Those who answer Jesus' call to repent are humble before God and man as they mourn their sin; they have chosen to follow and obey Jesus and live in his kingdom. They love God above all else and love people sacrificially. They are being transformed from the inside, becoming more and more like Jesus.
Jesus warned the Pharisees that righteousness must come from the heart rather than from strictly obeying the law by following man-made rules.
When the Pharisees complained that Jesus' disciples were eating with unwashed hands, he explained that ritual washing does not prevent a person from being defiled.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives examples of this.
Jesus wants people to learn to stop the temptation before it becomes a sin. Allowing evil thoughts to marinate in your mind and take over your thinking is sin in itself that can also lead to sinful actions. We must look inside to see how sin gets its start. James teaches about this.
Those who love and follow Jesus, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, seek to have their hearts and thinking transformed. They know that their desires and motives, not just their actions and words, need to be righteous. They ask God to rule in their hearts and ferret out any spiritually unhealthy desires, motives or thoughts. They attempt to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV) They long to be pure in heart.
The pure in heart, those who long for righteousness and combat sin by overcoming those thoughts that encourage sinful desires and actions, will see God.
The pure in heart see God in nature, God's created order. Plant and animal life is a miracle that only God could imagine or produce. The power of the physical aspects of nature, the sun, winds, rain, tides and movements within the earth, are a testament to God's power. The vastness of the universe witnesses to God's infinite nature, for “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1 NIV).
The pure in heart see God in the scripture. They make an honest and diligent attempt to know who he is through Bible study because they want to draw ever closer to him. They are open to hearing the Holy Spirit teach them as they read or meditate on scripture. The pure in heart desire to spend time in God's word because they long to know, obey and enjoy God.
The pure in heart see people as God's image bearers. They know God loves all people and longs for everyone to love him and carry out his will in their lives. They want to encourage and help others to know God and do his will. They see God in other believers as they struggle in their daily lives to live in God's will.
The pure in heart see what God is doing in their own lives. They are surrendered to God, living in communion with him, seeking to align their lives with God's heart. They see God acting in the circumstances of their lives as he molds them into the people that he wants them to be.
The pure in heart will see God face to face in heaven. Their greatest longing will be satisfied because their greatest longing has always been for God.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
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