Blessed Are The Pure In Heart
SEVENTH IN MY TEACHING SERIES ON THE BLESSED LIFE, BY TROY DOBBS
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8
Purity is obviously a word greatly prized in the Bible. Yet in society, impurity is wreaking havoc — personally, relationally, politically, and technologically. Culture bombards us with impure pornographic images and thoughts all day every day.
See God?
In speaking this particular beatitude, Jesus said that the pure in heart will see God. Think about the awesomeness of that statement for a moment — a chance to see the Creator and Sustainer, the all-powerful, always-present, all-knowing God of the universe.
1 John 4:12 states, “No one has ever seen God.” According to the Bible, no one has ever seen God because no one could handle it other than Jesus. So, what is Jesus getting at in this beatitude when He says the pure will see God?
Katharsis
The Greek word for “pure” is “katharsis.” It means a cleansing has taken place — a releasing of pain, heartache, or baggage. In the Bible, katharsis also meant something was free of blemish, spot, or stain; free from corrupt desires and sins; a reier whose course was unimpeded; one free of guilt and shame; and an army that has been purged of all the discontented, unwilling, or inefficient soldiers.
The Pharisees would have loved the idea of the pure in heart being blessed. They put a lot of energy into upholding the stipulations of the ceremonial law spelled out in Leviticus. They got all twisted up over dishes and cups but didn’t think twice about cheating or extortion or theft as long as the cookware was externally and ceremonially clean.
The obvious application of this teaching is that keeping up appearances while our private world is in shambles is hypocrisy, which is unacceptable to God.
Unfortunately this ideology is still prevalent in the church today. For many people — as long as you go to church, give a few bucks here and there, volunteer on occasion — then it doesn’t matter whether you’re dishonest in business, covetous in money matters, cruel to your family, selfish, proud, or arrogant.
Jesus called this hypocrisy. He said:
“You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence.”
Matthew 23:25
Inner Renewal > Outward Obedience
We need to be extremely careful not to emphasize outward obedience at the expense of inner renewal. We need to specifically be careful with our children. Get to their hearts. Preach the gospel. They need Jesus, not the religion of morality to deceive them into thinking they are clean. Remember, our good works don’t make us clean. Only the blood of Christ cleanses us from sin.
Obviously then, Christ’s point in this parable is that purity is far more than dealing with the exterior. Jesus is not talking about “cleaning up your act” or reforming yourself to become the best version of you. He is talking about a heart transformation. The Bible is clear that if the inside — the heart – doesn’t change, then ultimately nothing will change. There can be no new me or new you without a new heart — and only God can give us a new heart through a maturing faith in Christ.
I Get It
Trusting Christ purifies us, and purity of heart cleanses the eyes of the soul so taht God is visible! There seem to be two primary reasons people struggle so much with experiencing true heart transformation in their lives:
- They are trying to self-help their way to transformation. Every self-help strategy is merely a half-measure that focuses on the exterior instead of the heart. Check out Proverbs 3:5-6 which makes it clear that our understanding is not the route to heart transformation.
- Many people hope to see a holy God while embracing an unholy lifestyle. An ungodly, immoral lifestyle impedes spiritual vision. This is why we need to take our sin seriously. The Bible says we see God at our true conversion — our blinded eyes are un-blinded — and we see God during our sanctification into Christ-likeness as the Spirit convicts us of sin, prompting us to confess and repent our sin.
We know that God is at work in us when we begin to “get it” and start to actually “see” what His word has been telling us all along.
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