"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Matthew 5:8
When Simon the Magician heard Philip preach the Gospel in Samaria and saw the miracles that God performed confirming His message, he believed and was baptized. He was amazed. Then the apostles arrived from Jerusalem and gave the Holy Spirit by laying hands on them. Simon asked the apostle Peter if he could buy the authority of the apostles, that he might impart the Spirit the way they did. Peter turned on him fiercely and rebuked him saying,
"May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.'" (Acts 8:20-21)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of several qualities that characterize the heart of a true follower. These character traits are commonly known as the "Beatitudes." What does it mean to be “pure in heart?” Do we want to see God? To understand what Jesus meant to be “pure in heart” in Matthew 5:8, we must understand the meaning of the word "heart." When our culture speaks of the heart, they speak about it in terms of emotions and desires. They will express how their minds tell them to do one thing, but their hearts tell them to do the opposite. We must understand that the Bible and those writers inspired by God did not speak of the heart this way. The Bible speaks of the heart as our will, desire, and mind, rather than our emotions or fleshly feelings. The heart is the sum of the inner person and its many aspects. The heart and the mind are the control center of the body. Notice how this thought is translated in the King James Version in Philemon.
“For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.” (Philemon 7)
The ancient Bible writers spoke of the bowels as the place of our emotions. Imagine talking this way in our culture today? Will it make any sense? Today when our people talk about their bowels, it is usually because they ate something bad. So it makes sense. If we were to talk of our bowels as the place of emotions of the heart rather than the will, the desire, and the mind, our people would be confused. When the Word of God commands us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (cf. Matthew 22:37), these four things are the same to the ancients. These four things (heart, soul, mind, and strength) refer to the whole of our very being.
In this study, I would like to focus more on purity and the heart. Keeping the heart and guarding it wisely is not an easy task to achieve on our own. We definitely need God's help to purify our hearts of sin. We also need Him to help us with our heart's stubbornness and hardness that sneaks in, darkening its corners. The marvelous thing is that He will help us if we ask Him. Only God can give us the wisdom that we need. His counsel is found in His revealed Word, which teaches us how to pursue such purity of heart. But we must seek His wisdom for direction.
I. THE HEART:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
- What Is The Meaning of The Word "Heart"?
What did our Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:8 mean by the word "heart”? In the Bible, the heart is far more than a bodily organ. The Word of God defines the heart as that part of man that is able to believe, understand, desire, purpose, feel, plan, and will. The mind is that part of us that combines all these qualities as found in the intellect, the emotions, and the will. Our intellect contains all the facts of knowledge we have acquired. The emotions include all our feelings and desires. The will is the power to convert our wishes into deeds. When Jesus in this "beatitude" said, "Blessed are the pure in mind," He meant "Happy are the pure in heart."
Hence, purity of heart and happiness go hand in hand. No one can be truly happy with an impure heart.
- Sincerity And Cleanliness of Heart:
Jesus declared that those who are pure in heart belong to His kingdom. He declares that His people must have purity of mind, purity of will, and purity of desire. Two aspects in Matthew 22:37 show what it means to be pure in heart: sincerity and cleanliness.
- Sincerity:
To be pure in heart is to be sincere and not double-minded. In James 4:4, he speaks directly to this problem.
"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
But in James 4:7-8, he gives us the solution to this problem.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
According to James, we must purify our hearts to be sincere toward God and not be double-minded. It implies that we, His children, have singleness of devotion and complete faithfulness to God. We must be loyal to God so that we may not be pulled away. Those who are pure of heart focus only on Jesus and nothing else. They are not focused on the cares and concerns of this life. They do not serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). They only have one master, Jesus, and they serve Him without veering from that course. When we are pure of heart, the decisions that we make have only one concern: Jesus.
- Cleanliness or Purity:
The second aspect to being pure in heart is cleanliness or purity. The Scriptures speak of cleanliness as being holy in our desire, will, and mind. It is the result of having a sincere heart that focuses on Jesus. The mind, the will, and the desires are transformed from impurity to purity and righteousness. The Scriptures convey this thought in many places.
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 'I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.'" (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
Notice what Jesus said about an impure heart.
"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man." (Matthew 15:10-20)
The apostle Paul added saying,
"With the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness." (Romans 10:10)
Also, Jesus rebuked the Jews because of their hardness of heart, saying,
"For the heart of this people has become dull. With their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them." (Matthew 13:15)
To maintain a pure heart, we must hunger and thirst for righteousness. Righteousness cannot occur from an impure heart. Sadly, many sick hearts require transformation. God is the cause of such transformation.
"Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin'?'" (Proverbs 20:9)
"Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:7-9)
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)
"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:25–26)
Through God’s Word, we can open and transform our hearts as He displays His love for us through the sacrifice of Jesus. He continues to cleanse our hearts through our trials in life and answered prayers. God wants our hearts to be purged from uncleanness and made pure for His service.
Sincerity and cleanliness of heart bring purity of heart and devoted service to God. As we bring these two concepts (sincerity and cleanliness of heart) together, we can focus and be devoted to God. As we focus and devote ourselves to God alone, our heart’s impurities and uncleanness will be driven out. But our uncleanness and lack of faith in God will cause us to be double-minded. However, when we completely pursue God and His holiness, our hearts will be transformed from darkness and lawlessness into purity.
Since we understand the meaning of the heart and purity, let us examine the characteristics of a pure heart.
II. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PURE HEART:
- A Pure Heart Yearns to Serve God Alone:
Such a heart accepts submissively and humbly God's ultimate rule to determine right from wrong and clean from unclean, good and evil, true religion and false religion. Such a heart also strives to live up to God's Law. A pure heart is in complete accord with the Law of God.
"Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22)
By the way, this passage applies to both young and old. You don't have to be young to suffer from youthful lusts. We laugh at the "dirty old" men and women, but what makes it funny is the surprising truth hidden in the humor.
- A Pure Heart Lives to Please God Alone:
Purity of heart is a life-long commitment! What that means is that a pure heart is free from hidden motives or agendas. In the Bible, the pure heart is also described as a "whole" heart. It is not divided.
"Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4)
In Psalm 24:3-5, we read regarding the character of the heart.
"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation."
The Psalmist poses the question, "Who can stand with God?” "Who is acceptable to Him?" This should be a concern to all of us. When the Psalmist speaks of "clean hands," he is suggesting conduct or behavior. That means we must strive to do the right things to be pleasing to God. This is a vital standard by which we determine right from wrong. Notice that the "pure heart" directs our attention to a clear and uncontaminated motive. Such a motive is to do it with the right attitude.
This leads me to the following questions:
III. HOW CAN WE OBTAIN A PURE HEART?
Consider the following possibilities:
- It Is Possible With God:
Only God can purify the heart of man. Although we can't have a pure heart on our own, God can make it possible through His Grace that teaches us how to deny ungodliness and worldliness, teaching us righteousness and godliness. The Scriptures call this purity of heart. This is how He purifies our hearts from all lawlessness.
- God's Promises:
- Jeremiah 31:31-33:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,' declares the Lord, 'I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'"
- Jeremiah 32:39:
"And I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them."
- Ezekiel 36:25-26:
"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
God gives us new hearts by purifying our old ones and putting His new Law in our mind, writing it on the heart.
- Ezekiel 11:19-21:
"And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God."
- Daniel 12:10.:
God spoke to Daniel, saying,
"Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.""But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD."
- Malachi 3:2-3:
The prophet Malachi described God’s plan to cleanse His people as a "refiner’s fire" and "a fullers' soap." He would purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they would bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.
God's Law was to enlighten people to know and do His will. He made His Law wise and understandable. His Law is composed of infallible Truths that are trustworthy beyond all dispute. All this, God has done, and beyond this, nothing more is needed.
- God's Provision:
"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." (Hebrews 9:13-15)
This new heart Law is the Law of Christ as revealed in the Gospel of Christ, and it impresses the mind with God's offer of mercy and forgiveness and the promise of immortality and eternal life. The new Law that the apostles and prophets spoke of was written in the mind, producing a new heart. Nothing is made pure without the blood of Jesus.
Consider with me how the blood of Jesus makes us pure of heart:
- The Blood of Jesus:
"I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
He referred to a change that begins when one obeys the Gospel of Christ. Our hearts were purified when we became Christians. Peter said to Christians,
"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” (I Peter. 1:22).
Their souls were purified when they were baptized and received the forgiveness of their past sins. Moreover, they were justified, sanctified, and saved. In other words, they were given a pure heart. In Acts 15:9, Paul said that God made no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, purifying their hearts by faith. When we obey the Gospel of Christ by faith, repentance, and baptism, God purifies our hearts. He forgives us of our past sins, making us clean. This new and pure heart is only possible through our obedient faith that goes into action in baptism.
"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit…" (1 Peter 1:22)
"There is also an antitype which now saves us — baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 3:21)
It is after we are baptized that we can keep our hearts pure. We were a sinful people before because of our association with the world of darkness. This leads me to the following question:
IV. HOW DO WE KEEP A PURE HEART?
Regardless of our lack of ability to provide the means for a pure heart, God does call us to live a pure life through obedience to His will.
"This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart." (Ephesians 4:17-18)
We must live and walk with understanding, discerning between right and wrong; in newness of life, as those who have a new and pure heart. Inward purity of heart does not conform to the standards of the world.
- How Can We Have Pure Thoughts, Intentions, and Motivations?
- The Influence of the Word of God:
The Word of God is crystal clear about what we must think and digest. We must let the Word of God enter our hearts and let it influence us, change and transform us. We must live up to God's standards! We must live in accord with our new and pure heart. We must remove our impurities. We must let the Word of God remove the callouses of our hearts. We must be pure in heart and mind.
Let us seek God so that we may rid ourselves of our impurity and be filled with His living water. As those who once mourned our past sins and repented, let us cease to practice lawlessness. Let us walk in righteousness filled with what is right. Let us also hunger and thirst for righteousness and be filled with what is good and pure. And let us not grieve the Holy Spirit but rather let us ask God to create a new heart through His Divine Word. This is the only way that God changes the inner person: the heart and mind of man.
We must learn what God wants us to do through His Word. He commands that we spend time in His Word. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of a time when God would write His Law in the minds and hearts of His people, Jer. 31:33. When was this fulfilled? Consider how this fulfillment was accomplished.
- The Teaching And Preaching Of The Gospel:
This same Law, the Law of Christ, can inspire, influence, and affect us the same way it did 2,000 years ago. God offers man, through Christ's Law, a new heart so that man can receive His mercy and forgiveness as well as the hope of eternal life with Him. But we must hunger and thirst for the new Law of the heart, the Law of Christ, to have a pure, new heart.
In Ephesians 4:20-21, The Ephesians were exhorted by Paul to no longer walk as the Gentiles did. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said,
"If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."
Let us heed these words! There is no other way to purify our hearts from all lawlessness!
Although God purifies our hearts when we obey His Gospel, we must keep purifying it by hating all evil and having no fellowship with the kingdom of darkness. It is a long-term commitment for us, His children. It does not stop in the waters of baptism. Our purification must continue fervently until the day we die. This is what His Grace does in our lives, a complete transformation of the heart and mind.
- Praying And Meditating on God's Word:
Our hearts are changed and transformed when we pray and meditate in His Word. We must become very well acquainted with His Word to overcome evil and the kingdom of darkness. Notice how Paul exhorted Timothy,
"Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (I Timothy 4:15-16)
How is this possible according to 1 Timothy 4:15-16?
By meditating on His Word, the things of God. This was going to save Timothy and those who would hear him. Do you remember what God told Joshua about His Law? He said,
"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:8-9)
God told Joshua to meditate upon His Law day and night that he might prosper and God might be with him wherever he went.
- Learning Christ and Knowing Him:
Because knowing Christ requires a pure heart. It leads one to put to death the flesh, our old manner or conduct of life, with all its lawlessness and walk in the Spirit.
"But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." (Ephesians 4:20-24)
The Word, the Law of Christ, can transform, change and turn our hearts away from our old manner of life corrupted by sin. It leads to righteousness and holiness of the Truth.
- Putting Off The Old Self And Putting On The New Self:
"We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me." (Colossians 1:28-29)
Later in the letter to the Colossians, Paul admonishes them regarding their new birth and the new self saying,
"Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—" (Colossians 3:5-10)
Repentance, a change of heart, is the main focus of God's message and Law. The pure heart, the changed one, never resists repentance and confession of sins.
It is only in seeking God's face through His Word and praying that we will be able to turn our hearts away from all evil conduct. If you desire a pure heart, then start spending time meditating on His Word. In Psalm 119:9-12, we read this beautiful exhortation regarding the heart.
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes."
- The Influence of Pure Thoughts:
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."
Also, there is a connection between purity and the cleansing of our mind, regeneration and renewing of our heart and mind.
"To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled." (Titus 1:15)
The Greek word translated as "pure" means clean, unsoiled, clean from guilt, guiltless, innocent, sincere, upright, virtuous, void of evil, clean doctrinally and morally.
- Self-Discipline:
"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation." (I Peter 1:13-15)
- Battling With False Ideas:
We must ask God to make us aware of the danger and influence of false ideas, subjective vs. objective Truth. Lest we forget, the mind is the battleground of our soul.
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
- We Must War Against Impure Images, Pornography:
"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
These impure thoughts and impure images take us captive in our minds. In the end, they are sinful even if there is no physical contact or fornication. Such things affect our minds and emotions in the same way that pornography does. Let us take heed and be wise! According to Jesus, fantasizing in your mind about someone other than your spouse or indulging in even literary, sensual voyeurism is SIN. Why is it SIN? Because sin is ultimately a heart issue. Let us be careful about what we choose to ingest, take in or participate in! This includes magazines, books, movies, videos, television, social media, websites, or anything that would provide for the lust of the flesh.
V. THE PERVASIVE INFLUENCE AND IMPURITY IN OUR CULTURE:
Consider the pervasive influence and the impurity of thought in our culture today.
- There are about 4.2 million pornographic websites today. That is 12% of the total internet sites.
- A new pornographic video is created and promoted every 39 minutes in this country.
- The average age of first exposure is as young as nine years old.
- 90% of all teenagers admit to viewing pornography on line.
- The average child will watch an average of 8,000 murders on TV before he finishes elementary school.
- By age eighteen, the average teenager has seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 40,000 murders.
- The average TV shows and Hollywood movies are bombarded with sensual innuendo and voyeurism.
So, my question is:
Can we think about these things and remain pure in our hearts?
One cannot walk in the light with an impure heart. God simply will not accept us! The pure in heart will see God in this life, come to know Him, love Him, obey Him and find happiness in this life. The pure in heart will honor and appreciate the Father and the Son. The pure in heart will enjoy fellowship with Them in their life. That is the blessing of those who are pure in heart.
"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."
- What does see God mean?
- What is the blessing?
- What does it mean we shall see God?
Obviously, the word "see" does not mean to see with the physical eye. We all know there are two kinds of sight: the physical and the mental. We can see the Son and the Father by mental vision. All Christians walk by faith and not by sight. We see God by faith, with the eyes of understanding. Some saw Jesus with the physical eye, but in reality, they never saw Him. Although we cannot see God with the visual eye, we know that He exists because the Bible tells us so. We understand and believe, so we see Him.
When Jesus said,
"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."
He meant that those with a pure heart would recognize His existence and enjoy Him. They will enjoy Him and walk with Him hand in hand like good and close friends. Our friendship, fellowship, relationship, and understanding of God's ways and thoughts depend on our purity of heart. There is no other way with God!
CONCLUSION:
One who is a follower of the Son and the Father must keep the heart pure with all diligence, for out of the heart spring the issues of life.
"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 6 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil." (Proverbs 4:23-27)
Until we see Jesus as our highest pursuit in life, we will always be double-minded, distracted by the world, caught by our sins, and have a sinful and impure heart. We must examine our hearts to see our highest pursuit. Is pursuing worldliness and worldly distraction your highest pursuit in life? Is your highest pursuit in life your work, career, wealth, comfort, family, bad and sinful habits, or something other than devotion to Jesus?
If your answer is yes, I don’t see how you can be pure in heart. We must continue learning and putting into practice the beatitudes that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 5 in His Sermon on the Mount to purify our hearts from the filth of sin. Jesus is very concerned about our hearts. It matters to Him that we have pure, sincere, and devoted hearts. Don’t deceive yourself! God knows our hearts, will, desires, and intentions (Luke 16:15; Acts 1:24; Acts 15:8; Romans 8:27). He also knows our highest pursuit. Do you suppose we can deceive God into thinking that He is our highest pursuit of a pure heart just by coming to church on Sunday (if we make it to church at all!)?! It will not give us a pure heart with God!
Jesus said that to see God, we must make Him our highest pursuit in life. Now stop and reflect on this thought: to see God as the culmination of all our hungering and thirsting after Him and His kingdom of righteousness. Purity of heart is the fundamental prerequisite to having fellowship with God. Those who are transformed in their heart will be able to see God. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us, saying that without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). Is that not a greater motivation to you? It is to me!
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Seeing God and having an intimate relationship with Him is everything! We must strive to be pure in heart to see God, have a relationship with Him, and be a citizen in His kingdom.
Thus, we must determine to follow God’s instruction given to us in the book of Hebrews and set aside this world’s distractions and run with endurance the race set before us to see God and be with Him one day. We must have a pure heart toward God and His kingdom to see Him and have fellowship with Him now and in the future, in heaven.
"Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Purity in heart is seen by the way one lives. As Peter said, inspired by the Spirit:
"So as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God." (I Peter 4:2)
Jesus said,
"There is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man." (Mark 7:15)
Jesus points out that what comes out of a person’s heart is what defiles him.
"That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man." (Mark 7:20-23)
This leads me to the following questions:
- Why is sexual immorality (fornication) so pervasive in our culture today? Because of impure hearts.
- Why is lying so pervasive in our culture today? Because of impure hearts.
- Why do marriages so often end up in adultery and divorce today? Because of impure hearts.
- Why are we so unhappy and discontent with what we have in our culture today? Because of impure hearts.
- Why are there so many quarrels and fighting among us in our culture today? Because of impure hearts.
- Why is it that we find it easier to think bad of a person than to think good? Because of impure hearts.
- And finally, why would most people rather be lost eternally rather than change their hearts in repentance? Because of impure hearts.
Jesus said,
"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
God, Himself, is our standard and nothing else. We cannot please God until we exchange our heart for a pure one as He is pure, perfect, and holy. Only those who are pure in heart may enter the kingdom. Only God can give us a new heart.
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I want to leave you with these beautiful and encouraging words from Revelation 21:3-7. Let us examine our hearts and take away the layers of impurity from it to serve our Lord faithfully and be devoted to Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.... And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' And He said, 'Write, for these words are faithful and true. Then He said to me, 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son."
May we take away the layers of impurity from our hearts to have more purity in our lives. May we yearn to be holy and pure toward God in our manner of living. May we dwell in that which is true, honorable, pure, right, lovely, of good repute, of excellence, and worthy of praise. May we practice these excellent things so that we may see God, having peace and fellowship with Him. May our hearts be pure according to God's standards. May our hearts be pure so that we may please Him. May our hearts be pure so that we may enter the kingdom of the Father and the Son.
"Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart." (Psalm 24:3-4)
The following is a beautiful song that well expresses the thought of a pure heart.
Purer In Heart, O GodPurer in heart, O God, help me to be;May I devote my life wholly to Thee:Watch Thou my wayward feet,Guide me with counsel sweet;Purer in heart, help me to be.Purer in heart, O God, help me to be;Teach me to do Thy will most lovingly;Be Thou my Friend and Guide,Let me with Thee abide;Purer in heart, help me to be.Purer in heart, O God, help me to be;That I Thy holy face One day may see:Keep me from secret sin,Reign Thou my soul within;Purer in heart, help me to be.
Luci
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