Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash
By Mike Chaffin
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8
Topping out this year’s study on the Virtues of Christian living is the ultimate virtue we are to attain as we become mature Christians. We are to be pure in heart.
Easier said than done but it is achievable because Christ said we could and told us how to be pure. Holiness is synonymous with purity. God tells us to “be holy as I am Holy.” We know purity is attainable or Jesus would not have included it in the list of beatitudes.
Job strove for purity. One method he used was a covenant with his eyes not to look at other women.
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? Job 31:1
God said Job was the most righteous person on earth.
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” Job 1:8
God’s definition of pure in heart was Job, a man who feared God and shunned evil.
Psalm 119 is a teaching Psalm. It has great advice on how to live in God’s will. While focusing on verse nine the first eleven verses are adequate to understand how to live in purity.
1Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord.
2 Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.
3 They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.
4 You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully.
5 Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!
6 Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands.
7 As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!
8 I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me!
9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word.
10 I have tried hard to find you— don’t let me wander from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
The twenty-five previous virtues in this study all guide us toward the penultimate virtue of purity. We don’t have to remember the Ten Commandments, nor the six hundred or so Jewish laws in our quest toward purity. It is much simpler than that since Jesus came to rescue us from our sins and vices. He boiled all the law and the prophecies down to this; Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus, in His farewell address said, “If you love me, keep My commandments. When we do, purity is in our grasp.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I know I need to live a holy life, one pure, and far from the pursuit of evil and fleshly desires. I can’t do this on my own. Fill me with your Spirit, lead and guide me. Show me how to fulfill your commandments as I talk with you and study your Word. In Jesus name, amen.
