Keeping Ourselves unspotted from the world (Lesson 54)
Introduction:
1. According to James 1:27, "pure and undefiled religion before God" includes two important activities. a. "Visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction" is one activity. b. The other activity is "keeping ourselves unspotted from the world." 2. In this series of lessons we are examining instructions from God's Word that will help us to remain unspotted from the world. 3. To keep ourselves unspotted from the world so we can practice pure and undefiled religion before God, we must: a. avoid sinful activities (1 Peter 3:10-12; 1 John 2:1a) b. seek forgiveness from the Lord when we sin (1 John 2:1b-2; 1:9). 4. In this lesson we are concentrating on several principles that relate to the 2nd Beatitude in Matthew 5:4 -- "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." 5. "Mourning" is essential for remaining free from the world's spots. 6. Let us first identify the type of mourning under consideration. Discussion: I. WE ALL OCCASIONALLY MOURN IN A GENERAL SENSE
A. "Mourn": to experience sadness and grief when we lose someone or something special to us. B. According to Ecclesiastes 3:4, there is "a time to mourn." C. To illustrate, Abraham mourned when Sarah died (Genesis 23:1-2). D. Comfort is available when we mourn in this sense (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). II. IN THIS BEATITUDE JESUS DEALT WITH "MOURNING OVER SIN"
A. The 1st Beatitude has to do with being "poor in spirit." B. A person who is "poor in spirit" is aware of his spiritual condition when he sins. C. His humility leads him to "mourn" over his condition. D. To illustrate, David mourned over his sins (Psalm 51:7-12). E. A person who mourns over his sins will seek forgiveness from the Lord and is therefore comforted and blessed. F. To receive this comfort, we must: 1. understand what sin is (1 John 3:4; 5:17; James 4:17) 2. understand what sin does -- it separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) 3. allow godly sorrow to lead us to repent (2 Corinthians 7:10) 4. seek forgiveness from God (James 4:8-10). Conclusion:
1. Spiritual mourning is one of the keys to keeping ourselves unspotted from the world. 2. Practicing this Beatitude can be challenging; however, we must remember that those who do will receive a great blessing: "they shall be comforted" (Proverbs 28:13). 3. Let us follow David's example (Psalm 38:18).
