We have this promise that the God whom we have worshipped without seeing. is the one whom we will behold. face to face. Can you imagine anything that would flood your soul? with glory More than that.
Blessed are the pure in heart. For they shall See God. The Sermon on the Mount found here in Matthew chapter 5 is filled with promises, wonderful promises. And one promise we must not skim over is that the pure in heart shall see God. The Christians will experience the beatific vision and see God as He is, face to face.
And when we remember and reflect on these future promises, it helps us focus less on the cares and worries of today. Hello and welcome to the Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind as each week we feature the preaching ministry of R.C. Sproll. We're currently in a brief sermon series from the Gospel of Matthew as Dr. Sproll takes us through the early teaching found in the Sermon on the Mount.
If you'd like to go back and study the Beatitudes in greater detail, or all of Matthew, then I commend Dr. Sproll's hardcover commentary. You can request your own copy when you give a donation in support of Renewing Your Mind at renewingyourmind.org before midnight tonight. Today we will look at three more Beatitudes including Blessed are the pure in heart. Here's Dr.
Sproll. We're going to continue our study of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. We are in the Sermon on the Mount and in the middle of the Beatitudes. And I will be reading Matthew 5, 7 through 9.
Blessed are the merciful. For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart. For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers.
For they shall be called Sons of God. The first of the Beatitudes that we'll look at is one that contains a glorious promise in it. But there's also something a little bit scary about it. The promise that Jesus gives of divine blessing in this case is. for the merciful.
And the promise is that those who are merciful themselves will obtain mercy. And as we've seen throughout these Beatitudes, it's not like Jesus is slicing and dicing several different groups of people and giving different rewards to those who manifest particular virtues. that all of the virtues that are contained in the Beatitudes are things that we should all embrace and manifest.
So in the first instance we see that the character of the Christian is to be one that manifests A spirit Of mercy. That's not always manifested. Among Christians. to our great shame. But we should understand that we cannot draw a single breath in this life.
Except by the mercy of God. And we are to, of all people, manifest a spirit of mercy because we ourselves live by it every day and inherit its. Eternal life strictly on the basis of mercy, not on the basis of. Justice. This theme is echoed even in the Lord's Prayer that we will examine in more detail later.
Where we say frequently, forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us. And that has a scary implication to us. namely that if God's forgiveness to me in any way. reflects my spirit of forgiveness to Other people.
I'm afraid I would be in serious trouble. Because the granting of forgiveness is, in some measure, A Granting of Mercy. and that we who live by mercy should be willing to be merciful to others. should go without saying. This concept is so important.
in the teaching of Jesus that we find later on. In Matthew's Gospel, in chapter 18. Another reference to this principle. And I'm not going to give an exposition of this entire parable. We'll let that wait till we get to chapter 18.
But if I can ask your indulgence to listen for a moment or two. I'd just like to read it for you to remind you of this particular case study, as it were, that our Lord gave. It's called the parable. of the un forgiving servant. Verse 21 of chapter 18 reads: Then Peter came up to him, that is to Jesus, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me?
And I forgive him. Up to seven times? Jesus said to him. I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king.
who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But he was not able to pay. His master commanded that he be sold with his wife and children. And all that he had And that payment Be made.
The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. Oh. Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion. Released him. And forgave him the debt.
Then that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred dinariya, and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat and said, Pay me what you owe. And so his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, Have patience with me. And I will pay you all. And he would not. but went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt.
So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were grieved and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, You wicked. servant. I forgave you all the debts. Because you Beg me.
Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant? just as I had pity on you. And his master was angry. and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay All that was due to him, so my heavenly Father also. will do to each of you Who from his heart?
does not forgive his brother His trespasses. And again. The basic thrust of that parable. is manifest, isn't it? The warning should ring in our ears If we refuse to extend mercy to those who ask it of us.
How can we possibly expect to receive mercy From the hand of God. That's the. Downside. of this blessing. If we stated it in negative terms, the oracle would be one of doom.
Cursed. Are you? who are unmerciful. For You. Will not Receive The mercy of God.
But of course Jesus frames this in a positive way. promising the Father's blessing. on those who are merciful. Because if they are, they in turn will receive. Mercy.
And again. we've already received such a measure of mercy from the hand of God Dear ones, that if he were never merciful another time, As long as we live. We would have nothing to complain about Based on the grace and mercy we've already received. But the good news is that the mercy we've already received is not the end. of the mercy that we shall receive that goes on into eternity.
The second Beatitude that we will look at says, Blessed. Are the pure in heart? For they shall see me. God. We've noticed throughout the Beatitude so far that there is a kind of.
Pattern of consistency. Between that which receives the blessing of Christ and the Reward that is a consequence of it. And here we see that the only group of those distinguished here that are promised The Beatific Vision. The Supreme Blessing. of redeemed people.
To see God himself. That that promise is given To the pure In heart.
Now one of the most difficult things about being a Christian Is that we serve a God who is invisible? We have a saying in our vocabulary out of sight. out of mind.
Well, God is always Out of sight. For his people. We never see him. From the time of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. The vision of God has been prohibited.
And we are told that the soul who sees him will die. No man can see God and live. We remember the request of Moses on the mountain when he said to God, You know, you've shown me wonderful things, things that no one else has ever beheld. You've displayed your glory in the burning bush. And in other ways But, Lord, please give me the big one.
Let me see. Your face. And that'll satisfy me. And you remember God's response to his servant Moses? I'll tell you what I'll do.
put you in the cleft of the rock. And I'll pass my backward parts, my hind quarters past you. And you may have a momentary glimpse of my backward parts, but my face. Shall not Be seen.
So that even Moses Was denied the supreme blessing. Of seeing. The face of God.
Well, there are a couple of things I want to consider here. The first one is: why is it? that we can't see The Being of God. And some would answer that question by saying that it's basically an ontological problem. That is, that God is a spirit.
He has no mass, no form that anybody could ever behold. And we as creatures do not have the strength of vision to see the invisible being of God. And so it's because of the difference between the creature and the creator in terms of our constituent makeup. that God's being remains invisible to us. But when we look at Scripture, the reason that is provided for our inability to see God is not a problem with our optic nerves.
The reason why we cannot see God. It's not because of a deficiency in our eyes. But a deficiency in our hearts. God will not allow himself to be seen. by those who are Impure.
You see the connection here? Blessed. are the pure in heart. For they shall see God. Here it's not just a concern of impurity that may be in our hands Or in our lips.
But in the very center of our being. The core of our being If there be One impurity there. The direct vision of God. is denied us. If you look through the pages of Scripture, you will see manifold occasions where God manifests himself through what we call the theophany.
The visible appearance of the invisible God. the burning bush on the Midianite wilderness that Moses beheld. The manifestation of God's glory in the Shekinah cloud. We remember in the Christmas story how the glory of God shone around the fields of Bethlehem, and the shepherds were terrified. But that glory that was shown.
was an outward manifestation Of the inner being of God, it was not the very essence of God Himself. And if men tremble. Before Theophanes Imagine how terrifying it would be. The Sea God As he is. I ask people the question frequently to demonstrate this.
Did you see The football game For example, last night between Jacksonville and New England, how many of you saw it? Let me see. No, you didn't. No, anybody in this room, I don't think, saw it unless they were in Foxborough, Massachusetts last night. What you saw.
was a televised production. But you didn't see the thing itself. You saw it as it was mediated. Through the medium of television. But even if you were there.
You were seeing it. Through the medium of sense perception, And the playing of light that would bounce off the face of Tom Brady, and by that medium you would be able to recognize who he was. But in Edwards' study of this, he talks about a knowledge. That is immediate. That is direct.
That is not dependent upon sensations, on optic nerves. On eyeballs. But where the mind Or the soul. has a direct and immediate Apprehension Of something. And that's what we can expect.
In heaven. That we will see God. As he is.
Now, notice what John goes on to say. He says. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he, God, Pure.
Now here's the theological question. What is it that will make it possible for us to see God as He is? In heaven Where we can't see him that way now.
Well, one answer is this. that right now we're not pure in heart. And since we're not pure in heart, we can't see him as he is. But once we become pure in heart, Then our eyes or our minds will be opened to this immediate. Knowledge.
of God himself. That is When we go to heaven and we receive the end of our sanctification, where all sin and all remnant of sin is removed from our hearts and from our soul, then we will be equipped. to see the Lord. Face to face. As he is.
And I think that's probably what is in view here, but others have taken a different approach, saying when we ask the question, what is it? That will clean up our hearts.
So perfectly. And some argue that the thing that will do it. will be the vision of God. In his purity, because you cannot look into the face of God. Without that.
experience cleansing your soul. Perfectly. I think it's the former rather than the latter. that these things may happen at the same time. And that there may be an interconnection between the vision and our glorification.
But however the order occurs. The promise remains. Firm. that we have this promise, that the God whom we have worshipped without seeing. Is the one whom we will behold.
face to face. Can you imagine anything that would flood your soul? with glory. More than that. Blessed.
Are the pure in heart For they shall See God. Finally. Blessed. Are the peacemakers? For they shall be called sons.
of God. I think this is one of the toughest Beatitudes to understand. There is. Again, the blessing is not pronounced for the peacekeepers. But for the peace makers.
Those who work. to bring peace. out of conflict. To bring the cessation. Of Hostilities.
People who have a spirit By which They can sew Sense people's problems and alienations that were, there was estrangement. These people can help bring Reconciliation. In that sense, All of us are called to be reconcilers. All of us are called to be peacemakers. But I say it's difficult for this reason.
Because to be a peacemaker in the biblical sense. is not to be a Neville Chamberlain. Who is only concerned with negotiating. A compromise. That will bring upon the world A certain measure of cessation from hostilities.
I was first ordained in a different denomination from the one in which I serve now. And at our ordination, we were promised. To work to maintain The peace The unity and the purity of the church. Peace. Unity and purity.
And what would happen if somebody would come on the scene teaching rank heresy? And you stand up to oppose it. you would be immediately rebuked by saying, You're disturbing the peace. And the unity of the church. What price piece?
What price unity? If you sacrifice purity For the sake of the peace, that's a carnal peace. That's a false piece. But the peacemakers that Jesus has in view here. Are people who bring true peace to bear.
Without Compromising integrity. Or truths. Or Justice. That's a very, very important matter because I've heard people who call themselves peacemakers say. What's just here doesn't matter.
What our task is. is to resolve the conflict. That kind of peacemaking. has brought the church into ruin. over and over and over again.
But at the same time we are not. to be contentious people by nature. And where we can. be agents of reconciliation. and bringing peace to bear as representatives of the Prince of Peace.
That is our task. which as I say, is often extremely complicated. And difficult. God grant. that we may be known as merciful people.
that we may seek the purity of hearts. And there will be those kinds of agents of peace. That manifests sonship. to God Himself. In a time of error and theological compromise, may God grant us the wisdom and the grace to be peacemakers who clearly proclaim the truth.
That was R. C. Sproll on this Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind, preaching from Matthew chapter 5 and the Sermon on the Mount. Whether in the classroom, the studio, or behind a pulpit, doctor Sprolls sought to help people know who God is, and to know God's Word better. This can be seen so clearly in the care that was taken to produce his expositional commentary series And today you have the opportunity to add his commentary on Matthew's Gospel to your library.
Simply make a donation in support of Renewing Your Mind at renewingyourmind.org. Or by clicking the link in the podcast show notes, and we will get a hardcover copy to you. This commentary distills a lifetime of study and reflection by R. C. So Take the time to walk through Matthew line by line by requesting your copy.
Give your donation today at renewingyourmind.org, but remember that this offer does end at midnight. Despite some teaching that the promise of the Christian life is to be healthy and wealthy.
Next time, RC will remind us that Jesus said, Blessed are those who are persecuted. I hope you'll join us next Sunday here. on Renewing Your Mind.
