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The Pure in Heart Blessed (Matthew 5:8) | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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So imagine standing at the base of a massive mountain, and this
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mountain is literally on fire. Oh wow.
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Yeah, right. The ground beneath your feet is
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violently shaking. I mean, there are continuous
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earthquakes happening. The air is thick with smoke and
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blinding lightning is flashing across the sky.
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That sounds absolutely terrifying.
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It really is. And then, you know.
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An audible booming voice calls out from the heavens, and it
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threatens to strike you dead if you take a single step too
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close. Yeah, that was the Old Testament
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reality of meeting God at Mount Sinai.
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Yes, it was. Yeah.
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But what if the highest goal of human existence is to stare
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directly into that same terrifying fire, and instead of
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being consumed by fear, you find it beautiful?
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That is a staggering thought. It really is.
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Well, welcome to Reformed thinking.
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I am your host, and today we are embarking on a deep dive into an
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astonishing piece of historical Protestant theology.
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I am really looking forward to this one.
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Me too. So our mission today is a
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comprehensive examination of Jonathan Edwards sermon from
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1753. It is called the Pure in Heart
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Blessed and it is based on the text of Matthew chapter 5, verse
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8. Right which says blessed are the
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pure in heart, for they shall see God.
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Spot on. We're going to unpack the
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historical context, the theological weight, and the
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intensely practical application of the single verse.
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If you, the listener, want a shortcut to being well informed
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on how the Puritans viewed the human soul, the nature of God,
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and the pursuit of happiness, well, you are in the right
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place. I think the contrast you just
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painted between terror and beauty really sets the
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theological framework for the whole sermon.
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Oh, absolutely. How does Edwards open up his
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argument? Well, he opens by drawing a
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stark, unmissable line between two very specific mountains.
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You have Mount Sinai in the Old Testament, and then you have the
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Mount of Beatitudes in the New Testament, right at Sinai.
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The Israelites were so overwhelmed by the raw,
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unfiltered presence of divine majesty that they panicked.
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I mean, they literally begged Moses to step in and act as a
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buffer. Yeah, they thought they would
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die if they had to endure that terrifying display of absolute
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holiness for another second. Precisely, they could not handle
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it. I always try to put myself in
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the sandals of the average Israelite at the base of that
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mountain. You know you are fresh out of
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slavery in Egypt. You are in a harsh wilderness
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and suddenly the God who split the sea is manifesting himself
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through devouring fire and deafening Thunder.
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The sheer sensory overload would be paralyzing, yeah.
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Paralyzing is a great word for it.
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And that paralysis was intentional.
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The delivery of the moral law was designed to instill absolute
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trembling awe. It was meant to show the
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insurmountable gap between a holy God and sinful humanity.
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That makes a lot of sense. But then Edwards asks his
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congregation to Fast forward to the New Testament.
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On the Mount of Beatitudes, we have the same God speaking.
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The moral character of the Almighty has not shifted one
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inch. Right, God is immutable.
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Yes, yet the delivery method is entirely different.
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Because Jesus is Incarnate. I mean, he is sitting on a
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grassy hillside, speaking as one of us.
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That is right, His face is seen freely by the crowds.
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There is no blinding glory, forcing the audience to cover
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their eyes or fall on their faces.
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His voice is a human voice utilizing human vocal cords.
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He speaks without the earth shattering terrorists that sent
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the Israelites running for their lives.
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So how does our theological tradition process that massive
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shift in presentation? I mean, is it just a change in
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location or something much bigger happening here?
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It is a defining shift in redemptive history.
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In our theological tradition, you know, a hearing to the
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Westminster Confession, we recognize the clear distinction
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between the administration of law and the administration of
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the gospel. OK, yes.
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Edwards points to the Gospel of John chapter one, verse 17.
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That verse states that the law came by Moses, but grace and
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truth came by Jesus Christ. The moral law given at Sinai
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remains binding on all people. Absolutely.
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But the manner in which God approaches his people has
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shifted from terrifying majesty to accessible grace.
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Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant.
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Which is such a comforting truth.
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It is by taking on human flesh He bridges the infinite gap.
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He offers a clear, perfect discovery of Divine Mercy.
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That sets the stage beautifully, but it makes me wonder about the
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specific audience Jesus was talking to on that hillside.
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I mean, why did he need to preach these specific beatitudes
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to the Jews of his day? That is a great question.
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Edwards argues that Christ was directly targeting the carnal
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prejudices of the prevailing cultural mindset.
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Let us talk about what that mindset looked like in first
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century Judea. Well, the cultural and religious
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climate was incredibly tense. It was also highly specific.
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The Jewish people were under Roman occupation, and their
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expectations for the Messiah were overwhelmingly political
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and material. Right, they wanted a military
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conqueror. Yes, someone who would crush
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Rome, establish a global earthly Kingdom and bring them temporal
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prosperity. And against that backdrop, Jesus
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presents complete paradoxes. I mean, the culture was
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ambitious for human praise and highly conceited in their own
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national righteousness. Yeah, and Jesus looks at them
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and says blessed are the poor in spirit.
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Talk about a massive culture clash.
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You know you have a society striving for dominance and
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religious prestige, and Jesus tells them the Kingdom belongs
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to those who recognize their utter spiritual bankruptcy.
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And he does not stop there. He says, Blessed are they that
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mourn. This directly contradicted those
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who placed their highest happiness in worldly carnal
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things and temporal prosperity. Wow, he is really turning their
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expectations upside down. He is, He blesses the meek which
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confronted the proud, revengeful spirit that characterized much
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of the Zealot movement and the legalistic factions of the day.
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And he talks about hungering and thirsting for righteousness,
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right? Yes, contrasting it with a
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culture that labored for perishable meat.
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They desired a political Messiah who would bring literal earthly
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riches. That brings us to the specific
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issue related to our text today, and that is purity of heart.
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When Jesus says blessed are the pure in heart, he is dropping a
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bomb on the religious establishment.
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Oh, absolutely. The religious leaders,
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particularly the Pharisees, were completely obsessed with
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external rights. They were fixated on the outside
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of the cup. Yeah, they strictly washed their
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hands before eating. They took meticulous care not to
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become ceremonially unclean. I mean, they tied their garden
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herbs like mint and he sees some cumin down to the finest
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fraction. Yet Christ pointed out that
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inside their hearts were full of extortion and excess.
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They cared about a spotless exterior while harboring
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internal corruption. Right.
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The Pharisees assumed that because they performed the
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correct external rituals, they were automatically the favorites
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of heaven. They believe they're meticulous.
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Outward compliance guaranteed their admission to see God.
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But Christ shatters that assumption entirely.
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He does. He accommodates his instruction
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to human nature, knowing that all mankind pursues happiness,
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but he redefines the prerequisites for that true
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happiness. He relocates the requirement
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basically. That is a good way to put it.
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It is no longer found in ceremonial washing or dietary
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restrictions. It is located entirely in the
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heart. Which begs the question, you
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know, what does the reward actually look like?
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The text says the pure in heart shall see God.
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So let us decode this vision. OK, let us do it.
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Since God is an invisible spirit as stated in first Timothy
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chapter one verse 17, how can a human being possibly see Him?
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Is there a physical manifestation waiting for us?
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Well, Edwards is remarkably systematic in how he approaches
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this. Before he tells us what the
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beatific vision is, he spends considerable time eliminating
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what it is not. That is helpful.
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So what does he rule out first? First and foremost, seeing God
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is not accomplished with bodily eyes.
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If the beatific vision relied on physical eyesight, it would make
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the superior part of man, which is the soul, dependent on the
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inferior part, the body. I want to pause on that
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hierarchy for a moment. Modern people do not usually
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think in terms of the soul being superior to the body.
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I mean, we are so materialist in our thinking today.
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We really are. But the Puritans, leaning on
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biblical anthropology, understood that the physical
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body is temporary. It is subject to decay, while
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the soul is eternal and capable of communion with the divine.
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That is a massive difference in perspective.
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Yes, to reduce spiritual blessedness to a physical
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phenomenon Plays right back into the childish, carnal notions of
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the Pharisees. They just wanted a splendid
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outward show. Right, because God is spirit, He
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does not have physical dimensions, colors, or shapes
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that a human retina can process precise.
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I think of it like trying to capture a Wi-Fi signal using an
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old school 35mm film camera. Oh, I like that analogy.
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You know you can point that camera at a router all day long.
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You can adjust the focus perfectly, set the aperture and
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take 1000 photos, but when you develop that film in a dark
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room, you will never see the Internet.
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No, you'll only see a plastic box with blinking lights.
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Yeah, Why? Because you are using physical
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material equipment like lenses, light and chemical film to try
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and capture something that operates on an entirely
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different non material frequency.
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That is right. The Wi-Fi signal is real, it is
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present, and it carries massive amounts of information, but it
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is completely invisible to that specific type of physical
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instrument. The camera is simply the wrong
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tool for the job. And in the same way our physical
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eyes are designed to perceive photons bouncing off physical
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matter, trying to see an infinite spirit with bodily eyes
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is a massive category error. That makes perfect sense.
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He continues his process of elimination.
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Second, seeing God is not simply hearing about Him.
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Having someone tell you facts about the Creator is hearsay.
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It was second hand information, not the vision itself.
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OK, so no physical sight and no second hand hearsay.
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What is third? 3rd, it is not speculative
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reasoning or rational deduction. You might use philosophy to
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determine that a first 'cause exists, or you might use logic
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to deduce that the creator must be all powerful.
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But intellectual deduction is a cold, distant exercise.
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It is not the beatific vision. Right.
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And Edwards gives a chilling forth exclusion.
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He notes that wicked spirits and demons have a very real,
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immediate apprehension of God's strength and displeasure.
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Oh wow. Yeah, at the final judgment, the
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unregenerate will see God's justice displayed against them.
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But experiencing the terrifying realization of divine wrath is
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the farthest thing from the blessedness mentioned in Matthew
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chapter 5. OK, so if we roll out physical
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sight, hearsay, philosophical deduction, and the terrors of
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judgement, what is left? Edwards asserts that human
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beings possess a faculty designed specifically to
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perceive spiritual reality. He calls this the eye of the
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soul. We are so accustomed to trusting
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our physical senses, we assume seeing with our bodily eyes as
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the most real, most concrete form of perception.
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But Edwards argues the exact opposite of that.
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He claims that the intellectual and spiritual perception of the
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soul is a vastly superior, more reliable faculty.
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And how does he define this vision?
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With incredible precision, he says that to see God is to have
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an immediate, sensible and certain understanding of God's
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glorious Excellency and love. That is a beautiful definition
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it. Really is.
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It requires a direct sense of His pure holiness and his
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endearing grace. Notice the words he uses, he
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says. Immediate and sensible.
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This goes far beyond logical deduction then, yes.
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It is an experiential spiritual apprehension.
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You do not just reach a cold conclusion that God is holy.
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You have a direct, sensible discovery of the beauty and
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amiableness of that holiness. You know the word sensible in
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the 18th century carries a lot of weight.
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He does not mean sensible as impractical or level headed.
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No, not at all. He means it is felt on the
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senses of the soul. It is something you taste and
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experience, like eating honey rather than just reading a
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chemical analysis of sugar. That is a great distinction.
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Furthermore, there is a certain understanding of his love
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towards you. Specifically, Edwards says.
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The believer views God's glory as having a property in it.
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What does he mean by a property in it?
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You see Him manifesting Himself from a place of love, and you
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receive the testimonies of that favor.
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This is what the Scriptures mean when they talk about seeing the
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light of God's countenance. It is relational, not just
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observational. But Edwards is careful to manage
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expectations right about what we can experience right now versus
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what is coming. Yes, he draws a sharp line
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between our current earthly state and our future heavenly
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state. What does he call our current
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experience? He calls it earthly dawnings.
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He draws on 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18.
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That is where Paul talks about scenes in a glass.
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Like a mirror. Right in the ancient world, a
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glass or a mirror was made of polished metal.
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It gave a reflection, but it was often dim or distorted.
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So our current spiritual site is a glimmering, an earnest, a
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dawning of the light. Yes, it is real and it is
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beautiful, but it is mediated through the Gospel, through the
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sacraments, and through the Word.
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It is the sunrise, not the midday heat.
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Precisely. But in heaven this knowledge
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transitions into what he calls heavenly sunshine.
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It becomes perfect, direct and completely certain.
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Oh, I love that imagery. He compares this future heavenly
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vision to looking directly at the noonday sun.
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When you stand outside at noon on a cloudless day, there is no
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need for a complex logical argument to prove the sun is
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shining. No.
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The evidence is immediate, overwhelming and absolute.
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Yes, the soul will perceive God with that level of undeniable
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clarity. There is a striking observation
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Edwards makes in the text. It is about how we interact with
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each other right now and it just blew my mind.
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Oh, about seeing our friends. Yes, he points out that when we
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look at our earthly friends, we do not actually see them.
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Think about that for a second. It is a wild thought.
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If I am sitting across the table from a close friend, I am not
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seeing their soul, which is the truest, most essential part of
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who they are. I am only seeing their
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Tabernacle. Right, you were looking at their
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physical body, the temporary dwelling place of their soul.
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Exactly. I have to guess what they're
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thinking or feeling based on outward signs, like the words
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they choose to speak, their facial expressions, their body
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language. It is entirely indirect.
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We are constantly interpreting signals.
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It is a massive limitation of human relationships.
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We're always one step removed from the actual person.
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But in heaven, Edwards argues, Saints will see the spiritual
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nature of God far more directly than we see a human friend
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sitting across the table. That is just incredible to
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consider. Because the eye of the soul will
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apprehend the Spirit of God directly, we will behold His
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attributes and His disposition toward us without needing
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outward physical signs, words, or gestures to guess His
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intentions. That level of intimacy, that
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direct, unmediated perception, is staggering to think about.
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It makes our closest earthly relationships look like passing
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notes under a door. It really does.
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Which naturally leads to the next major question.
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Why does this specific direct vision make the human soul truly
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happy? I mean, why does Jesus call the
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pure and heart blessed? Edwards provides A robust
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psychological and theological framework for this, and it leans
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heavily into the reformed appreciation for the intellect.
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Let us unpack that framework. God gave man reason, and Edwards
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calls reason the candle of the Lord.
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Yes, the Purekins viewed the human soul as an ordered
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hierarchy of distinct faculties. The understanding or the
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intellect was designed by God to be the leading faculty.
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OK, so the intellect is meant to lead.
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Right. It was meant to govern the will,
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which in turn governs the affections and emotions.
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Therefore, the highest possible pleasure for a human being must
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be an intellectual 1. Specifically, the intellect
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beholding the Prem spiritual excellencies, Yes.
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So what happens when someone rebels against that design?
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What happens when a person pursues base carnal pleasures
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instead? You know, chasing things that
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gratify the lower physical appetites at the expense of
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holiness. Well, they have to actively
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stifle their own reason to do it.
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The conscience and the intellect know that gluttony, greed or
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lust are destructive, right? When a person indulges in those
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things, it causes a literal internal civil war within the
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soul. The lower passions fight against
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the higher faculties. You end up with a fractured
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human being, someone who is at odds with their own conscience.
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But the joy of seeing God is entirely different.
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It is a delight that Reason fully, completely approves of.
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Absolutely. When the soul delights in God,
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there is no internal conflict. There is no guilty conscience
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fighting the enjoyment, whispering that you were doing
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something wrong or wasting your time.
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This alignment of all the faculties leads to a sweet,
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massive tranquility. It is the absolute perfection of
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the human creature. Pursuing carnal less debases
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humanity. It drags people down to the
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level of animals, driven only by instinct.
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But seeing God and delighting in His infinite glory elevates us
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to our highest possible dignity. It is the single purpose for
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which the human intellect was designed.
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When the understanding finally reaches the fountain of God's
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supreme excellence, it has found the single object that makes it
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whole. Yes, I want to look closer at
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the contrast between the joy of seeing God and the pursuit of
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worldly happiness, because Edwards uses some very vivid
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imagery here. He does.
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We all know people who chase after wealth, Stardust, or
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sensory pleasures. They are completely convinced
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that the next promotion or the next vacation is the ticket to a
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happy life. But Edwards calls these earthly
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pleasures bitter sweets. I love that phrase because it
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rings so true to human experience.
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It really does. He notes that if you want to
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pluck earthly roses, you are going to find thorns.
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The beauty is always accompanied by pain.
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If you want to taste worldly honey, you will eventually find
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a sting. Even something as noble and
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respected as increasing worldly knowledge brings pain.
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Solomon noted in Ecclesiastes that he who increases knowledge
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increases sorrow. Right.
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The more you know about how the world works, the more you
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realize how broken it is. There's always a catch.
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Even earthly friendships, which are wonderful gifts from God,
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bring a certain level of anxiety.
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I mean, friends have blemishes. Relationships are subject to
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instability, misunderstandings, and eventually, the unavoidable
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reality of death and separation. Yes, earthly joys always have a
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shadow trailing right behind. Them.
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But the vision of God brings no sting of conscience whatsoever.
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It brings no vexing care, no anxiety about losing it, and 0
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disappointment. The light of God's glory is so
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strong and so pure that it fully possesses the human heart.
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It leaves absolutely no dark corner for sorrow, sighing or
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pain to hide. And it is not just a generic
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bright light, right? The specific attributes of God
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compound the joy, yes. The believer will see his
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justice, his infinite wisdom, his immutability, and his
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overflowing love. All these attributes stacked
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together to create an unmixed perfect joy.
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The mind is fully engaged in exploring the perfections of the
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Creator. The concept of unmixed joy is
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vital, but we also have to deal with the scale of that joy.
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Edwards talks about the infinite supply required for an infinite
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capacity. This is a crucial point.
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There is a glaring mismatch between human desire and worldly
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supplier. No matter how much affluent
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strength or pleasure a person accumulates in this life, there
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is always room for more desire. You see billionaires who have
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everything money can buy, and they are still restless.
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They're still trying to acquire more.
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Worldly goods can never satisfy the human heart because they are
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finite. So what is Edward's solution to
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this? This is where his theological
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brilliance really shines. He explains that the human
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intellect, by its very design, is a bottomless vessel.
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God created us with an infinite capacity for desire.
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Why would God do that? So that we could be filled by an
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infinite God. Only the Creator himself can
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fill the vessel he designed. The soul can dive into this
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bottomless ocean of divine glory and soar into this endless
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expanse of divine love forever without ever exhausting the
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mountain. I am so glad you highlighted
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that unending progression of joy.
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Because God is infinite, the discovery of His beauty will
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never hit a wall. Millions of ages will pass in
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eternity, and the story will never grow dull.
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The Saints will continually discover fresh new facets of
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God's glory that keeps their intellectual and spiritual
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faculties fully engaged and perpetually satisfied.
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It completely wrecks the cultural caricature of heaven
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being a boring place where people sit on clouds playing
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harps for eternity. Oh, absolutely.
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Edwards is describing A dynamic, endless exploration of infinite
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beauty that keeps the intellect firing on all cylinders forever.
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And this joy is secured by an everlasting foundation, right?
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Think about worldly foundations. They are sandy.
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They wash away with the tide of time.
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The economy crashes. Empires fall.
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Even our physical bodies betray us.
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Our senses wear out and our organs eventually turn to dust.
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But God is the Rock of Ages. His glory is subject to no
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vicissitudes, no changes, no decay.
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The physical sun in our sky might fade or be temporarily
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covered by an eclipse, but God will be an everlasting light for
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His people. The security of the object
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guarantees the security of the joy.
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So if this beatific vision is the absolute pinnacle of human
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happiness, the endless unmixed joy that our souls were designed
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for, who gets to experience it? Well, the text gives a very
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specific condition. Blessed are the pure in heart,
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for they shall see God. Edwards argues that having a
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pure heart is the certain and only way to attain this
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blessedness. But to grasp what purity
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actually is, we first have to understand the Reformed view of
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human nature. Yes, we cannot appreciate the
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cure until we understand the disease.
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In alignment with Westminster theology, Edwards explains the
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inherent spiritual defilement of fallen humanity.
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We are talking about the doctrine of total depravity.
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Here, that is right. This is not mean.
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Humans are as evil as they could possibly be in their actions,
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but it means that every single part of our nature, our mind,
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our will, our affections is stained and corrupted by sin.
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Edwards uses a very stark, visceral analogy here to drive
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the point home. He compares unregenerate human
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nature to animals of an impure nature like swine, dogs or
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Ravens. Is a graphic image for sure.
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It is if you look at a pig wallowing in the mud or a dog
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returning to its vomit. They do not find the filth
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disgusting. On the contrary, they love it.
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It is food that perfectly suits their natural animal appetites.
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And in the same way, an impure human heart does not naturally
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hate sin, it loves it. It wallows in pride,
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selfishness, greed and lust because those things suit its
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fallen nature. The unregenerate soul feeds on
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spiritual defilement and actually finds it appetizing.
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That is a harsh truth to swallow, especially for modern
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ears that are constantly told human beings are inherently
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good, right? But without understanding our
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natural love for filth, we cannot comprehend the miracle of
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purity. Purity requires a fundamental
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change of nature, not just a change of habits.
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Which raises A practical dilemma for you, the listener.
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Proverbs chapter 20 verse 9 asks A rhetorical question.
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Who can say I have made my heart clean?
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I am pure from my sin. The implied answer is no one.
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Right. So what kind of purity is
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actually achievable in this life?
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Are we talking about sinless perfection?
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No, the Reformed tradition firmly rejects sinless
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perfection in this life. Instead, Edwards outlined
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specific parameters for what he calls negative purity, which is
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the freedom from defilement. OK, where does negative purity
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start? It starts with seeing the true
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odiousness of sin and actively abhorring it.
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Through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, the believers
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core nature has changed. Sin actually becomes nauseous to
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them. They no longer view it as a
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tasty morsel, but as poison. Yes, so the appetite changes
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first. Second, negative purity involves
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possessing godly sorrow for past transgressions.
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The pure heart grieves that it ever fed on such defilement and
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rebelled against the Holy God. It is a sorrow that leads to
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repentance, not just regret over getting caught.
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Exactly. Third, negative purity breaks
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the reigning dominion of sin. While sin still exists in the
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believer, it no longer sits on the throne of the heart
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dictating every action. It's absolute rule is broken.
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And what is the final aspect of negative purity?
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Finally, it involves continually striving for cleansing.
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The believer maintains a posture of constant warfare against
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remaining corruption, always seeking to wash away the daily
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defilement they encounter. The analogies Edwards uses to
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illustrate this continual striving are incredibly helpful,
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he says. The pure heart is like a vessel
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of fermenting liquor that works itself clear of sediment.
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That is great visual. Or think of a stream of good
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fresh water flowing down a mountain.
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As that stream flows, it might get muddy at the banks.
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Dirt, leaves and debris might fall into it.
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But because the source of the water is pure, because the water
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is constantly moving, it refines and runs itself clear.
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As it flows, it pushes the impurities out to the banks.
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In contrast, a corrupt, stagnant pool of water will never do
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this. It just breeds more bacteria and
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filth. The believer's heart is like
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that flowing stream, constantly working to clear out the mud of
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daily sin. Edwards also issues a very
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specific warning regarding negative purity that we cannot
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skip over. He explicitly warns against the
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lust of uncleanness. What does that include?
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This includes all fleshly impurities, whether they are
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acted out in practice or merely entertained in the imagination.
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He states emphatically that a pure heart takes heed not to
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prostitute the soul to such darkness.
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That cuts right to the core. Mental purity matters just as
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much as physical purity. You cannot harbor a private
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theater of impurity in your mind, indulging in fantasies of
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lust or revenge, and claim to have a pure heart preparing to
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see a holy God. No, you really cannot, Jesus
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said. Looking with lust is adultery in
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the heart. Edwards is echoing that exact
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standard. The internal standard is exactly
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what the Pharisees failed to grasp.
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But purity is not only about what you eliminate, right?
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It is also about what you cultivate.
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Yes, this brings us to positive purity.
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Edwards details the positive qualities of a clean heart.
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A pure heart actually delights in holy exercises.
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It finds genuine joy in loving God, fearing God, and
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entertaining holy thoughts. Yes, it is not a chore or a
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heavy burden for the pure heart to meditate on the scriptures or
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spend time in prayer. It is a sincere pleasure.
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It possesses a new spiritual appetite.
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The old appetite love the mud. The new appetite loves the
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refined light of the New Jerusalem.
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It actively chooses the things of God over the mean and base
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lusts of the world. It hungers and thirst for
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righteousness. This positive orientation toward
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God is the defining characteristic of the new nature
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given in regeneration. And this brings us to a massive
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exclusive claim Edwards makes. He insists that this purity of
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heart is the only road to the Beatific vision.
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It is the absolute prerequisite. Without it, seeing God is an
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impossibility. That is a very strong.
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Shame. I want to push back on that
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claim for a moment just to explore the underlying logic.
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Why does Edwards insist this is the the only way?
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Let us play devil's advocate here.
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OK, let us do it. What if God decided to be
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universally tolerant? What if an impure person,
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someone who completely rejected God, loved their sin and hated
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holiness, was somehow granted AVIP pass to heaven and allowed
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to see God? What would actually happen?
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Edwards breaks down the logical impossibility of this scenario
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to the four distinct points. First, he argues, it would be
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fundamentally unsuitable. Unsuitable to the majesty of
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God. Yes, think about a Royal Court.
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A king would never allow a sordid, filthy person covered in
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mud and refuse from the streets to waltz into his throne room
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and sit at his banquet table. No, it would be an insult to the
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dignity of the Crown. How much more unsuitable would
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it be for the infinitely pure King of the Universe to welcome
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a soul entirely defiled by the rebellion and filth of sin into
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his immediate, glorious presence?
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It violates the very nature of God's holy majesty.
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The second reason is even more fundamental.
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It is naturally impossible. Right.
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Sin, by its very nature, blinds the mind to spiritual beauty.
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Enmity against God and the sight of His beauty can't exist in the
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same subject at the same time. If a person's heart is filled
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with hatred for God's authority, that very hatred acts as a thick
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blindfold. They lack the spiritual
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receptor, the eye of the soul, to perceive His glory.
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You cannot see the beauty of the lawgiver while you are actively
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trying to destroy his law. 3rd Edwards argues that even if we
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assume an unregenerate person could somehow be placed in God's
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presence and forced to look, they would be absolutely
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miserable. They would find 0 pleasure in
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the vision of God. Why?
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Because they hate holiness. They have no relish for pure
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intellectual and spiritual delights.
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Heaven would be a torture chamber for the wicked soul.
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The searing light of God's absolute purity would be agony
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to a creature that only loves the darkness.
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They would want to flee from it. That completely flips the common
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assumption that everyone wants to go to heaven.
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Edwards is saying that unless your heart is changed to love
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what heaven is, which is the unshielded presence of a holy
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God, heaven would be a worse punishment than hell.
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You would be trapped forever with the God you despise.
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Finally, there could be no complacence, no mutual delight
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between God and the impure soul. God cannot take pleasure in
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wickedness. Since seeing God's love and
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experiencing His favor is an essential part of the Beatific
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vision, an enemy of God cannot experience it.
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God would look upon them with just wrath, not with endearing
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grace. Therefore, without a pure heart,
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the beatific vision is factually, logically, and
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theologically impossible to attain.
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Is a closed door. Which brings us to the
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application for you, the listener.
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We have covered the dense theology, the majestic nature of
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the vision and the absolute necessity of a pure heart.
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Now we must synthesize this discussion and bring it directly
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to your own self examination. Edwards did not preach this to
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fill people's heads with historical trivia or abstract
30:10
philosophy. He preached it to Pierce their
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consciences. Are you resting in external
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morality? Are you just keeping up
30:18
appearances? Maybe you go to church, you
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speak politely, you avoid gross public sins and you give to
30:22
charity. But inside, has there been a
30:25
genuine change of heart? Are you scrubbing the outside of
30:28
the cup while ignoring the sediment festering inside?
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It is so incredibly easy to fall into the trap of the Pharisees.
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We assume that because we belong to a certain theological
30:37
tradition or because we attend the right kind of worship
30:40
service, we are automatically in line for the beatific vision.
30:43
We equate intellectual agreement with spiritual purity, but
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Edwards forces us to look inward, past our religious
30:51
resumes. Do you actually hate sin, or do
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you just hate the embarrassing consequences of sin?
30:57
Do you delight in holy exercises, or is your religious
31:01
life just a heavy, burdensome duty you endure to keep up
31:04
appearances and appease your conscience?
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Those are the crucial questions for self examination, and
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thankfully, Edwards does not leave his listeners hanging in
31:13
despair. He outlines a clear practical
31:16
path for application. What is step one?
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Step one is to purify your hands.
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Amend your outward ways. Stop engaging in known willful
31:24
sin. Break off your transgressions by
31:26
practicing righteousness. You cannot pray for a pure heart
31:30
while actively feeding your flesh.
31:31
And Step 2. Do not rest in that external
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purity, but actively attend God's ordinances.
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Use the means of grace, like the preaching of the Word, the
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sacraments, prayer to seek inward purity.
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Position yourself where the water of the Word is flowing.
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Step 3 requires brutal honesty. You have to search your heart to
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see your own pollution. You cannot be cleansed if you
31:51
refuse to admit you are dirty. Ask God to expose the hidden
31:54
motives, the secret pride, and the quiet resentments lurking in
31:57
your soul. Bring them into the light.
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And Step 4 is to beg God for the Holy Spirit.
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Edwards refers to the Spirit as the Spirit of burning.
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This references Isaiah chapter 4, verse 4.
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Just as a silversmith uses literal fire to smelt metal,
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burning away the dross and leaving pure gold, the Holy
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Spirit acts like a fire in the human soul.
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He purges the filth and pollution of the mind.
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You must ask God to apply that fire to your heart.
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And we must ground all of these steps firmly in our Reformed
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theology because there is a massive biblical tension here
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that we have to hold together. Yes, there really is.
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On the one hand, God commands us in Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 31
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to make you a new heart and a new spirit.
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We are given a duty, a mandate to actively strive for purity,
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to amend our ways and to seek God.
32:45
But simultaneously, we recognize the sovereign grace of God.
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As Romans Chapter 9 verse 23 teaches, believers are vessels
32:52
of mercy who have been elected and prepared for glory by God
32:55
Himself. That tension is the heartbeat of
32:57
Reformed sanctification. God commands the purity, and God
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greatestly supplies the Spirit to produce the very purity he
33:04
demands. Augustine famously prayed,
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Command what you will and grant what you command.
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Our act of striving, our fighting against sin, our
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attendance to the means of grace, all of it is fueled
33:16
entirely by God's sovereign supplying grace.
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We workout our salvation with fear and trembling precisely
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because it is God who works in us both to will and to work for
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his good pleasure. That is wonderfully stated.
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Well, we have covered a vast amount of ground today.
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We moved from the thunders and terrifying fires of Mount Sinai
33:35
to the endless, satisfying ocean of the Beatific Vision.
33:39
We have looked at the total depravity of the human heart and
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the miraculous fiery cleansing of the Holy Spirit.
33:45
I want to leave you, the listener, with one final thought
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to Mull over on your own. It is something that builds on
33:50
everything we have discussed today.
33:52
Edwards claims that a life of holiness is actually the
33:54
pleasantest life a human being can live in this world.
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Because it contains the actual seeds of the endless sight of
34:00
God. So here is the question for you
34:03
to consider. If your religious life feels
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burdensome, dry, or devoid of joy, could it be because you are
34:09
settling for the experience thorns of behavioral compliance
34:12
rather than asking God for the new heart required to taste the
34:15
endless, satisfying honey of His glory?