6 Blessed Are The Pure In Heart
6 Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.NLTJesus Concerned About Our Heart
The first thing we learn from this beatitude is that Jesus is concerned with our heart. It is not enough to clean up our act on the outside.Matthew 23:25-2625 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy-full of greed and self-indulgence!26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,[a] and then the outside will become clean, too..The aim of Jesus Christ is not to reform our manners, but to change the hearts of sinners like you and me. So, for example, Jesus would not be satisfied with a society in which there were no acts of adultery.Matthew 5:27-28Teaching about Adultery27 "You have heard the commandment that says, ÔÇÿYou must not commit adultery.'(Exod 20:14; Deut 5:18) 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
The heart is what you are;your heart is the secrecy of your thought and feeling, when nobody knows just you and God. If I can use the metaphor of a tree then, you can say what you are at the invisible root matters as much to God as what your are at the visible branch. 1 Samuel 16:77 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lorddoesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."All the issues of life comes from the heart.Matthew 15:18-1918 But the words you speak come from the heart-that's what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.Matthew 12:33-3433 "A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.
So the heart is utterly crucial to Jesus. What we are in the deep, private recesses of our lives is what he cares about most. Jesus did not come into the world simply because we have some bad habits that need to be broken. He came into the world because we have such dirty hearts that need to be purified.
The Impotence of Government
Have you thought recently how helpless our government is to solve problems of our society? I read a article concerning the black community but the problem is true in differing measures in all groups of our society. The statistic was given that 58% of all black babies are born to unmarried mothers. Only about 1% of these are put up for adoption.
So over half of the next generation in the black community is being raised without a dad at home.The long term effect of that tragedy nobody knows. What can the government do? It seems that all it can do is try to find ways to soften the financial burden on these children and their mothers.
Do you see how amazingly relevant the words of Jesus are? He says, 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.All babies born to unmarried mothers (and fathers!) are born from fornication. Therefore Jesus would say, if he were here today, that this massive problem in our society is a problem with the heart. If we were pure in heart – no matter what colour you are you would be blessed. Their society would be blessed. And the impotence of the state to deal with the inner collapse of our culture would be replaced by the power of purity.
The Centrality of God and Social RelevanceNow the reason I mention the social relevance of Jesus’ teaching on purity of heart is not because that is what the beatitude is about. In fact, this beatitude is definitely not relevant if measured by contemporary social standards. Blessed are the pure in heart, Jesus says, not for they shall save the state legislature millions of rand for every child it has to support.Rather, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
The reason I mention the social impact contained in Jesus’ teaching is,(and that is My own conviction), that the fundamental problem in the world today is that we attempt to solve human problems while neglecting God as being the centre in the life of the souland that is what Jesus is telling us in this beatitude.
We are so bombarded by human tragedies of poverty and crime and abuse and neglect and war and the various injustices of man to man, to be concerned with whether the soul will ever see God. But this is the greatest of all tragedies-that in seeking to relieve the temporal miseries of man we set aside the centrality of God.
But Jesus comes to us this morning and says, “Blessed are the pure in heart,” not first because they change society, but first because they will see God. Seeing God is the great goal of being pure. If we abandon that goal then human culture will collapse into ruin.So let’s briefly look at three questions: What is it to see God?What is it to be pure in heart?And, how are these two things bound together?
1. What does it mean to ee God?Again let's look at three things
First, to see God means to be admitted to his presence. After the plague of darkness on Egypt, Pharaoh exploded to Moses with these words:Exodus 10:28-2928 "Get out of here!" Pharaoh shouted at Moses. "I'm warning you. Never come back to see me again! The day you see my face, you will die!"29 "Very well," Moses replied. "I will never see your face again."
When a king says, “You will never see my face again,” he means, “I will never grant you admission again into my presence.”
In the same way we call the doctor today and say, “Can I see Dr. Morgan today?” We don’t mean, Can I see him from a distance. Or, Can I see a picture of him? We mean, Can I have an appointment to be with him?
So the first thing seeing God means is being admitted to his presence.
Second, seeing God means being awestruck by his glory-by a direct experience of his holiness.After God confronted Job in the whirlwind, Job said,Job 42:5-65 I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.6 I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance."Virtually all of our spiritual sight in this life is mediated to us through the Word of God or the work of God in divine intervention. We “see” images and reflections of his glory. We hear echoes and reverberations of his voice.
But there will come a day when God himself will dwell among us. His glory will no longer be inferred from lightning and mountains and roaring seas and constellations of stars. Instead our experience of Him will be direct. His glory will be the very light in which we moveRevelation 21:23-2523 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory.25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there.and the beauty of his holiness will be tasted directly like honey on the tongue.
So seeing God means not only being admitted to his presence, but also being awestruck by a direct experience of his glory.
Thirdly, seeing God means being comforted by his grace. Again and again the psalmists cry out to God that he not hide his face from them. For example in Psalm 27:7-9 David says,7 Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me!8 My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."9 Do not turn your back on me. Do not reject your servant in anger.You have always been my helper.Don't leave me now; don't abandon me, O God of my salvation!
9 Do not turn your back on me.is the same as saying, “Be gracious to me!” This means that seeing the face of God is considered to be a sweet and comforting experience. If God shows his face, we are helped. If he turns his face away, we are dismayed.
So when Jesus promises the reward of “seeing God” there are at least these three things implied: We will be admitted to his presence, not just kept in the waiting room. We will be awestruck with a direct experience of his glory. And we will be helped and comforted by his grace.
And this we will have-in part now, and fully in the age to come-if we are pure in heart.2. What does it mean to Be Pure in Heart?S├©ren Kierkegaard wrote a book called Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing.That is not a bad definition, provided that the one thing we will is the glory of God.Let me try to show you where that definition comes from in Scripture. We start with the closest OT parallel to this beatitude, where David says in, Psalm 24:3-4 3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.5 They will receive the Lord's blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.You can see what David means by a “pure heart” in the phrases that follow it. A pure heart is a heart that has nothing to do with falsehood. It is painstakingly truthful and free from deceitfulness. Deceit is what you do when you try to do two things, not one thing. You want to do one thing and the other is you want people to think that you are doing another. You want to feel one thing and you want people to think you are feeling another. That is impurity of heart. Purity of heart is to will one thing, namely, to “seek the face of the Lord” (verse 6).6 Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob
You can see this idea of purity in James 4:8.8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
Notice that just like Psalm 24 there is reference to both clean hands and a pure heart as preparation for drawing near to God, or “climb the mountain of the Lord.” But notice how the men are described who need to purify their hearts: “men of double mind.” between God and the worldThat is they are men that wants' to do two things not just one thing.The impurity of double-mindedness is explained in James 4:4.
4 You adulterers![a] Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.So the double-minded man of James 4:8 has his heart divided between the world and God, like a wife who has a husband and a boyfriend. Purity of heart on the other hand is to will one thing, namely, full and total allegiance to God.
So let's see where in the gospels did Jesus explain purity of heart in this way? the answer would be Matthew 22:37,37 Jesus replied, "ÔÇÿYou must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.'
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.
Not with part of your heart. Not with a double or divided heart. That would be impurity. Purity of heart is no deception, no double-mindedness, no divided allegiance.
Paul's letter to Timothy echo this meaning of purity of heart in 1 Timothy 1:55 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.[i.e., unhypocritical faith].”
Purity of heart is to will one thing, namely, God’s truth and God’s value in everything we do. The aim of the pure heart is to align itself with the truth of God and magnify the worth of God. If you want to be pure in heart, pursue God with utter single-mindedness. Purity of heart is to will that one thing.
That leaves one last question:
3. How Are the Two Bound Together?Jesus only gives us part of the answer here. It is a true part, but only part. He says that the pure of heart will see God. That is, purity is a prerequisite for seeing God. The impure are neither granted admittance to his presence, nor are they awed by the glory of his holiness, nor are they comforted by his grace.Jesus’ point is the same as Hebrews 12:1414 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.In other words, blessed are the holy for they shall see God.There is a real purity and a real holiness which enables us to see the king of glory.
And of course that leads every sensitive soul to cry out with the words of Proverbs 20:99 Who can say, "I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin"?And when the the disciplesasked :
Matthew 19:2525 The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?".Jesus’ answer comes back to say to us today as well just like it did to the disciples in Matthew 19:26and this is the rest of the answer-“26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." In other words, God creates a purity for us and in us so that we can pursue purity. And by his grace we must seek that gift by praying with DavidPsalm 51:1010 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.And we must look to Jesus Christ Titus 2:1414 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, (purify us)and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
And the response of our hearts to God’s act of creation and Christ’s act of sacrifice is single-minded faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. As the Scripture says in Acts 15:99 He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. God is the one who purifies the heart, and the instrument with which he cleans it is faith.
Proverbs 3:5 tells us to5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.Will this one thing. And you will see God.