Wanted: A Heart that is Pure

The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached Part VI
Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5-7

(Commentary by Guy Glass and Scott Hescht)

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Guy: Aware of our wretchedness and entropic tendency towards sin, we may find ourselves reluctant to grab hold, firmly, of a promise such as this. Perhaps we are reminded of Proverbs 20:9 when it says, "Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin?'" We may picture Moses in Exodus 33:17-23 desiring to see God's glory and God covering Moses' eyes so that he couldn't see God's goodness pass by because to see Him would kill sinful man.

How can I, a sinner saved by grace, be pure enough in heart to see God? How can I have the Father reveal Himself to me? Will he manifest Himself in a special way to one who seeks fervently to have a pure heart? If so, how can I accomplish it? The answer is yes. The father tells His people, "Be holy for I am holy." Jesus, later in this very sermon says, "Be perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." God is concerned about our personal holiness – the purity of our hearts. Our salvation depends on faith. Our sanctification depends on our becoming more and more like our heavenly Father. Being sanctified is the evidence that we truly are saved.

Psalm 119:9, 10 reads, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your Word. With my whole heart I seek You; let me not wander from Your commandments." If we seek God, desire and long for Him, He will show Himself to us. He will enable us to become pure for He can have no dealings with what is impure. It is in that secret place of holiness, of being separate from the world, that He will come to us and we may know Him intimately.

When the Bible uses the word "know", it is often in reference to the intimacy shared between a husband and wife in the secrecy of their bed. No one knows you in a more intimate way than your spouse. It is an intimate knowledge between Him and you that God desires. It is a relationship that compels us to abandon all that the world offers; to turn away from all sin and anything that would come between the two of you. The more time we spend with Him, the more we will become like Him.

As stated above in Psalm 119:9, 10, we find Him in the pages of His Word when we invest the time to seek Him there. He can be found through our unceasing prayer. If we will just listen, we can hear His voice like that of a gentle breeze whispering, "Come away with me. I want time alone with you. I want to show you more of Myself. I want you to know who I am. I want to provide for you, take care of you, and protect you. I am jealous for you. I want you all for Myself." God wants to show Himself to believers who are pure in heart, who are seeking to live a holy life. He doesn't want a spiritual prostitute, He wants a chaste virgin. Our unfaithfulness will drive Him away from us.

1 John 3:2, 3 says, "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies Himself as He is pure." God calls us to purify ourselves because He is pure. We are to look forward to the day when we are finally perfected and made sinless, as He is perfect and sinless. In the meantime, we are to make every effort in personal holiness and seeking the face of God, preparing ourselves for our face to face meeting with Him.

Revelation 19:8 describes a future scene where we will rejoice and give God glory because we have made ourselves ready as a bride for God's Son and have clothed ourselves with fine linen, bright and pure. In the third chapter of Revelation, Jesus speaks of a few Christians who have not soiled their garments that will walk with Him in white, for they are worthy. This can be you and me, if we will seek Him with our whole heart, come out from among those who are satisfied with a lukewarm Christianity and desire Him above all others.

Oh Mercy, Mercy Be!

The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached Part V
Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5-7

(Commentary by Guy Glass and Scott Hescht)

Matthew 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."

Scott: When you think of a fruit bearing Christian, what comes to mind? Maybe there is a mental picture of a person who loves God and as a result they read the Bible daily, go to church regularly, don't use vulgar language and aren't caught up in pornography, the lust of money, or anything else worldly. If life were a pie, this person would be filling it with the choicest apples of the fruit of his or her salvation.

But what if God preferred coconut? (I choose coconut because people either love it or hate it). Peter Lord once pondered, "Suppose you were to spend your entire life trying to make the best apple pie to give to God (only to find that) God does not like apple pie."
Unlike Peter Lord, in this scenario I'm not suggesting that God hates apple pie, but just that He prefers coconut. Wouldn't it be disappointing to find out when we got to heaven that we had never used God's favorite ingredient while baking this pie called life?

Several times God is quoted in the Bible as saying, "I prefer mercy. Not sacrifice."
The Christian life isn't all about us. It isn't just a bunch of dos and don'ts. In fact, if it were than we are no better than the religious people Jesus condemned in His day. They were great at following rules but they had no love for others. They were too busy being caught up in their own self righteousness. Jesus told his critics, "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matthew 9:13).

Now some of us would consider ourselves "others focused" because we share the Gospel (and for that I applaud), but is that all that Jesus meant when He said to love others? What about that passionate Christian who is willing to share boldly the Gospel message to the homosexual, but is not willing to have dinner in the homosexual's home? What about the one who loves enough to proclaim the Kingdom of God, but does not love enough to drive 10 minutes and pick a neighbor up for church. What about the zealous evangelist who is willing to make a convert but has not the love enough to follow through and make them a disciple of Christ. After all, that is the great commission right; for every Christian to make disciples and not just converts. Making disciples may take more time than some are willing to give. It requires real relationships. It requires us to have mercy and overlook the flaws of an individual in order to love them and point them to God's mercy and Grace.

Sadly the last 2,000 years has been marred with those who were unmerciful while claiming to work in the name of Jesus Christ. However, mercy is the Gospel in action and God promises to bestow mercy upon those who are merciful.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 5:31-46)