THE GOSPELS: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: BEATITUDE 6, BLESSED are the PURE in HEART, for they will SEE GOD, Part 2

17 July 2026

We are proceeding to study the SERMON of YESHUA on the MOUNT.

We are mainly reading from the Complete Jewish Study Bible – insight for Jews and Christians. We use the Hebrew letters for the name of God, YHVH (Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh) where the word LORD in English is indicated in capital letters in the Scriptures. The reason being that the Jewish writers removed the vowels in God’s name out of fear of transgressing the third Commandment of taking His Name in vain. And today there is a lot of controversy about the pronunciation of His Name.  We also refer to Him as Abba Father and use the Hebrew Name Yeshua the Messiah instead of the English Name Jesus Christ translated from the Greek.

We are studying the sixth BEATITUDE as written in Matthew 5:8 where Yeshua our Messiah taught: “How BLESSED (meaning happy and fortunate) are the PURE in HEART! For they will SEE God.”

We are studying the Word to understand what it means to have a PURE HEART.

Last week we learned the following:

• PURITY begins internally in the heart (emotions) and the mind (thoughts) leading to external behavior and actions resulting in living a life of righteousness and holiness.

• PURITY is defined as a state of being PURE, untouched, unblemished (flawless, blameless), unmixed (authentic/ true/ faithful, genuine/ honest). And the Word uses the examples of PURE GOLD and PURE OLIVE OIL to explain PURITY.

• PURITY is closely related to HOLINESS, UPRIGHTNESS and RIGHTEOSNESS.

• HOLINESS requires PURIFICATION (being cleansed from sin), DEDICATION (living devoted to God’s will and Word), SEPARATION (living set apart from worldly values) and RECLECTING GOD’s HOLINESS by following the example of Yeshua our Messiah in our words and behavior.

• RIGHTEOUSNESS entails, personal righteousness, having MORAL INTEGRITY and righteousness through FAITH in MESSIAH YESHUA as a GIFT from GOD the FATHER and living a righteous life in alignment with HIS WILL and HIS WORD.

• UPRIGHTNESS means living with integrity, fearing God, turning away from evil and following His ways, living blamelessly, practicing righteousness and maintaining a PURE HEART.

So today we are going to look at what the Word of God teaches us on IMPURITY.

Impurity is described as CONTAMINATED, POLUTED, ADULTERATED, UNCLEAN, INFECTED, FILTYH and DIRTY. And in the Word of God impurity is a characteristic of the flesh, the old sinful self.

The Book of Leviticus gives specific information about prohibited sexual relationships for God’s people (we can therefore say for believers in Him) and we read in Leviticus18:24-26 “Do not make yourselves UNCLEAN by any of these things, because all the nations which I am expelling ahead of you are defiled (ruined) with them. The land has become UNCLEAN and this is why I am PUNISHING it – the land itself will vomit out its inhabitants. But you are to KEEP MY LAWS and RULINGS (decisions, verdicts, decrees) and not engage in any of these disgusting (revolting, horrible, sickening, filthy) practices, neither the citizen, nor the foreigner living with you…”

In Isaiah 1 we read about all the things that defile God the Father’s people, separating them from Him namely, rebellion, being weighed down by iniquity (meaning proceeding with the sins and immorality of the generations before them) and turning their back on God, corrupting worship and religious feasts, committing violence and injustice, being materialistic and committing idolatry, immorality and occultism. And we read that in verses 16-17 God calls them to: “wash yourselves clean! Get your evil deeds out of My sight. Stop doing evil, learn to Do GOOD! Seek JUSTICE, relieve the oppressed, DEFEND orphans, plead for widows.” Also read Isaiah 59 and we read in verse 2: “…it is your own crimes that separate you from God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that he doesn’t hear.”

In Ezekiel 39 prior to the restoration of the entire House of ISRAEL (all twelve tribes including all believers grafting into the olive tree of Israel according to Romans 11:17-24) that will take place during the thousand year Kingdom of Peace of Yeshua the Messiah we read in verse 23-24 God gives the reasons why He allowed the House of ISRAEL (the Northern Kingdom, the Ten Tribes under Ephraim still scattered today) to go into exile, saying it was: “because of their guilt, because they broke FAITH with Me; so that I hid My face from them and handed them over to their adversaries (their enemies); and they fell by the sword, all of them (meaning they were killed by their enemies). Yes, I treated them as their UNCLEANESS and CRIMES DESERVED; and I hid My face from them (meaning He was not present with them anymore).

In Proverbs 11 we read a comparison of the RIGHTEOUSS PERSON and the WICKED PERSON and each receiving what they deserve, remember, God’s principle is fixed, what we SOW (PLANT), we will REAP (HARVEST) in the spiritual world, just as in the natural world, we cannot plant a weed, and expect to harvest fruits, if we plant weeds, we will harvest weeds and if we plant an olive tree, we will harvest olives. Similarly we read in Provers 11:1-31:

• FALSE SCALES (being dishonest in our dealings with other people) are an abomination (a disgrace) to YHVH (meaning, He hates it), but ACCURATE WEIGHTS (dealing honestly with other people), please Him (verse 1).

• First comes PRIDE, then DISGRACE (shame, dishonor, meaning if we act in pride, we will in time suffer shame and dishonor); but with the HUMBLE (those who act with meekness, humbleness, gentleness) is WISDOM (insight, knowledge and understanding) (verse 2).

• The integrity of the UPRIGHT GUIDES them, but the DUPLICITY (deceit, deception, disloyalty, betrayal) of the TREACHEROUS (unfaithful, disloyal, twofaced) DESTROYS them (verse 3).

• On the DAY of WRATH (the Judgement Day of God during the Second Coming of Yeshua the Messiah as we read in Revelation 19:11-21), WEALTH doesn’t help; but RIGHTEOUSNESS rescues from death (verse 4).

• The RIGHTEOUSNESS of the INNOCENT (the blameless, guiltless) LEVELS their WAY but the WICKEDNESS of the WICKED makes them FALL (verse 5).

• The RIGHTEOUSNESS of the UPRIGHT RESCUES them, but the TREACHEROUS (unfaithful, disloyal, twofaced) are TRAPPED by their OWN INTRIGUES (conspiracies, plots, trickery, schemes) (verse 6).

• When a WICKED man DIES, his hope PERISHES; what he hopes for from evil comes to nothing (verse 7).

• The RIGHTEOUS is DELIVERED from trouble, and the WICKED comes to take his place (therefore receives the trouble) (verse 8).

• With his MOUTH the HYPOCRITE (the fraud, the pretender) can ruin (destroy, devastate) his neighbor (other people), but by KNOWLEDGE the RIGHTEOUS are DELIVERED (verse 9).

• When the RIGHTEOUS prosper, the city REJOICES; and when the WICKED perish, there is JOY (verse 10).

• By the BLESSING of the UPRIGHT, a CITY is RAISED UP; but the WORDS of the WICKED TEAR it DOWN (verse 11).

• He who BELITTLES another LACK GOOD SENSE (wisdom, understanding, insight, knowledge), whereas a person of DISCERNMENT STAYS SILENT (verse 12).

• A GOSSIP goes around REVEALING SECRETS, but a TRUSTWORTHY person KEEPS a CONFIDENCE (verse 13).

• The PROFITS of the WICKED are ILLUSORY (false); but those who SOW RIGHTEOUSNESS gain a TRUE REWARD (verse 18).

• GENUINE (honest, sincere) RIGHTEOUSNESS leads to LIFE, but the PURSUER of EVIL goes to his own DEATH (verse 19).

• The CROOKED-HEARTED (the twisted, perverse/ stubborn, perverted/ depraved/ immoral/ evil, corrupt/ fraudulent/ dishonest person) are an abomination (a disgrace) to YHVH but those SINCERE (honest, truthful) in their WAYS (habits, conduct, behavior) are HIS DELIGHT (gives Him pleasure) (verse 20).

• Depend on it: the evil (the wicked, immoral, criminal, the deliberate sinful) will not go unpunished; but the OFFSPRING (the children) of the RIGHTEOUS will escape (verse 21).

• The RIGHTEOUS desire only GOOD, but what the WICKED hope for brings WRATH (anger, rage, fury) (verse 23).

• Some GIVE FREELY and still get RICHER, while others are STINGY but GROW still POORER (verse 24).

• The person who BLESSES OTHER will PROSPER; he who SATISFIES OTHERS will be SATISFIED himself (verse 25).

• He who STIVES for GOOD OBTAINS FAVOR, but he who SEARCHES for evil – it comes to him! (Verse 27).

• He who TRUST in RICHES (money and possessions) will FALL, but the RIGHTEOUS will FLOURISH like sprouting leaves (verse 28).

• Those who TROUBLE (cause worry, distress, suffering, pain, sorrow to) their families will inherit the wind (they will end up with nothing – emptiness, futility, loss /harm/ injury), and the fool (the unwise person) becomes the slave of the wise (verse 29).

• The FRUIT of the RIGHTEOUSS is a TREE of LIFE, and he who is WISE WINS SOULS (verse 30).

• If the RIGHTEOUSS are PAID what they DERERVE here on earth, how much more the WICKED and the SINNER! (Verse 31).

So what we must understand, is stands firm, immovable, so to speak WRITTEN IN STONE, WHAT WE CHOOSE to SOW we WILL REAP, therefore we will either BENEFIT when we SOW that which is GOOD or it will COST us dearly if we SOW that which is EVIL. God’s Word is crystal clear about that, therefore the CHOICE is ours and so is the consequences of that choice.

Paul explains in Romans 6:16-23 the following: “Don’t you know if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, then, of the one whom you are obeying, you are slaves – whether of SIN, which leads to DEATH or of OBEDIENCE (to God the Father), which leads to being MADE RIGHTEOUS (blameless, upright, moral)? By God’s GRACE, you, who were once slaves to sin, obeyed from your heart (meaning with your thoughts and emotions, leading to a free will decision) the pattern of teaching to which you were exposed (therefore taught the Word of God); and after you have been SET FREE from sin (from the compulsion to do what is wrong and therefore harmful to yourself and other people), you became ENSLAVED to RIGHTEOUSNESS (a WILLINGNESS to Do what is right according to God’s Word and therefore causing no harm to yourself and other people). For just as you used to offer your various parts (of your body, like your eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet and sexual organs) as SLAVES to IMPURITY and LAWLESSNESS (doing what is against God’s Law as written in Genesis to Deuteronomy and summed up in the Ten Commandments), which led to MORE LAWLESSNESS (anarchy, rebellion, chaos, disorder, confusion, disarray); so now (choose to) offer your various parts (of your body, like your eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet and sexual organs) as slaves to RIGHTEOUSNESS (doing with your body what is right and acceptable to YHVH our God), which leads to BEING MADE HOLY, SET APART for GOD. For when you were SLAVES of SIN, you were FREE in relation to righteousness (you were free to do sin); but what benefit did you derive from the things of which you are now ashamed? (Meaning what did the sin, which harmed other people and yourself and lead to feelings of shame benefit you?). The end result of those (sinful) things was DEATH. However, now, FREED from SIN and ENSLAVED to GOD (the Father, you do get the benefit – it consists of being made BEING MADE HOLY, SET APART for GOD, and its END RESULT is ETERNAL LIFE. For what one earns from SIN is DEATH (meaning the SECOND DEATH and therefore ETERNAL DEATH as we read in Revelation 20:13-14 and 21:8); but ETERNAL LIFE is what one receives as a FREE GIFT from GOD (the Father) , in union with Messiah, Yeshua, our Master.

And therefore we can understand what Paul says in 1^st Timothy 1:8-11 “We know that the TORAH (Genesis to Deuteronomy, summed up in the Ten Commandments) is GOOD, provided one uses it in the way the Torah itself intends (meaning that care should be taken not to misuse the Torah since it can result in misunderstandings or misapplications). We are aware that Torah  is not for a person who is RIGHTEOUS, but for those who are heedless (neglectful, mindless) of Torah  and rebellious (disobedient, stubborn, unruly/ uncontrollable), ungodly and sinful (evil, corrupt, immoral), wicked and worldly, for people who kill their fathers  and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral  – both heterosexual and homosexual – slave dealers, liars, perjurers (people who lie under oath) and anyone who acts contrary to the SOUND TEACHING that accords to the GOOD NEWS of the GLORIOUS and BLESSED GOD.”

This does not mean that Paul said we as believers should not keep the Torah, because we know he kept it as we read in Acts 24:14 Paul saying to governor Felix during his hearing: “But this I do admit to you: I worship the God of our fathers in accordance with THE WAY (which they call a sect). I CONTINUE to BELIEVE EVERYTHING that accords with the TORAH (Genesis to Deuteronomy, summed up in the Ten Commandments) and EVERYTHING written in the PROPHETS.”   Also read Romans chapter 1, Paul says in verses 5-16: “…by your stubbornness, by your unrepentant HEART, you are storing up anger for yourself on the DAY of ANGER (referring to the DAY of JUDGMENT), when God’s RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENT will be REVEALED; for He will PAY BACK each one according to his DEEDS. To those who seek glory,   honour and immortality by PERSERVERANCE in DOING GOOD, He will PAY BACK ETERNAL LIFE. But to those who are SELF-SEEKING, who DISOBEY the TRUTH (the Word of God) and OBEY evil, He will PAY BACK WRATH and ANGER. Yes, He will PAY BACK misery and anguish to EVERY human being who does evil, to the Jew (the Southern Kingdom, comprising of Judah and Benjamin, commonly known as the Jews) first, then to the Gentile (those not from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin).; but GLORY and HONOUR and SHALOM (PEACE) to EVERYONE who KEEPS DOING what is GOOD, to the Jew first, then to the Gentile. For God does not show favouritism. ALL who have SINNED outside the FRAMEWORK of TORAH will DIE outside the framework of TORAH; and ALL who have SINNED within the FAMEWORK of TORAH WILL be JUDGED by TORAH. For it is not merely the HEARERS of TORAH  whom God considers RIGHTEOUS, rather, it is the DOERS of what TORAH says who WILL BE MADE RIGHTOEUS in GOD’s SIGHT. For whenever Gentiles, who have no TORAH, DO naturally what the TORAH requires, then these, even though they don’t have TORAH (therefore are not aware of God’s Word in Genesis tot Deuteronomy, summed up in the Ten Commandments, but they naturally behave accordingly then they), for themselves are TORAH! For their LIVES SHOW that the conduct the TORAH dictates is WRITTEN on THEIR HEARTS. Their consciences also bear witness to this, for their conflicting thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them on a DAY when GOD passes JUDGEMENT of people’s inmost secrets. According to the GOOD NEWS as I, (Paul), PROCLAIM it, He (God the Father) does this through the Messiah Yeshua. Also read Romans 13:8-10.

So what Paul means in 1^st Timothy 1:8-11 is when we chose to crucify and therefore die to our old sinful nature with Yeshua our Messiah as part of Feast 1-3 and we were filled by the Holy Spirit as part of Feast 4, then God our Father’s LAW is written in our hearts as we read in Jeremiah 31:31-33 and Hebrews 8:8-12 & 10:16 and we WILLINGLY submit to it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit since our OLD NATURE that wants to sin is dead and buried! Therefore the prohibitions in the LAW is now intended for those whose OLD NATURE is still alive and still sin intentionally.

One can therefore conclude IMPURITY in a person’s life is a sign of the FLESH being in control of that person’s life and not the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD. Paul ends in Romans 7:25b saying: “To sum up: with my MIND (my thoughts) , I am a SLAVE of God’s TORAH (Genesis to Deuteronomy, summed up in the Ten Commandments); but with my OLD NATURE, I am a slave of sin’s torah (meaning his old nature wants to commit the sins God prohibits, I think this means we as people tend to have sin set as our default since the fall in the Garden of Eden but when we are born again by willingly dying to the OLD SELF and surrendering our lives to God the Father, His Holy Spirit guides us in line with God’s TORAH, in UNION with our Messiah Yeshua).

Paul proceeds explaining this in Romans 8:1-14 saying: “…there is no longer any condemnation awaiting those who are in UNION with the Messiah Yeshua. Why? Because the TORAH of the (HOLY) SPIRIT (written in accordance to the New Covenant on the hearts of believers as indicated in Jeremiah 31:31-33 and Hebrews 8:8-12 & 10:16), which produces this life in UNION with Messiah Yeshua, has SET me FREE from the torah (the law) of SIN and DEATH (therefore the inclination to want to sin deliberately against what God the Father prohibits). For what the TORAH could not do by itself, because it lacked the POWER to make the old nature cooperate, GOD (the Father) DID by sending Hs own SON as a human being with a nature like our own sinful one but without sin. God (the Father) did this in order to deal with sin , and in so doing He executed the PUNISHMENT against sin in human nature, so that the JUST REQUIREMENT of the TORAH might be fulfilled in us who DO NOT run our lives according to what the old nature wants but according to what the (HOLY) SPIRIT WANTS. For those who identify with their old nature (therefore willingly Do what their old nature wants them to do) set their MINDS (their thoughts) on the things of the old nature (meaning their thoughts are filled willingly filled with sin, all the things against God’s commandments), but those who IDENTIFY with the (HOLY) SPIRIT set their MINDS (their thoughts) on the things of the (HOLY) SPIRIT. Having one’s MIND (thoughts) CONTROLED by the OLD NATURE IS DEATH, but having one’s MIND (thoughts) CONTROLED by the (HOLY) SPIRIT IS LIFE and SHALOM (PEACE). For the MIND COTROLLED by the OLD NATURE is hostile to GOD (the Father), because it does not SUBMIT itself to GOD’s TORAH – indeed it cannot.”

So this then clearly explains the reason why the WORLD hates God’s Word, especially the TORAH (Genesis to Deuteronomy, summed up in His TEN COMMANDMENTS). And when we strive to live according to God’s Commandments the world will also hate us, just as it hated our Messiah Yeshua.

But unfortunately, because the sinful flesh is the default mode of fallen people we have to die daily to the flesh and submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God our Father in line with His Word and the example of Yeshua our Messiah, therefore REMINDING ourselves daily of Paul’s words in Romans 8:9, namely that we REJECT the old nature and its love for sin, we REMEMBER we died to sin with our Messiah Yeshua and we now LIFE as a NEW PERSON with the HOLY SPIRIT in us and God the Father’s TORAH written on our hearts and minds, and therefore we DO NOT IDENTIFY WITH THE OLD NATURE, WE IDENTIFY with YESHUA our MESSIAH to WHOM we BELONG as a CHILD of GOD the FATHER.

In 1^st Corinthians 3:1-5 we see that the believers still acted according to the flesh, therefore as worldly people and not spiritual people of God and therefore not able to receive the weighty matters of the Word and being jealous and quarrelling among them as proof that they are still worldly and living merely by human standards following people of their choice instead of following and TRUSTING in God.  And in 1^st Corinthians 5 Paul addresses the sexual sins among the believers in Corinth calling them in Messiah, Yeshua, sacrificed as our Passover Lamb to renounce wickedness and evil and to live in PURITY and TRUTH. And then we read Paul saying in 1^st Corinthians 5:9-13 “In my earlier letter I wrote you not to associate with people who engage in sexual immorality. I didn’t mean the sexually immoral people outside your community (therefore indicating unbelievers), or the greedy, or thieves or the idol worshippers – for then you would have to leave the world altogether! No, what I wrote you was not to associate with anyone who is supposedly a brother (a fellow believer) but who ALSO engages in sexual immorality, is greedy, worship idols, is abusive, gets drunk or steals. With such a person you shouldn’t even eat! For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? Isn’t it those who are part of the community (fellow believers) that you should be judging? God will JUDGE those who are outside (the unbelievers). Just expel the evildoer form among yourselves.” This is a hard word, but I belief it is not meant as rejecting people who struggle with sin, but not to allow willful sin of believers who don’t want to commit their lives fully to God to influence fellow believers negatively since sin can be contagious influencing weak believers to also submit to it. We are still to act with love and compassion and prayer towards believers struggling but who wants to overcome sin in their lives. We are however not to join them in their sinning.

And in 1^st Corinthians 6:9-11 “Don’t you know that UNRIGHTEOUS (sinful, wicked, unholy) people will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t delude (deceive, mislead) yourselves – people who engage in sex before marriage, who worship idols, who engage in sex after marriage with someone other than their spouse, who engage in active or passive homosexuality, who steal, who are greedy, who get drunk, who assail (attack) people with contemptuous (scornful, disrespectful, rude, offensive) language, who rob – none of them will share in the Kingdom of God. Some of you USED to do these things. But you have CLEANSED yourselves, you have been set apart for God, you have come to be counted RIGHTEOUS through the POWER of the Master Yeshua the Messiah and the (Holy) Spirit of our God.”

And in verses 13c-20 Paul again focusses on the importance of not submitting to sexual sins, saying: “…the body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Master (Yeshua the Messiah) and the Master (Yeshua the Messiah) is for the body. God (the Father) raised up the Master (Yeshua the Messiah), and He will raise us up too by His power. Don’t you know that your bodies are parts of Messiah? So am I to take parts of the Messiah and make them parts of a prostitute? Heaven forbid? Don’t you know that a man who joins himself to a prostitute becomes physically one with her? For the Tanakh (the Old Testament) says (referring to Genesis 2:24), ‘the two will become one flesh’; but a person who is joined to the Master (Yeshua the Messiah) is one spirit. Run from sexual immorality! Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the fornicator (person having sex outside of marriage) sins against his own body. Or don’t you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) who lives inside you. Whom you received from God? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves; for you were bought at a price. So use your bodies to GLORIFY GOD.”

We must therefore not lose hope, ALL of us will during the JOURNEY of LIFE face a SPIRITUAL BATTLE with SIN every day of our lives, but God gives us EVERYHTING in His Word to STAND AGAINST these sins and we have the HOLY SPIRIT’s GUIDANCE and YESHUA our MESSIAH’s example to gain VICTORY over it DAY-BY-DAY in our lives, staying FREE from sin through the REPENTANCE process and in so doing GROWING STORNGER every day.

And again in 1^st Corinthians 7 Paul acknowledges the DANGER of SEXUAL IMMORALITY and gives detail guidelines for SEXUAL PURITY for people married people, people who are engaged to be married as well as single people.

And in 1^st Corinthians 10 Paul uses the examples of God’s in the desert which serves as a warning to believers not to set our HEARTS of evil things as they did, and we read in verses 7-14 Paul saying: “Don’t be idolaters, as some of them were – as the Tanakh (the Old Testament) puts it (referring to Exodus 32:6) ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to indulge in revelry (partying).’ And let’s not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, with the consequence that 23,000 died in a single day. And let us not put the Messiah to the TEST, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes. And don’t grumble (complain, criticize, moan), as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroying Angel. These things happened to them a prefigurative (foreshadowing/ forewarning) historical events, and they were written down as a WARNING to us who are living in the acharit-hayamim (the end of days). Therefore, let anyone who thinks he is standing up be careful not to fall! No temptation has seized you beyond what you can bear. On the contrary, along with the temptation He (God) will also provide the way out, so that you will be able to endure.” This means that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to resist and run from but it remains our CHOICE. Therefore if we are entangled in sin, we can DECIDE TODAY to repent and turn away from it with the help and guidance of GOD.

And in 2^nd Corinthians 6 Paul says to the believers in verses 6-7: “We commend ourselves by our PURITY, knowledge, patience and kindness; by the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit); by genuineness of LOVE and TRUTHFULNESS of speech; and by God (the Father’s) POWER. We commend ourselves through our use of RIGHTEOUS WEAPONS, whether for pressing our cause or defending it;..” And then Paul warns them in verses 14-17 “Do not yoke yourselves together in a team of unbelievers. For how can RIGHTEOUSNESS and LAWLESSNESS be partners? What fellowship does LIGHT have with darkness? What harmony can there be between MESSIAH and Belial (Satan or the power of evil)? What does a BELIEVER have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement can there be between the TEMPLE of GOD and idols? For we are the TEMPLE of the LIVING GOD – as God said (referring to Leviticus 26:12, Exodus 6:7, Jeremiah 31:32 & 32:38 and Ezekiel 37:27), ‘I will house Myself IN them, and I will WALK among you. I will be their Go, and they will be My people.’ Therefore, YHVH says, ‘Go out of their midst; separate yourselves; don’t even touch what is UNCLEAN (referring to Isaiah 52:11). Then I Myself will receive you (referring to Ezekiel 20:34 & 41). In fact, I will be your FATHER, and you will be My sons and daughters says YHVH-Tzva’ot (the God of Heaven’s Armies) (referring to 2^nd Samuel 7:14 and Isaiah 43:6).” And in 2^nd Corinthians 7:1 Paul concludes saying: “Therefore, my dear friends, since we have these PROMISES, let us PURIFY ourselves  form EVERYTHING that can defile either body, or spirit, and strive to be COMPLETELY HOLY (set apart, committed). Out of reverence (respect and devotion) for God (the Father).”

Please note this does not mean that we are not supposed to spread the GOOD NEWS of God among unbelievers, rather it means we must be careful of being INFLUENCED by unbelievers to follow the ways of the world and to fall in love with the pleasures of the world that will ultimately lead to DEATH. On the contrary, God calls us OUT of the world as we read in many Scriptures like Isaiah 52:11-12, John 15:18, 16:33 & 17:13-18, Romans 12:2, 2^nd Corinthians 4:4, James 4:4, 1^st John 2:15-18 & 5:19 and Revelation 18:4. We read in 1^st John 5:1-5: “Everyone who BELIEVES that Yeshua is the Messiah has God as his FATHER, and everyone who loves a father loves his offspring too. Here is how we know that we LOVE God’s children (fellow believers): when we LOVE GOD, we also DO what HE COMMANDS. For LOVING GOD means OBEYING HIS COMMANDS. Moreover, HIS COMMANDS are not burdensome, because everything who which has God as its Father OVERCOMES the world. And this is what VICTRIOUSLY OVERCOMES the world: our TRUST (FAITH). Who does overcome the world if not the person who BELIEVES that Yeshua is the SON of GOD.”

In Galatians 5:19 Paul gives a list of how the FLESH, also known as the OLD NATURE expresses itself, namely in: “sexual immorality, IMPURITY and indecency; involvement with the occult, and with drugs, in feuding (arguing, quarrelling), fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism (forming small groups within larger groups leading to conflict and division), intrigue (plotting, scheming, trickery) and envy; drunkenness, orgies (wild parties/ celebrations) and things like these. I warn you now as I have WARNED you before: those who Do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God! And Paul further warns in Galatians 6:7-10 “Don’t delude (deceive, mislead) yourselves: no one makes a fool of God! A person REAPS what he SOWS. Those who keep SOWING in the FIELD of their OLD NATURE, in order to meet its demands, will eventually REAP RUIN (devastation/ damage, destruction, collapse/ failure/ breakdown); but those who KEEP SOWING in the FIELD of the (HOLY) SPIRIT will REAP from the SPIRIT EVERLASTING LIFE. So let us not grow weary (tired) of DOING GOOD; for f we don’t give up, we will in due time REAP the HARVEST. Therefore, as the opportunity arises, let us DO what is GOOD to EVERYONE, and especially to the family of those who are TRUSTINGLY FAITHFUL (meaning to fellow believers).  ”

And Paul tells the believers in Ephesus, in Ephesians 2:1-10 “You used to be dead because of your sins and acts of DISOBEDIENCE. You WALKED in the ways of the olam hazeh (this world) and OBEYED the RULER of the POWERS of the AIR (referring to Satan), who is still at work among the DISOBEDIENT. Indeed, we ALL once lived this way – we followed the passions of our OLD NATURE and OBEYED the wishes of our OLD NATURE and our OWN THOUGHTS. In our NATURAL condition we were headed for GOD’s WRATH, just like everyone else. But GOD (the Father) is RICH in MERCY and LOVES us with such INTENSE (powerful, passionate/ zealous) LOVE that, even when we were dead because of our acts of DISOBEDIENCE, He brought us to LIFE along with the MESSIAH YEHSUA – it is by GRACE hat you have been DELIVERED. That is, God (the Father) RAISED us up with the MESSIAH YESHUA and SEATED us with HIM in HEAVEN, in order to exhibit in the ages to come how infinitely RICH is HIS GRACE, HOW GREAT is HIS KINDNESS toward us who are UNITED with the MESSIAH YESHUA. For you have been DELIVERED by GRACE through TRUSTING (BELIEVING, having FAITH), and even this is not your accomplishment but God’s GIFT. You were not DELIVERED by your own actions; therefore no one should boast. For we are God’s making, CREATED in UNION with the MESSIAH YESHUA for a LIFE of GOOD ACTIONS already prepared by God (the Father) for us to DO.”

And in Ephesians 5:-17 Paul then again explain to the believers: “So imitate God, as His dear children; and LIVE a LIFE of LOVE, just as also the MESSIAH LOVED us, indeed on our behalf GAVE HIMSELF up as an offering, as a slaughtered sacrifice to God (the Father) with a pleasing fragrance. Among you there should not even be mentioned sexual immorality, or any kind of IMPURITY, or greed; these are utterly inappropriate for God’s holy (set apart, devoted) people. Also out of place are obscenity and foolish (unwise) talk or coarse language; instead you should be giving thanks. For of this you can be sure: every sexual immoral, IMPURE or GREEDY person – that is, every idol worshipper – has no share in the Kingdom of the Messiah and of God (the Father). Let no one deceive you with empty talk; for it is because of these things that God’s JUDGEMENT is coming on those who DISOBEY HIM. So don’t become partners with them! For you USED to be darkness; but now, UNITED with the Master (Yeshua), you are LIGHT. LIVE like children of LIGHT, for the FRUTI of the LIGHT is in very kind of GOODNESS, RIGHTNESS and TRUTH – try to determine what will please Master (Yeshua). Have nothing to do with the deeds produced by darkness, but instead expose them, for it is shameful even to speak of the things these people do in secret. But everything exposed to the LIGHT is revealed clearly for what it is, since everything revealed is a LIGHT. This is why it says: ‘Get up sleeper! Arise from the dead, and the Messiah will SHINE on you!’ Therefore, pay careful attention to how you conduct your life – LIVE WISELY, not unwisely. Use your time well, for these are evil days. So, don’t be foolish (unwise), but try to understand what the WILL of the Master (Yeshua) is.”

And again we see similar instructions to the believers in Colossae, when Paul says to them in Colossians 3:1-10 “So if you were RAISED along with the Messiah, then SEEK the THINGS ABOVE, where the MESSIAH is sitting at the RIGHT HAND of GOD (the Father). FOCUSS your MINDS (your thoughts) on the things above, not on things here on earth. For you have DIED, and you LIFE is HIDDEN with the MESSIAH in God (the Father). When the Messiah, who IS our LIFE, appears (at His second coming), then you too will appear with Him in GLORY (so Paul is explaining here the FIRST RESURECTION of BELIEVERS as he also explains in 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18)! Therefore, PUT TO DEATH the earthly parts of your nature – sexual immorality, IMPURIY, lust, evil desires and greed (which is a form of idolatry); for it is because of these things that God’s anger is coming on those who DISOBEY HIM. True enough, you USED to practice these things in the life you once lived; but now, PUT THEM AWAY – anger, exasperation (frustration, enragement), meanness, slander and obscene talk. Never lie to one another; because you have stripped away the OLD SELF, with its ways, and have PUT on the NEW SELF, which is continually being RENEWED in fuller and fuller KNOWEDGE, closer and closer to the IMAGE of its CREATOR.”

Paul’s warnings is confirmed in Revelation 21:7-8 saying: “He who wins the VICTORY will receive these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. But as for the cowardly, the untrustworthy, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those involved with the occult and with drugs, idol worshippers, and all liars – their destiny is the lake burning with fire and sulphur, the SECOND DEATH.”  Also read Revelation 22:14-15.

Therefore we are perhaps starting to understand the blessing as stated in Matthew 5:8 by Yeshua our Messiah saying: “How BLESSED (meaning happy and fortunate) are the PURE in HEART! For they will SEE God.” Therefore meaning they will be able to ENTER the Kingdom and live in the presence of God the Father. And the GOOD NEWS is, PURITY is a CHOICE therefore it is attainable for ALL BELIEVERS and while we still have TODAY, each one of us can TODAY and EVERY DAY we still have the privilege of living, CHOOSE to ABIDE in GOD’s WORD with the help of HIS HOLY SPIRIT and LIVE in PURITY.