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Blessed Are Series, Part 6: The Pure In Heart
December 03, 2006
This sermon was presented before the Load, Kentucky, church of Christ, on December 03, 2006. The pure in heart are those who obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, and live righteously, according to the teachings of God. They shall see God. Bernie Parsons
Blessed Are…The Pure in Heart, for They Shall See God
by Bernie Parsons
Presented to the Load church of Christ 12/03/2006
Matthew 5:1: “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7: Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
We have previously studied the blessings that Jesus pronounced upon the poor in spirit, the mournful, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and the merciful. We now study Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Pure means unmixed, untainted, or unspotted.
God has always sought those of a pure heart. David said this in:
Psalms 24:1: “The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
2: For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
3: Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4: He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5: He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
To be pure of heart means that the heart is to be unmixed or untainted. Under the Law of Moses, the people were told to have no other Gods.
Exodus 20:3: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
Leviticus 26:1: “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.”
The main problem that the Israelites had was that they sought other gods, worshipping the gods of the lands around them. Their hearts were not pure. They did not devote themselves completely to serving the one true and living God. As soon as God delivered them from Egyptian bondage, they turned to the work of their hands, their idol gods.
Exodus 32:8: “They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
Isaiah 10:10: “As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
11: Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?”
2 Chronicles 24:18: “And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.”
Ezekiel 6:1: “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2: Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
3: And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
4: And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
5: And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
6: In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
7: And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”
There is no room to serve more than one master. Jesus warned that we cannot serve both God and materialism, or mammon.
Matthew 6:24: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
The apostle Paul warned the Gentiles who were converted to serve God through Christ that they could not serve the true God, and their idol gods.
1 Corinthians 10:7: “Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”
In fact, Paul plainly set forth that they could not mix the worship of the two.
2 Corinthians 6:14: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15: And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16: And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17: Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18: And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
God is the Father of the pure of heart, and not of those who seek to mix their worship of Him with the worship of idol gods.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
How do we become pure in heart? It is by Jesus Christ that we are cleansed and purified.
1 Thessalonians 1:9: “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
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.”
Acts 15:7: “And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8: And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9: And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”
1 Corinthians 6:9: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10: Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11: And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
Hebrews 10:22: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
John 3:3: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4: Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
1 Peter 1:22: “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:”
Revelation 1:5: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”
How do we remain pure in heart?
James 1:27: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
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.
3: And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
4: Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5: And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
6: Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
7: Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.”
Titus 2:11: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12: Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”
James 4:8: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
Colossians 3:1: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3: For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4: When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5: Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8: But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9: Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10: And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12: Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13: Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14: And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15: And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
We remain pure by righteous living, and by avoiding evil, and removing it from our lives.
Titus 1:15: “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
