Heart Surgery

One of the most famous passages of scripture comes from Matthew 5:1-11, the Beatitudes. This list of blessings is beautiful poetry, wonderful promises, and revolutionary ideas. In it we find an incredible promise to those who maintain a pure heart.

Matthew 5:8

Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.

This is a powerful statement, specifically for the time Jesus spoke it. Most Jews grew up learning that no one could see God and live (Exodus 33:20). God is holy and the Jews had respect for that. Throughout the Old Testament (and some parts of the New Testament) those who saw God either left with glowing faces (Exodus 34:29-30), limped away with broken bones (Genesis 32:24-30), or were inspired to defeat entire armies (Judges 6:12-16), just to name a few. 

Needless to say, the Israelites knew that God was holy and Someone they didn’t want to mess with. Yet, Jesus dropped a bombshell here, saying that those who are of a pure heart will see God. How incredible to think that when we are a people who are pure in heart we are granted access to see our Creator.

God cares about your heart

There are more than 800 mentions of the heart in the Bible, when something is spoken about often in the Word of God we need to pay attention. 

The Bible shows us that our heart is the center of our being, it's what determines who we are. While others look at our outward appearances, God is concerned with the heart.

Proverbs 21:2

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,

But the LORD weighs the hearts.

Proverbs 4:23

Keep your heart with all diligence,

For out of it spring the issues of life.

Likewise, Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as a man “thinks in his heart, so is he”. Jeremiah shows us what our hearts are truly made of in chapter 17 verse 9, 

The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

So if our hearts are naturally wicked, just like we are all born sinners (Romans 2:23), it follows that we must do something to purify our hearts. Since we are sinful beings with wicked hearts we can’t do anything to purify our hearts on our own. There must be something or someone else to save us, someone outside of our mortal world, someone with a pure heart. 

As Christians, we know that Person is Jesus. Just as He was the only human ever to live a perfect life, He also was the only One born with a pure heart. Through His death on the cross and resurrection 3 days later, He made a way for us to not only once again be reunited with the Father but to be purified as well. One definition of pure is “being free from dust, dirt, or taint”, Jesus cleanses us removing the impurities of our hearts, and sanctifies us (1 Corinthians 6:11). While we are saved in an instant by believing in Christ and repenting of our sins, sanctification, defined as “the action of making or declaring something holy”, is a process that won’t be completed until we see Jesus face to face (1 John 3:2).

Phillipians 2:12-13

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

While God works in us, we are also required to work out our salvation as well. Jesus purifies us, but we must do our part to stay that way. 

Look inside

When your heart is impure it affects your entire life, as we saw in Proverbs 4:23, it is the “wellspring of life”. When we are living in sin with deceitful and wicked hearts, our lives will be equally defiled. Salvation is what purifies us and when Jesus makes His home in our hearts, we are completely changed. His blood washes us making us “white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18), He purifies us causing our lives to be cleansed as a result. 

How can you know whether your heart is pure? We see the results in the rest of our lives. Jesus said “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Is your speech unholy, do you constantly gossip, and use God’s Name in vain? If so, it’s time to check your heart. 

Another verse about what we say gives us a few other indicators of a pure or defiled heart.

Luke 6:45

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

When there is good treasure in your heart you will “bring forth good” and the fruit of your life will be good. Are the fruits of the spirit evident in your life (Galatians 5:22-23)? Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16,20), this means people should be able to look at the life you lead and tell if you are a Christian, if there is any doubt or confusion, you might not be bearing good fruit. This also is a sign to examine your heart. 

The truth is that we are all a work in progress, as I said earlier, sanctification is a process, one that won’t be complete until we make it to Heaven. The best thing we can do is seek God’s guidance when it comes to dealing with matters of our heart. King David, whom the Bible calls “a man after His [God’s] own heart” (Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22), prayed for God to search his heart and see if there was any wickedness in him. 

Psalms 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

This prayer is the best thing we can pray to truly know what is in our hearts. David is asking God to show him what is in his own heart that may be unpleasing to Him. I have prayed this prayer many times, and God is faithful to show me what I need to change in my heart.

The heart of who you are

Over the past few weeks, I’ve taken what could be considered a “deep dive” into what it truly means to live purely. Every aspect of purity, from sexual to mental purity, and everything in between, all comes back to your heart. There is a nursery rhyme I grew up listening to that says,

“Your heart, your heart, is the most important part,  Your heart’s the part that is the heart of who you are”

Your heart is the center of your being, spiritually and physically! Every choice you make originates in your heart. As Proverbs says, the heart is where the issues of life come from, we must do all we can to guard it. 

In the realm of sexual purity, this looks like not giving your heart away to every guy that you “like”. It means not allowing yourself to be swayed by the temptation to give up your virginity before marriage. Regarding mental purity, this means “setting a watch” before your mind (Psalms 101:3), and not allowing sinful things to dwell there. The longer you think about something the more time it has to settle down in your mind and heart. 

Purity is a battle, maybe you have lost in the past in one or all of these areas. If so, there is redemption, we all struggle with one form of purity or another because we are all sinners by nature (Romans 3:23). If you have failed in the past, repent! God is ready and willing to forgive you of your sins (1 John 1:9). Once you have repented, fill your mind and heart with pure things, remember Philippians 4:8...

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Use this as your standard as to what should and should not fill your heart wihth. And as always, PRAY. I can’t stress this enough, take whatever you are facing to God! Friend, we are not in this alone, we have a High Priest who sympathizes with us (Hebrews 4:15) and loves you more than you can fathom (John 15:13). When you are doing your part and living to please God, He is on your side, and “if God is for us who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).