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16/4/00

Back to the Ironing Board - Purity of Heart 2 Peter 3:8-1
Matt 15:10-20

The sporting world was rocked this week by revelations of corruption. It seems the South African captain, Hanse Cronje was given money in exchange for information about pitch conditions and team selections. What was so disturbing about this news wasn't just that someone might stoop to bribery, but that it should be done in the realm of world cricket. Cricket is supposed to be about sportsmanship, fairness, purity, symbolised by the white clothing worn by its participants. Yet here at the top level of the game, that purity had been defiled.

It's interesting how Jesus take us, in this list of blessings, from statements about our relationship with God, to statements about our relationship with others, yet here, nestled between mercy and peacemaking we find the need for purity of heart. You see, the reason Hanse Cronje, among others, has fallen into the temptation to receive a bribe, has to do with motivation. It isn't that cricket has suddenly become less pure, if in fact it ever was. It's that the things that motivate some people are less than pure.

I think Jesus includes this blessing at this point, because the issue of motivation, of purity of heart, is crucial to the whole theme of relating to other people. If you like, 'Blessed are the pure in heart' is a kind of divine litmus test. It's a 'motive monitor,' a truth detector, that examines our motives for showing mercy or making peace.

You see, actions are always driven by motives. That's what the word motive means. It's the same word as motor. Just as a motor drives a car, so motives are the force behind the way we act or the things we say, or the direction we take. Motives determine whether we act or remain passive.

So purity of heart describes a state in which we act from pure, godly, motives. The alternative is that there's some other motivation, like selfishness, involved in our action. In that case our motives can be said to be mixed. So we may appear to be acting for God, but in fact are just as interested in being praised for our goodness, or receiving remuneration, or gaining favour with people. In that case although the action may seem good, and maybe even has a good outcome, it's value for us is discounted or even cancelled out by our mixed, impure, motives. This is what we read last week in James about treating wealthy people differently from the poor. He says that those who do that sort of thing have become judges with evil thoughts. No, our thoughts, and therefore our motives need to be pure.

The trouble is that our motives are so rarely pure. We so often do things from mixed motives don't we? Even when we do something as worthy as running an outreach program and part of our motivation is to see people come to Christ, there can also be a part that hopes that we might get a few more people in church, a few more people to swell the coffers, to cover our budget deficit. If we get some more people converted our statistics will improve and it'll look like we're doing a good job, that we're successful.

So we begin to look at people not as unique individuals in need of a Saviour, but as contacts, potential converts, statistics, perhaps even stepping stones to success. We see them as the 'client base' or the 'target group.'

On the other hand, think about how Jesus treated people. He treated the woman at the well with respect. He saw her as an individual who had particular thoughts and feelings, and who needed, above all, a relationship with God. He spoke to the woman caught in adultery with gentle firmness, encouraging her to repent and turn back to God.

On the other hand, he said of those who desired acclaim and recognition, 'They have received their reward in full.' (Matt 6:5) In other words, if your motive is public recognition and acclaim, you'd better enjoy it while you can, because there are no prizes in heaven for that kind of attitude. What God cares about is purity of heart. Purity of motivation.

But having said that let's not let the fear of mixed motives stop us from doing good things. I heard about someone in another church who refused to pray out loud, because he didn't want to be seen "doing his acts of righteousness before others." Well, Jesus doesn't say don't do anything in case your motives are mixed. He says, get your motives right so you can do good things. Make sure your heart above all is pure, because the heart is the source of the good or evil that comes out of a person's mouth, as we read in Matthew 15 just now.

Well let's think about what we mean by purity. First of all, it means free from mixture or anything that soils, adulterates or corrupts. It was a word that was used in ancient times for purging an army of cowards, dissidents and inefficient soldiers in order to produce a first-class fighting force.

There's a story of an incident in communist Russia, when Christians were being persecuted. One day as a group of Christians was meeting together in a cabin out in the country, their meeting was interrupted by someone banging on the door. Then the door burst open and there was a Russian Soldier. He shouted: "Anyone who isn't willing to give their life for Jesus Christ get outside." A few people ran for the door, and when they'd gone, the soldier sat down on a spare seat as though he was waiting for the service to continue. Then to their amazement he said. "I'm a born-again believer. But I only want to share fellowship with people who are true Christians, who are willing to lay down their lives for the kingdom!" You see, to purify means to purge an army of cowards.

But pure also became the word that was used for grain that had been processed in order to remove the chaff from the pure wheat. I used this illustration a few weeks ago. It's like when you whip egg whites. Unless the egg whites are pure they won't whip. Even the smallest amount of yolk will stop them from whipping up. Purity describes freedom from anything that's false or insincere. So William Barclay translates this verse: "Blessed [are those] whose motives are always entirely unmixed, for [they] shall see God.

Another meaning for purity of heart is "an undivided heart" or "a heart without folds". It's the opposite of hypocrisy, being 2-faced. It's similar to being single-minded which Jesus talks about later in the Sermon on the Mount when he warns against trying to serve both God and wealth. Psalm 86:11 says: "Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name." (NRSV) You see the trouble with us is that so often our hearts are divided. One half wants to obey God while the other half resists him. It's like there's a fold down the middle. Like when you take one of your good tablecloths out of the linen press and put it on the dining room table and you discover that it's developed a pleat right down the middle, that shouldn't be there. So you have to get out the iron and smooth it out. So too, we need to smooth out our hearts. To become single-minded in our obedience to Jesus Christ. We need God's Holy Spirit to straighten out all our wrinkles and give a unity to our lives that's focussed on serving God.

There are some people who try to divide their lives into secular and sacred. If you're someone like that you need to think again. In fact there are plenty of people who think they can keep Sundays for God and the rest of the week for their work. But that's to be double minded, to have our focus split. It's to lack integrity. Integrity is another word for unity of mind and purpose. Our whole life is to be focussed on serving God, or else we'll lack the sort of purity of heart that Jesus is talking about here.

Similarly we can't afford to have double standards; to do one thing when people are watching and another when we think we're not being observed; to tell others to behave one way while we behave in another; to twist the truth or to manipulate people to get the result we want, even if the end result is a good one.

So what will be the result of having a pure heart? Jesus says, "you will see God." Well, let's think about that for a moment.

It seems to me there are two aspects to seeing God. The first is that when your heart is pure the way I've been describing it, focussed, single minded, one-eyed, you develop the ability to see God at work in and around your situation. Do you remember those spies that Moses sent in to spy out the promised land? 8 of them saw only giants. The other 2, Joshua and Caleb, saw God helping them to overcome all their enemies. Do you remember the story of the Prophet Elisha, when his servant came and pointed out the enemies of God surrounding them. But Elisha looked up and saw the armies of God standing behind them. (2 Kings 6:16-17)

So it is with us. When our hearts are pure, we can see God at work in the things he asks us to do. We can see God winning the victory even when times are tough. We can affirm with Paul that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

But the other aspect to this idea is that it's only the pure in heart who are fit to stand before God. Rev 21 tells us that nothing impure will ever enter the city of God. Heb 12 tells us that our God is a consuming fire. So if we're to see God face to face we need to be purified, to have all our impurities removed, before they're burnt up and us with them I guess, in God's presence. How is that to happen? By the purifying power of Christ's death and resurrection. As John says, (1 John 1:9 -2:2 NRSV) "If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ^2:1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ²and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins" We mustn't overlook the fact that the purity of heart we need will only ever be ours by the power of God working within us, as his Holy Spirit purifies us and makes us new through the power of Christ's death and resurrection. Yet John goes on to say later in the same letter, "all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure." There's both a gift and a task for God's people. God's gift is to purify us, our task is to remain pure.

Finally, Peter sums up this idea in the reading we had from 2 Peter 3:13-14. There he says that the motivation for purity is our future hope of glory in the new heaven and new earth, the home of righteousness. Listen to what he says: (2 Pet 3:13-14 NRSV) "But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. ¹⁴Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish." So we come full circle. The knowledge that we'll see God in the new Jerusalem, where righteousness has its home, will motivate us to be found without spot or blemish and at peace with one another. The purity of heart that we look forward to becomes the motivation to live in purity of heart now; to purify ourselves, just as he is pure, so that when he appears we can stand before him and see him face to face.

What is it that you're looking forward to in life? A quiet retirement? Having enough money to do all those things you have planned. Perhaps to the time when your children are off your hands and you can have more time to yourself? Finishing your studies? Or are you looking forward to the day when you'll stand before God and he'll say 'welcome to my kingdom, come in and take your rest, good and faithful servant.' If that's what you're looking forward to, then listen to the words of our Lord: 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.'

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	Sermon of the Week	Look up the passage
	16/4/00
	Back to the Ironing Board - Purity of Heart	2 Peter 3:8-1 Matt 15:10-20

	The sporting world was rocked this week by revelations of corruption. It seems the South African captain, Hanse Cronje was given money in exchange for information about pitch conditions and team selections. What was so disturbing about this news wasn't just that someone might stoop to bribery, but that it should be done in the realm of world cricket. Cricket is supposed to be about sportsmanship, fairness, purity, symbolised by the white clothing worn by its participants. Yet here at the top level of the game, that purity had been defiled.
	It's interesting how Jesus take us, in this list of blessings, from statements about our relationship with God, to statements about our relationship with others, yet here, nestled between mercy and peacemaking we find the need for purity of heart. You see, the reason Hanse Cronje, among others, has fallen into the temptation to receive a bribe, has to do with motivation. It isn't that cricket has suddenly become less pure, if in fact it ever was. It's that the things that motivate some people are less than pure.
	I think Jesus includes this blessing at this point, because the issue of motivation, of purity of heart, is crucial to the whole theme of relating to other people. If you like, 'Blessed are the pure in heart' is a kind of divine litmus test. It's a 'motive monitor,' a truth detector, that examines our motives for showing mercy or making peace.
	You see, actions are always driven by motives. That's what the word motive means. It's the same word as motor. Just as a motor drives a car, so motives are the force behind the way we act or the things we say, or the direction we take. Motives determine whether we act or remain passive.
	So purity of heart describes a state in which we act from pure, godly, motives. The alternative is that there's some other motivation, like selfishness, involved in our action. In that case our motives can be said to be mixed. So we may appear to be acting for God, but in fact are just as interested in being praised for our goodness, or receiving remuneration, or gaining favour with people. In that case although the action may seem good, and maybe even has a good outcome, it's value for us is discounted or even cancelled out by our mixed, impure, motives. This is what we read last week in James about treating wealthy people differently from the poor. He says that those who do that sort of thing have become judges with evil thoughts. No, our thoughts, and therefore our motives need to be pure.
	The trouble is that our motives are so rarely pure. We so often do things from mixed motives don't we? Even when we do something as worthy as running an outreach program and part of our motivation is to see people come to Christ, there can also be a part that hopes that we might get a few more people in church, a few more people to swell the coffers, to cover our budget deficit. If we get some more people converted our statistics will improve and it'll look like we're doing a good job, that we're successful.
	So we begin to look at people not as unique individuals in need of a Saviour, but as contacts, potential converts, statistics, perhaps even stepping stones to success. We see them as the 'client base' or the 'target group.'
	On the other hand, think about how Jesus treated people. He treated the woman at the well with respect. He saw her as an individual who had particular thoughts and feelings, and who needed, above all, a relationship with God. He spoke to the woman caught in adultery with gentle firmness, encouraging her to repent and turn back to God.
	On the other hand, he said of those who desired acclaim and recognition, 'They have received their reward in full.' (Matt 6:5) In other words, if your motive is public recognition and acclaim, you'd better enjoy it while you can, because there are no prizes in heaven for that kind of attitude. What God cares about is purity of heart. Purity of motivation.
	But having said that let's not let the fear of mixed motives stop us from doing good things. I heard about someone in another church who refused to pray out loud, because he didn't want to be seen "doing his acts of righteousness before others." Well, Jesus doesn't say don't do anything in case your motives are mixed. He says, get your motives right so you can do good things. Make sure your heart above all is pure, because the heart is the source of the good or evil that comes out of a person's mouth, as we read in Matthew 15 just now.
	Well let's think about what we mean by purity. First of all, it means free from mixture or anything that soils, adulterates or corrupts. It was a word that was used in ancient times for purging an army of cowards, dissidents and inefficient soldiers in order to produce a first-class fighting force.
	There's a story of an incident in communist Russia, when Christians were being persecuted. One day as a group of Christians was meeting together in a cabin out in the country, their meeting was interrupted by someone banging on the door. Then the door burst open and there was a Russian Soldier. He shouted: "Anyone who isn't willing to give their life for Jesus Christ get outside." A few people ran for the door, and when they'd gone, the soldier sat down on a spare seat as though he was waiting for the service to continue. Then to their amazement he said. "I'm a born-again believer. But I only want to share fellowship with people who are true Christians, who are willing to lay down their lives for the kingdom!" You see, to purify means to purge an army of cowards.
	But pure also became the word that was used for grain that had been processed in order to remove the chaff from the pure wheat. I used this illustration a few weeks ago. It's like when you whip egg whites. Unless the egg whites are pure they won't whip. Even the smallest amount of yolk will stop them from whipping up. Purity describes freedom from anything that's false or insincere. So William Barclay translates this verse: "Blessed [are those] whose motives are always entirely unmixed, for [they] shall see God.
	Another meaning for purity of heart is "an undivided heart" or "a heart without folds". It's the opposite of hypocrisy, being 2-faced. It's similar to being single-minded which Jesus talks about later in the Sermon on the Mount when he warns against trying to serve both God and wealth. Psalm 86:11 says: "Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name." (NRSV) You see the trouble with us is that so often our hearts are divided. One half wants to obey God while the other half resists him. It's like there's a fold down the middle. Like when you take one of your good tablecloths out of the linen press and put it on the dining room table and you discover that it's developed a pleat right down the middle, that shouldn't be there. So you have to get out the iron and smooth it out. So too, we need to smooth out our hearts. To become single-minded in our obedience to Jesus Christ. We need God's Holy Spirit to straighten out all our wrinkles and give a unity to our lives that's focussed on serving God.
	There are some people who try to divide their lives into secular and sacred. If you're someone like that you need to think again. In fact there are plenty of people who think they can keep Sundays for God and the rest of the week for their work. But that's to be double minded, to have our focus split. It's to lack integrity. Integrity is another word for unity of mind and purpose. Our whole life is to be focussed on serving God, or else we'll lack the sort of purity of heart that Jesus is talking about here.
	Similarly we can't afford to have double standards; to do one thing when people are watching and another when we think we're not being observed; to tell others to behave one way while we behave in another; to twist the truth or to manipulate people to get the result we want, even if the end result is a good one.
	So what will be the result of having a pure heart? Jesus says, "you will see God." Well, let's think about that for a moment.
	It seems to me there are two aspects to seeing God. The first is that when your heart is pure the way I've been describing it, focussed, single minded, one-eyed, you develop the ability to see God at work in and around your situation. Do you remember those spies that Moses sent in to spy out the promised land? 8 of them saw only giants. The other 2, Joshua and Caleb, saw God helping them to overcome all their enemies. Do you remember the story of the Prophet Elisha, when his servant came and pointed out the enemies of God surrounding them. But Elisha looked up and saw the armies of God standing behind them. (2 Kings 6:16-17)
	So it is with us. When our hearts are pure, we can see God at work in the things he asks us to do. We can see God winning the victory even when times are tough. We can affirm with Paul that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
	But the other aspect to this idea is that it's only the pure in heart who are fit to stand before God. Rev 21 tells us that nothing impure will ever enter the city of God. Heb 12 tells us that our God is a consuming fire. So if we're to see God face to face we need to be purified, to have all our impurities removed, before they're burnt up and us with them I guess, in God's presence. How is that to happen? By the purifying power of Christ's death and resurrection. As John says, (1 John 1:9 -2:2 NRSV) "If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ^2:1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ²and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins" We mustn't overlook the fact that the purity of heart we need will only ever be ours by the power of God working within us, as his Holy Spirit purifies us and makes us new through the power of Christ's death and resurrection. Yet John goes on to say later in the same letter, "all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure." There's both a gift and a task for God's people. God's gift is to purify us, our task is to remain pure.
	Finally, Peter sums up this idea in the reading we had from 2 Peter 3:13-14. There he says that the motivation for purity is our future hope of glory in the new heaven and new earth, the home of righteousness. Listen to what he says: (2 Pet 3:13-14 NRSV) "But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. ¹⁴Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish." So we come full circle. The knowledge that we'll see God in the new Jerusalem, where righteousness has its home, will motivate us to be found without spot or blemish and at peace with one another. The purity of heart that we look forward to becomes the motivation to live in purity of heart now; to purify ourselves, just as he is pure, so that when he appears we can stand before him and see him face to face.
	What is it that you're looking forward to in life? A quiet retirement? Having enough money to do all those things you have planned. Perhaps to the time when your children are off your hands and you can have more time to yourself? Finishing your studies? Or are you looking forward to the day when you'll stand before God and he'll say 'welcome to my kingdom, come in and take your rest, good and faithful servant.' If that's what you're looking forward to, then listen to the words of our Lord: 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.'


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