BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART-MATTHEW 5:8

BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART

MATTHEW 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

Introduction:

The Apostle John wrote, “No man hath seen God at any time.” (John 1:18a). The promise here in Matthew 5:8 is that those who are “pure in heart,..shall see God.” Habakkuk 1:13 declares of God, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:” What many people have forgotten is that God is a holy God and no one will see or inter into His presence who have not been cleansed from their sin.

Here the Lord continues the spiritual and theological education of the Disciples to enable them to do the work of the Lord after He returns to be with the Father in Heaven.

I. THE NATURE OF THE PURE HEART

A. Holiness (purity) is the glory of the Godhead, Exodus 15:11, “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”

B. Purity is required in order to stand in God’s presence, Psalms 24:3-4, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

1. Civility is not purity. “A man may be clothed with moral virtues – justice, prudence, temperance – YET GO TO HELL.” —Thomas Watson.

2. Profession is not purity, Revelation 3:1, “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.”

3. Purity consist of two things:

a. Rectitude of mind, i.e., holiness in judgment, Psalm 119:30, “I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.” Compare Proverbs 1:29-30, “For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.”

b. Conformity of will, i. e., an embracing of holiness in the affections, Psalm 119:97, 165, “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. 165Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” Compare Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

II. REASONS FOR A PURE HEART

A. It is CALLED FOR in the Scriptures, 1 Peter 1:16, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:44a, “For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:” See also Leviticus 19:2; 20:7.

B. Because of our FILTHY and CURSED CONDITION:

1. Filthy, James 1:21, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

a. The plague of man’s heart, 1 Kings 8:38, “What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:”

b. He is blemished by sin, Deuteronomy 32:5, “They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.”

c. We are as an unclean thing, Isaiah 30:22, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

2. Man is cursed outside of Christ, 2 Peter 2:14, “Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:”

a. Children of disobedience, Ephesians 2:2, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

b. By nature the children of wrath, Ephesians 2:3, “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

C. Purity is the END PRODUCT of our redemption:

1. Christ redeemed us from our iniquity, 1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

2. Christ redeemed us from the wrath of God, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

3. Christ has justified us through His redemption, Romans 3:24, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”

4. A pure heart is the END PRODUCT, 1 Timothy 1:5, “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:”

D. Purity is the END of our ELECTION.

1. He has chosen us that we might be holy, Ephesians 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”

2. Not for holiness, but TO holiness, Romans 8:29, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

3. God predestinates us to Christ’s image, which consists “in righteousness and true holiness,” Ephesians 4:24, “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

III. SIGNS OF AN IMPURE HEART

A. An Ignorant Heart is an Impure Heart, Acts 26:18, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

B. Grace cannot reign where ignorance reigns.

1. There is no love for God, Psalm 9:10, “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”

2. Ignorance will not allow man to worship God correctly, John 4:22, “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.”

3. Ignorance leads to sin, Ephesians 4:18-19, “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

4. Ignorance is the mother of pride, Revelation 3:17, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”

5. It is the cause of error, 2 Timothy 3:7, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

IV. SIGNS OF A PURE HEART

A. A Sincere heart is a pure heart, Psalm 32:2, “Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.”

1. A sincere heart serves God with the whole heart.

a. His praise is with the whole heart, Psalm 9:1, “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.”

b. He seeks the Lord with a whole heart, Psalm 119:2-3, “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.”

2. The sincere Christian is willing to come under trial, Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:”

B. A Sincere heart does not go against his conscience.

1. He is bold in suffering, Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Compare Deuteronomy 28:7, “The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.”

2. But he is fearful of sin: Joseph speaks to the wife of his master in Egypt, Genesis 39:9, “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

C. The sincere heart is a suspicious heart.

1. The hypocrite suspects others and has good thoughts of himself.

2. The sincere Christian has charitable thoughts of others and suspects himself. This comes from a pure heart knowing that the Old Man still lives within him.

V. THE MEANS TO BE USED TO OBTAIN A PURE HEART.

A. Look to the Word of God regularly.

1. It cleanses, John 15:3, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

2. It sanctifies, John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

B. Go to the bath of God.

1. The bath of tears, Luke 7:38, “And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.”

2. The bath of Christ’s blood. It is “a fountain opened… for sin and uncleanness,” Zechariah 13:1, “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”

C. Get faith. It is the soul-cleansing grace of God, Acts 15:9, “And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”

VI. THE PROMISE OF THE BLESSED PRIVILEDGE OF SEEING GOD FOR THOSE OF A PURE HEART.

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

A. Our sight of God shall be TRANSPARENT SIGHT.

1. Here we see “through a glass darkly,” 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

2. There “we shall see Him as He is,” 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

B. Our sight of God shall be TRANSCENDENT SIGHT.

1. If His TRANSFIGURATION was glorious, imagine what His INAUGURATION will be like, Matthew 17:2, “And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”

2. There we shall SEE the KING in all His GLORY, Isaiah 33:17, “Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.”

C. Our sight of God shall be a TRANSFORMING SIGHT.

1. We shall be changed, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

2. We shall be like him, 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

D. Our sight of God will be a JOYFUL SIGHT.

1. We shall see His face, Acts 2:28, “Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.”

2. If our faith brings “unspeakable joy,” 1 Peter 1:8, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:”

3. Imagine what our sight of Him will bring, EVERLASTING JOY, John 16:22, “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.”

CONCLUSION

“Nothing can have a greater force and efficacy upon the heart to make it pure than faith. Faith will remove mountains, the mountains of pride, lust and envy. Faith and the love of sin are inconsistent.” —Thomas Watson

Nothing will be light the sight of our Lord Jesus Christ on that day. Our rejoicing will be like nothing we have ever experienced before even though we have experienced “joy unspeakable” by faith.