Abiding at the Feet of Jesus | A Look at the Beatitudes預覽

Pure Heart Part 1

 The essence of a pure heart is a heart that has been sifted and cleansed and has its affection fixed firmly on God. 

God created you in His very image and likeness but sin marred that, which distorted the image. When you were born again, God restored the marred image and re-created you in newness of life. However, you look in the mirror and see the sinful person instead of the person into whom He has transformed you. But God is saying, “Look in the mirror of the Spirit of God and see that I truly created created you in My likeness.” 

God desires us to be broken in spirit and to have the beggarly dependence upon Him that will produce in us a mourning over our sin, and then ultimately repentance. This produces in us a meekness that is a soothing medicine and a gentle breeze—and a controlled power. That, in turn, produces in us an ability to both receive and give mercy. It produces a hungering and a thirsting, not after external religious things, but after the very righteousness of God. 

Would you have the nerve to say that you have a pure heart before God? You’re not alone if you aren’t quick to jump up and holler, “Yes!” How dare we say that we have a pure heart before God! Doesn’t the Bible say that the heart is evil and wicked—that we are sinful people, and that only God is holy? Yes, those are two true statements, but they aren’t the whole story. 

I argue that, not only can you have a pure heart, but that it is a requirement of a disciple. Part of the gift of redemption is a pure heart. Living in your identity in Christ comes with purity of heart. 

As much as the Bible tells us there is not one righteous and that the heart is evil, it also tells us that in Christ we can have a new heart and walk in the righteousness of God. What is this apparent contradiction all about? We know that sin keeps the unredeemed, human heart desiring things that are contrary to God. Now, let’s examine what the new birth does in the human heart.

The best way I can describe this is to say that your spirit makes you who you are—it’s what the Bible calls the inner person. You have a soul that is comprised of your will, emotions, and understanding. All of this is housed in this earthly tent, the body. The spirit and soul are intimately connected and will exist forever. Many times, they are used interchangeably in conversation, but they are very different. This fallen body is temporary, and when your spirit and soul are removed, your body will be lifeless. 

Before we are saved, our hearts were wicked, our minds were evil, and our sinful nature led us to do what we pleased. When we were born again, our hearts were changed and became alive to Christ. We became new creations. The Holy Spirit does a re-creative work, and indeed we are now different. This is an immediate change that is glorious and amazing. We are empowered for godly living through the Holy Spirit. 

When you are born again, if you go and look in the mirror, do you notice any physical changes? If you had gray hair, you still have gray hair. If you were tall or short, none of that changed. The new birth is not a physical change; it’s an inner change. The Bible is clear that the sinful nature wants to indulge in fleshly things. You must learn to crucify your sinful desires, or these tendencies will dominate your life. Sin should not dominate you any longer. 

At the same time, you still have a mind and emotions that have been trained to obey the demands of your desire. Every decision and action you made prior to rebirth was indulged in self-centered, sinful tendencies. Many new believers are frustrated because they still feel the draw of the old nature, with its selfish thought patterns. This is all normal until you begin to allow the Holy Spirit to change you from the inside out. This transformation goes against everything you have ever known and experienced, and it can be painful.

As we become a “new creation,” we must die to our sin natures, change our thinking, and begin responding to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Over time, this process of transformation and renewal of the mind will change us into the image of Christ. What a powerful expression of transformation. God has given us complete liberty by imparting the Holy Spirit to us. He then proceeds to transform us into His image from one degree of glory to the next. In a true abiding relationship with Christ, this transformation will continue on an incremental basis and reveal more and more of God to you. We will look at this more in the next day. 

Questions to Journal:

1. Have you ever examined the biblical definition of the three-fold nature of humanity? How does this change the way you look at your spiritual journey in Christ? 

2. What feelings do Jesus’ words that you can have a pure heart, produce in you?