What Do We Do with the Biblical Call To Purity?
Good Morning Friends,
I understand we need to embrace the ongoing work of sanctification. I understand we need to become more holy. The Bible calls us to live lives of holiness. But purity, that sounds so restrictive, so boring…so isolating. So what does the Bible mean by purity? The holier-than-thou characters always seem to have secret sins. Who wants to be a goody-two-shoes? Something inside of us just does not like the idea of something so unattainable. Maybe the idea of purity has been polluted. Our cultural definition of purity is no longer attractive. Maybe we are considering the wrong definition. When we see people we would associate with purity, we often want them to lighten up or loosen up. There must be something missing in our understanding. What Do We Do with the Biblical Call To Purity?
Scripture: To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure. Their very minds and consciences are corrupted.
Titus 1:15 (NRSV)
Or how can you say to your neighbor, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
Luke 6:42 (NRSV)
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light;
Matthew 6:22 (NRSV)
But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.
1 Timothy 1:5 (NRSV)
Message: I am pretty sure one can be a Christian and not be pure. I figure that having a pure heart does not mean that we will not have personality characteristics that get on other’s nerves or that we will never make a mistake. But there is something more here I desire for us to grasp about the heart of purity that is becoming clearer for me this morning. I hope for you to see that our heart’s condition will be expressed through our life and will be evident in our attitudes, words, and behavior. Jesus said that you can clearly see others only when one’s own eyes are unobstructed. Our vision is hindered by sin but more precisely by guilt and our lack of love. And attaining the kind of purity that addresses this problem of vision only comes from God. That is why Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Purity is of course about our behavior, but first and foremost it is about a heart that is linked with a good conscience and sincere faith. Purity is therefore having a heart for God that helps us to see. If our hearts are defiled, everything with which we are involved will seem crooked whether it is or not. Purity is indeed a precious gift. Do you want to have a pure heart?
Pray God forgive our lukewarm attitude toward purity. Pray our words, thoughts, and emotions are pure. Pray we approach life without malice. Pray we not look for faults in others. Pray we look for the good in others. Pray we see others through the eyes of love always seeking what is good rather than expecting something evil. Pray we not become gullible nor cynical. Pray we have pure motives. Pray we ask God to purify our hearts so we might see clearly. Pray we are freed to see ourselves as being loved by God and others. Pray we invite God to forgive our sins and to take control of all our hearts. Pray we love God and others with all our hearts…with all our souls, minds and strengths in unity.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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