MacArthur - The Only Way to Happiness The Beatitudes

I ts been more than twenty years since I first preached through the Beatitudes. That series marked a major turning point in my ministry and the life of our church. The poignant message of these verses seemed to jolt our congregation with a new sense of urgency and seriousness about the discipleship to which our Lord calls us. It also awakened my heart as never before to the profound privilege Christians have as citizens of a heavenly kingdom. And at the same time, the spirit of our fellowship seemed to be infused with a vibrant, unprecedented joy that, thankfully, has never diminished.

Joy, after all, is a central theme of the Beatitudes. The word blessed actually speaks of a deep, abiding happiness, which Christ says belongs to all who are characterized by the qualities He described in the Beatitudes.

My heart is stirred every time I review this crucial passage of Scripture. The message never seems old or overly familiar. It is one of those deep wells to which we can return for refreshment again and again.

In an important sense, that original series I preached on the Beatitudes has shaped the course of my ministry for the past twenty years. Virtually every issue I have addressed in all my various booksthe vitality of true faith, the lordship of Christ, the sufficiency of Scripture, the importance of a pure gospelis here in seminal form. To a large degree, my passion for those issues was sparked during my original in-depth study of the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. Almost all my subsequent books are therefore related to this book by a direct line of descent.

The Beatitudes, standing at the head of Jesus most important sermon, set forth the fundamental principles of His kingdom. These are the moral, ethical, and spiritual guidelines that should govern the conduct of all kingdom subjects. When Christ blessed these qualities, He was teaching that they are the only way to true happiness.

Too many Christians think the kingdom pertains only to the sweet by-and-byand is of little relevance in the hectic here-and-now. Poor Bible teaching in some circles has intensified the problem. There are some, for example, who believe that the Sermon on the Mount belongs only to a yet future kingdom age. The result has been spiritually debilitating. To declare Jesus Sermon on the Mount irrelevant to this age is to cut the heart out of our Lords own instruction to His people. These principles are the present marching orders for all who are true subjects of the King.

The Beatitudes are especially significant as both the starting place and the foundation of all that Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount. In a sense, the Beatitudes lay the groundwork for all Christian truth. For example, they help us understand the nature of true faithbecause in describing those who are blessed, our Lord is actually describing the traits of the genuine believer.

The Beatitudes also demonstrate that the way to blessedness in Christs kingdom is a route far different from what the world maps for us. Kingdom joy and kingdom blessings are not measured in terms of affluence, mirth, pleasure, abundance, and ease. In fact, the spiritual qualities that reap kingdom blessings are incompatible with this worlds values.

So the citizen of Gods kingdom is not supposed to feel at home in this world. Our citizenship belongs to the heavenly kingdom, and we are but strangers and sojourners in this worldput here to serve as ambassadors of the King. As such, we are to live under the higher standards of the heavenly kingdomand we also reap its infinitely higher privileges.

Im thankful to Moody Press for their support of this book over the past two decades, and Im thrilled to see it in a new edition that includes a helpful review and study guide. My prayer is that as you read, you will discover the glories of the only pathway to real happiness, and that your heart will be roused to a joy unlike any you have known before.

J esus is in the happiness business.

Sadly, not everyone really understands or believes that. In fact, many Christians arent sure they really experience true happiness. The very first sermon ever recorded as having been preached by Jesus Christ begins with the constantly ringing theme of happiness, and its revolutionary truth hit the world like a devastating bomb exploding in the minds of those who heard it.

The truth of the Sermon on the Mount exploded in the minds of the original hearers because many of them were reluctant to have their standing before God evaluated by Jesus strict standards. Such reluctance is present also among many professing Christians of our day. There is now an atmosphere of easy believism that allows people to experience an initial happiness in encountering the gospel, but not a deep, long-term joy derived from serious obedience to Christs commands.

Our Lord recognized the potential problem of an easy believism, as indicated in John 8:30-31: As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine. Jesus affirms that an easy believism is inadequate.

The concept of easy believism is contrary also to the message of the New Testament epistles regarding salvation and assurance. The life of a true believer is never portrayed as a soft, do-as-you-please existence. The believer is called to a life of obedience, in which faith is verified by conduct. A life of obedience should flow from a Christians basic relationship to Christ. The Lords Supper illustrates the depth of a genuine attachment to Jesus Christ.

The Lords Supper is the most wonderful, sacred, unique act of worship the blood-bought church of Jesus Christ can ever experience. It is a sacred memory of the Cross and a time of self-examination.

The bread speaks of the body of Christ and the cup of His blood, and they point to the cross where He was crucified.