Date: 8-30-98

Text: Matthew 5:4

"Blessed are those who mourn"

Matthew 5:4 (NASB) {4} "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

I have shared with you many times the two meanings of the word blessed. The word, first of all, speaks of being "happy." "Happy are those who mourn." Secondly it speaks of God doing something to and for man. God blesses us and we are different because of it. So, the happiness spoken of in our text is the direct result of having been blessed or interfered with by God. God has intervened in this sinners life so that even in the midst of mourning he is happy.

What a strange statement, "Blessed are those who mourn." What does the world think of a statement like this? I dare say they think it's stupid, ridiculous and contradictory. The world around us, including great segments of the modern day church, sees no value in mourning whatsoever. Rather, their days are spent pursuing entertainment's or some other distraction that will keep them from any kind of mourning or sorrow. We are led to believe that the best thing for man is that he never experience any kind of misery.

The word mourn means to lament, to wail, to be in the midst of great grief and travail. The word can be used to describe the experience of a woman about to give birth. We mourn in a different way over the loss of a loved one or the coming of some tragedy into our lives. But this is not the kind of mourning Christ refers to. Rather, it is a personal grieving and mourning over one's sins against the Holy God.

This mourning is the direct result of having been blessed with the knowledge of one's sins. This makes a person "poor in spirit." Which is to say he is no longer proud and self confident. He has been humbled by the knowledge of his sin and rebellion against God. The vision of his personal wretchedness causes him to mourn and grieve over the things he has done, said, and thought. In the midst of this holy grief he flees to Christ for forgiveness and salvation. Even after he is saved he sees within himself a propensity to break God's laws and he hates it, he fights it, and mourns over it. This man or woman loves the law of God and knows that it's judgments are good and right. This person is a Christian. Like all Christians he wants to please God, yet, he often fails. When he does, he mourns in his spirit as did the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:12-25 (NASB).

"So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. {13} Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. {14} For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. {15} For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, (Paul, like all Christians would like to live a perfect life for the Lord.) but, (he admits) I am doing the very thing I hate. {16} But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. {17} So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me. {18} For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good, (perfectly and continuously), is not. {19} For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. {20} But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. {21} I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. {22} For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, (This "Inner Man" is the "New Creature" created in Christ Jesus. This is the "New Man" he has become in Christ. These phrases describe his redeemed soul. This part of him wants to please God everyday and in every way. But this New Man still lives in the body, the flesh. The flesh continues to stand in opposition to God. The Apostle, being born again wants to obey and please his God. {23} but (says Paul) I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. {24} Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?"

Here is a man blessed by God. Paul, made poor in spirit, has seen the reality and awfulness of his sin and he hates it. He delights in the law of God and he wants to keep that law perfectly. To his regret, however, he often fails, he sins, he stumbles, and he falls, though his intentions are in perfect agreement with the Holy law of God. Paul's heart is broken over his sins. Paul believes himself to be the chief of sinners and a wretched man. He mourns. He longs to be free of the flesh, the body, so that sin and weakness will never again bring grief to his heart and dishonor to his Heavenly Father.

This man is blessed. He is obviously blessed by God in the sense of having been born again. No man, born only once, delights in the law of God, but Paul does, he's been born twice. No unbeliever sees the law as Holy and righteous and good, but Paul does, he's been born again. No man, born once, despises the desires of his flesh, rather he delights in fulfilling them. Not so the Apostle Paul. No unbeliever sees himself as undone and wretched before God as Paul does, instead they think quite highly of themselves despising anyone and anything that would indicate a deficiency. There is no mourning over sin in their hearts, if anything, they make light of the whole idea of sin.

These are the people who fill the football and baseball stadiums on the Lords Day. These unbelieving people live for the "week-end" so they can spend it fulfilling the desires of the flesh. These people will not be happy or comfortable in God's House because the Bible calls them to abandon the desires of the flesh and to live according to the law of God. The Church is in place, to so some extent, to alarm and terrorize the unbelieving with the laws, warnings, and promises of God. It is also in place to comfort the Christian and the repentant sinner. As Christians we are comforted by the sure and certain promise that deliverance from our present struggles and mourning will be accomplished. In addition, as we shall see, we are comforted with the truth that salvation is all of grace not of works. Not in the beginning, middle, or the end. This is good news for saint and sinner.

In Romans 7:25 Paul answers the question he asked in verse twenty-four, "Who will deliver me from this body, this flesh, this propensity to sin?" He answers, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (In other words, Christ has saved my soul. He has created this New Man that lives in this old body and one day He will deliver me! Progressively and increasing the Christian is being delivered from the practice of sin by faith in Jesus. This is called progressive sanctification. The final deliverance from the, "Body of this death," will also be accomplished by Jesus Christ at His second coming or at our death, which ever comes first. In either case we will at last be free. In the mean time we wrestle, fight, and continue to run the race.) So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin." In every one that has ever been saved from the wrath to come there is a battle raging. The flesh wants one thing while the New Man, the saved soul, the redeemed mind wants another. Paul speaks of this again in Galatians 5:17 when he says, "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." This is the very battle Paul is describing in Romans seven. This is what made him mourn and long for deliverance.

How can Paul or any other Christian be happy in the midst of such mourning? Well, the truth of verse twenty-five encourages and brings happiness to the Christian. For by this statement he understands that when Christ returns he will be set free once and for all. But what about now? What comforts us and gives us joy while the battle continues?

Our present happiness has to do with the statement made in Romans 8:1-3 (NASB). "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Even though the Christian experience is as Paul describes it in the previous chapter, God does not condemn him! Why?) {2} For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (The law says that all sinners must die, both physically and spiritually. However, believers are not subject to that punishment any longer because the requirement of death was met for them by Christ!!!!!!) {3} For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, GOD DID: (The law could not make men perfect because men are incapable of keeping the law. They are law breakers by nature and can be nothing else. So, what the law could not do God did by . . ) sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh," {4} in order that the requirement of the Law (which is perfection) might be fulfilled IN us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (What walking in the flesh or in the Spirit means is now explained.) {5} For those who are according to the flesh (or take their orders from the body or their senses) SET THEIR MINDS ON THE THINGS OF THE FLESH, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (These, Christians, set their minds on obeying the Spirit of God that lives within them. These are very important distinctions.) {6} For the mind set on the flesh is death, (The person who lives to satisfy his body, his eyes, this feelings, will perish in hell forever.) but the MIND SET ON THE SPIRIT is life and peace, (The person who lives to please God and obey His word will have eternal life. He will have peace. He speaks of peace within and peace with God which comes with a guarantee of heaven. Why are these things true?) {7} because the mind set on the flesh (on pleasing the body) is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; {8} and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. {9} However, you (Christians) are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him."

So, what is Paul telling us? Well first, Paul described for us the typical struggle of the believer with sin. (Romans 7) It is that struggle with sin which causes the Christian to grieve, mourn, and suffer spiritually. In this text, (Romans 8), he reveals that which comforts the same Christian and makes him happy or at least tempers his mourning in the midst of his struggle. The comforting truth is this, even in the heat of our battle with sin God does not condemn us. For our relationship with Him is not based upon works that we have or are presently doing. Rather, it is based upon the perfect work of Jesus for us. In Christ's work God did what the law could not do, He made us perfect in Christ.

In these texts we learn that walking in the Spirit is not living perfectly, although that is the goal and desire of every Christian. Walking in the spirit has to do with one's mind-set. If a person's mind is set on pleasing the flesh he is not a Christian in spite of his profession. Likewise, if one's mind is set on pleasing God, by faith in Jesus Christ and submission to the scriptures, he is a Christian no matter how he stumbles along the way. One day he will have the longing of his heart. That longing is to be delivered from the body of death that now binds his soul to earth and weakness. This hope is part of what comforts the Christian in the midst of the experience described in the previous chapter. "Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted."

Believers are also comforted in the midst of mourning over sin because forgiveness and restoration are held out to them by the words of 1 John 1:8-10 (NASB).

"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (This person is not a Christian at all. The proof is that he does not recognize or mourn over his sin.) {9} If we confess our sins, (To confess sin is to acknowledge it. It means that you agree with God that you have sinned. Confession includes the idea of repentance. When we have come to God agreeing with Him that we have sinned, determined to turn away form that sin we will find that . . ) He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. {10} If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."

Robert Schuler, Pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in California, once said "The worse thing you could ever do is tell a man he is a sinner." Why, did he say that? Because, he is a disciple of Norman Vincent Peale. As such he is a believer in, "The power of Positive Thinking." Mr. Schuler believes that the best thing for humans is that they feel good about themselves all the time. So, you should never say anything that could make a person mourn, grieve, or be sad. Therefore you should never tell a man he is a sinner. God does not agree with this. Rather, God says blessed and happy are those who have had their pride broken so that they see themselves as sinners. Blessed and happy are those who, having seen their sin, now mourn with a Holy grief that leads them to repentance and life in Christ.

The best thing that could ever happen to you, as an unbeliever, is that you come to realize that you are the foulest sinner that ever walked the earth so that you mourn over that sin. I say this because such holy mourning always leads, by way of repentance and faith, to present happiness and eternal comfort. Consider Psalms 32:1-7. The application of the text is primarily to Christian but there is something for the unbeliever as well.

"How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! {2} How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! {3} When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. (Here is the mourning our Lord speaks of.) {4} For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. {5} I acknowledged my sin to Thee, (Here is confession.) And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," (True and holy mourning over sin always leads the unbeliever to Jesus for salvation. Holy mourning always leads the Christian to confession, repentance and the re-establishment of peace and fellowship with God.) And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. Selah. {6} Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him. (Slight Him now my friend and you may not find Him available in time of trouble.) {7} Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble; Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah." Here is true happiness and comfort. Happiness for the sinner can only be found when he acknowledges his sin and runs to God through Christ. Happiness for the Christian can only be maintained by continually confessing and turning from sin to serve the living God.

I have referred to conviction of sin which leads to repentance as a holy mourning. I have done so because there is a unholy mourning over sin that does not lead to true repentance and salvation. These two kinds of mourning over sin are described in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 (NASB).

"I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful ( or mournful) ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. {10} For the sorrow (the mourning) that is according to the will of God PRODUCES A REPENTANCE WITHOUT REGRET, (without a longing for that which was repented of and from) LEADING TO SALVATION; BUT THE SORROW OF THE WORLD PRODUCES DEATH."

The, "sorrow of the world that leads to death," has nothing to do with one being sorry they have sinned against God. Rather, it has to do with the uncomfortable, painful, or embarrassing, consequences of sin. Our prisons are full of men and women who are mourning in this sense. They are sorry they got caught and are being punished. This sorrow will lead only to an eternal death.

The sorrow that is, "according to the will of God," is exactly the opposite. This sorrow has to do with the realization that, "I am a sinner." Not just that I have sinned, but that I am a sinner in my being and nature. It has to do with the fact that my sin is against God and God only. I have sinned with infinite blackness against God who is infinitely Holy and pure. Being blessed with new life in my inner man I now see that He has loved me with an everlasting love and I have violated that love in many ways. I am broken, I am undone, I am sorry, I mourn, and cry out, "FATHER FORGIVE ME THE SINNER." The mourning that leads to repentance and salvation by faith in Christ is the blessing of blessings. For there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let's conclude by considering Luke 6:21+25 (NASB). "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. (in the future) Blessed are you who WEEP NOW, (mourn over sin) FOR YOU SHALL LAUGH. (and be comforted and in heaven forever) {25} "Woe to you who are well-fed now, (He speaks of those who love this world and are satisfied with what it gives them.) for you shall be hungry. (In eternity you will be devoid of all comforts.) WOE TO YOU WHO LAUGH NOW, (He speaks of those who are not mourning over their sin. These are the happy go lucky folks who make light of sin, heaven, hell, and eternity. Eat drink and be merry is their motto. He speaks of those who fill their lives with entertainment and other anesthetics. Anything to keep them from considering the truth that, "it is appointed unto men once to die and then the judgment." Woe to you says the Holy Spirit . . . ) FOR YOU SHALL MOURN AND WEEP." You shall weep and mourn without the possibility of repentance in the flames of eternal judgment. In that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth without end.

Our text this morning has been, "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." These words speak of and to the Christian. We do mourn and ought to mourn over our sin against God. Yet we ought also to be comforted by the truth that God accepts us because of Christ and in spite of ourselves. We are saved by Christ's perfect life not by works of the flesh. Should sin bother a Christian. Of course it should for we are here to glorify God by loving Him and keeping His commandments. But sin should not make us despair as if there was no hope. For there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus our Lord. To condemn us God would have to condemn Christ. To condemn Christ He would have to find some fault in Him. Neither of these things can ever happen. "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted."