O my soul,
Have you given much thought to what is pure?
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
― Philippians 4:8
What is pure then?
The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
― Psalm 12:6
This psalm underlines the striking contrast between the purity of the Lord and his words and the double-mindedness of humankind.
Everyone utters lies to his neighbour; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
― Psalm 12:2
The words of the Lord then are pure, but what else? Is the catalogue of what is pure in fact a very short list indeed? Could we add to that list? What else could be pure?
Jesus said:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
― Matthew 5:8
Doesn’t this one beatitude stand out from among the others as utterly intimidating? Being poor in spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger and thirsting for righteousness, being merciful⸺isn’t our response to those others, yes Lord? But being pure in heart? Isn’t our response to this, O Lord have mercy on me, a sinner? Yes of course it is, at least it is if we have any honesty in our own self-evaluation. And that is because it seems to be utterly beyond us. But is it? Is it really? Let’s think about this, and as we do, give thought to the prize.
O my soul, do you want to see God? Then resolve to do this, to be pure in heart. But how? How can we?
Job’s friend Eliphaz uttered much foolishness in his earnest desire to help Job. Here’s some of it.
Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?
― Job 4:17
He followed up with two rhetorical questions, revealing the limitations of his own understanding.
What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
― Job 15:14
He was wrong, O my soul. Rejoice that he was wrong.
The LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
― Job 42:7b
Now let’s try to answer the question by understanding how. How is it possible to be pure before the Lord? There are three elements which must come together.
The first is this.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
― 1 John 1:9
Cleanse means purify. Jesus came and died for you and for me and for all of humankind, that we may be forgiven our sin, that we may be justified and redeemed, and that we may be purified from all unrighteousness. The justification and redemption were an immediate and once-and-for-all-time thing. The purification is a rest-of-our-life thing and is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. Without the body and blood of Jesus there can be no meaningful purification, so perhaps Eliphaz was not entirely wrong.
This is the first and most fundamental element of purification.
The psalmist points us to the second.
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
― Psalm 119:9-11
I love this. I am that young man, so desiring to keep my way pure and yet so aware of the challenge in that, and so aware of my own propensity to sin⸺so aware of how I fall short, and therefore so resolute in guarding my heart according to the revealed word of God. And seeking him will take my whole heart, but it will be so worth it.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD.
― Jeremiah 29:13-14a
With all my heart I will seek the Lord, ruthlessly and unrelentingly. No holding back. No compromise. No distractions. My heart-cry is, let me not wander from your commandments!
O my soul, do you understand what it means to store up his word in your heart? Immerse yourself in the Bible. It is his precious gift to us. Read it. Savour it. Chew on it. Digest it. Commit it to memory. And do it. It will guard your heart.
This is the second element of purification.
And the third? The third element is surprising and inclined to be overlooked in this regard, but it is in fact the game-changer, the red pill.
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
― Philippians 1:9-11
The third element is the extraordinary power of love, both the Lord’s great love which came first, and our love response to his rescue⸺our love for the Lord and our love for one another. Isn’t this simply astonishing? That the outworking of authentic and abounding love could be a pure heart? Let’s think about this.
This fruit of righteousness comes through Jesus Christ, and is to the glory and praise of God. It is his own work in us, and it is all of grace.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
― Ephesians 2:8-9
We love because he first loved us.
― 1 John 4:19
This is love from a grateful heart. But how can purity be the result of this love? Didn’t the Pharisees expend so much energy dotting every i and crossing every t in order to become pure? And there are so many commandments to keep. Isn’t it all utterly wearying, completely beyond us? By no means!
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Love is the fulfilling of the law.
― Romans 13:8, 10b
Love is the fulfilling of the law, and surely this is purity before the Lord. A pure heart then is the outworking of authentic and abounding love.
Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin?”
― Proverbs 20:9
O my soul, know that this is the Lord’s will for you, so receive it and embrace it and pursue it with your whole heart! 🙏