R.C. Sproul

There, there is no judgment upon that group of the poor, but rather the mandate to the people of God to make sure that these people who experience poverty through no fault of their own would receive the ministry of the people of God to help them in their poverty.

The third group that are designated as the poor in the Old Testament is

for those who are the poor as a result of the exploitation of the rich and powerful, which in biblical terms was hardly ever the wealthy business people, but rather the rulers who milked their people of all of their wealth, the way in which Ahab, for example, confiscated

unjustly neighbor's vineyard.

Now, the fourth category of the poor is those who are poor for righteousness' sake.

That is, those who willingly choose a vocation that will leave them

practically destitute because they are concerned about other things than what the market produces.

And those people are promised the kindness of God who notices their personal sacrifice.

So it's very important that you understand from a biblical perspective that

not everybody that's poor is poor because they're lazy.

At the same time, not everybody that's poor is poor because they're virtuous.

There's no inherent merit in poverty, and there's no inherent necessary sin in being poor.

The same distinction are made with the wealthy.

Those who made their wealth through illegitimate means come under the judgment of God.

But at the same time, the Scriptures recognize that one can be wealthy and virtuous.

And so it's important for us that in Matthew's statement of this particular beatitude—

that he qualifies this statement and said, blessed are the poor in spirit.

So those who are being addressed here by Jesus are not necessarily those who are in poverty, though it may include those who are in material poverty.

But what is specifically in view here is a poverty of spirit.

Not those who have weak spirits in the sense that they don't have the stuff it makes to exercise courage or industry.