Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

We will always have to deal with the presence of sin in the world and within ourselves in this life, even after we have received Christ through faith. But that act of faith also means that God Himself (in the person of the Holy Spirit) is now living within us, for the purpose of helping us to become progressively more like Jesus throughout our earthly lives.

I also find it helpful to remember that when God sees someone who has been saved through faith, he does not see the individual's old sin nature, but the perfect righteousness of Christ that has now been imputed to that person because of their faith. We no longer have to depend upon our own imperfect obedience to gain God's favor.

Our responsibility as Christians because of this mercy that God has shown us is to avoid willful sin in our lives (again, with the help of the Holy Spirit), to confess those sins that we do still commit and to receive God's forgiveness for them; and to strive to be continually more like Christ, looking forward to the full accomplishment of that objective when we are eternally in God's presence.

April 02 2015 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Donna Crayne Supporter I am a homemaker.

We are all born into sin; in order to have a pure heart, we must die to ourselves, put away our "old man" and allow Christ full authority over our will and our lives, no longer allowing our free will to dictate our lives. Instead, we must examine ourselves and ask, are our actions/words/thoughts Christ-like? Once we make that decision, turning our lives fully over to Christ, only then can we truly have a pure heart.

April 03 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Danny Hickman Supporter Believer in The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Mt 5:8).

Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart (Psa 73:1).

Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"? (Prv 20:9)

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psa 51:10).

Peter gives a belated answer for the question in Proverbs 20:9. He writes, "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart." (1 Peter 1:22)

That's it! We are commanded to love one another. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that also you love one another" (John 13:34). 

These things I command you that you love one another (John 15:17). 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11). 

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8).

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).

Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).

I believe the scriptures teach that 'Love' purifies. I think Peter gave an answer to this question. I believe he's telling the church that their / our hearts are made pure when we have fervent love for one another. Are we ever without sin? No. (1 Kings 8:46).

August 01 2024 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report