A Pure Heart

How is your heart? My mom retired from being a nurse last year, and we were talking about my brother who works at Cincinnati Children’s hospital, about clinical advancement. My mom told me about the things she did for clinical advancement and one of them, was she would work a booth at health fairs, and talk to others about the heart (she worked on a cardiac floor) and she would take blood pressure, and talk about the sodium in certain foods, which can cause heart problems. It was good so that people can see what was wrong with their heart, and a good wake-up call for some to take better care of their heart physically. And just like that you need to take care of your heart physically, you need to take care of it spiritually.

Here we are in the Sermon on the Mount, which describes the character of someone who follows Christ, someone who is a disciple. Jesus started off by dealing with the internal characteristics of a disciple. We call those the beatitudes. Be mournful over sin, and be meek, be hungry for righteousness. He then went through the similitudes which are what the believers are like, which are salt and light. From v. 17 to v. 48, He is talking about the law, and how the He came to fulfill the law, but also He calls us to a higher standard, with the heart. We are in that section, and Jesus is talking about the 7th commandment, but He is taking it further and is dealing with the heart. We live in a society that is controlled by the physical, and a society with the wrong type of heart. Jesus wants His followers not only to have pure actions, but also a pure heart. This goes against what our society teaches, where our society promotes, and shows, and expects actions that are driven by impure hearts. You must have a pure heart.

How do you have a pure heart? And while the context is dealing with adultery and lust, it is more than just that.

Sin starts on the inside

Sin will always start on the inside

You do not sin externally, without having sinned on the inside, the outward act is showing what is on the inside

Jesus is saying that if a man lusts (which is in the heart) he has committed the sin inwardly because his heart is just the same

When it talks about lust-covet

Jesus is combining the 7th and 10th commandments because the heart that will commit adultery is the one that will covet that woman

It means to set one’s heart upon, and idolatrous

Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”

Colossians 3:5 “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:”

1 Corinthians 10:6 “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”

James 4:2 “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”

Your lusts are what your hearts desire

Our society is very focused on the physical which is why there are things in advertisements and entertainment that do not need to be there, and in that you need to guard your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.”

Sin is like toothpaste, or any other sort of product. Meaning that the outside label should match the inside. The sins you commit some way on the outside. Someone who watches or listens to, or reads what they should not, is showing what is on their inside.

How is your heart? Do you find yourself lusting? Do you find yourself coveting things, which is the point where you have to have them?

Sin must be radically dealt with

Jesus is saying that if your right eye offends you, or causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and if your right hand offends you cut

Even though a believer is no going to hell, there are always consequences to sin

It is better to cut off something that is hindering you than to allow it to live

Some people flirt with sin, or just try to get up to the line, when you need to get as far away from it as possible.

Some people have part of their body amputated, which means to be cut off. Sometimes they have something amputated to stop an infection, or to stop cancer, or because there was trauma to the region. The purpose of amputating a limb is because it is better for the person not to have it. Other wise it would make no sense, and that is what Jesus is saying here, that you need to be willing to amputate what is leading you to sin.

One of the best ways to guard your heart, get rid of the triggers.

If you find yourself sinning with your phone, get rid of it. From what you watch, to allowing it to control your life. If social media is causing you to sin, get rid of it. If watching sports is causing you to sin, quit watching it. If certain friends are influencing you to sin, get rid of them. If there are certain places you go, that causes you to lust, don’t go there. Which is why guys you need to stay away from girls who dress immodestly, and girls you should not be dressing immodestly to tempt the guys.

Jesus is calling you to have a pure heart? Is your heart pure?