40-22 The Priority of Purity
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Matthew 5:8
Matthew 5:8
Frances Jane Crosby (better known as Fanny Crosby) was born in March 1829. She was a prolific hymn writer (b/t 8K-9K) and composer and has blessed the church with several well known and beloved hymns that have served us in worshiping LJC. Blessed Assurance, Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross, Rescue the Perishing, All the Way My Savior Leads Me, Saved by Grace, I am Thine O Lord, Sweet Hour of Prayer, & To God Be the Glory.
When she was 6 weeks old she became ill and when the family doctor was away, another man who pretended to be a doctor treated her by prescribing hot mustard poultices to be applied to her eyes. Her illness eventually got better but it left Fanny blind for the rest of her life. Despite her blindness, many of her hymns focus on faith and spiritual sight and some directly relate to the concept of seeing in a literal sense.
There was one occasion when a well-meaning pastor once told her “I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when he showered so many other gifts upon you.” Fanny’s immediate response (she had heard things like this before): “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I was born blind?…Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.” That’s a treasured trust and faith in JC—not considering blindness to be a disability but to have the hope of the promise of Jesus: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
MLJ says this beatitude “is undoubtedly one of the greatest utterances to be found anywhere in the whole realm of Holy Scriptures. Anyone who realizes even something of the meaning of the words, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God,’ can approach them only with a sense of awe and of complete inadequacy.”
It is believed that Jesus is taking this beatitude directly out of Ps 24. David is describing how God is the sovereign Lord over all creation. The question he poses—which really is the ultimate question for God’s creation is vs 3 “who may ascend…?” Who among earth’s inhabitants is acceptable to God and able to come before the sovereign King? “The hill of the Lord” is a reference to Mt Zion which is another name for Jerusalem and the “holy place” is where the presence of God dwelled above the ark of the covenant. This is the ultimate question. Who among God’s creatures are qualified to stand in His presence? Who can fellowship with the Lord?
The conditions for worshiping God in the holy place (for being in the presence of the Lord) are set forth in vs 4 “clean hands and pure heart.” We know that the Lord is gracious, compassionate, kind, loving, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness.
16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
God is also transcendent—the thrice holy God who is majestically unique and beyond the reach of His creation (which for us to know anything about God He must reveal it of Himself).
29 for our God is a consuming fire.
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2 Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You.
11 “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?
2 “There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.
Because of His greatness, the perfection of His holiness, and the purity of His nature—the priority of purity is stressed thruout Scripture for anyone who would have access to God and enter into His presence. Ps 24 states that only those with clean hands and pure hearts are welcomed into the holy atmosphere of God’s eternal purity. Keeping in mind the “priority of purity” for LJC—I want to focus on 3 truths that are prominent in our text.
1) The Problem
1) The Problem
Jesus explains that purity must be “in heart.” And this description of those who are citizens of His kingdom gets very quickly to the problem—that man’s heart (by nature) is impure. As God sees the heart of man—it is impure…and its condition is not that it is slightly dirty but that the heart of man is thoroughly impure.
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
This is the condition that result from the fall of man(originally created with pure hearts but forfeited that by their personal transgression).
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
4 “Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!
9 Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin”?
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
The heart of man is impure. And when we think about the heart—we’re not talking only about emotions and feelings. In Scripture the heart (kardia) is the mission control center of man. Certainly includes emotion and feelings but the heart is also where the thinking process begins. One theologian describes that heart as “the organ which wills or decides, thinks, knows, and judges between right and wrong.” MLJ “the center of man’s being and personality; it is the fount out of which everything else comes.”
This is what is corrupted in every person b/c of sin.
15 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.
So there is impurity of the heart. And this is the great concern of the gospel and the concern of LJC—in His preaching the focus is on the heart. And in His teaching there is a general spiritual principle the emerges that what is inside (the heart) will proceed to the outside (rather than the other way around). Jesus will use the Pharisees on many occasions to teach this principle b/c they were much more interested in what was on the outside—so Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy.
25 “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. 26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
34 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.
39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.
21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23 “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
Spurgeon comments that all society asks for is external purity. In fact all legislation is aimed at that purpose. To bring order out of chaos. But there is not a law of man that can change the human heart b/c the problem is not outside but inside. For many years people have been told that all of your troubles are b/c of your environment and to get away from troubles you simply need to change the environment. The teaching of the Bible is that the heart of man is always the seat of all our troubles. That will be true of any problem in life that leads to wretchedness will come from somewhere in the heart—that heart which Jeremiah says is more deceitful than all else and desperately sick. And the environment is the way it is b/c everyone’s heart contributes to the corruption of society which is why there is a need for these external (societal) laws. But the law never changes the human heart—which by nature is impure.
The heart is also not changed b/c a person accumulates knowledge and education. Trouble is in the heart which is impure. This is the problem.
The gospel is aimed at this very purpose b/c the heart of man is so thoroughly corrupted on account of the sin nature—Jesus teaches that something totally radical must take place.
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Jesus says that what is needed is new birth, regeneration that will result in a radical transformation of a heart transplant. The OT prophets saw the day when God would do just that with His people.
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
The Lord Jesus addresses the very problem of every man that inwardly and outwardly there is a filthiness, a defilement b/c the heart is impure. And that is what causes spiritual blindness—unable to see God.
God told Moses (who asked to see God’s glory):
19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
No one has seen God b/c man is impure. He cannot enter into the atmosphere of God’s holiness and glory in such a condition.
27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
So we see the problem with the impure heart—but this beatitude looks at something else:
2) The Priority
2) The Priority
OF PURITY
“blessed are the pure in heart”
The word “pure” Gk katharos (catharsis) it basically means to cleanse from dirt and filth. William Barclay points out that it can be used in a variety of ways:
(i) Originally it simply meant clean, and could, for instance, be used or soiled clothes which have been washed clean.
(ii) It is regularly used for corn which has been winnowed or sifted and cleansed of all chaff. In the same way it is used of an army which has been purged of all discontented, cowardly, unwilling and inefficient soldiers, and which is a force composed solely of first-class fighting men.
(iii) It very commonly appears in company with another Greek adjective--akiratos. Akiratos can be used of milk or wine which is unadulterated with water, or of metal which has in it no tinge of alloy.
So, then, the basic meaning of katharos ( G2513) is unmixed, unadulterated, unalloyed.
When this term is applied to the heart it carries the idea of pure motives, single-mindedness, integrity and undivided devotion. The pure heart will bring forth purity in conduct and life. Again, b/c the heart is the mission control center—this is what reveals the will, desires, thinking, purposes and plans of a person. The pure heart wills 1 thing…the glory of God. It is best expressed by the will (desire) to be like LJC (1 Peter 2:22 “22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;”). Jesus is perfect, spotless—entirely pure. That is the standard.
Going back to Ps 24:3-4, this is what is required to stand in the presence of God.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.
The pure heart has nothing to do with falsehood. It will pursue the truth, love the truth, speak the truth, live the truth—totally free from deceitfulness. Deceit is what you do when you will 2 things rather than 1. You will 1 thing and you will that people think you’re doing another. It is the pure heart that seeks to be like Jesus b/c it seeks above every thing else—the glory of God.
James expresses it like this:
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Double-mindedness is a problem in the church. We want the glory of God but we also want to serve the world and our flesh at the same time. Jesus says you can’t.
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
So James says
4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Double-mindedness is willing 2 things. That’s an impure heart. It is a divided heart and not fully devoted to God.
Jesus says
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.’
You can’t do that if part of your heart is divided (impure).
Paul adds:
5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
John Piper
Sermons from John Piper (1980–1989) Blessed are the Pure in Heart
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.
This is the priority of purity—inward purity that moves outward. Luther gives a helpful distinction b/t external and internal purity. “Christ … wants to have the heart pure, though outwardly the person may be a drudge in the kitchen, black, sooty, and grimy, doing all sorts of dirty work. Though a common labourer, a shoemaker or a blacksmith may be dirty and sooty or may smell because he is covered with dirt and pitch, … and though he stinks outwardly, inwardly he is pure incense before God’ because he ponders the word of God in his heart and obeys it.”
3) The Promise
3) The Promise
“they [alone] shall see God”
What can this mean—since forever we’ve been told that no one can see God and live…no one has seen God at any time…He dwells in unapproachable light? This is the rich promise of God—those who have pure hearts shall see God. There is a vision that only the pure of heart can have. Like the other beatitudes, the promise is partially fulfilled now but something much greater is coming.
At the moment of salvation (regeneration/new birth) you are made to be a new creation. God has put a new heart in you (one that is pure and strives for purity/the glory of God). And you begin to live in the presence of God and see Him as you never saw Him before. As MLJ the Xn sees Him in nature…events of history…there is a vision possible to the eye of faith that on one else has.” You see God b/c He is near, and you’re living in His presence like what we’re told about Moses:
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You;
But something greater is coming for every Xn:
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
In Eternity there will be a fuller sight of God that we shall enjoy.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Now, can you strive for purity so as to grow in it (and to be more like JC)? Of course:
A pure heart has its source in God—God alone can make the heart pure.
9 Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin”?
23 “Can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil.
This is why David prays:
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
So Pray for God to purify your heart.
God’s word is purifying
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
Walk by HS
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
John Butler
Jesus Christ: His Sermon on the Mount The Scorning of the Reward
The natural man has no desire to see God. This is no reward to him. He scorns such a reward. He wants to see the sights of the earth but not the sights of heaven. He wants to see the stars of the earth but not the Star of heaven. The natural man scorns spiritual blessings.
The Xn longs for this and embraces the promise of seeing God.
