INTRO: When we came to the first part of the sixth beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart”, we had our hands full in seeking to understand what that means. The heart speaks figuratively of the vital center of man’s soul. It is the most vital part affecting the self, which is the president of the whole. It is in our heart where the self works up evil. Jesus said that evil proceeds from the heart. He said in Mark 7:21-23 'For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.'
And so God has to give us a new heart, if we are to be saved. And in regeneration, in the new birth, He gives us a new heart. But the regenerated person meets a very formidable foe the moment he is saved. And this foe will deceive and destroy the new born Christian at the very first opportunity. And there, in the heart, the battle between God and Satan will take place. We have seen some of what is involved, and that we are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And we are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all the thoughts we process. Here in this area the Bible calls the heart, and which we call the mind, the battle between God and Satan rages. |
