Introduction

We saw in the first part of our look at the beatitudes that they outline the characteristics of what a Christian should be. The beatitudes are not natural tendencies but all have to be worked at with the help of the Holy Spirit. Martyn Lloyd-Jones states that “All Christians are meant to display all of these characteristics.” John Stott says that “There is no escape from our responsibility to covet them all.” It is these vital characteristics that make Christians different from non-Christians.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones grouped them as follows:-

Our inward needs	Satisfaction of the need	Result of being filled	Outcome of all earlier characteristics
3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.	6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.	7. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.	10. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

In our previous blog, we looked at the first three blessings regarding our inward needs –

• Being poor in spirit – realising that we are nothing in the presence of God; that we cannot save ourselves, we must rely on God’s grace and mercy to save us from the effects of our sin. After calling on God for salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, we are blessed by immediately being accepted into the kingdom of heaven.
• Mourning our sins – recognising that we are sinners living in a world full of sin. We must regret our sinfulness and try, with the Spirit’s help, to stop or reduce offending God. The blessing we receive is in the form of immediate unconditional forgiveness from God providing great comfort.
• Meekness – letting go of all self-reliance and humbly accepting that we rely on God for absolutely everything. This characteristic, in particular, goes against the current culture of gaining success by being bold and self-assertive, yet Christ promises that we will reign with Him over the earth now.

This blog is going to examine the next beatitude which refers to these spiritual needs being satisfied.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matt 5:6)

Stott sees a spiritual progression as we move through the first three beatitudes to this fourth one. If we have truly recognised our futile state without God, and the devastating effects of our sin, and realise that we rely on God for everything, then we will not want to leave it there. We must go on to hunger and thirst for righteousness – as Jesus says later in the sermon “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matt 6:33).

Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes this beatitude as “a perfect statement of the doctrine of salvation by grace only.” It deals with “the two commonest objections to the Christian doctrine of salvation” – some say, “salvation cannot be as easy as that” (free gift), while others say that the demand for righteousness makes salvation impossible (“Righteousness ultimately  means being like the Lord Jesus Christ… a righteousness is demanded that is absolutely perfect.”). Lloyd-Jones says that “The Christian is one who admits that the statements and demands of the gospel are impossible, but thanks God that the gospel does the impossible for us and gives salvation as a free gift.”

Who does this beatitude apply to?

We must remember that Jesus gave this Sermon on the Mount to His disciples (Matt 5:1-2), i.e. Christians.

What is this righteousness that Jesus refers to?

At the point of our salvation, (by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone) we are made righteous in the eyes of God. Stott refers to this as a “legal righteousness” credited to us by God. From that point in time, our past, present, and future sins are forgiven. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Rom 3:22) and “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ” (Rom 8:1). As well as being made right with God, we receive the Holy Spirit, and we receive adoption to become co-heirs with Christ at this time.

Stott goes on to explain that Jesus was encouraging His disciples to hunger and thirst after two other aspects of righteousness referred to in the Bible:-

• Moral righteousness – “an inner righteousness of heart, mind and motive” acceptable to God.
• Social righteousness – which is wide-ranging and includes “seeking man’s liberation from oppression, together with the promotion of civil rights, justice in the law courts, integrity in business dealings and honour in home and family affairs.”

This hunger and thirst for moral and social righteousness, will not be fully satisfied until the day of judgement, “after which there will be ‘a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness’” (2 Pet 3:13). However, that should not discourage us from striving for this righteousness in today’s world – Stott quoted Martin Luther – “If you cannot make the world completely pious, then do what you can.”

How do we obtain this righteousness?

Jesus gave this sermon to people who were familiar with hunger for food and thirsting for water. Perhaps paid employment was scarce, and there was no welfare system, so families often missed meals if crops failed, or fish were not caught. But this beatitude refers to Spiritual needs.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones described hungering and thirsting in terms of :-

• “A desire to be free from sin” or “a desire to be right with God.”
• “Desire to be free from the power of sin.”
• “A longing to be positively holy.”
• “A longing to be like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.”

These desires and longings should result in positive actions.

• From the moral, inner righteousness aspect, we must be diligent in our personal devotional time of reading the Bible and praying – remember Jesus taught us to pray saying “lead us not into temptation and deliver us from the evil one” (Matt 6:13). We must constantly ask God to help us “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jas 7:7). We might not be able to lead sinless lives, but we should at least try to sin less, asking God to keep us on “paths of righteousness” (Ps 23:3)
• Seeking social righteousness could be seen as any action which fulfils Jesus’ command to “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matt 22:39). I wrote about this a while ago (see blog entitled “Basic Practicalities (Loving Others)”. https://christiandiscipleship.blog/2021/10/05/basic-practicalities-loving-others/

This includes using your time, talents, money, and prayer to support such issues as :-

• Eradicating poverty – this might involve being active in a global effort or helping at a local food bank, or just helping a neighbour/friend that has fallen on tough times.

• Tackling modern day slavery – again this might be on a global level – helping to tackle people trafficking – or on a local level – ensuring that minority groups are treated as equals. Fair wages for a fair day’s work.

• Opposing bullying, domestic violence, racism, persecution of Christians.

• Global Warming, pollution, animal rights – Man was made in the image of God and we are to rule over the earth and everything in it (Gen 1v26). This involves stewardship but instead, mankind has abused the planet. Christians should support activities which try to rectify the situation.

Some useful websites are given below.

In all these activities, we should always seek God’s will and His glory, as our primary motivation.

What is the result of this action?

There are two results of hungering and thirsting after righteousness. The first is being filled – this is a direct reference to receiving the Holy Spirit to enable us. Martyn Lloyd-Jones goes on to say that those who hunger and thirst are satisfied immediately (“for they will be filled”) and they are continuously being filled by the Holy Spirit. We “will be increasingly delivered from the power of sin and from its pollution”, and we “will be enabled to resist Satan”.

The second result is to be blessed – this is deeper than just happiness; it is more to do with an inner contentedness and joy. Lloyd-Jones reminds us that “we are NOT to hunger and thirst after blessedness” because happiness should not be sought directly, blessedness “is always something that results from seeking something else.”

Counter Cultural

As with the other beatitudes, hungering and thirsting after righteousness goes completely against the current cultural point of view. In society today, it doesn’t seem to matter how goals are achieved, as long as they are achieved, i.e. ‘the end justifies the means’. However, Christians must remember that Jesus told us to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt 6:33).

SUMMARY

From a practical viewpoint, Lloyd-Jones emphasises that hungering and thirsting are NOT passive. We must directly avoid sinful situations and pastimes, and also any harmless things that might dull or take the edge off our spiritual appetite. We must constantly remind ourselves of what we should be hungering for. We must put ourselves in the way of getting righteousness – spiritual food of bible study, prayer, personal devotions, and fellowship. Above all, keep our eyes focused on Jesus.

Remember also that Christians are to be “Salt & Light” (Matt 5 13:16) in this dark and sinful world. This involves addressing the many injustices of this world and bringing God’s righteousness “before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16).

As always, we need the assistance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Ask ourselves if the Fruit of the Spirit (‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’ Gal 5:22-23) is visible in our lives. We must actively develop this fruit in our lives, as we are continuously filled by the Spirit, as we hunger and thirst for righteousness.

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Acknowledgements

All scripture references taken from the New International Version of the Bible.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones – Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones

John Stott –  The message of the Sermon on the Mount by John Stott

USEFUL WEBSITES (UK based)

UK Food banks

The Trussell Trust – https://www.trusselltrust.org/

Fare Share – https://www.trusselltrust.org/

Evangelical Alliance – https://www.eauk.org/