“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” —Matthew 5:8
In uttering this beatitude the Savior echoes the Psalmist when he says, “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. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation [Ps. 24:3-5].”
Of all the virtues that confront us in the Beatitudes, none is more immediately challenging than this one. It seems undermined at the outset by the sweeping denunciation of the prophet Jeremiah, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it [Jer. 17:9]?” This alone, reinforced by many other scriptures which inform us of the present condition of the human heart, rules out all hope of receiving God’s approval by works. In fact, taken at face value and overlooking the grace of God, this would destroy all hope of our ever “see(ing) God.” For, “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin [Prov. 20:9]?”
The first work of this text, then, is to inform us of our bankruptcy. The great spiritual killer is heart trouble and, recognizing this, one should be driven to seek help from the Great Physician of the soul. We need a heart transplant, or all is lost. Happily, that is just what the gospel offers us through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. What God through the prophet Ezekiel promised broken Israel has become through Christ the legacy of every sinner who turns to the Savior: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. [Ezek. 36:26, 27].”
The first requirement, then, for everyone who aspires to “see God” in a favorable context, is to receive Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, “And be found in him, not having (one’s) own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith [Phil. 3:9].” Happily, all who put their trust in Him can know that He “loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood [Rev. 1:5].”
That is where a pure heart begins, but it does not stop there. Having our hearts purified by the imputed righteousness of Christ, we are then to proceed in developing practical purity in the here and now world through cooperation with the Holy Spirit Who becomes our heavenly Resident when we receive Christ by faith. The purified heart is to eventuate in the “clean hands” enjoined by the psalmist. And, I think, this is what the Savior has in mind when He utters this word. It is an affirmation of divine favor toward those who cultivate personal holiness in “this present evil world.”
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: 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; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever [I Pet. 1:15-23, emphasis mine].”
Salvation is not a ticket we hold for admission to heaven. It is a new life we receive from God through faith in Christ to be lived out for His glory here and now. And, as we make progress in the journey we can not only anticipate seeing God ‘someday,’ but we will enjoy an ever clearer vision of His glory along the way.
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Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. —Phil. 4:8
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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