Teaching with a Pure Heart: Pedagogical Implications of Matthew 5:8 in Christian Education (A Case Study at SMP Negeri 1 Lahomi)

Abstract

This study examines the pedagogical implications of teaching with a pure heart as grounded in Matthew 5:8 within the context of Christian Religious Education (CRE) at SMP Negeri 1 Lahomi. In the midst of contemporary moral challenges affecting adolescents, the inner spiritual disposition of teachers plays a decisive role in the formation of students’ faith and character. Using a qualitative approach that integrates a Simple Literature Review (SLR) with semi-structured interviews, this study explores how the principle of purity of heart is understood, embodied, and transmitted by two Christian teachers, including one CRE teacher, among 120 Christian students. The SLR provided a biblical-theological and pedagogical framework on the concept of katharoi tē kardia (pure in heart) and character-based teaching, while the empirical data were collected through interviews with teachers and selected students and supported by classroom observations. The findings reveal that purity of heart significantly influences teachers’ integrity, emotional self-control, relational sensitivity, and pedagogical authenticity. Students perceive their teachers’ sincere faith, fairness, patience, and moral consistency as powerful catalysts for their own spiritual growth and moral awareness. Teaching with a pure heart fosters a learning environment characterized by trust, emotional safety, and spiritual openness, enabling biblical values to be internalized not merely as cognitive knowledge but as lived convictions. The study concludes that inner spiritual formation is inseparable from pedagogical effectiveness in Christian education. It recommends that teacher formation programs and school leadership prioritize not only professional competence but also sustained spiritual and moral development as essential foundations for transformative Christian pedagogy.