As long as you love Jesus and go to church, does it matter how you live? We live in a day in which the vast majority of church attenders are satisfied to allow that to be the sum total of their religious life. Spiritual disciplines such as reading the Bible and prayer are seen as the things that the super spiritual do. The pursuit of life is not godliness, but pleasure. We believe that because we prayed a ditty, we are Christian. Yet in the middle of the list of blessed people, Jesus dropped a bomb on this thinking. He stated, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

To be pure in heart means to be completely separated from sin. No sin stains the life. The word pure means to be completely cleaned and spotless. We often use another word: holiness. To understand this, we must examine two important thoughts. First, when you come to Christ in salvation, confessing your sin and acknowledging Him as Lord, His righteousness is placed on you. We become righteous (holy). You are now positionally pure. Many stop here. But second, we must understand that true purity demonstrates itself in functional purity. In other words, true Christians act like Christians. They are concerned for purity in their life. Ephesians 5:6-15 informs us, ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not become partners with them; ⁸ for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Those who are truly pure in heart have nothing to do with a sinful lifestyle. They seek with all their power to please God.

The result is that the pure in heart will see God. Their purity reveals their standing. They are truly children of God. They have full confidence in their standing because everything in their life confirms their righteousness through Christ. They know that the day is coming in which God will say to them, “Well done, enter into glory.” And for all eternity, they will see God face to face. Christian, take purity seriously. Live out your faith. If you don’t value holiness, you need to check whether you are even of the faith.