How Can I Be Blessed?

How Can I Be Blessed? explores the Beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew 5, examining what it means to receive God’s blessing and how the Beatitudes shape the Christian understanding of true blessedness.

Dr. R.C. Sproul begins by tracing the biblical concept of blessing from the Old Testament benedictions—particularly the Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6—to the oracles of weal and woe delivered by Israel’s prophets. He shows how Jesus, in His prophetic role, pronounced the Beatitudes as oracles of divine favor that define life in the kingdom of God. Sproul explains the literary and theological background of these pronouncements, helping readers see the Beatitudes not as abstract ideals but as declarations rooted in God’s covenant purposes.

Each chapter takes up one of the Beatitudes in turn—poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, and persecution—drawing out its meaning and its connection to Christ and His kingdom. Sproul emphasizes that the blessedness Jesus describes is not measured by worldly comfort or success but by a relationship with God that reaches its fulfillment in the beatific vision, when believers will see God as He is. This booklet is part of the Crucial Questions series, designed for personal study, small groups, and conversations about the Christian faith.

Key Themes

• The biblical roots of blessedness in Old Testament benedictions and prophetic oracles
• The kingdom of God as the context for understanding the Beatitudes
• Christ as the ultimate source and fulfillment of true blessedness
• The beatific vision as the supreme hope of the Christian life

Featured Quotes

“This benediction is the promise of the blessedness of peace, grace, and perseverance.”

“We don’t yet know what we will be like, but this much we do know: we will be like Him, that is, Christ.”