Bible Study - Class meets on Thursday from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM CST.

[LadyLionness]

As stated earlier, the Sermon on the Mount introduces a series of 5 important discourses recorded in Matthew.  The Sermon on the Mount is the first discourse.  Each discourse ends with a variabtion of this phrase:  "when Jesus had ended these sayings" (Matt 7:28) - that becomes a motif signally a new narrative potion.  Chapters 1-4 of Matthew served as a long opening.  

The Sermon on the Mount si a masterful expoistion of the law and a potent assult on Pharisaci legalism, closing with a call to true faith and salvation.  Christ expounded the full meaning of the law, showing that its demands were humanly impossible.  This is the proper use of the law in respect to salvation.

It closes off every possible avenue of human merit and leaves sinners dependent on nothing but divine grace for salvation.

Christ plumbed the depth of the law, showing that it's true demands went far beyond the surface meaning of the words and set a standard that is higher than the most diligent students of the law had heretofore realized. 

[WindComeWindBlow]

I'm here.

[LadyLionness]

5:3
Blessed.  The word literally means "happy, fortunate, blissful."  Here it speaks of more than a surface emotion.  Jesus was describing the divinely-bestowed well-being that belongs only to the faithful.  The Beatitudes demonstrate that the way to heavenly blessedness is antithetical to the worldly path normally followed in pursuit of happiness.  The worldly idea is that happiness is found in riches, merriment, abunadnce, leisure, and such things.  

The real truth is the very oppoiste.  The Beatitudes give Jesus' description of the character of true faith.  

Poor in spirit - The opposite of self-sufficiently.  This speaks of the deep humility of recognizing one's utter spiritual bankruptcy apart from God.  It describes those who are acutely conscious of their own lostness and hopelessness apart from divine grace.  

For example, in Matthew 19:16-22, the rich young ruler wanted to know how he could get to heaven, Jesus taught him that all but God are sinners.  He wanted to show the young man that his most serious defect was his reluctance to confess his own utter spiritual banruptcy.  

By saying that if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments, Jesus wanted to impress on the young man both the high standard required by God and the absolute futility of seeking salvation by hiw own merit.  This should have elicited a reskponse about the impossibility of keeping the law perfectly - like the disciples' response in Matthew 19:25 - but instead, the young man confidently delcared that he qualified for heaven under those terms.  The self-righteous young man would not admit to his own sin.

Second example of knowing one's own spiritual bankruptcy was the tax collector in Luke 18:13.  The tax collector's humility is notable in everything about his posture and behavior.  Here was a man who had been made to face the reality of his own sin, and his oly resposne was abject humility and repentance.  He contrasts with the Pharisee in virtually every detail.  He had no hope but the mercy of God.  This is the poin to which the law aims to bring and made clear to every sinner.  

[LadyLionness]

I'm here.

Hi, Wind.  How are you today?

[LadyLionness]

Matt 5:3 con't

...theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is an expression unique to Matthew's gospel.  Matthew uses the word "heaven" as a euphemism for God's name - to accommodate his Jewish reader's sensitivities.  The kingdom is now manifest in heaven's spiritual rule over the hearts of believers.  Jesus was teaching that the kingdom is a gift to those who sense their own poverty of spirit.

[LadyLionness]

Matt 5:4

...those who mourn.  This speaks of mourning over sin, the godly sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation without regret.  The "comfort" is the comfort of forgiveness and salvation.

[LadyLionness]

Dear Lord,

There is so much to learn and we are grateful that you make it possible.  You inspired your WORD to be written down for us, in the form of a love letter... so that we will always know and will always have the answer at our finger tips... if we so chooses.  You also send your son, Christ Jesus to come and walk among us, showing us and teaching us... what we need to learn, know, and to show us exactly how much you love us... enough that you would lay down your very own life and die for us.  Lord, you went even further and send down your spirit, the Holy Spirit, to live in the hearts of each believer -- who believes with their hearts, confessions with their mouth... and strive to live a sanctify life according to your teachings -- to teach them, reveal the truth to them, and the lead them to you, Lord God.  To say thank you seems so insignificant in light of the magnitude of your love and your grace.  Please continue to lead this small group of faithful believers and continue to teach us.  All this I pray in Jesus' name ... Amen.

[LadyLionness]

Just as I thought... lolz.  Was afraid we might not get through all of Chapter 5 this week.  There is so many good points in this chapter.

Let's try to finish off Chapter 5 this week so that we can begin with Chapter 6 and 7 next week. 

~LadyL

[LadyLionness]

Happy Sunday, Guys!  Hope y'all doing well!!

[WindComeWindBlow]

Hi LL,

For our Bible Study group we read Romans 5.  I was still a little puzzled after the reading and discussion.  Could you break it down for me?  When you have time, babe.  Thank you.

Wind

[LadyLionness]

My second point on my last post about opening minds and debate was not for your but for everyone who is in here and saying this and that so just want to point to them and not for your per se..
 
I believe that what we have is what we work for and nothing is given to us by God....and if what you say is true, and let just say it is then I would like to keep 100% for myself to use because yeah, I'm selfish...

AND that's fine... b/c he did give you free will... to do as you wish... the only thing is... when you run out... then you are out... but when you only use 90% and invest the other 10%... God will give you back the dividends... and interests... which could be triple, quadruple... there is no limit to God's power...
 
*Hey... that's a great analogy...if I may say so myself... gonna keep that somewhere and use it to explain tithing...

[LadyLionness]

Since I did not get a chance to finish up Matt Chapter 5, we will continue where we left off.  I hope you guys will come and share your insights as this chapter had always baffle me...

[LadyLionness]

Heavenly Father,
 
We come before you today, to be in your presence and to study your words.  Please be with us, open our hearts, our mind, and give us the gift of wisdom and knowledge so that we may understand  your words and live it.  All this I pray in the name of my Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.  Amen.

[LadyLionness]

Matt 5:4

...those who mourn.  This speaks of mourning over sin, the godly sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation without regret.  The "comfort" is the comfort of forgiveness and salvation.

2Corinthians 7:10
For Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
"Godly sorrow" refers to sorrow that is according to the will of God and produced by the Holy Spirit.  2 Timomthy 2:25 says that "in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentacne, so that they may know the truth,"  ... primarily unbelievers (those who are the captives of Satan as mentioned in verse 26) but also include believers deceived by the "foolish and ignorant" speculations of the false teacher and possibly, the false teachers themselves.  God ... will grant them repentance.  All true repentance is produced by God's sovereign grace, and without such grace, human effort to chagne is futile. 
 
True repentance cannot occur apart from such a genuine sorrow over one's sin.  The word "leading" is supplied by the translators; Paul was saying that repentance belongs to the realm or sphere of salvation.  Repentance is at the very ehart of and proves one's salvation:  unbelievers repent of their sin initially when they are saved, and then as believers, repent of their sins continually to keep the joy and blessing of their relationship to God. 
...sorrow of the word produces death... Human sorrow is unsanctified remorse and has no redemptive capability.  It is nothing more than the wounded pride of getting caught in sin and having one's lusts go unfulfilled.  That kind of sorrow leads only to guilt, shame, despair, depression, self-pity, and hopelessness.  People can die from such sorrow.
 
Isaiah 40:1,2 says that the "comfort" is the comfort of forgiveness and salvation. 

[LadyLionness]

Matthew 5:5 the meek
 
Meekness is the opposite of being out of control.  It is not weakness, but supreme self-control empowered by the Spirit as stated in Galatians 5:23... "gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law."  Gentleness... better translated "meekness" is a humble and gentle attitude that is patiently submissive in every offense, while having no desire for revenge or retribution.  In the New Testament, it is used to describe 3 attitudes:  submission to the will of God (Collosian 3:12), teachability (James 1:5,6), and consideration of others (Ephesians 4:2). 
 
Self-control refers to restraining passions and appetites as instructed in 2 Peters 1:5,6... "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindess love.