The Life and Ministry of Jesus
Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Matthew 5:8
Man measures himself by his fellow man. When he desires to test his character, his ethics, or his morals, he measures himself by fellow men. He can always find someone who is a little bit lower than he is, and measuring himself by another man, he congratulates himself that he has not sunk as low as some other man. Not so with God. When God tests a man’s character, his morals, his ethics, his standards, his acceptability to Himself, God measures the man by His own unchangeable, unalterable, absolute holiness.
All that does not attain to the standard of the absolute holiness of God is unacceptable in His sight. Holiness is not something that we can compare—holy, holier, holiest. A surgeon who selects a scalpel in the operating room rejects a scalpel with a minute spot of defilement on it as readily as one that was severely defiled, because even the smallest spot means the scalpel is defiled and cannot be used in surgery. The degree of defilement is inconsequential. The fact of defilement is what matters to the surgeon. A thing is sterile or defiled, clean or unclean. A person is holy or unholy. God is not concerned with degrees. He is concerned only with the absolute. 1
Personal Encouragement
There can be no compromise or negotiation when it comes to holy living. You must make radical decisions in advance to flee the temptation that will challenge you. Will you purpose in your heart not to defile yourself with the delicacies of this world?
Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11
Our vision of God will be tainted by viewing that which is unholy.
A Prayer
Lord, to seek purity is to please You. I want to please You more than ever before.
1. Pentecost, J. D. (1999). Design for living: lessons in holiness from the Sermon on the mount. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.
