I may be wrong; but that’s the way it seems to me.

Now, having said that…I don’t think you are off the mark on your point…just using this passage for support is all.
God bless,
bob

But that’s like saying, “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ” is technically a reference to the stipulations of salvation, so it really doesn’t apply to the Christian life.

…the poor in spirit:
…the meek:

they that mourn
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness:

the merciful:
the pure in heart:

the peacemakers:
those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake/pursue righteousness:

Taken as “groups of two” then Jesus is speaking about 4 principles of the proper attitude of a Christian…

that’s all I was saying…mourning was “mourning over sin” not mourning in general…

bob

Aren’t they two distinct things? Separate?

Salvation is something that happens to a “non-believer” that turns him into a believer…he is “saved from something.”

Sanctification is the ongoing process that “believers” go through…the growing in holiness.

Non believers cannot “grow in holiness” because they are unable to please God right?

Just my thoughts….

bob

I can’t really say that I disagree with what you said about mourning. However, I obviously wasn’t talking about mourning over just anything (like the loss of temporal comforts, etc.). But even with your specific interpretation of Matt 5 I don’t see how it effects my argument one way or the other –unless you narrow ‘mourning’ down to nothing but mourning over personal sin alone, and I cannot see how you would justify that from the text.

In other words, we know Jesus mourned; we know Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus. But of course He didn’t weep over the physical death because He knew He would raise him up. I would say that He wept over sin, wept over the curse of sin, the sorrow of sinners over death, etc.

In the same way, from the Matt 5 passage, I certainly see how it would entail several different types of mourning: mourning over personal sin being probably the most common, but also mourning over the sins of our family, friends, society, humanity; as well as mourning over the effect of sin: death, destruction, anguish, despair, etc.

Nevertheless, my point was whether we mourn over our own sin or whether we mourn over the sins of others, we just don’t seem to be very sincere in it compared to what we see in scripture. And that convicts me…

Thanks for your comment,
Nathan

So I think the “short circuit” was at my end and not yours!

God bless,
bob

Hi Nathan
I have noticed this phenomenon in myself too. Perhaps it is due to lack of sincerity as you suggest. Maybe in my prayers I generate some contrition but it is only frothy and superficial and I don’t meditate deeply enough to let it thoroughly transform my outlook. However, could there be another contributory factor too? Perhaps we modern people live too frenetically and we jump from one activity to another and fill each day with hundreds of tasks that we are able to accomplish ‘on autopilot’. Whereas 2,000 years ago people could not pick up a cell phone and talk instantly to someone 20 miles away and then immediately switch to do another job. The only forms of transport were walking, sailing, or riding a donkey. So each journey took a long time and gave people time between each task to chew things over and reflect on all the ramifications of what they had just done or were about to do, with the result that their personalities were more integrated. Consequently a contrite spirit obtained during prayer remained in their consciousness for a long time afterwards. ???