Blessed Are The Pure In Heart
Jeremy Bell
Matthew 5:8
July 16, 2023
Sermon Audio
Sermon Recap PDF
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. — Matthew 5:8
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
— Matthew 23:27-28
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. — Psalm 24:3-4
All the labors of my hands, could not meet Thy law’s demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow; all for sin could not atone, Thou must save and Thou alone! — Augustus Toplady
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.” — James 4:8
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” — Mark 12:30
“Purity of heart is to will one thing, namely, God’s truth and God’s value in everything we do. The aim of the pure heart is to align itself with the truth of God and magnify the worth of God. If you want to be pure in heart, pursue God with utter single-mindedness. Purity of heart is to will that one thing.”
— John Piper
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. — 1 John 3:2
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” — Revelation 21:1-4
Questions for Discussion/Application
- Read this note from the ESV Study Bible regarding the passage:
Matt. 5:8 The pure in heart are those whose pursuit of purity and uprightness affects every area of life. they shall see God. Note the ultimate fulfillment in Rev. 22:4; cf. note on John 1:18. In contrast to Jewish traditions that overemphasized external ritual purity, Jesus taught that purity of heart was most important (cf. note on Matt. 5:28).
- God calls us to rest in our justification, in our right standing with God. He also calls us simultaneously to pursue growth in sanctification, godliness and purity of heart. How practically do we do both – rest in Christ’s righteousness and pursue holiness?
- No one is fully pure in heart but Jesus. In light of this, what role does “preaching the gospel to ourselves” have to play in our pursuit of sanctification, and increasing godliness/purity of heart?
- Jeremy said “To be pure in heart means to have an undivided heart….purity of heart means singleness of purpose.” He went on to say, “The Lord doesn’t want part of your heart, but all of it — your whole heart.” In what ways can we struggle as believers with divided hearts? What “idols”, what types of things can tempt and draw our hearts away from Christ?
- Consider – a love of comfort and ease, the love of money, an inordinate desire for the approval of others, inordinate desires for other things, etc…
- In what one or two ways do you think God by His Spirit is calling you to apply this beatitude to your own life?
- When believers pursue growth in sanctification and take the biblical call to holiness seriously, how does that impact our testimony and witness to the lost?
- “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. — Matthew 5:8 True, authentic, genuine Christians, evidence purity of heart in their lives. They are by no means perfectly pure. They do however evidence a gradually growing godliness and purity of heart. And this promise is for them. “They shall see God.” How does this promise from our Lord encourage us, as we continue to seek to grow as Christians — putting off sin, and putting on godly heart attitudes and behavior in the power of the Spirit.
- Consider taking time to pray, asking God to help us to grow daily in our pursuit of godliness and purity of heart.