The Beatitudes: How to Find Comfort In Your Guilt and Grief

This article is based on Pastor Adrian Rogers' message, Turning Tears Into Telescopes.

Jesus Christ’s list of beatitudes in His Sermon on the Mount is completely contrary to what the world would say. And the second beatitude in particular, which is our focus in this article, may perhaps seem like one of the strangest sentences in all of the Bible. Blessed are those who mourn?

Blessed Are Those That Mourn

And seeing the multitudes, He [Jesus] went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying…“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:1-2,4. Word in brackets added).

The world would say the opposite—blessed are those who never have to cry. We have an idea that if we could go through life without any sorrow, pain, or heartache, it would be wonderful. People say that if we could just arrange conditions to be better, then we would change men; that if we change condition, then we can change character.

But not so, says Jesus.

Remember that man who fell in a perfect environment, the Garden of Eden? The world puts the emphasis on condition, but God puts the emphasis on character.

He does not say, “blessed are those that have popularity, position, personality, possessions, and power.” You can find people who have all of these things who are exquisitely miserable.

Godly Sorrow vs. Self-Pity

We must make something clear, however. Jesus is not talking about the moaners. We all know them—the ones with the dark clouds over their heads. They are the miserable, the melancholy, the sob-story tellers, who are drinking constantly from the intoxicating cup of self-pity. Their favorite hymn is "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," and the only pleasure they get in life is singing it to you. You don't dare ask them how they feel because you will get an organ recital.

Nor is Jesus not talking about those who simply have heartaches, troubles, and difficulties in life. We all have those. He is not talking about the sorrows of life, per se.

Mourners of Brokenness

The Greek word here for “mourn” is a strong word—the word you feel at the graveside of a loved one. It is a lament, a grief.

Jesus was a man of sorrows. Do the things that break the heart of Jesus break yours? If so, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

As we said, there are different kinds of mourning. But in this second Beatitude, Jesus here is primarily talking about those who mourn over sin.

Sin—that’s an old fashioned word, isn't it? But Jesus began the Beatitudes with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3)—that is, those who understand they are spiritually bankrupt in the sight of a righteous and holy God. And when a person sees that, what follows? When we see our bankruptcy, then it brings our brokenness.

When we see that in our hands we have absolutely nothing to offer to God, that even our righteousness is as filthy rags (see Isaiah 64:6), it is then that we mourn—over our own sin.

And for overcoming grief of this kind…

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:18).

Overcoming Guilt Begins with Recognizing It

One of the hardest things for us to see is that we have anything to weep over. Why should we mourn? What is it that convicts us? Jesus continues His Sermon the Mount and answers just that.

Consider how deceptive sin is. Most of us have a little list of do's and don'ts (and that little list can lead to abominable pride). You may have some do’s that I don’t, and vice versa. But Jesus rips the veneer off all of that. He says,

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:21-22).

When Jesus sees anger, He writes down “murder.”

You may say, “I've never committed adultery.” But God says, “Maybe not with your body. But in your mind, you have a lot to mourn over.”

The same is true for all of the Ten Commandments.

So—do you have any sin to mourn?

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

Only the Holy Spirit of God will make you see the destructive, defiling power your sin has over you. It must get out of your head, and down into your heart.

True Godly Sorrow

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Regret, Remorse, and Repentance

There are many words used for sorrow in the Bible. This one comes from the deepest, most poignant word for sorrow. It means to be consumed with grief.

Have you been broken over your sin?

It is not mere regret. Many of us have done things we regret. We’re “sorry.” When you were a child, you did many things which you later regretted when your parents found out and disciplined you. Then you regretted it indeed. But that is not godly sorrow, and you won’t be finding comfort there.

Regret is primarily in the mind. Remorse goes past the mind, to the heart. But even that is not Godly sorrow—as a matter of fact, remorse without repentance can be a dangerous thing. Remorse looks at the sin and its consequences. A person filled with remorse is one who still loves his sin, but hates himself for it at the same time.

But repentance looks beyond the sin to Calvary. A person who has repented is a person who hates his sin because he loves his Savior.

Judas Iscariot, when he became aware of the consequences of his betrayal of Christ, “seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful…then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:3a,5). He stepped from the Hell within him to the Hell in front of him, and he is still in Hell today. There was a remorseful man who never repented.

Examples of Repentance in the Bible

Simon Peter, on the other hand, cursed and swore and denied the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he realized what he had done. “So Peter went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). He was filled not simply with remorse, but with repentance. Simon Peter knew that not only had he broken God’s law; he had broken God’s heart, and that broke Peter’s heart. He repented, and became the great preacher of Pentecost—because there was a godly sorrow, which works repentance unto salvation.

Faith and true repentance are heads and tails of the same coin.

King David committed adultery. When he was confronted with his sin, he repented. He wrote in his prayer of confession: “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:4a).

David knew, God, I have not only sinned against my wife, my children, my body, the kingdom, and even against your law—but God, I have sinned against you. I hurt you my God.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— these, O God, You will not despise (Psalm 51:17).

When you understand this kind of repentance, that is when you realize it was your sin that nailed Jesus Christ to the cross. You will see that sin is an affront to a righteous, holy God. Then you will also understand why Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn”—because He does not leave you in that guilt and grief. That is not what the Christian life looks like.

Finding Comfort in Christ

Mourning your sin is the only way to be comforted. That is Jesus’ teaching in the second Beatitude. Once you see the guilt and feel the grief, then you will know the grace.

What does it mean to be comforted? This is not a sympathetic pat on the back. The word comfort is not a word filled with sympathy, but with strength: com- (with) fort (strength). Think of the word “fortify.” God says, “I will put my strength in you.”

In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul (Psalm 138:3).

How does God do this? Through the Holy Spirit.

The Comforter

Jesus promises:

“I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

He was speaking of God the Holy Spirit, the Helper. Other Scripture translations call Him the Comforter.

Have you ever wept over your sin? Even if you are saved, you still fail God. But there is One who gives you comfort—because if you are in Christ, those sins are nailed to the cross, and you bear them no more. Praise the Lord! That is the comfort the Holy Spirit gives the children of God.

The devil is the prosecuting attorney. The Bible calls him “the accuser of the brethren.” (See Revelation 12:10.) He is the little voice who follows you around and dogs your footsteps. He writes down everything you do and sends it as a testimony against you. He says to me, “You miserable failure, you sinned. Deny it if you can.”

What should you say to him? “See my lawyer. He'll handle it.” Your lawyer, your advocate in court, is Jesus Christ.

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).

When you come to honest brokenness over your sin, the Holy Spirit of God comforts you that your sin is forgiven, and when you need help, when you fail, the Holy Spirit of God stands near to the broken. He is a help and strength, day by day. Do you know that by experience?

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

List of Scriptures Referenced in This Article

Matthew 5:1-4,21-22, 27:3,5; Isaiah 64:6; Psalm 34:18, 51:4,17, 138:3; Jeremiah 17:9-10; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Luke 22:62; John 14:16-17; Revelation 12:10; 1 John 2:1

More Bible Verses About Finding Comfort

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16).