“The Pure in Heart”

Good morning from the panhandle. It is Thursday here and time for our next be-attitude. To whom is this be-attitude directed? Who are the pure of heart? Can one become pure of heart? Read on and I hope find the answers to these questions and more. 

Matt 5:8

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Unsaved people are not interested in the Beatitudes because they convict unbelievers of sin. They have no use for the first beatitude because it leads them to admit that they are helpless. And, as if this were not enough, Christ Jesus tells unbelievers in the second and third beatitudes that they must be sorry for their sins and must let Christ control their lives. But this is not all.

Unsaved people find in the fourth beatitude that the goals of their lives must be changed. They must no longer hunger and thirst after wealth, prestige, and power, but after righteousness. This way of life results in their being merciful in dealing with others. The Beatitudes are not well received by unsaved people who are not interested in the demands of Christian discipleship.

The sixth beatitude is no more popular than the first five. It demands a trait often thought to be “old fashioned” — purity. In this age of playboy philosophy and new morality, purity is often thought to be out of place.

1. God is known only through the heart cleansing of the Holy Spirit.

No doubt this beatitude reminded Christ Jesus’ listeners of the Middle-Eastern custom of preparing for a king’s visit. The streets of the city through which the king was to pass were carefully cleansed and prepared for his visit. Only those who took part in the cleanup campaign were allowed to gaze upon their king as he passed their way.

Christ Jesus indicates in this beatitude that God demands an internal cleansing. Emphasis is not to be placed on external whitewashing but on internal spirit cleansing. Salvation is not a secondhand matter. The daughter of a prominent minister found Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade. “The only religion I have ever known is an inherited religion,” she said. Many who are traveling on the spiritual momentum of righteous ancestors have not yet awakened to the fact that God demands an individual cleansing of the heart.

When a person is saved, he or she experiences this inward cleansing. It is by “the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” that one truly becomes pure in heart “(Titus 3:5). This beatitude speaks of the new birth (John 3:3) and the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) by which one is genuinely converted to Christ Jesus. Purity of heart is the prerequisite for entrance into heaven. Without holiness “no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart” will stand in God’s presence (Ps. 24:3 – 5).

II. Christ Jesus demands a cleansing of heart because sin is basically a disease of the heart.

The scribes and Pharisees of Christ Jesus’ day acted religious without being religious. They extracted twelve hundred rules and regulations from just one of the Ten Commandments. They even went so far as to forbid the eating of eggs laid on the Sabbath. A woman was forbidden to look in a mirror on the Sabbath because she might see a gray hair and pluck it out. A man was forbidden to use his cane on the Sabbath for fear that dragging his cane in the dust might constitute plowing. The modern counterpart of the Pharisees is the person who says, “If I do good, I will be good!”

The heart must be cleansed before the life can be cleansed. David’s life was cleansed only when he asked of God, “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Ps. 51:2). A person’s actions are changed when his or her heart is changed. Character is not the result of conduct; conduct is the result of character. Martin Luther was fond of saying, “Good pious works do not produce good pious men. But good pious men produce good pious works.”

Our Lord had much to say about the need for cleansing the heart to cleanse the life: "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man." (Matt. 15:18). “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” James 3:17

Think of the process of refining maple syrup. Maple trees are tapped with buckets hung under the taps, and out drips a sap which is thin and clear, like water. On a good day, 50 trees will yield 30-40 gallons of sap, but it is essentially useless at this point with only a hint of sweetness.

Then as the buckets fill, they are emptied into large bins that sit over an open fire. The sap comes to a slow boil; and as it boils, its water content is reduced and its sugars are concentrated. Hours later, it has developed a rich flavor and golden-brown color, but it must be strained several times to remove impurities before being reheated, bottled, and graded for quality. In the end, those 30-40 gallons of sap are reduced to one gallon of pure, delicious maple syrup, which is far better than the cheap, imitation, colored sugar-water that passes for maple syrup in the grocery store.
So it is when we come to faith in Christ. We start like raw, unfinished sap, which could have been tossed aside as worthless. But God knew what he could make of us. He sought and found us, and his skillful hands are transforming us into something precious, sweet and useful. The long and often painful refining process brings forth a pure, genuine disciple easily distinguished from cheap imitations.

III. How does one become pure in heart?

The Holy Spirit enlightens the eyes of the heart: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (Eph. 1:18), And God, “who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts” (2 Cor. 4:6). Sin darkens the eyes of the heart (2 Cor. 4:4). When Christ Jesus comes into the heart, the Holy Spirit is allowed to do His cleansing work: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 (John 1:9)

Conclusion:

The promise of this beatitude is consummated in the future. Tennyson, in later years, asked his son (the executor of his estate) to see that the publishers of his poems placed “Crossing the Bar” at the end of the book. When asked on one occasion to reveal his dearest wish, he said, “A clearer vision of God.” It is no wonder then that these are the last words of his poem:

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crossed the bar.

The pure in heart will some day see their Pilot face-to-face.