SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/9/2025 8:23 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: PT-4
“A Pure Heart”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
2 Timothy 2:22
Message of the
verse: “22
Now flee from youthful lusts and
pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call
on the Lord from a pure heart.”
MacArthur writes “The godly believer
also will pursue…peace. Eirene (peace) is the word from which we
get ‘serene’ and ‘serenity.’ In this
context it does not refer to absence of warfare but to harmonious
relationships, between men and God and between men and other men, especially
between Christians. ‘If possible, so far
as it depends on you,’ Paul commands, ‘be at peace with all men’ (Rom. 12:18).
“Although the church at Ephesus was one of the most
mature and faithful congregations mentioned in the New Testament, at the time
Paul wrote his letters to Timothy it was experiencing serious internal
conflict. Paul’s prediction to the
elders of the church as they met on the beach near Miletus was already being
fulfilled. ‘I know that after my departure sagage wolves will come in among
you,’ he warned, ‘not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men
will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them’
(Acts 20:29-30). Confronting all of that maintaining peace requires a delicate
balance.
“Those who call on the Lord is a
description of genuine Christians, referring specifically to their calling on
the Lord for salvation—for His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness. To call on the Lord is the equivalent of
placing saving faith in Him. ‘For there
is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all,
abounding in riches for all who call upon Him,’ Paul assures believers in
Rome. Quoting Joel 2:32, he then adds, ‘For
‘whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved’’ (Rom. 10:12-13). The apostle opens his first letter to the church
at Corinth with these words: Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the
will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at
Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Chris Jesus, saints by calling,
with who in every place call upon the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours’ (1 Cor. 1:1-2, emphasis
added).
“But not everyone who calls on the
Lord for salvation continues to faithfully serve and obey Him. From a pure heart therefore further
identifies the godly believers who qualify as honorable vessels. The term pure comes from the same root word
as ‘cleanses’ in verse 21 and takes us back to where Paul’s thought began—to the
truth that a clean vessel is a useful one.
They continue to call on the Lord for guidance, strength, and wisdom in
living for Him. The Christian with a
pure heart diligently pursues the righteousness, faith, love, and peace
mentioned in the first half of this verse.
He is the ‘vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for
every good work’ mentioned in the previous verse.”
3/9/2025 8:45
AM
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