Creating a Counter Culture - a Study on the BeatitudesSample

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

How many of you have experienced hunger for something specific after a meal? Our appetites are so distinct and developed by our culture and habits, but there is something specific we can hunger for, and it is actually a blessing.

A. Righteousness

So what is righteousness? In the Bible, we see three types of righteousness mentioned.

Positional righteousness

This is defined as the doctrine concerning how man may attain a state, approved by God. We cannot be made righteous by our works. This is only possible through believing in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection.

Personal righteousness

This refers to integrity, the correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting. Positional righteousness with God without personal righteousness is not a blessed life.

Public righteousness

This is justice or the virtue which gives each his due. This is righteousness in the land, in political-economic systems, public policy, and administration.

B. Response

What should be our response to the righteousness of God? To hunger and thirst. It means to crave ardently, seek with eager desire, and eagerly wait for those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, and strengthened.

What do you hunger and thirst for? Validation, recognition, security, comfort? The person who doesn’t hunger and thirst is the one who is 6 feet under. Even when we are unwell, we have trouble with hunger. So it is a sign of spiritual health when we hunger and thirst for righteousness.

C. Reward

What is the reward of hungering and thirsting after righteousness? That we will be satisfied. Since righteousness is not of man but God, we cannot satisfy ourselves. God promises to satisfy us.

So how does he satisfy us?

Past - When we place our trust in Jesus, our longing to be right with God is satisfied - not because of our righteous deeds but by faith.

Present - “He guides me along the paths of righteousness.” He satisfies us not only in salvation but in sanctification by giving us the required grace.

Future - On this side of eternity, we will never experience utter satisfaction for our hunger and thirst for righteousness because sin and injustice still plague this world. This is why Jesus says in John 4: 13 -14, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.”

REFLECT AND ASK YOURSELF:

• What do you hunger and thirst for?
• What does the hunger for righteousness look like in your area of influence?
• How has Jesus satisfied you in your hunger and thirst for righteousness?