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Q6. (Matthew 5:10-12) Why should we rejoice when we are persecuted? What keeps this from being some kind of sick masochism, or finding pleasure in pain? Why is the blessing "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" appropriate for the persecuted? ANSWER: A. Why should we rejoice when we are persecuted? Because Jesus was persecuted. Like Peter rejoiced and felt worthy of the persecution. I heard a minister once say "if you are being persecuted, rejoice, for you must be doing something right." Satan and the world will not persecute someone who is following their way of life. B. What keeps this from being some kind of sick masochism, or finding pleasure in pain? Because Jesus did not say "enjoy the pain" but rejoice through the pain. And if we are truly being persecuted it will not be pleasurable. Persecution is called persecution because it is painful. Persecution is different for everyone. If it were enjoyable it would be called pleasure. C. Why is the blessing "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" appropriate for the persecuted? Because they are experiencing hell on earth. And Heaven holds relief from all we will suffer down here.

Q5. (Matthew 5:8) Why can people with a pure heart see, know, and discern God? Why can't "chronic" sinners see God? How do we obtain the pure or clean heart that Jesus describes? ANSWER: Because those with pure hearts have nothing clouding their view of God. Chronic sinners live in darkness. They cannot nor do they WANT to see their sin. God lives in light and is the Light. The bible says "in Him there is no darkness." As long as we live in darkness we will not see God. We obtain this clean or pure heart by living in the light of God. When we live in His light every dark area of our heart will be lit and we can deal with those dark areas. Once they have been cleaned they will be pure and it is up to us to keep them pure by staying in the will of God.

Q4. (Matthew 5:6) How can an intense desire for righteousness put you at odds with the world? What sort of righteousness is Jesus talking about, do you think? What promise are we given in this Beatitude? ANSWER: The world is full of unrighteousness. The motto of the world is also "every man for himself." By thinking about yourself and living by the flesh we will seek only what the flesh wants. This will go to the other end of the spectrum of righteousness. This is certainly contrary to what the world tells us to do...Don't get mad, get even. The righteousness Jesus is talking about, I believe, is righteousness of God. For all to be saved. For all to come to Christ. For sin and death to be abolished and for all to attain Heaven. They will given what they desire. A place of no sin, no hatred, no injustice, no death. They will be given Heaven.

* The world

The first part is the state of the person with the second part being the reward for that state. He wanted to assure those who do suffer that they will get their just reward. Their suffering will be no more. If we have the attitudes in the Beatitudes we will produce the fruit of the Spirit. The seed of the fruit is already in us and these Beatitudes will help to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our own lives.

I believe these verses go beyond the world we see. Verse 11 does say "people" but if you look at verse 12 it says "for in the same way THEY persecuted the prophets who were before you." Why would "they" persecute us as they did the prophets of long ago? I believe the "they" Jesus is talking about is the demons of the spiritual realm. Jesus said "as they did the PROPHETS..." Why would we also be persecuted as the prophets were? He did not say "as they did the Jews" or "as they did the kings." Jesus said "prophets." Because when we live our lives according to God's will others will hear the message "Repent! For the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" We are prophesying by our very lives. Our lives are under constant scrutiny from the world. But even when we are not under direct persecution from the world we are in a constant war with Satan and his demons. Yes, Satan and his demons readily use humans as a way to persecute us but he also uses other means, ie. sickness, disease, world disasters, etc. by which to persecute us. We WILL be persecuted for simply being a child of God. But we will bring on more persecution if we actively follow God and do His will. I agree with Tabatha if you are not feeling persecuted in some way then you need to move from where you are. God never intended for us to be comfortable in this world. He intended for us to be constantly moving. And hopefully that moving will be in the direction of Him. I believe God allows those who are being persecuted for righteousness to inherit the kingdom of Heaven because they are already suffering hell on earth. Dr. David Jeremiah once said, "For Christians, this world is our hell. For the lost, this world is their Heaven."

Hello, everyone! My name is Patricia and I live in Mesquite, Texas which is a suburb of Dallas. I attend a local Church of Christ. Have been a Christian since I was nine. I am now almost 41 years old. I have a wonderful husband, three daughters, one stepson and one very perfect grandson. I look forward to this journey with all of you and hope we can draw closer together as a Body as we draw closer to Him. God bless!