God doesn’t perceive things the way man does. God’s all-knowing eye enables him to examine the heart of man:
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7)
That truth about God is very significant to remember — the LORD looks at the heart. Other scriptures confirm that if one is accepted or rejected by the thrice holy God it will be on the basis of his (pure or impure) heart! That is where sin and the devil’s temptations come into focus, for sin can defile and deaden a holy righteous person with spiritual and eternal life.
In contrast, much of the spiritually dead and blind world around us exalts physical beauty far too high, while they totally ignore or remain deceived about man’s heart (the real person). Besides the 1 Sam. 16:7 truth, the Lord Jesus taught this about the pure in heart:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Mat 5:8)
Again, the heart of the matter is the heart! The real blessed person is the one with a purified heart. He is the only kind with an exciting thrilling future ahead of him in eternity! Again, one must be pure in heart to see God. That is why Lazarus, the beggar, who was surely dirty and probably stinky too, went to Abraham’s bosom after his death, instead of fiery torment like the rich man in Luke 16:19-31. He was qualified to enter God’s kingdom on the basis of his purified heart. The same is true with the dying thief, who got forgiven and entered Paradise (Lk. 23:42,43). Paul was another example of a pure heart:
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. (1 Tim 1:5,6)
Far from being the worst of sinners, as labeled by the eternal security teachers, the real Paul had a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. While Paul was spiritually guarded, resisted the devil and kept himself pure others wandered away from a pure heart. To wander away from a pure heart is to wander away from eternal life! That means eternal security or perseverance of the saints is a lie from the devil. You must die with a pure heart to escape hell and enter God’s Paradise kingdom after death. Many have lost their blessed pure in heart status and you can too! So, if you are a Christian hold on to what you have (Rev. 3:11).
