“Clean the inside … that its outside may become clean also.”
In a modern world so full of the artificial, and so transformed by the synthetic, we have almost lost an appreciation for the authentic. Society has traded foundational life principles and absolutes for compromise and situational ethics. The moral purity of a past generation is now the punch line for late night comedians. How much more should the words of our Lord stir us as we hear Him say, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Mt. 5:8)?
Defining the words
The New Testament uses the word “pure” to describe something that is clean, clear, and without impurities. It speaks of a pure mind and a pure conscience in addition to a pure heart. Paul, writing to Titus, contrasts that which is pure to that which is defiled (Titus 1:15). The term “pure” is used primarily in the context of morality, rather than physical cleanliness.
How is the word “heart” used in Scripture? Here we have a word which is used more often as a metaphor or simile rather than as referring to the actual organ of the human body. The word is found 833 times in 765 Bible verses, and almost always refers to the inner man, the real you, the core of your being. It is first used in this way in Genesis 6:5 as it describes the moral condition of man’s inner being.
It is in this context that many of our children’s choruses and terminology regarding salvation speak of asking or letting Jesus into our hearts. One might technically find fault with such phraseology, but the concept is sound: the Saviour claims our whole life, the Holy Spirit occupies the temple of the inner man, and “your life is hid with Christ in God.”
After scanning the uses of the word in Scripture, it will become evident that this term is speaking of the center or core of one’s soul. Given that biblical use of the words, we would offer this definition for a pure heart:
Within the core of one’s soul, there are morally clean passions stimulated by a mind that is engaged in clean, wholesome thoughts; together they motivate and shape a person’s whole character and personality, so that his life continues to grow in step with the heart of God.
The foundation of godliness
Notice the Lord’s summation of the first and greatest commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Mt. 22:37). Here is the pure heart that God so desires from us. But note, too, the second commandment: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Mt. 22:39). Here is the pure heart now at work shaping the whole being and outward character of the person into a life of godliness. Peter may have recalled these words of the Lord when he wrote, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love for the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1 Pet. 1:22).
The prerequisite for worship
“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Ps. 24:3-5). God’s desire for us is to have clean, pure hearts (our inner being) and clean, holy hands (our outward life) before we approach Him in worship.
In some circles today, much is made of “lifting up holy hands,” either in prayer, praise, or just being “in touch” with the Holy Spirit. This practice is primarily taken from 1 Timothy 2:8, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” The term “holy hands” in the Bible speaks of the purity and condition of the heart before God. The root thought is really a heart raised and open (as an open palm) to God. Not literally raised hands, but a life lived openly, clean and clear before God, with nothing to hide—my hands and heart are open and clean before Him. This condition prepares us for worship, as exhorted in 1 Corinthians 11:28. We must examine the cleanliness of our hearts in the light of God’s Word, confessing any sin to Him, making things right with others, and then partaking of the emblems in remembrance of our Lord’s death.
A mind that is pure directs a walk in purity before God. This condition is a prerequisite for entering into the presence of God in worship.
The battleground for men
In 1 Timothy 2:8 quoted above, the word “men” is in the masculine tense. There is a good reason why God singles out the men with this challenge. Knowing the frailties of my own heart as I do, I fear that too many men, as fathers, husband, and even leaders, have an external appearance of righteousness, yet, within the mind, some have been entertaining thoughts of evil passions and lustful desires. This condition is portrayed in the words of James 1:8, as double-mindedness—“A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” This gap between the outer life and the inner heart will soon be manifested. It will not be hidden for long. Through the Scriptures and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, this unholy breach between mind and body can be healed before the mind casts the body into tragic circumstances, causing heartbreak and sorrow for Christian families and the family of God. If we desire to be men of God with pure hearts, may we open our hands wide in the presence of God and confess to Him the corruption of our minds and the actions of our hands.
“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.” (Ps. 19:12-14)