Review of last week

• Secular application?

• Those who hunger and thirst

• The merciful

Beatitudes, continued

• Pure in heart – filled (Matthew 5:8)

  • II Timothy 2:22

  • Titus 1:15 – If you are pure in heart, everything around you is pure.

  • Acts 15:9

  • I Peter 1:22-23

  • I Corinthians 5:7 – A little impurity cause the whole to be impure.

• Peacemakers – sons of God (Matthew 5:9)

  • What kind of peace? Peace with God.

  • Acts 8:1-5

  • Colossians 1:19-20 – Jesus’ blood brought peace to the world by allowing us to be reconciled to God.

  • James 3:17-18 – Description of the peace between God and man.

  • Isaiah 52:7

  • Romans 10:15 – Those who spread the gospel help men to find peace with God.

• Persecuted – rejoice (Matthew 5:10-12)

  • Romans 8:35-39 – We are the only thing that can separate us from God. We should consider ourselves already dead for Christ, just as soldiers going in to physical battle must consider themselves already dead.

  • Reactions – Acts 9:22-25; 22:25-29; Matthew 10:22-23

    • Paul wasn’t asking for persecution, but he was not afraid of it. It also was not wrong for Paul to escape persecution when he could. We must endure persecution, but that does not mean we have to stand and take it if there’s a way out.

  • Desire it? – I Timothy 2:1-4

  • Why rejoice? John 15:20

    • Persecution will eventually find us, just as it found Jesus.