Matthew 5:8 - "Blessed are the
pure in heart, for they shall see God."
In the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7, the Lord Jesus introduced a new standard. Or rather, He explained what was involved in the old standard that had largely been overlooked. The old standard, of course, was the Mosaic law, the law that the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Lord Jesus shows us in this passage that God wants the inward reality of these things, not just the outward appearance. The Lord Jesus says "Blessed are the pure in heart" not just those who outwardly look the part, but those have purity in their hearts. The Lord Jesus set this standard with several of the laws and traditions. Over and over again He says "You have heard that it was said... But I say to you...." And everything that the Lord Jesus said had to do with the outward obedience accompanied by the inward reality. For instance, He said that they had been told 'you shall not commit murder.' But then He said that everyone who is angry with his brother has committed murder in his heart. And again, He says in Matthew 5:27-28 - "You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; 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." The Lord Jesus is dealing with a heart issue, and I just want to take this one aspect of purity that Jesus mentions in this passage and expound on it a little bit. It's relatively easy for us to bring our bodies under subjection, but our hearts and minds are on a completely different level. That's why the Lord Jesus emphasizes the internal in Matthew 5 as the standard, because that's really the heart of the issue. It's easy for me to outwardly look like I'm pursuing a life of purity, and yet have an impure heart. It's easy for me to look like I have it all together, but that's just because people can't see my heart. And yet that heart is the very thing that God looks at. This is what He told Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7 - "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." So we can look to everyone else like we're pure, but God seeks true purity, purity of heart.
2 Timothy 2:20-22 - "Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." At the end of this passage we see again this idea of purity of heart. The apostle Paul tells Timothy to flee youthful lusts. Remember, the Lord Jesus said that lust is actually adultery. If we allow impure thoughts into our minds we will be useless to God. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God saved us for good works. He has a purpose for us and He wants to use us, but He doesn't use dirty vessels. This is what the Lord Jesus said about the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25-26 - "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also." And this is what Paul warns Timothy. You have to flee youthful lusts. Cleanse your heart and mind from any impure thought our self-indulgence, that you may be a clean vessel, useful to God.
Paul reiterates this idea again in Titus 2:13-14 where we read - "Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." Jesus gave Himself for us to purify us in order that He might use us. If we're delighting in self-indulgence we're fighting against the very purpose that God brought us to Himself through the death of Christ. This is what he talks about earlier in Titus when he says - "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. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed." We're supposed to be zealous for good works, but if we're not pure in heart we are worthless for any good deed.
The thing that will make and keep us pure in heart is abiding in Christ. Constantly dwelling in Him. The apostle John says in 1 John 2:28 - "Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." Abiding in Christ is the thing that will keep us from doing things that would cause us to shrink away from Him in shame. We want to be constantly living our lives expecting Christ to return at any moment. We never want to be thinking or doing anything that we would be ashamed of at His return. John goes on in chapter 3 to talk about how when Christ appears we will be made as He is, and he says in verse 3 - "And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." If we really believe that we are going to be made like Christ at His appearing, then we are going to strive toward that end in our every day lives. We're going to purify ourselves, just as He is pure. What does Christs purity look like? Did He ever indulge in the lust of the flesh or of the mind? No, He never even gave the appearance that He could've possibly been involved in anything impure, and that's what we need to do. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 - "Abstain from all appearance of evil." If someone could get the wrong impression if we said a certain thing or attended a certain event, even if it isn't wrong, we should avoid it for appearance sake. That's what it means to "abstain from all appearance of evil." And it's a high calling, but escaping from the lukewarm trend of the church today is what we're called to do, and it's never easy.
1 John 4:17 says - "By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world." And Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:15 - "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." We're a picture of Christ to the world, and we need to strive to be as much like Him as possible. The fact is that no matter how far along you are on your Christian walk there is always someone, both saved and unsaved, looking up to you. Looking to you to see how a Christian will act in a given circumstance. That's why Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:12 - "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe." Are you an example of purity to those around you?
David wrote Psalm 51 shortly after committing adultery with Bathsheba, and he says in verses 7 and 10 - "Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow... Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." David recognized that purity of heart comes from God alone. He alone can accomplish it, and his prayer needs to be ours as well. And not only can God do it, but He wants to. He wants us to open ourselves up to Him to allow Him to purify us for Himself. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 5:23 - "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." God wants complete purity, spirit, soul and body. Inner and outer. Philippians 4:8 - "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, meditate on these things." Simply put, if something doesn't meet the standards in this verse it shouldn't even enter our minds. If you’re put in a situation where you know that you are going to be tempted by impure thoughts, you need to get out of it. Even if everyone else is doing it, you need to show yourself as an example of those who believe. Avoid every appearance of evil, and flee youthful lusts.
2 Corinthians 7:1 - "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
In the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7, the Lord Jesus introduced a new standard. Or rather, He explained what was involved in the old standard that had largely been overlooked. The old standard, of course, was the Mosaic law, the law that the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Lord Jesus shows us in this passage that God wants the inward reality of these things, not just the outward appearance. The Lord Jesus says "Blessed are the pure in heart" not just those who outwardly look the part, but those have purity in their hearts. The Lord Jesus set this standard with several of the laws and traditions. Over and over again He says "You have heard that it was said... But I say to you...." And everything that the Lord Jesus said had to do with the outward obedience accompanied by the inward reality. For instance, He said that they had been told 'you shall not commit murder.' But then He said that everyone who is angry with his brother has committed murder in his heart. And again, He says in Matthew 5:27-28 - "You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; 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." The Lord Jesus is dealing with a heart issue, and I just want to take this one aspect of purity that Jesus mentions in this passage and expound on it a little bit. It's relatively easy for us to bring our bodies under subjection, but our hearts and minds are on a completely different level. That's why the Lord Jesus emphasizes the internal in Matthew 5 as the standard, because that's really the heart of the issue. It's easy for me to outwardly look like I'm pursuing a life of purity, and yet have an impure heart. It's easy for me to look like I have it all together, but that's just because people can't see my heart. And yet that heart is the very thing that God looks at. This is what He told Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7 - "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." So we can look to everyone else like we're pure, but God seeks true purity, purity of heart.
2 Timothy 2:20-22 - "Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." At the end of this passage we see again this idea of purity of heart. The apostle Paul tells Timothy to flee youthful lusts. Remember, the Lord Jesus said that lust is actually adultery. If we allow impure thoughts into our minds we will be useless to God. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God saved us for good works. He has a purpose for us and He wants to use us, but He doesn't use dirty vessels. This is what the Lord Jesus said about the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25-26 - "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also." And this is what Paul warns Timothy. You have to flee youthful lusts. Cleanse your heart and mind from any impure thought our self-indulgence, that you may be a clean vessel, useful to God.
Paul reiterates this idea again in Titus 2:13-14 where we read - "Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." Jesus gave Himself for us to purify us in order that He might use us. If we're delighting in self-indulgence we're fighting against the very purpose that God brought us to Himself through the death of Christ. This is what he talks about earlier in Titus when he says - "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. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed." We're supposed to be zealous for good works, but if we're not pure in heart we are worthless for any good deed.
The thing that will make and keep us pure in heart is abiding in Christ. Constantly dwelling in Him. The apostle John says in 1 John 2:28 - "Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." Abiding in Christ is the thing that will keep us from doing things that would cause us to shrink away from Him in shame. We want to be constantly living our lives expecting Christ to return at any moment. We never want to be thinking or doing anything that we would be ashamed of at His return. John goes on in chapter 3 to talk about how when Christ appears we will be made as He is, and he says in verse 3 - "And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." If we really believe that we are going to be made like Christ at His appearing, then we are going to strive toward that end in our every day lives. We're going to purify ourselves, just as He is pure. What does Christs purity look like? Did He ever indulge in the lust of the flesh or of the mind? No, He never even gave the appearance that He could've possibly been involved in anything impure, and that's what we need to do. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 - "Abstain from all appearance of evil." If someone could get the wrong impression if we said a certain thing or attended a certain event, even if it isn't wrong, we should avoid it for appearance sake. That's what it means to "abstain from all appearance of evil." And it's a high calling, but escaping from the lukewarm trend of the church today is what we're called to do, and it's never easy.
1 John 4:17 says - "By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world." And Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:15 - "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." We're a picture of Christ to the world, and we need to strive to be as much like Him as possible. The fact is that no matter how far along you are on your Christian walk there is always someone, both saved and unsaved, looking up to you. Looking to you to see how a Christian will act in a given circumstance. That's why Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:12 - "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe." Are you an example of purity to those around you?
David wrote Psalm 51 shortly after committing adultery with Bathsheba, and he says in verses 7 and 10 - "Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow... Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." David recognized that purity of heart comes from God alone. He alone can accomplish it, and his prayer needs to be ours as well. And not only can God do it, but He wants to. He wants us to open ourselves up to Him to allow Him to purify us for Himself. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 5:23 - "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." God wants complete purity, spirit, soul and body. Inner and outer. Philippians 4:8 - "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, meditate on these things." Simply put, if something doesn't meet the standards in this verse it shouldn't even enter our minds. If you’re put in a situation where you know that you are going to be tempted by impure thoughts, you need to get out of it. Even if everyone else is doing it, you need to show yourself as an example of those who believe. Avoid every appearance of evil, and flee youthful lusts.
2 Corinthians 7:1 - "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
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