Sunday, June 9, 2013 am
PURER IN HEART (10)
Qualities of a Pure Heart – 6
a.
Kindness – Vine’s
defines the word as, “serviceable, good, pleasant.”
“To provide something beneficial as an act of kindness.” (L&N,
88.67)
The idea of being kind is one who acts in a pleasant or helpful manner
toward others. His conduct
and words are helpful and NOT hateful.
He deals with all with gentleness and is not harsh.
b.
Kindness is woefully
lacking in many places in our society.
In our fast paced society, people have a tendency to be rude and
thoughtless. It is also
prevalent everywhere in our media – from sitcoms which treat as comical
rude behavior, to the comments of athletes and celebrities, to the
continual attacks of opponents in politics, and it is especially
prevalent in our social media (Facebook, etc.).
It has become the norm, but that does NOT make it the conduct of
the Christian.
How much more pleasant would society be if we demonstrated kindness in
our lives? Think of our
driving habits, our conversations when something is wrong (instead of
yelling, we would reasonably discuss something), our demeanor around
others when we are out and about, the look on our face (do we smile or
frown?), etc. It has been
said that kindness is a universal language.
c.
God manifested this
quality toward us – Titus 3:4, Eph. 2:7, Rom. 11:22, etc.
When we discuss the grace and goodness of God toward us, we are
speaking of His kindness. He
cares about us and has acted toward us with kindness, even though we
don’t deserve it. Luke 6:35,
d.
In the Bible we find
that kindness is expected of us.
i.
Love is kind – 1
Corinthians 13:4, “Love suffers
long and is kind;…”
ii.
Eph. 4:32, “Be
kind to one another, tenderhearted,…”
iii.
Col. 3:12 – put on
tender mercies (compassion), kindness, …”
iv.
Gal. 5:22 – it is
another fruit of the Spirit, many of which we have discussed in this
study.
v.
Proverbs 19:22, “What
is desired in a man is kindness, And a poor man is better than a liar.”
vi.
2 Peter 1:7 – brotherly
kindness – from the Greek word, Philadelphia.
It means affection for your brother in Christ.
e. The pure heart is not going to be hateful toward others. Even when facing less than ideal circumstances, the effort to be kind will still prevail. The Christian needs to show kindness to others both in his words and his deeds. This will be further developed in our next point.
a.
Our kindness is
demonstrated by the way we live with dignity in society.
Along with a lack of kindness, our society is suffering from a
lack of manners. The
“social skills” of many are either rough or non-existent.
Etiquette is all but ignored.
b.
Etiquette is defined as,
“the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a
particular profession or group.”[1]
c.
While the word
“etiquette” is not found in scripture, we find references to living our
lives in a proper fashion and with dignity.
The pure heart will conduct itself WITH dignity and graciousness.
d.
As you study the Bible
you find that as Christians we are live with good manners.
i.
1 Corinthians 13:5, “Love…does not behave
rudely.” This
demonstrates a life with manners.
ii.
Ephesians 5:3, “But fornication and all
uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is
fitting for saints.” The
NASU uses the word “proper”
while the KJV says, “as becometh
saints.” This text indicates that as Christians there IS a certain
way we are to live our lives in society.
See also Philippians 1:27 which
says, “Only let your conduct be
worthy of the gospel of Christ…”
iii.
Colossians 4:5-6, “Walk in wisdom toward those who
are outside, redeeming the time. Let your
speech always be with grace,
seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
iv.
1 Tim. 2:1-2 – our prayers to God are to be so that we can, “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
reverence.”
The word “reverence” is a word that means “behavior that is
befitting, implying a measure of dignity leading to respect.” (L&N
88.46)
This word is also found in
1 Timothy 3:4 where elders
are to have children who are in submission with all
reverence.
In other words, their children need to be respectful and not
rebellious. They cannot live
so as to detract from the work of their father.
v.
1 Timothy 3:2, continuing to discuss the qualities of elders notes they are to be “of
good behavior” (respectable – NASU) a word defined as, “pertaining
to being modest in the sense of moderate and well-ordered.” (L&N 88.48)
This is the same word used of
women in
1 Tim. 2:9-10 which speaks
of them adorning themselves “in
modest apparel, with
propriety and moderation, not
with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is
proper for women professing
godliness, with good works.”
When we discuss modesty in clothing, it is about that which draws
undue attention to yourself.
That same idea applies to our manner of life, even within
society.
vi.
Phil. 2:15,
“Do all things without complaining
and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children
of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine as lights in the world.“
This is one of many passages that speaks of our example.
We live so as to not detract from giving God the glory.
1 Pet. 2:12 says, “having
your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against
you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe,
glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Again, the idea is that you live
a life with dignity and honor so that there is no legitimate attack on
your character (integrity).
vii.
IN this society it is
hard enough to be a Christian and do the right thing WITH integrity and
proper behavior. There is no
need to make matters worse by misbehaving and drawing undue attention to
yourself.
What are some examples of undue attention?
Clothing, hairstyles and jewelry that are associated with
rebellion, obnoxious language and attitude just because you can, a
slovenly appearance that indicates indifference, treating others rudely,
and a failure to reject the customs of others (cf. 1 Cor. 9:19-23).
IF SOMETHING causes the majority to look upon you suspect (other
than standing up for what is right), chances are you shouldn’t do it.
Consider
1 Thess. 4:11-12
“that
you also aspire to lead a quiet
life, to mind your own
business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that
you may walk properly toward
those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing
viii.
1
Pet. 3:8, says, “Finally,
all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as
brothers, be tenderhearted, be
courteous;”
ix.
This dignity will also
be reflected in our worship and service to God.
1 Corinthians 14:40 says of our worship, “Let
all things be done decently and in order.”
e.
Surely we can see in
this the need to live within proper social boundaries.
A pure heart in its humility will NOT seek to draw undue
attention to itself.
a.
The word confidence
implies belief in the certainty of something.
It addresses one’s assurance that he is right.
b.
While we need to develop
and manifest humility in our lives, at the same time we also need
confidence. These do NOT
contradict each other (though they are often confused with one another).
Humility has to do with one’s attitude in the presence of others.
Confidence has to do with one’s assurance of his own standing.
c.
Yet we need to be
confident – we need to be sure of our salvation and confident as we
develop the qualities we have been studying.
WE can’t live our lives in continual doubt.
d.
The scriptures call for
confidence:
i.
Phil. 4:13,
“I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me.”
ii.
2 Tim. 1:7,
“For God has not given us a spirit
of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
iii.
1 John 4:18,
“There is no fear in love; but
perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.
But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
iv.
2 Cor. 3:5,
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being
from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God”
v.
Romans 12:3,
“For I say, through the grace
given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to
each one a measure of faith.”
vi.
James 1:6-7, “But let him ask in faith, with no
doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed
by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything
from the Lord.”
e.
Why is a pure heart
confident? Because it has
integrity, self-control, patience, humility and all the other qualities
we have discussed WITH knowledge!
f.
Note also 1 John 3:20-21
– if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.
God is to be the source of our confidence.
[1]
www.google.com Search, “What
is etiquette”