Last week we began an important discussion regarding the beatitude found in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” We begin this segment of the lesson noting just a few related passages concerning purity of heart…
- Romans 6:17 – “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.” What comes to your mind when you think about obedience to Christ? When the apostle Paul thought about the obedience of the Roman Christians, he gave thanks unto God! Paul did not see obedience to Christ as a plague, but a reason for rejoicing and for giving thanks! It wasn’t a cold sort of obedience that He referred to, but an obedience that complied to the will of the Father with a good and genuine heart. It did the right thing with the right attitude or motivation. Obedience to Christ in deed and in heart is a privilege and blessing in this life and eternally.
- Matthew 22:36-40 – “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” These are the two greatest commandments of the Law: (1) Loving God and (2) Loving neighbors. How do we love God? With all of our heart, soul and mind! We love God free from impurity and from the depth of our heart. And how do we love our neighbor? As ourselves. As we want to be loved and be treated (see Mt. 7:12.)
- Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” In order to guard the purity of the heart we must focus our heart and mind on good things. There is so much evil in the world. If we aren’t careful it can consume us. Read and meditate on the holy Word of God like the Psalmist. Psalms 1:2 says, “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
- Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God’s evaluation of a man is at the heart level. Someone might say, “I thought the things that a Christian does matters?” Of course they do, but if the heart is right, those things naturally follow. Live your faith and your life at the heart level before God, and evaluate your faith according to the purity of your heart.
FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD
What is the blessing of the “pure in heart”? “They shall see God” (v. 8). Now, I think that a good way of seeing this blessing, as well as the others in the beatitudes, is understanding that the blessings begin in this world. God’s faithful people begin to get a small sample of heaven, a powerful inward blessedness. They don’t visibly see God in this life, but they see Him by faith. They understand and are able to live with a sense of His presence. A sense of understanding that He is yet in control. What an amazing blessing that is!
Hebrews 12:14-15 – “Strive for peace with everyone, and for holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” It seems the Hebrew writer is referring primarily here to eternity. Strive after holiness. That is a challenge in our world! Why strive after it? Because no one will see the Lord who does not!
CONCLUSION
In truth, God, of course, merits our hearts, but He is not merely challenging us by asking for our hearts. He knows it is best for us. A corrupt, tainted-heart leads to problems in relationships. It often leads to great inward stress. Heart problems are what lead Christians to walk away from our Lord.
When God likes what He sees in our hearts, we then have the capacity to see Him. That’s a great motivation!
Daren Schroeder
