Charles G. Finney: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit- A great Sermon

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit 

by Charles Grandison Finney 

President of Oberlin College 

from "The Oberlin Evangelist" Publication of Oberlin College 

Lecture VI December 4, 1844
Public Domain Text Reformatted by Katie Stewart . 

Text.--Mat. 5:3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 

In several of the first verses of this chapter, Christ states the distinctive features of the Christian character, and affirms the blessedness of those who possess them. The text gives one of them: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

In this discourse I shall show-

I. What it is to be poor in spirit. 

II. Why such are blessed.

 

I. What it is to be poor in spirit. 1. To have a realizing sense of our spiritual state. In this it is implied that we understand our own guilt and helplessness, and realize as a practical fact our own utter emptiness by nature of every thing good, and of any tendency to that which is good. It is one thing to hold this in theory, and another thing to be heartily sensible of the humbling fact. Most professing Christians admit in words that they are in themselves wholly helpless and destitute, but to know and feel as an abiding practical conviction that this is their true spiritual condition how few are able!

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