A PURE HEART

A pure heart begins with a fear of the Lord God and a right understanding of sin. If you want to understand a pure heart then you must know the holiness of God - you will only know that if you know the truth of the Bible and what it teaches about the holiness of God. Do not neglect the OT and the countless examples from Genesis 1 onwards that reveal the total separateness of God from Creation and His purity, holiness, which will not tolerate any presence of sin. You cannot read the OT without realising how seriously God treats sin and how devoted He is to purity/holiness. We would do well to get that right understanding into our own hearts and what a difference it would make. We need to see with the eyes of God. Too often as Christians we look at a situation and ask ourselves "What is wrong with this?" God looks at a situation and asks "What is right with this?" We need to see with the eyes of God and we can only do that if we know the Word of God. If you do not know the Bible and the truth of the Bible you cannot expect to have a heart that is pure nor will you have a desire for a heart that is pure. There is no shortcut to a heart that is pure. James 2 verse 17 - a heart that is pure is the evidence that we are saved. Purity of heart is evidence of true Christian faith and therefore we should seriously question our faith if we do not have a pure heart or a desire to have a pure heart. You see without purity of heart you will not live a holy life and holiness of life is an assurance of salvation - 1 John 2 verse 3 and 3 verse 19. You see Judas Iscariot had the name of a disciple and he followed Jesus closely for years but he had no purity of heart and his heart led him to betray Christ and to his ultimate damnation. In the opening chapters of Revelation God condemns the churches of Sardis and Laodicea for having hearts that were not pure.
Would you have a heart that is pure? Then you must begin with Jesus Christ. You can have no purity of heart without Christ Jesus in your life. In Romans 6 verse 6 Paul tells us that when we come to Christ our old selves are crucified with Him and they are gone, dead and buried. I need to remind myself of that constantly. My old self is dead. It is Christ who lives and reigns in me today and not the old Adam. When I repented of my sin and put my faith and trust in Christ there was a clean break with sin in my life. As I identify with Christ Jesus I become alive to God and the ways of God. Recognise that when you came to Christ your sin was taken away. Would you continue with a pure heart? Then you must abide in Christ Jesus - John 15 verses 4-5. When Christ abides in me and I in Him then I am called to stop sinning and to stop living the old life - Romans 8 verse 13. You see if I continue to live a life which reflects an impure heart the consequences are eternal damnation - Ephesians 5 verse 5. I must seek the help of the Holy Spirit through prayer and the study of God's Word. When sin is exposed in my life I must repent of it and turn from it. 'I' must do that and not someone else. 'I' need to take responsibility for my own sin because one day 'I' will be answerable before God for it. You see too often Christians want an easy way out and they do not want to put any effort into changing their lives. It is sad, but true, that there is all too often nothing to distinguish the Christians from the non-Christians in this world. A heart that is pure will make you distinctly different from those of the world and the ways of the world.