04 What Jesus Taught About Saving Faith

by Krisan Marotta | Feb 25, 2026 | 01 Podcasts, Start Strong

What Jesus Taught About Faith | WednesdayintheWord.com

Saving faith isn’t just believing facts about Jesus. It’s recognizing your sin, embracing your need for grace, and trusting God to save you. In Matthew 5:1-12, Jesus describes what that faith looks like through the beatitudes, painting a picture of the truly blessed.

The 4 Core Convictions of R.E.A.L. Faith

We all know the phrase “saved by grace through faith.” It rolls off the tongue easily.

But what does faith really look like? What does it feel like, think like, and act like, especially for a new believer? More importantly, what did Jesus say about it?

That is what Chapter 4 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity explores. The Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount offers one of the clearest and most complete definitions of faith in Scripture.

I have summarized Jesus’ teaching into four core convictions I call R.E.A.L. faith, which you will find fully explained in Chapter 4 of Start Strong.

R is for Recognize. Recognize your sin. Saving faith begins by knowing you are sinful and longing to be different.
E is for Embrace. Embrace your need. Saving faith knows we cannot save ourselves.
A is for Accept. Accept God’s grace. Saving faith understands God is not required to save us and that any rescue is a gift.
L is for Lean. Lean on Jesus. Saving faith trusts that God will save and forgive us because of the cross of Jesus Christ.

If you have ever wondered, What do I actually need to believe to be saved? this episode is for you.

I will give you an overview of the Beatitudes today. I also have a podcast series on the Gospel of Matthew that goes into each of these in more detail.

Gospel of Matthew 1-7: Behold, the King!

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)

In Matthew 5:1-12, Jesus overturns our assumptions about who is truly blessed. In the process, he describes what saving faith actually looks like.

1Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” – Matthew 5:1-12

Common Mistakes When Reading the Beatitudes

The wrong way to approach the Beatitudes is to treat them as tips for a better life now. Many argue that “blessed” should be translated as happy, as if Jesus were teaching the key to psychological well-being or social harmony.

I am sure our lives would be positively impacted if we adopted the attitudes described in the Sermon on the Mount. But that misses Jesus’ point. He is not showing us how to be happier or how to improve society. He’s teaching us what it takes to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The right way to approach the Beatitudes is to understand that Jesus is describing people who have saving faith. Jesus sees two kinds of people in the world: Those who inherit eternal life in the kingdom of heaven, and those who do not. Those who inherit eternal life are marked by certain attitudes. Those who have these attitudes are blessed. They are fortunate because they, and only they, will enter eternal life in the end.

Jesus describes the fortunate in terms of their eternal destiny. They are blessed because of where they are headed, not because of the quality of their life now.

I will explain the logic behind the Beatitudes and show how they teach the four core convictions of saving faith by asking five questions.

1. Why Are They Called the Beatitudes?

The name comes from the Latin beatus, which means blessed or fortunate. The Beatitudes are a series of sayings that begin with “Blessed are they…” That’s the easiest question we’ll talk about. Jesus was not the first to invent or employ beatitudes. You’ll also find them in the Old Testament.

What Does “Blessed” Mean?

To be blessed is the opposite of being cursed.

We can use bless and curse to describe attitudes or actions. If I bless you in attitude, I approve of you and wish you well. If I curse you, I disapprove and wish you harm. We can also bless or curse by action, by doing good to someone or by withholding good and bringing suffering.

In the New Testament, when God is the subject, blessing and cursing always refer to action. There is an unbreakable connection between what God thinks and what He does. If I am in His favor, He works for my welfare. If not, I am under His wrath.

To be blessed is to be in the favor of God. Good is coming my way because God is on my side. Fortunate is a good translation of “blessed,” as long as we do not think of blind luck. Blessing is not random. It is God’s deliberate decision to work on my behalf.

Older translations sometimes translate this word happy. That’s a good translation as long as we understand the older meaning of happy. Happy is tied to the root word “hap,” which means fortune or what comes your way. Think mishap, happenstance, hapless. In that sense, happy means to be in a good situation.

Understood that way, happy fits the Beatitudes well. Jesus is describing those who are truly fortunate because something good is coming their way. If you understood the situation, you would want to be one of these people.

2. What’s at Stake?

Luke includes a parallel with sobering contrasts.

20Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 24But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” – Luke 6:20-26

Jesus divides humanity into two groups. One is blessed. One is under woe. This is not icing on the cake of life. There is no middle ground. Either we are in God’s favor or we are under His wrath.

If you are more familiar with Paul’s language, we are blessed because we are justified by faith. The blessed are right with God. If we are justified, we will inherit eternal life and therefore we are blessed.

3. Why are These People Fortunate?

The blessed are fortunate because these people, and only these people, will inherit eternal life.

With each quality, Jesus emphasizes that if you are this way now, something desirable will happen later. If you are not this way now, something undesirable is coming. You are blessed by where you end up, not by your present circumstances.

The Old Testament promised that God will establish His kingdom in a new way. He will seat His Messiah on David’s throne. His people will be raised and will live in peace and righteousness under the Messiah.

The Beatitudes describe the people who will be raised and inherit a place in the kingdom of God. Notice the promises attached to each beatitude:

theirs is the kingdom of heaven,
they shall inherit the earth,
they shall be satisfied,
they shall see God,
they shall be called sons of God,
your reward is great in heaven.

You want to be one of these people because of the reward that is coming. A bumpy road that takes me to that reward is better than a smooth road that leads me astray.

4. Why These Qualities?

At first glance, you would not choose to be poor, hungry, mournful, meek, or persecuted. Even merciful and peacemaking can sound like losing your grip on justice or self-protection. The world does not prize the qualities Jesus lists. Apart from God opening our eyes, we would not recognize this life as blessed.

Why this list? Because the human race is committed to some profound lies.

We lie about God. He is our all-powerful, holy, merciful Creator to whom we owe gratitude, loyalty, obedience, and worship. But we ignore Him, trivialize Him, accuse Him, or deny His existence.

We lie about ourselves. We are self-centered, selfish, and rebellious, yet we justify and excuse ourselves and claim we are doing fine.

We lie about the world. This world is broken, defiled by sin, filled with death, tragedy, frustration, and futility. Yet we convince ourselves that money, power, beauty, fame, prestige, career, or pleasure will satisfy.

5. What if we stopped lying?

What if we lived with eyes wide open to who God is, who we are, and where real life is found?

When you see God as the holy, righteous Creator, when you recognize your very serious problem with sin, and when you see that this world is not your rescue, your attitudes change. You will no longer be satisfied with yourself or fulfilled by the world. You will recognize that only God’s solution through the cross can solve your biggest problem: sin.

In other words, you will see that having an inheritance in the kingdom of God is the most important thing you could hold.

Jesus is describing people whose eyes have been opened to the truth. These qualities mark people who have saving faith because these people no longer believes the lies of this world.

R.E.A.L. Faith: 4 Core Convictions

If we walked through each Beatitude in detail, four core convictions emerge. These are the core convictions of saving faith.

Saving faith recognizes I am a sinner and I long to be holy. That is the R in REAL faith: Recognize.
Saving faith embraces that left to myself I am incapable of obtaining holiness. That is the E in REAL faith: Embrace. I embrace my need of a Savior.
Saving faith accepts that God owes me nothing and that I am unworthy of any gift from God. That is the A in REAL faith: Accept. I accept that I need the grace of God.
Saving faith leans on Jesus with firm trust that God, through the work of Christ, intends to and will bring me into holiness in the age to come. That is the L in REAL faith: Lean.

Jesus says he has come to rescue us from sin and death. I recognize that I need that. He says he grants real life, the kind that truly satisfies and never fades. I want that. He says I do not have to earn his favor. He willingly dies in my place as an act of grace. I gratefully accept that.

These are the fundamental core convictions of saving faith.

Chart: The Beatitudes: Matthew 5:1-12 Summary

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit (Matt 5:3)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The kind of poverty grants entrance to the kingdom is moral and spiritual impoverishment. Holiness is the most valuable thing in human existence, and we do not have it.

Poor in spirit means poor in your own eyes. The phrase in spirit often describes one’s inner outlook. Blessed are those who judge themselves spiritually and morally bankrupt, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Fortunate are those who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy, because they will gain what they lack. They will be granted citizenship in God’s kingdom, where sin and death are banished and life rules.

This is the first core conviction of saving faith. Recognize you are sinful.

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn (Matt 5:4)

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Mourn what? In the flow of the Beatitudes, Jesus is talking about mourning our sin and the death it unleashes in us and in the world.

This is heart-level sorrow when God lifts the fog and we finally see unrighteousness for what it is. Sin is tragic and wrong. It is not “boys being boys.” It is not “people being people.”

This grief goes with hungering and thirsting for righteousness. If I mourn sin, I begin to long for its opposite. I want life instead of death. I want righteousness instead of corruption. I want holiness instead of hypocrisy.

What would actually comfort someone who grieves like that? Real comfort is holiness. God will answer that longing completely. Sin and death will be banished. His people will be made holy. The comfort is knowing I have a place in that kingdom where life, justice, and holiness reign.

This is the flip side of recognizing sin. I not only see my sin. I want to be free of it.

Blessed Are the Meek (Matt 5:5)

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Meekness is a posture before God. The meek refuse to grab what they want through presumption or disobedience. They humbly wait for God to give what He promises, in His timing and His way.

Why would anyone do that? Because the meek have faced the truth. They see their moral and spiritual bankruptcy and admit, I have no claim on God. He owes me nothing. Left to myself, I deserve judgment, not reward.

Meekness does not swagger into God’s presence with demands. It says, I have no basis to ask for anything as if I earned it. It is an internal recognition of where I stand before Him.

This Beatitude captures the third conviction of saving faith. Accept God’s grace. I acknowledge that God is not obligated to save or bless me. I come empty-handed and dependent. Meekness looks at God and says, You choose. You lead. You give. Then it waits, trusting that what He gives will be far better than anything I could take.

What does “inherit the earth” mean? The phrase echoes Psalm 37:11 and the Old Testament idea of inheriting the land. It points to our future in God’s kingdom, not merely to something in this life. It is God’s promise of a real, lasting home in His kingdom.

The meek stop demanding God’s blessings here and now. Jesus says they are fortunate, because what God gives them in the end is far better than anything they could seize today. An inheritance, secure and undeserved, guaranteed by His faithfulness.

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness (Matt 5:6)

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

Hunger and thirst are survival words. Jesus is not talking about a casual interest in being a better person. He is describing a God-given appetite for holiness.

To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to see the worth of holiness and to feel your lack of it. Nothing in this world can fill that emptiness. Success cannot. Applause cannot. Even good religious habits, by themselves, cannot. What I want most is to be right with God and to live in a world where His justice and holiness reign.

This longing grows from the first three Beatitudes. I have faced my spiritual poverty. I have mourned my sin. I have accepted that God owes me nothing. Now I want the one thing I cannot manufacture. I want righteousness as status before God and as character that does what is right.

What does Jesus promise? “They shall be satisfied.” In God’s kingdom He will give holiness in full measure. One day He will free us completely from sin, death, futility, and corruption. The craving of saving faith ends in fullness, not frustration.

Blessed Are the Merciful (Matt 5:7)

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Mercy is the costly choice to forgive someone who has wronged you. It does not deny the wrong or pretend it did not hurt. Mercy looks the offense in the eye and releases the debt. Real forgiveness always costs the forgiver.

Why be merciful? Because saving faith has taught us something humbling. If I am poor in spirit before a holy God, I live every day on His mercy. I do not stand on my record but on His kindness.

It makes no sense to say, “God, give me mercy,” then demand strict justice from everyone else. We are all in the same boat.

Showing mercy does not call evil good or excuse abuse. It refuses to become the collector of moral debts. I entrust justice to God and, where appropriate, to rightful authorities, while releasing my personal claim to vengeance.

Jesus’ promise is striking. “They shall receive mercy.” If I insist on strict justice for every injury, that same standard falls on me, and under pure justice I am condemned. When I show mercy because I know how much I have been forgiven, I live in step with the grace God delights to give.

The merciful are blessed not because mercy earns salvation, but because it reveals a heart that understands the gospel.

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart (Matt 5:8)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Pure means clean or unmixed. In Scripture, the heart is the control center of trust, desire, and decision.

Pure in heart means single-minded devotion to God. Think of purity as undivided loyalty. I want holiness above everything else. I value righteousness like the merchant who sold all he had for the pearl of great price. I am willing to let go of competing desires that stand in the way of knowing God and becoming like Him.

What is the promise? “They shall see God.” We want to know God more than anything else and we count on Him to make us clean.

Pure in heart describes saving faith. I am done with half-hearted religion. I love God. I want righteousness. I want Him to root out mixed motives and make me whole. Jesus says people like that are fortunate, because God Himself will satisfy that desire. He will purify their hearts, and in the end they will see His face.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers (Matt 5:9)

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Peacemaking is an active, costly choice to refuse to return evil for evil. Sin naturally spirals into resentment, retaliation, and escalation. Forgiveness interrupts the spiral and releases the debt.

Why do that? Because the gospel has humbled me. I have wronged others and live on God’s mercy. It makes no sense to ask God to forgive me while demanding strict justice from everyone else.

Peacemakers are not naive about sin. They are honest about it, theirs and others’. Because they trust God to judge rightly and to change hearts, they can lay down personal vengeance.

“They shall be called sons of God.” That is family language. Sons receive the Father’s kingdom. We will be called sons of God because we have been adopted and will inherit a place in His kingdom. We are being conformed to the image of His Son. Peace there is not fragile. It is final.

Peacemaking is faith in action. Because God has made peace with me, I pursue peace with you. I seek reconciliation where possible and trust God to write the last line.

Blessed Are the Persecuted (Matt 5:10-12)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Persecution here is the hostility you attract because your life is aligned with Jesus. Note the qualifiers. “For righteousness’ sake.” “On my account.” “Falsely.” You did not invite trouble through harshness or hypocrisy. You bore Christ’s name with integrity, and that put you out of step with the world’s values.

Suffering for doing what is right is part of following Christ. Pursuing righteousness will put you at odds with a culture that rejects God.

Jesus tells us how to respond. Rejoice and be glad. Not because pain is pleasant, but because your reward is great in heaven, and you are in good company. The prophets were treated the same way.

Growing in These Qualities

We do not start life in Christ perfectly, courageously, and consistently displaying poverty of spirit, meekness, mourning, and mercy. As we grow in faith, we grow in these qualities.

Jesus is not calling us to manufacture these traits. We do not need to seek persecution. We do not need to put on a show of mourning or forgiving. The Beatitudes are not marching orders. They are general contrasts that make disciples of Jesus distinctive.

Those who hunger for righteousness versus those who love the world.
Those who know they need mercy versus those who think they have it made.
Those who are persecuted because they stand out as Christian versus those everyone loves because they go along with popular culture.

Through God’s mercy, the Spirit’s work, and the trials God asks us to walk through, these are the qualities a strong faith develops in us.

What To Do Now

Trust and believe. Seek the Word of God and believe it.

Am I willing to see my own sin and moral failure? Am I willing to trust that God will keep His promises? Do I believe true life is found in the kingdom of God? Am I willing to admit that the values of this world are misguided and wrong? Am I willing to live in the light of these truths?

These are the fundamental issues we all face. Do I actually believe the gospel I say I believe, and am I willing to live like it? If I can answer yes, these are the sorts of qualities that will emerge.

The Beatitudes are not a complete picture of the gospel. But they are a gospel of sorts. They tell us who stands to inherit life in the kingdom of God. They tell us what saving faith looks like in our lives. These are the kinds of people we should long to be.

The beatitudes aren’t about self-improvement. They’re about salvation. Jesus describes the qualities of people who have saving faith: those who recognize their spiritual poverty, mourn their sin, and hunger for righteousness. If you see these qualities in yourself, you’re on the path to eternal life.

Key Takeaways

The Beatitudes describe what saving faith looks like, not tips for feeling happier or improving society.
Blessed means being in God’s favor and under His active care, not mere good feelings or blind luck.
The promises are future oriented: the blessed are fortunate because of their eternal destiny in God’s kingdom.
REAL faith: Recognize your sin, Embrace your need, Accept God’s grace, Lean on Jesus.