The Beatitudes - Part 6
Blessed are the pure in heart
29th June 2008
The sixth beatitude is:
Matthew 5v8
Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.
The world admires the crafty, those who are skilled at getting their own way. As John Calvin put it, in his commentary on this verse:
Purity of heart is universally acknowledged to be the mother of all virtues. And yet there is hardly one person in a hundred, who does not put craftiness in the place of the greatest virtue. Hence those persons are commonly accounted happy, whose ingenuity is exercised in the successful practice of deceit, who gain dexterous advantages, by indirect means, over those with whom they have intercourse.
Perhaps you're a Christian. And perhaps, by and large, at least so far as your Christian brothers and sisters can see, you're repentant, you're living a "good" life, you say you forgive us when we're unkind. You're an active serving member of the local church. Great.
But to see God, we must not only be pure on the outside. We must be pure in heart - pure on the inside.
It is, of course, better to do good than to do evil, even if your heart is not right. But if we do good on the outside while harbouring sin on the inside, we will not see God. As Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees:
Matthew 23v27-28
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the
outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to
people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Examine yourself again. How pure are your motives?
Do you want to go away on a mission? Is that because you mourn for the lost in the city or country you are visiting? Or because you want a cheap holiday? Or because you think it might impress those you're going with?
Do you preach? Is it because you have a burden about the word of God and you want to serve your brothers by helping them understand the Bible a little better? Or do you like the sound of your own voice? Or do you enjoy being the centre of attention? Or do you think "I listened to so-and-so for so many weeks. What makes him think he understands the Bible better than I do? I'll preach, I'll show him the way to do it. I'll impress him with my spirituality"?
Do you lead a house group? Is this because they think you are better suited to it than they are? Or is it because you like being the boss?
Do you tend to make friends with wealthy or attractive people?
Do you prophesy on Sunday mornings? Is it because God has touched your heart? Or is it because it makes you feel spiritual and rather impressive when you do it? And if someone says "you haven't prophesied much recently, Phil, I think you should stir up the gift, brother" do you then want to make one up, just to get this brother off your back, or at least to impress him that you can still do it. As if a spiritual gift is some sort of measure of your walk with God. Some very sinful Christians (and non-Christians) can bring some very impressive prophesies.
Or a million other things, many work-related or family-related. Why are you nicer to the Aunt who gives you big Christmas presents?
Some of these examples are rather silly, but examine yourself. Why do you do what you do? What do you want to do? Why do you want to do it? What do you want? Why do you want it?
The trouble is; you tend to get what you really want. If you want big Christmas presents from your Aunt, you can probably get them (especially if you're sycophantic enough). If you want a good reputation in the church, you can probably get it (ditto). But to see God, you must want to see God more than you want to impress others. You must be pure in heart.
How do we become pure in heart? Only if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, and not merely the show of righteousness. Then we will be filled, we will have our hunger satisfied and "all these things will be added to us". Then we will have no other motive than God's kingdom and His glory. Not our own. Woe to us if we no longer hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Hebrews 12:14
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
As Matthew Poole says in his commentary on Matthew 5v8: