II. Introduction to the Beatitudes

A. The Beatitudes are not a moral or ethical code for everyone or a set of rules to be kept legalistically.

1. The Beatitudes are concerned with discipleship and how to live in obedience and devotion to God, instead of a pattern for society in general.

2. The Beatitudes were not intended for only the spiritual elite, but are characteristics or qualities that all Christians should develop.

3. The Beatitudes, like the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, are not just a collection of moral teachings, but rather a description of the radical demands of Jesus for those who follow him.

B. The key word in each of the Beatitudes is "blessed."

1. This word can be translated as "happy."

2. J.B. Phillips and the Today's English Version translate it this way.

3. Harry Emerson Fosdick called the Beatitudes "Jesus' theory of happiness."

C. To think of these sayings only in terms of happiness, however, can be misleading.

1. Happiness is subjective and differs from one person to another.

2. Each Beatitude also has the idea of a "blessing" or something that is given by God.

D. There are eight qualities (or "ideals") described and eight blessings that are promised by God.

E. Are these blessings in the present or in the future?

1. It seems that they are both.

2. Some are blessings that come from living the Christian life and others are blessings that will come in the future (e.g., a reward in heaven).