Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:6 Part 2

Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied! Matthew 5:6

But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]. Romans 8:10

For being ignorant of the righteousness that God ascribes [which makes one acceptable to Him in word, thought, and deed] and seeking to establish a righteousness (a means of salvation) of their own, they did not obey or submit themselves to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the Law [the limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him the purpose which it was designed to accomplish is fulfilled. That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him] as the means of righteousness (right relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him. Romans 10:3-4

So what Jesus tells us here is that we are blessed if we hunger for His Grace and for His power to set us free. We are not blessed if we try to keep a bunch of Laws, for Christ is the end of the Law as a means of righteousness. We are blessed when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to realize that our righteousness is as filthy rags and that true righteousness is just a free gift, given to us for no other reason than we are loved by our Father. We are not righteous because we go to church, give a tithe, make an offering, pray a certain way, or wear certain clothes. We are just righteous because Jesus is Lord.   

How much more surely shall the blood of Christ, Who [a]by virtue of [His] eternal Spirit [His own preexistent [b]divine personality] has offered Himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, purify our consciences from dead works and lifeless observances to serve the [ever] living God? Hebrews 9:14