A Pure Heart An

Holy Sinless Life

1 John 3:1-10See how much the Father has loved us! His

love is so great that we are called God’s children – and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known

God. My dear friends, we are now God’s children, but it is not yet clear what we shall

become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we

shall see him like he really is.

Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure. Whoever sins is guilty of breaking God’s law, because sin is a breaking of the law. You know that Christ appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. So everyone

who lives in union with Christ does not continue to sin; but whoever continues to sin

has never seen him or known him.

Let no one deceive you, my children! Whoever does what is right is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. Whoever continues to sin belongs to the Devil, because the Devil

has sinned from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for this very reason, to

destroy what the Devil had done.

Whoever is a child of God does not continue to sin, for God’s very nature is in him; and

because God is his father, he cannot continue to sin. Here is the clear difference between God’s

children and the Devil’s children: anyone who does not do what is right or does not love his

brother is not God’s child.

Luke 1:74-75 TEV

With a solemn oath to our ancestor Abraham he promised to rescue us from our enemies

and allow us to serve him without fear, so that we might be holy

and righteous before him all the days of our life.

John 5:14 TEV

… “Listen, you are well now; so stop sinning or something worse

may happen to you.”

John 8:10b-11 TEV

… “Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?” “No

one, sir,” she answered. “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do

not sin again.”

Romans 3:20 TEV

For no one is put right in God’s sight by doing what the Law

requires; what the Law does is to make man know that he has

sinned.

Romans 6:6 TEV

And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ

on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no

longer be the slaves of sin.

Romans 6:12-13a TEV

Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your natural self.

Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes, Instead,

give yourselves to God.

Romans 6:14 TEV

Sin must not be your master; for you do not live under law but

under God’s grace.

Romans 6:17-18 TEV

But thanks be to God! For though at one time you were slaves to sin, you have obeyed with all

your heart the truths found in the teaching you received. You were set free from sin and became the

slaves of righteousness.

Romans 6:22-23 TEV

But now you have been set free from sin and are the slaves of God. Your gain is a life fully

dedicated to him, and the result is eternal life. For sin pays its

wage-death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ

Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:1-2 TEV

There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. For the law of the

Spirit, which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus, has set me free from the law of sin and

death.

Romans 8:9 TEV

But you do not live as your human nature tells you to;

instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to – if, in fact, God’s Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not

have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Romans 8:13 TEV

For if you live according to your human nature, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death your sinful actions, you will live. Those who are led by God’s

Spirit are God’s sons.

Romans 14:23 TEV

But if he has doubts about what he eats, God condemns him when he eats it, because his

action is not based on faith. And anything that is not based on

faith is sin.

1 Corinthians 15:33-34 TEV

Do not be fooled. “Bad companions ruin good character.” Come back to your right senses

and stop your sinful ways. I declare to your shame that some

of you do not know God.

2 Corinthians 7:1 TEV

All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So then,

let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or

soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in

reverence for God.

Galatians 5:16-17 TEV

… let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the

desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is

opposed to what the Spirit wants,

Ephesians 4:23-24 TEV

Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and

reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.

1 Timothy 1:4-5 TEV

God’s plan … is known by faith. … arouse the love that comes

from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a genuine faith.

Hebrews 10:26 TEV

For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known

to us.

Hebrews 12:14 TEV

Try to be at peace with everyone, and try to live a holy life,

because no one will see the Lord without it.

James 4:8 KJV

Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify

your hearts, ye double minded.

1 Peter 1:14-16 TEV

Be obedient to God, … be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is holy. The scripture

says, “Be holy because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:22 TEV

Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified

yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for your

fellow believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart.

2 Peter 3:11b, 14b TEV

Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God,

… do your best to be pure and faultless in God’s sight and to be

at peace with him.

1 John 2:1 TEV

I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the

father on our behalf-Jesus Christ, the righteous one.

1 John 3:3 TEV

Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as

Christ is pure.

1 John 3:6 TEV

So everyone who lives in union with Christ does not continue to

sin; but whoever continues to sin has never seen him or known

him.

1 John 3:8 TEV

Whoever continues to sin belongs to the Devil, because the

Devil has sinned from the very beginning. The Son of God

appeared for this very reason, to destroy what the Devil has done.

1 John 3:9 TEV

Whoever is a child of God does not continue to sin, for God’s very

nature is in him; and because God is his Father, he cannot

continue to sin.

1 John 4:4 TEV

But you belong to God, my children, and have defeated the

false prophets, because the Spirit who is in you is more powerful

than the spirit in those who belong to the world.

Some questions to answer:

1. What understanding of ‘sin’ does God want you to have?

2. Does your faith enable you to believe that, with God’s help, you can have ‘a pure heart’?

3. What are the benefits of ‘a pure heart’? The alternative?

4. What understanding of being filled with God’s Spirit does God want you to have?

5. Does your faith enable you to believe that, with God’s help, you can have His Spirit constantly abiding within, with protection and power to discern and overcome the assaults and testing of the Enemy?