EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
7/15/2026 9:07 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-5
Intro to “The Character of a True Christian”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Luke 6:20-26
Message of the verses: “20 And turning His
gaze toward His disciples, He began to
say, “Blessed are [a]you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are [b]you who hunger now, for you shall
be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall
laugh. 22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the
sake of the Son of Man. 23 Be glad in that day
and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.
For in the same way their fathers used to [c]treat the prophets. 24 But
woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in
full. 25 Woe to you who [d]are well-fed now, for you shall be
hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and
weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak
well of you, for their fathers used to [e]treat the false prophets in
the same way.”
I continue in what may be a very long section in John
MacArthur’s introduction to the verses above, and I have to say that this
introduction will be very long as I quote the verses that MacArthur brings up
in order to best understand the passage.
“Foundational to all of Jesus’
teaching was His commitment to the absolute authority of Scripture. As the inspired word of God (Matt. 15:3-6),
the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35).
(Matt. 15:3-6)
“3 He answered them, "And why do you break
the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and
your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father his
mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the
sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.”
(John 10:35)
“35 If he called them gods to whom the word of
God came—and Scripture cannot be broken”
“In fact,
it would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for any part of God’s
law to be altered (Matt. 5:18).”
(Matt. 5:18)
18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and
earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is
accomplished.”
“Scripture
is the rule of life (Matt. 4:4), and those who obey it are blessed (Luke
11:28).”
(Matt. 4:4)
“4 But he answered, "It is written,
"’Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the
mouth of God.’"
(Luke 11:28)
“28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who
hear the word of God and keep it!’’
“The Beatitudes recorded in this
passage are a prime example. From the
human perspective, it seems foolish to say that poverty, hunger, sorrow, and
rejection are the producers of blessings, and riches, satisfaction, happiness,
and honor. But as God incarnate, Jesus
authoritatively defines who is blessed and who is cursed. What He said on this occasion and throughout
His ministry demanded a paradigm shift of monumental proportions. Sadly the
Jewish people, especially the religious leaders, refused to think outside the
narrow box of first-century Judaism. To
this day the world, like them, continues to reject Christ’s message.
“As noted in the previous chapter of
this volume, the crowd that gathered to hear the Lord preach this sermon
consisted of three groups: the apostles, the uncommitted, curious crowd, and
the disciples. Luke’s note as He began
to preach Jesus turned His gaze
toward His disciples indicates that the Sermon on the Mount is directed
primarily at them (Although the woes were addressed to the crowd in general). The disciples were at various levels of
commitment and understanding, but they followed Jesus and considered Him their
teacher.
“Despite the claims of some, the
Sermon on the Mount is not a statement of ethics, but a sermon on
salvation. Trying to apply the
principles in this sermon apart from regeneration is futile. Since He came ‘to seek and to save that which
was lost’ (Luke 10:10), salvation was central to the Lord’s teaching. At the outset His public ministry ‘Jesus
began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’’(Matt.
4:17). He taught that people are
sinners, lacking the power and resources to deliver themselves, and thus are
slaves to sin (John 8:34).”
(Matt. 4:17)
“17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
(Luke 10:10)
10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not
receive you, go into its streets and say,
(John 8:34)
“34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say
to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”
“The only
way to escape divine judgment (cf. Luke 13:1-5) is through repentant faith in
the Son of God (John 3:16-18, 36; 5:24; cf. Luke 18:13-14).”
(cf. Luke 13:1-5)
“34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I
say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”
(John 3:16-18, 36; 5:24; cf. Luke
18:13-14)
“16 "For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should world to condemn the
world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
“36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;
whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains
on him.”
“24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my
word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into
judgment, but has passed from death to life.’
“13 But the tax collector, standing far off,
would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God,
be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell
you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself
will be exalted.’’
“It is not
outwardly religious, superficially moral people who are saved, but rather
people overwhelmed with their sinfulness, who cry out to God for forgiveness
and mercy.”
7/15/2026
9:34 PM
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