blessed. The reason is that this kind of
hungering and thirsting will not be in vain. This kind of hungering
and thirsting will be filled and be satisfied.
We have desires in us that do not find certainty that it will be
satisfied, in fact many of them. But theres one kind of desire and
craving that will surely find satisfaction, and that is the desire
for THE righteousness spoken of here in our text.
A. The voice of the verb filled
The verb filled is in the passive voice. This means that it is
not us who will satisfy or fulfill this desire. It is somebody
outside of ourselves. And who do you think this person will
be?
Ro 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and
it was accounted to him for righteousness."
God is the one who imputes righteousness to the soul desiring
righteousness. It is based on the Lord Jesus work on
Calvary.
Perfect Righteousness from God based on the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ on the cross could either be IMPUTED OR IMPARTED. God
however, gives us both.
Imputed righteousness is justification. He puts into the account of
the sinner the righteousness of Christ.
Imparted righteousness is sanctification. This refers to practical
righteousness. He makes us more and more like Christ who is
righteous.
My friend are you hungering and thirsting for righteousness? Its
in Christ Jesus. When He died on the cross for the sins of sinners,
He died for us so that we might have perfect righteousness. Find
your satisfaction in Him. Many people do it the wrong way. They do
righteousness so that they can be declared righteous by God. But
that is not how God works. He declares you first as righteous
before you can do true and genuine righteousness. You must first be
imputed perfect and divine righteousness before you can be imparted
perfect and divine righteousness.
How can you be imputed perfect righteousness? By receiving Christ
through trusting in what He did for you in Calvary.
How can you be imparted perfect righteousness? By Letting Christ
live His life in you.
Repent, change your attitude about sin [abhor sin and desire
perfect righteousness], change your attitude about God [He should
be revered], change your attitude about self [you cant save
yourself youre a sinner], come to Christ, trust in Him alone for
perfect righteousness!!!! What have you got to lose?
