Abiding at the Feet of Jesus | A Look at the BeatitudesSýnishorn

Pure in Heart Part 2 

Although it seems unattainable, the necessity of a pure heart is undeniable. It is not just a suggestion. No, these Beatitudes are emphatic. Jesus is saying, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Taken another way, that could mean that those that don’t have pure hearts won’t see God. A pure heart is undivided, unmixed, unadulterated, sifted, genuine, and real, with no added mixture or element. I think that one crucial element of having a pure heart is entering into an intimate abiding relationship with God.

Jesus wants us to know that Kingdom life is a relational matter of the heart. And we can all get excited about that for one reason: We really do love God down deep in our hearts. We may stumble and fall at times, but the bottom line is that, in our hearts, we have a passion for Jesus and for the things of God. With all of our inconsistencies, there is still a determination to love Jesus with all of our hearts.

A pure heart is received by faith. We see in Acts 15 that a debate had arisen in the early church. The problem had to do with the status of the new Gentile believers who had not yet been circumcised. Some were implying that the uncircumcised couldn’t be saved. Peter answered them above with the reminder that God purified them in their hearts by faith, not by the work of circumcision (Acts 15:1–29). If a pure heart is received by faith, then we must ask, “Faith in what?” We can’t clean our own hearts. But by faith, we can experience the cleansing power of Jesus. We can ask for this pure heart. We can let God’s grace in and receive it. We have clearly seen this in the progression of the Beatitudes.

A pure heart is implanted by the Holy Spirit. When, by faith, we receive the gift of salvation, we figuratively have a new heart implanted in us. In the Old Testament, we see that the prophet Ezekiel foretold a covenant that God would make through Christ, and this was mentioned again in Hebrews in the verse you read at the beginning. This is the reason why the redeemed are not just people who learn the rules. This purification of our hearts is done through the gift of salvation. It can be difficult for us to understand that purification of our hearts is both God’s responsibility and our own. How can we say it’s a gift and yet have to work for it?

I like to think of it as an apprenticeship. Once, we by faith, accept the gift of salvation, we are both absolutely new to Christianity and already accepted into God’s kingdom. Jesus paid the price and gave us our identity, yet we have a long way to go before we have developed the skills we need to function maturely. This is the journey of discipleship. 

God knows that we are putting to death our sinful nature and learning to develop our “say no to self” muscles. Walking closely with Him will help us to grow stronger faster, will help us to understand what He is calling us to do, and will make the sinful lifestyles we’ve lived in less appealing. Our hearts are growing more and more toward being pure, while all our sins are already forgiven. Both Ezekiel and Hebrews celebrate the day when true believers can obey from pure hearts. 

The pure heart is confirmed by a genuine change in what you want. When you develop a pure heart, it will impact your desires. The new heart will bring about new appetites. Whereas you used to long for the lust of the flesh, now you long for the purity of God. This doesn’t mean you won’t stumble and fall. On occasion, you may succumb to old desires. But the new heart will regain control because its driving passion is to love and please God. A religious minded individual will obey the words of God simply because God said so. Someone with a pure heart will experience the dissipation of his or her desire for sin and will instead find pure joy in abiding in Christ.

Questions to Journal: 

1. What are some areas that you would identify that separate your heart from fully pursuing Christ? 

2. Dive deep into your abiding fellowship with Christ and allow Him to transform your old desires into a pure heart for His desires.