“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51:17
As the Lord begins the sermon on the Mount He makes a series of statements. It is like a pastor reading scripture at the beginning of a message. The Lord begins with the requirements of kingdom living. His first statement hits at the core sin of every man, woman, boy and
girl. It is the reason people will not enter into heaven, into eternal life with Almighty God. This sin of pride will block men from heaven for it leads one to reject God and the gift He has given that pays for our sin. No one enters God’s kingdom without a broken heart. Isaiah said this very clearly. “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’ ” (Isaiah 57:15). Note that in Psalm 51 David states that a broken and contrite heart are the sacrifices God requires. That is how we must approach God –
with a poor spirit, realizing we are not worthy to redeem ourselves, realizing we are spiritually destitute. A broken spirit is one that is shattered into pieces. Brokenness is to be contrite which means crushed, in physical distress, shattered beyond repair. To be broken is to recognize one’s total spiritual bankruptcy before God. It is an awareness and understanding that we have absolutely nothing of value to offer God. We are broken – useless! Brokenness comes when we realize that at our core we are sinners which places us in a position diametrically opposed to God. Before we can enter God’s kingdom we must recognize we are not worthy of it. In essence we are admitting our best can in no way earn God’s favor. There is no way we can please Him. This reminds us of the old hymn, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble”. Isaiah says God looks on the one who is “humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” This is the fear of the Lord – to comprehend that He must judge my total rebellion to Him. This thought would shock the crowd who heard the Lord’s first statement. Their examples, the Pharisees were proud of their standing, their works, their righteousness and they believed their own efforts made them acceptable to God.
Why is this so important? Consider what it cost God to pay for our sin. The night He was crucified the Lord would say, “this is my
body which is broken for you.” The Messiah was broken for our sin. To come to God in pride is to declare Christ may have had to
be broken for others’ sin but we are worthy and do not not need Him to be broken for us. We are acceptable before God. This is the
highest form of disrespect and idolatry to God, the very sin that caused Satan to be expelled from heaven.
What can we learn? Brokenness comes when we see sin as God sees it both in how it permeates our lives and in the damage it does to us and God’s creation. Today many have a light view of sin, both in the world and in churches. Sin is “acceptable” especially if it does not “harm others”. Christ tells us that to enter God’s kingdom we must be broken over our sin and contrite over the damage and rebellion we have committed against a holy God. Brokenness is the starting
point to come to God as a ”living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your true and proper worship.” Poor in spirit = brokenness = contriteness.
A holy God can only be approached on bended knee.