What is blessedness?

I've been working on my book "Leap For Joy" and being struck by the realities of Luke 6:20-26...

I'm adding a repetitive post

Blessed are you who are poor
Blessed are you who are hungry now
Blessed are you who weep now
Blessed are you when people hate you (on account of the Son of man)

Woe to you who are rich
Woe to you who are full now
Woe to you who laugh now
Woe to you, when all people speak well of you

Are you blessed or under woe?

Persecution

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12).

I can't get over the force of this verse.

Christ have mercy upon us

The End of the Age

"They were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the age has come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).

"On whom the end of the age has come." This present age is passing away. Even more, according to Paul the end of the age has come, and it has come on us. Past tense with present results extensive prefect tense I guess, or is that intensive... well, whatever the case, we need to wake up. "Wake up and strengthen what remains," "It's time of judgment to being with the household of God." And the first sentence Christ uttered in his public ministry was, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel."

For all you Homelitic junkies & Homileticians out there, how about that two point sermon: 1. Repent, and 2. Believe the gospel. Oh yes, indeed, the indicative must come before the imperative. Here it is: "The end of the age has come upon us."

Because the end of the age has come upon us, we must repent and believe the gospel!!

Constant Longing

"My soul is crushed with longing, for your rules at all times (Psalm 119:20)."

Christian liberty is the freedom to long for God at all times--to be crushed with a longing for God. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the cosmic forces of this present darkness. The temptation for a comfortable, materially blessed life, is forceful. Capitalism exerts a spiritual energy; the quest and hope for the American Dream is nothing short of a religion. For millions of Americans it is a constant pilgrimage. Christians, however, must strive to enter the narrow gate. Our Christian fight of faith is fueled by the Holy Spirit. He makes us free in Christ, and in Christ we may long for God with a devastating urge that crushes our soul at all times.

FV & Apostasy

At a recent Presbytery meeting up north, an elder under question was defending his supposed view of holding to apostasy and his potential sympathies with the Federal Vision (FV). Those accused of being FV, or those loosely associated with FV, are reputed to hold some form of teaching apostasy. The elder under scrutiny, justified his stance by quoting a passage in Numbers where the LORD pardons the iniquities of the Israelites. The elder than added how the Bible states that that generation perished in the wilderness account of their unbelief. True, the Israelites did perish. No doubt a difficult tension, and I applaud this elder for bringing it to light and attempting to teach it. The tension is this: the Lord pardoned Israel's sins, but that generation perished from unbelief. So, were the Israelites forgiven or were they unbelievers?

Tension and paradox abound in Scripture. The above elder claims to just teach the Scripture, and does not intend to affirm apostasy. What he appears to teach, however, is this: a forgiven believer can perish from unbelief. When questioned his caveat is this: "I am just teaching the text."

In the PCA we hold to a creed, the Westminster Confession of Faith. Although the WFC is a compromise between a variety of denominations in the 17th century on certain points of doctrine, it clearly teaches perseverance of the saints and rejects apostasy. Thus, the onus is on any teaching elder in the PCA, who teaches such things as pardoned Israelites falling away from unbelief, to explain how their interpretation of the WFC and Scripture jive. And no teaching elder in the PCA can take the high ground by saying, "Well, this is my view of Scripture"; for, as teaching elders, we have vowed that the WFC is our interpretation of Scripture.

Cares of this life

"But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with...cares of this life" (Luke 21:34).

Anyone who has bought a home knows what I talking about...Brokers, Realtors, Mortgage lenders...they weigh you down. Jesus is so right---"Lest your hearts be weighed down." The cares of life trap us in fog. My eyes are dizzy as I wined through woods and gaze at the houses perched within the dense foliage. 'Boy, that's a nice view'....ah-ah-ah, "Watch yourselves." I find myself staring, and asking, "Well, just what if I could get a house a little bigger, like that one?"---I feel that question squeezing the Holy Spirit right out of me. Oh how many are the "Cares of this life." May God teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. 2000 square feet or 20,000 square feet, either way, from dust we came and to dust we shall return. And in the meantime, "The years of our life are but seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble, they are soon gone, and we fly away" (Psalm 90:10).

Has God Blessed You?

Well, has he...

If he has, then these are you blessings according to Christ in Luke 6:20-23:

Poor

Hungry

Weeping

Being Hated for Christ

Conversely, if he has put a banner of woe upon you, then these are yours according to Christ in Luke 6:24-26:

Rich

Full belly

Laughing

Well liked

Read Luke 6:20-26. It renders our modern Evangelical church in a precarious position. Where's the Publican, perhaps he can teach us how to repent--beating breasts, not looking to heaven.