“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
In the series on the Beatitudes we are presently looking at purity of heart. Last week we looked at the biblical teaching on what the heart really is. It is far more than just the feelings, but instead it is the core of the individual. It is the deepest part of the human being from which the thoughts, intents, motives, and desires flow. This week we want to look at what the heart is like from birth. This will point to why a pure heart is necessary in order to be blessed and is a blessing itself.
The core of what a human being is resides in or is the heart. But what is that heart like from birth? If humanities real problem is the heart since that would mean the real issue with behavior is the heart, then we need to gain some understanding of what man is like from birth. There are some obvious reasons for this. This will tell us to some degree why children behave the way they do. This will tell us why all human beings need a new heart. This will inform us and give us ways to distinguish between believers and unbelievers since the real issue is of the heart.
Last time we looked at Genesis 6:5: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This raises a few questions at the very least. How is it that the wickedness of man was so great if God did not create man that way? How is it that the wickedness of man was so great if indeed men are born good or even neutral? We then go on and wonder how it is that it is not just that most of the thoughts of human beings are evil, but that every thought of the heart is evil. Not only were the thoughts of the heart evil, but every intent of those thoughts of the heart was evil. Not only that, but every intent of the thoughts of the heart was only evil and that continually. Here is a description of humanity that is utterly horrible. But the text should force us to ask questions about how and why that is true.
It might be a relief to think of the flood coming along and wiping all of those sinful folks out if it were not for other verses in Scripture. Genesis 6:5 is before the flood, but Genesis 8:21 is right after the flood and it is no relief: “21 The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.” The words of Genesis 6:5 and 8:21 are not exactly the same, but we can see how the writer is assuming 6:5 in writing 8:21. But the writer adds one other thought. He now says that the intent of man’s heart is evil from this youth. The heart itself has evil intent and that from the youth.
These words are far worse than a mere flood can be. They show us why the flood was sent on the earth and why human beings do evil and why all fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). We can see the reason why Matthew 15 is simply setting out what the Pharisees should have known about the heart: 19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.” If the Pharisees would have searched the Scriptures for the truth about what it meant to be unclean, they would have found that it was the heart and not all of the legalistic things they set out. This is a hard teaching that moves salvation beyond outward actions.
If we look at Genesis 8:21 and link it with Matthew 15:19-20, we see why the world is as it is. Human beings have evil intent in the heart from their youth. So it is not wonder (from Mat 15) that hearts like that will flow out in lies, slanders, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, and many other things. But how did their hearts get like that from such a young age? Let us look at Genesis 8:21 a little closer. The word translated as intent has the idea of purpose, frame, and inclination. The heart that is inclined toward evil in what it does is inclined away from holiness. The heart that is framed in evil has a purpose of evil. But how is the heart framed, inclined, and purposed in and toward evil? Even more, how is it that way from its youth or as the word implies, from his early days?
This throws us right back into the doctrine of original sin. There is only one biblical way to explain how human beings have such evil hearts from their early youth. One might argue that it is the way a person is raised, but this will not explain how children that are raised in Christian homes have such evil hearts if they are not converted. But even if they are converted, what are they converted from? We have to go back and look at the teaching of Scripture from Romans 5 and Ephesians 2 and two verses from the Psalms.
“15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous (Romans 5:15-19).
This passage in Romans 5 is the classic text for setting out the teaching of Scripture on original sin or the teaching of how each human being has an evil heart and needs to be born from above and receive a new heart. It shows us what really happened when Adam sinned and died spiritually. It teaches that Adam was a head or representative of all human beings. When Adam transgressed the commandment of God every human being that followed him was born into sin with him. Every human being that will be born in the future will also be born into sin be virtue of being represented by Adam. Notice how that point is pounded home in each verse: “By the transgression of the one the many died” (v. 15). “The judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation” (v. 16) and “by the transgression of the one death, reigned through the one” (v. 17). “Through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men” (v. 18) and “through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” (v. 19). All of these passages point to the one man and his sin being the root cause of why all human beings are sinners.
Psalm 51: 5 is another powerful verse that points to this grim truth: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” Being brought forth in iniquity is the birth and then he also points to conception. Psalm 58:3 sets out the same truth: “The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.” How can people be estranged from the womb and go astray from birth? It is only if they are born in sin which they have by virtue of Adam’s representation of all human beings.
It is argued that this is unfair and that man never had a real choice in the matter. Let us also remember, however, that God is perfect in wisdom and He set out the best man for the job. We should also be very careful about arguing that it is unfair for God to declare all guilty on the basis of representation because that is exactly what Christ does. If we do not want Adam’s representation, then we cannot be saved by another. If we want to stand alone we will stand apart from Christ and so will never be saved. The doctrine of original sin and how all humanity is born in sin is a necessary teaching. It teaches us that all of us need Christ and need to be born from above.
We can now move on to Ephesians chapter 2. “1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” Verses 1-2 show us the state of the heart and how man lives in the world. He is dead in trespasses and sins. In other words, man is not alive spiritually and so he just walks or lives according to the standards of what other people do and that worldly standard is set up by the evil one. In doing that he is living in the lusts of his flesh and indulging the desires of his flesh and mind. That shows that he is by nature a child of wrath. The very nature of human beings apart from Christ is to be a child of wrath and to be dead in sins and trespasses. Thus we can see the outworking of Genesis 6:5 and 8:21 in the New Testament. Man’s heart is evil from his youth because he is born without spiritual life and so he is by nature a child of wrath. The intent of the heart is evil because the heart is dead in sin.
This newsletter is grim, but it is setting out Scripture. The person with a sinful nature is a child of wrath. That person has an evil heart with evil intent and so all manner of evil flows from it. That includes the very best of his or her works. The blessedness of a pure heart is that it has been made pure by Christ Himself. From that pure heart will flow true love and good intents. A pure heart is blessed because of what it has been delivered from and because of what flows from it. A pure heart has living water and the life of Christ Himself. It is the temple of the living God. It shares in the very life of God.
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