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

Purity of heart is another mark of a true disciple of Jesus Christ, another course of action motivated by the truths we’ve studied in the previous beatitudes. The believer’s sober awareness of his sin and his desire for righteousness ought to lead him to seek the Lord and His will with a heart of genuine devotion. In other words, a disciple of Christ should long to become like his master (Mat 5:48; John 13:15-16, 34-35).

Believers face a daily problem, though. Our Savior is perfect, unmarred by ugly sin (Is 53:7, 9, 12; Cor 5:21; 1 Pe 2:22; 1 Jhn 3:5). Man, however, is woefully imperfect, born in iniquity (Ps 51:5). The tension lies in the fact that you and I, friends, are still in conflict with our flesh, even as we may strive to live by the Spirit that is now in us (Gal 5:17). We have been justified by the blood of Christ, and yet we battle sin every moment of every day.

So how do we become pure in our pursuit of righteousness? If we are so scarred by sin, how can we hope to be made right again? There are two facets to this problem we should consider.

Firstly, we should consider the synergistic aspect of the Christian life, where the Lord allows us to cooperate with the Spirit in our sanctification. Do we desire to root out the sin that creeps into our lives? Scripture calls us to carry our cross daily in following Christ (Mat 16:24-26) and to offer ourselves up as “living sacrifices” (Rom 12:1). This means that believers must daily commit themselves to dying to their sin so as to live for Christ.

Secondly, we must also consider God’s sovereignty in these matters. We will never be perfect in this lifetime, but though we fall short, we are not left without hope. Christ Himself will never leave or forsake us (Mat 28:20; Heb 13:5). Instead, Scripture often gives us the picture of a refiner’s fire (Zec 13:9; Mal 3:2-3). The picture is of gold being heated by fire so that the dross, the impurities, may be removed in order to make that gold more and more pure. The process is intense, and the gold has no choice but to endure. The result, however, is purity.

“The goal of every disciple… is to be made pure by the refinement of the Holy Spirit.”

We, likewise, endure refinement, and James tells us to rejoice in these moments (Jas 1:2-4) since our testing identifies us with our Savior Jesus Christ (Heb. 12:10-11). The goal of every disciple, therefore, is to be made pure, so that we may see God in His fullness just as Christ sees Him now (Mat 5:8; Jhn 1:18).

Let us pray then, friends, for the Lord’s help in making us pure in heart, genuine in our devotion to Christ our Savior. Amen!

Soli Deo Gloria