Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee,
would like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. For information and service times,
visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker. Our message
today will come from Matthew chapter five. If you would like
to turn there in your Bible, I'll give you a second to find
Matthew chapter five. And I would like to go ahead
and tell you the title of this message. The title is, is my
heart pure? Is my heart pure? I pray that this will be. and
enlightening message. I pray this will be a helpful
message. I pray this will be a comforting
message, but I pray that we can do some soul searching and some
examining of ourselves. And I pray we will be able to
find the answer to this question individually. I asked myself
this and you ask yourself this question, is my heart pure? Is my heart pure? Our message
will come from Matthew five, verse eight, which says blessed
are the pure in heart for they shall see God blessed. He's telling us who the blessed
are. He said, blessed are the pure in heart, the pure in heart. They are the ones who are going
to see God. Now, I want to start by stating
this truth. After giving you the title of
this message, which is a question, is my heart pure? I want to start
by stating the truth that only Christ is pure. Only Christ is pure in heart. Only Christ has a pure heart. Men and women read this. They
read Matthew 5, verse 8, blessed are the pure in heart, they shall
see God. Men and women read that and they
think, oh, wow, I need to be more pure. If I want to see God,
I guess I need to be more pure in heart, more pure in mind,
more pure in body, which is impossible with man.
Man is not pure, man is sin. That's what the flesh of man
is. That's what the heart of man is, is deceitful, corrupt. That's what the scripture says
about it. So only Christ truly is pure in heart. And the scripture
has made it very clear that only the pure in heart are going to
see God. That's important to understand.
Over in Psalm 24, this is what verses three through five say
in Psalm 24. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy place? Here's the
answer. He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor
sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing
from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of His salvation."
That's what it's going to take. That is what it's going to take.
And as we search the scriptures, we will see that Christ is the
only one who will ever fit that description. Christ is the only
one. Only Christ was tempted like
as we are, yet without sin. only Christ. For the salvation of His people,
it says that Christ was made to be the sin of His people. He did bear their sins in His
own body on the tree, but He Himself knew no sin. He knew no sin. He was the only
spotless Perfect, pure man that ever walked this earth. That's
what the word pure means. It means morally clean, free
from corruption, blameless, innocent. That only describes the Lord
Jesus Christ. Only Christ was pure before God. That means only He is worthy
to ascend into the hill of the Lord. Only Him. Only Him. He's the only one worthy. Even in glory, everything there
cries, Thou art worthy. You're the worthy one. But in
what He accomplished for His people, in what Christ came and
accomplished for His people, this is what the scripture has
to say about them, His people who are in Him, all right? If
you'd like to see 1 Corinthians 6, This is what verses 9 to 11
say. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 9, it says,
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom
of God? That means sinners are not welcome. Be not deceived, neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind. nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the
kingdom of God. That just described all men and
women by nature. Verse 11 says, and such were
some of you, but he said, you are washed. That's what makes
the difference. He said, you are washed. But
you are sanctified. You are set apart by God's Holy
Spirit. But you are justified. That means
declared innocent. In a court of law, if a judge
says you were justified in your actions, that means no wrongdoing
was done. That was a justified action. And he said, such were some of
you, but you're washed. in the blood of Christ, but you're
sanctified, but you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
and by the Spirit of our God." What he's saying is the blood
of Jesus Christ has cleansed you from all of your sin. Sinners cannot enter in. That's
why Christ washed us from our sins in His own blood and made
His people clean. In Him, in His payment, in His
washing, This is what the scripture says. It says, we, his people,
if we are his people, we are as pure as he is in him, in what
he did, in what he accomplished, in his blood, in his payment.
This is what the scripture says. It says, as he is, so are we. in him, only in him. And even
though we can't physically see it yet in this body of death,
as the Apostle Paul said, who shall deliver me from the body
of this death? We can't see this purity that
we have in Christ because we're still living in it. But in Christ,
God the Father has declared it to be so. He said, you are washed.
You're clean, you're pure as he is, so are you. And here's
the thing about it, if God has declared that that's so, it's
so. If God says that's the way it
is, that's the way it is. If he says Christ accomplished
the work that he came to do in purifying and in perfecting his
people, then Christ accomplished the work that he came to do in
purifying and protecting and perfecting his people. If God
said it, it's so. That's it. That's how it is.
If you'd like to turn with me to 1 John 3, it says in 1 John
3 verse 1, Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God? Therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew him not." There's a difference in those
who belong to Christ and those who do not belong to Christ.
Verse 2 says, "'Beloved, now are we the sons of God, those
who the Father gave to Christ, and Christ came and accomplished
all of this for. Now are we the sons of God, and
it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when
he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him
as he is. And every man that hath this
hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. listen to
this it says whosoever committed sin transgresseth also the law
for sin is the transgression of the law and you know that
he was manifested to take away our sins and in him is no sin
the soul that's in Christ there's no sin in Christ Verse six says,
whosoever abideth in him, stays in him, sinneth not. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen
him, neither known him. And down in verse nine it says,
whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed
remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God.
Now, when Christ removed the sin of his people from them,
That's what he accomplished for them. He accomplished a purity. He accomplished a washing. He
accomplished a spotlessness before God. When he removed the sin
of his people from them, he removed the sin from them, not just in
theory, not just in doctrine, in reality. The reason he died
is because he bore that very sin away from them into himself. And he truly did purge his people
from their sins. And that's what God's people
experience in Christ. They're still experiencing sin
in the flesh because they're carrying around sinful flesh,
and they're still committing sins. And that's what is so hard
for people to understand. It's so hard for me to understand.
Christ removed all the sins of his people from the cradle to
the grave. People wonder, well, if Christ saved me from my sins,
why am I still committing sin? Here's the reason why. This sinful
flesh will be sinful flesh until we lay it down in a grave. And
we're sinners from the cradle to the grave. As babies, we were
sinners. And when we lay down this flesh,
we're going to lay down sinful flesh. We're going to sin today.
We're going to sin tomorrow. But Christ died for all the sins
of his people. He died for the sins that we
have committed in our past. He died for the sins we are committing
right now. He died for the sins that we're
about to commit in just a moment. The sinful thoughts, the sinful
feelings, the sinful actions. He died for our sins. His work
of redeeming us from our sin, it's finished. All of it, all
of it. And in Him, in His work, the
scripture says, right now, we belong to God as His children,
beloved, and now are we the sons of God, verse two said, we are
accepted in the beloved, accepted in Christ. And as He is, That's
what he's made us to be. One day soon, we'll see it. It
does not yet appear what we shall be, but as soon as we see him,
these bodies will be changed and we'll be just like him. As
pure as his heart is, that's how pure our hearts are in him.
That's good news, isn't it? So he's the only one worthy to
enter into heaven. He's the only one. He gets the
glory. He gets the credit. We are only made worthy in him. only in him. And that worthiness
is something that we will experience once our time in this flesh is
done. Now, with that being said, there is an evidence of this
pure heart that Christ has created in his people. There is an evidence,
even though that pureness is not physically seen. There is
a physical evidence of the fact that it's there. And I want to
show you what it is. If you'll go with me back to
Matthew 5, Matthew 5 verse 8, it says, blessed
are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Blessed are the
pure in heart. Now I just told you that the
word pure means morally clean, free from corruption, blameless
and innocent. And it does mean that. That's
what it means. And that's how we stand before
God in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the definition
continues. Listen to the rest of it. It
goes on to say, and this is how it describes a believer in this
life. This is the evidence of what Christ has done for his
people. Okay. The word pure, that definition
goes on to mean free from what is false, honest, genuine, sincere. That's what the word means. Free
from what is false, honest, genuine, sincere. Our Lord said, blessed
are the pure in heart, the honest, the truthful, the sincere. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
They are the ones who are going to get to see God in mercy, in
love, in acceptance. Now, what does that look like?
In this flesh, what is a pure heart before God? What is honesty
before God? What is truthfulness before God? What does that look like? Turn
with me, if you would, to Psalm 51 and I'll show it to you. Psalm
51. David right here cries in verse
one, have mercy upon me. Oh God, this is honesty. This is truthfulness. He said,
have mercy upon me. Oh God, according to thy loving
kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out
my transgressions. He said in verse two, wash me
throughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions
and my sin is ever before me. He's crying, I'm a sinner. I'm
a sinner before you. I'm begging you for mercy. I'm
begging for you to blot out my transgressions and cover my sins
in your blood. because I'm nothing but a wretched
sinner before you. He went on in verse four to say,
against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in
thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest
and be clear when you judge. Whatever you do, you're right
in doing it. That's what he said. I'm a sinner
before you. I'm nothing but a sinner before
you. And I'm begging for mercy, because if you put me in hell,
you are just and right in doing it. Now I'm going to tell you,
that is honesty before God. I'm a sinner and I acknowledge
that before Him. And you are too, because the
scripture says, all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. And we need mercy. And the evidence of the fact
that God has shown mercy to us and created a pure heart in us
is this. We will be honest before him.
We will be truthful before him. And that is truthfulness. Truthfulness
before God. Verse 5, David went on to say,
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive
me. What he's saying is sin is what
I am. It's not just what I do. I was
made in sin. I was created in sin. Verse six,
he said, behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, truth
in the heart. And in the hidden part, thou
shalt make me to know wisdom. He said in verse seven, purge
me with hyssop. and I shall be clean. Hyssop
was a bush, like a spongy bush that they used to dip in blood
and they would sprinkle that blood on the mercy seat, crying
out to God to have mercy according to his covenant. And David's
saying, dip that hyssop in blood and cover me in blood. Verse
seven, purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and
I'll be whiter than snow. That is genuine sincerity. That is genuine sincerity. That
right there is not hypocrisy. False religion is so full of
hypocrisy. The word hypocrite means an actor.
It means we're acting, we're putting on a show for people.
That's a hypocrite. And that's what false religion
is. It's men and women trying to act like something that they're
not, and trying to be something that they're not, and trying
to convince other men that they're something that they're not. trick
God into thinking that they're something that they're not. That's
hypocrisy. It's time we get honest before
God. It's time we have some true sincerity before God because
He sees it all anyway. And the only hope we have if
we want to see Him in love and mercy is we need a pure heart
before Him. We need to be crying out to Him
for that mercy. That is pure honesty. Lord, I
need mercy. I need mercy from You. Turn with
me, if you would, to Romans 7. Romans 7 verse 14, this is the
apostle Paul speaking in honesty. This is a pure heart right here.
Romans 7 verse 14, he said, for we know that the law is spiritual,
but I am carnal sold under sin. This is what God's apostle said.
You know, the one that people, so many people call St. Paul.
He said, we know that the law is spiritual, the law is good,
but he said, I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do,
I allow not. I don't know why I do what I
do. He said, for what I would, that
do I not. What I wish I did, what I want
to do, I don't do it. But he said, what I hate, that
do I. If then I do that which I would
not, I consent unto the law that it's good. If I'm breaking the
law, I say I'm in the wrong and God's law is in the right. Verse
17, now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. That's the new man in Paul crying. God has created
a new creation in here, but I'm struggling with this sin that
I'm still dragging around. Verse 18, for I know that in
me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For to will is
present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not."
The law says, and you read it, read the scripture, Paul wrote
it, do good, do good. This is the will of God concerning
you, sin not. Paul said, I acknowledge that,
I just cannot find a way to accomplish it. Verse 19, for the good that I
would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that's what
I do. He said, I'm a sinner. not excusing
it. He's the one who said, do we
excuse these things? God forbid. Verse 20. Now, if I do that, I would not,
it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find
then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. He said, no matter what I do, it's ruined by sin. Verse 22,
for I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see
another law in my members. warring against the law of my
mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in
my members. He said, Oh, wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? That is an honest heart before
God. That is truthfulness before God.
That Pharisee in the temple in Luke 18 was trying to tell God
how pure he was. That's what he was trying to
do. You read it sometime, Luke 18. There's a Pharisee and a
publican in the temple and that Pharisee was saying, God, just
look at how pure I am. I do this and I don't do that. And he was lying through his
teeth. That's what he was doing. If
a man says he doesn't have sin, he deceives himself and he's
calling God a liar. But that publican, smote upon
his breast, crying, God, be merciful to me. I'm a sinner. And God
said, justified. He's the justified one. That's
pure honesty. That is truthfulness before me.
And God said, that's what I'll accept right there. Honesty,
pure, pure truthfulness. He said a broken and a contrite
heart. I will hear. A proud one? Never. but an honest, sincere,
genuine confession of what a sinner is before me." He said, I'll
receive that. I'll hear that. I'll receive
that. In 1 John 1, verse 5, it says, 1 John 1 verse 5, this then is
the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that
God is light and in him is no darkness at all. God is honest
light, honesty, sincerity, truth, no lie, no darkness. Verse six,
if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness,
we lie and do not the truth. We're lying and we're not telling
the truth. Verse seven, but if we walk in the light, if we walk
in truth and in honesty and in sincerity, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ,
his son cleanseth us from all sin. We have sin. He's not talking about sinlessness.
We have it in this flesh. We have honesty over that sin
in this flesh. He went on to say in verse eight,
if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he's
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make him a liar and his word is not in us. He said there is
only one confession that's pure. That's what he's saying right
here. Only one. There's only one thing that we
can confess to God about ourselves that is the purity of truth,
and it's this. God be merciful to me. I'm a
sinner. I am a sinner. That is a pure
heart before God. That is pure honesty before God. A true, honest, pure heart before
God. will be the one that claims only
Christ's heart to be pure before God. It will be the one that
claims Christ's heart for his very own. Lord, I don't come
to you in my heart at all. I come in Christ's heart. I come
in his purity. That's a sinner's only hope before
God. And that's the evidence that a sinner has received hope
from God. there will be a pure heart. If
God has given us that genuine, sincere heart of truth before
Him, we are a blessed people. If God has done that, we are
a blessed people, and I'll tell you why. It is the evidence that
we are among the ones who are going to get to see Him. All
men and women are going to go stand before God. Some are going
to stand there in Christ, in love and acceptance, and some
are going to stand there outside of Christ in judgment and condemnation. And if we want to be among the
ones who will be accepted and received, if we want to be among
the ones who will stand in that holy place, then if God has given
us that pure heart that cries, only Christ is worthy, and I
need mercy from you. in the covering of His blood,
that's the evidence that you have received it, I have received
it, and we will stand with Him. Our text said, blessed are the
pure in heart, they'll see God, they shall see God. May God make
it to be so. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message, or to hear other messages of sovereign grace, you can call
or write to the number and address on your screen, or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next
week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.