What It Takes To See God And Be Called His Child

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God.

Matthew 5:8-9

I woke up this morning thinking about this text.  As my eyes popped open and my mind began to start the thinking processes of what needed to be done today.  This was the very first thing that came to my mind.   As  I continued down the hallway these verses continued to bear weight on my own heart and mind.   I think of my own sinfulness and there are moments I am not either of these things.  There are moments when I have an unpure intention or I want to get even rather than seek forgiveness.    What am I to do with that?  I read this quote from Joel R. Beeke 'Does your sin place you under a terrible burden of guilt, binding and enslaving you to the Devil and the powers of corruption?  Find hope in the cross of Christ.  He is the redeemer and has paid a price worth more than all the angels in heaven to liberate lost souls.  Lay yourself down at His pierced feet, and He will remove your chains, embrace you as his brother or sister, and bring you home to the Father to feast forever.'  

Rather than try and rationalize my sins or dismiss them what needs to happen is that I need to place my past, present, future self down at the pierced feet of Christ and trust in His finished work on the cross.  This will, as a result, propels me towards purity.  It will cause me to see my sins in a new light and because I've been forgiven of much, then I will consequently forgive much.   I'll have a desire, because of Christ's work on the cross to make peace with others who have wronged me.  Because of Christ's mighty work on the cross, this will cause in me a desire to pursue pure things rather than immoral things.  Some might read this and think, 'are you telling us that we can reach a state of perfection in this life?   I'm not stating that you will reach some type of sinless perfection here on this earth.  That is just simply never going to happen this side of the grave. But what I am stating is that our heart-level desires will be different.  When we do wander into the sludge pits of sinfulness we'll be quick to repent rather than make excuses for our sinfulness.

Just take a moment and bask in the glory of God's word on these two ideas.    

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 

Those who long to see God must be pure.  How is that to happen, because none of us are.  We must place ourselves at Christ's feet in repentance and belief that his finished work on the cross is all we will ever need.  And then to long for and pursuing Him should be our aim.  When our goal becomes to see and know God our hearts will be pure because he has made them pure in his presence.  His finished work on the cross is the mechanism in which we are able to find ourselves in a state of purity.  

 “Till men have faith in Christ, their best services are but glorious sins.” ― Thomas Brooks.

 Do you want to see God?  Repent and trust Christ's work on calvary's cross and you will be given a pure heart by the Savior.  

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping it according to Your word.

With all my heart I have sought You;

Do not let me wander from Your commandments.

Your word I have treasured in my heart,

That I may not sin against You.

— Psalm 119:9-11

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God.

Everyone is a creation of God, but not all are children of God.  We have a defined prescription on what it takes to be a child of God.  Those who are peacemakers.  Now, how is it that we would ever become a peacemaker at heart?  Because according to Ephesians 2:3 we are all 'children of wrath.'  So how could a wrath-filled person ever have a desire to make peace in this world? We must go back to what Christ has done on our behalf.  

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  Ephesians  2:5-6

Because Christ has made peace with you and me, we now have the ability to make peace with others in our lives.  If Christ has forgiven you and made peace with you and your sinfulness then why in the world can you stay angry and bitter at someone in your life?  You can't. 

 John Gerstner once said 'A Christian who does not forgive is not a Christian.' How can he say that with such assurance?  Because of who Jesus Christ is.  He forgives us of our sinfulness why would we think we as his redeemed children can harbor bitterness and unforgiveness?  We can't. We must forgive others as HE has forgiven us.  

So do you want to be called a son of God? Be one that seeks out and makes peace with others around you by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. 

Life will be better when we do this.  

-Pastor Caleb Gordon