The Beatitudes ~ Matthew 5:8

Yesterday, we started a lesson on the Beatitudes.  This was from a message that my pastor, Kevin Schmidt, gave at my church a while ago. We covered Matthew 5:3 – 7, and today we will cover vs 8. This should be a relatively short lesson, and we will cover the rest of the Beatitudes at a later date.

vs 8  Blessed are the pure in heart,
         For they shall see God.

We will be focusing on the word 'pure'. When we hear this word in connection with us, we know that we cannot possibly be totally pure. This may make us uncomfortable or even give us feelings of shame. If you do not know God, you may not care whether or not you are pure. You may ask yourself how do I be completely pure. The answer to that question lies, of course, in God's Word. We are now going to use what we have learned yesterday to open our eyes to God's expectations. 

Matthew 5:3 uses the phrase 'poor in spirit' to refer to those who recognize that Jesus is the only way to see God. This tells us to be spiritually humble.

In vs 4, Jesus tells us, "Blessed are those who mourn…". This refers to those who are sensitive about sin; to those who realize that when we sin, we hurt God. In other words, in order to be pure, we must recognize our sins, but more important then that, we must try not to send in the first place. Of course this is an impossible task, but to be aware of our actions before we act makes it easier.

vs 5 tells us simply to surrender our hearts to God. This is perhaps the first, and most important, step to becoming pure.

vs 6 tells us to hunger and thirst, or to seek God's Word. This, we do in exchange for righteousness.

The above are steps to becoming pure. First we must surrender our hearts to God, then recognize that Jesus is the only way to live our lives. We must be aware of our sins, and "nip them in the bud". In other words, we must stop them before they start. Lastly, we must keep reading our Bibles every day. We need to thirst for God's Word at all times, good and bad.

Other verses to read:

Matthew 5:48
Romans 12: 1, 2
Psalm 24:3 – 6

Thank you for joining me for this lesson. May God bless and keep you until we meet again.