Purity

Ephesians 5:1-4
1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

In the last article that I wrote, I discussed holiness. It would be very good if you would read that article before reading this one; it would give you a good foundation to understand what I will discuss here.

We are to be followers of God. As his children, we are called to a life of holiness. I want to discuss the idea of sexual sin. Fornication has been defined by some as any sexual relation before marriage. Adultery has been defined by some as any sexual relation with anyone but your spouse after marriage. The Word of God makes it clear that God has a plan for sex, and, as all good gifts come from Him, we know that sex is a gift from Him. His plan for sex is between one man and one woman in a marriage relationship for life. Along with many other areas, man has corrupted this beautiful relationship that God created for man and woman. Fornication, adultery, and lust are perversions of God’s perfect plan for sex. God’s commandment is that we would not allow these sings to even “be once named among” us. Why? Because that is what God expects of His saints. A saint is a holy one. The word for saint and the word for holy in the Spanish language is “santo”. Christians are saints. These perversions of sex should not even be allowed to be named among the saints. One important area of holiness in the life of a Christian is sexual purity. That means that we should clean our lives of filth like pornography, immoral relationships, and lust. The opposite of living in these sins is living in purity. The Word of God gives much practical help for purity in the life of a Christian.

Before I try to give some practical help on being pure, I want to challenge you with five things.

1. Have a biblical understanding of holiness, and your calling to be holy.

2. Do not blur the lines of what is sin and what is not sin. Admit that pornography, lust, and all forms of sexual relations outside of God’s plan are wrong. They are an offense to Him

3. Sin has a way of deceiving us into thinking that if we are in the dark or if we are alone, then our sin will not affect anyone. Don’t be fooled, the end of sin is death. Know that you are not alone; the Word of God says that His eyes are in every place beholding the evil and the good.

4. Confess your sin and forsake it. The Bible says that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

5. Commit to do what it takes to be pure, for the glory of God.

Here are some practical truths from the Word of God than can help the Christian with purity. I pray that they’ll be a blessing and a help to you.

A. Identify areas of struggle and eliminate them

Matthew 5:27-30
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

I am not suggesting that you pluck out your eye or cut off your hand, but I would suggest the following. If you know that you struggle when you are alone, then try not to be alone. If you know that you struggle with the internet, then stop using the internet. If you know that movies cause you to struggle, then stop watching movies. If a boyfriend or a girlfriend is someone that causes you to struggle, then end that relationship. Don’t continue a friendship at work if it may lead to sin. If the mall or the beach are places where you struggle, then don’t go to either of them. If night time is a difficult time then replace whatever you would normally do with time in the Word of God and prayer. Fill your time with the Bible, prayer, and evangelism. Don’t leave your calendar open. Rid yourself of problem areas!

B. Don’t try to do this alone

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

We are better together. God did not intend for His children to live this life alone. That is one reason why we have the local church. Christ purchased the church with His own blood; if He loved it that much, then we ought not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. May we highly esteem the local church!

The national Redwood forest in northern California is home to the Giant Sequoia trees. These trees have undergone some of the most tremendous conditions and have survived them all. You name it; storms, lightning, time, and other adviersities…the sequoias have survived them all. Why is this? It is because what you see of the sequoias is not the whole story. Underground their roots grow deep and strong. This is not their secret either…their secret is that the roots of these massive trees link with the roots of one another. Underground you have a system of roots interconnected. Much like the sequoias, God has given us the local New Testament church to be connected with other believers. We are stronger with these relationships.

Accountability. Choose a spiritually mature Christian brother or sister of your same gender and ask them to hold you accountable to living pure. Go to coffee once a week and be honest and upfront with one another. Pray for one another. Hold one another accountable. Be faithful in this friendship. If the internet is one area that you struggle with then I would recommend a program like safe eyes that filters inappropriate websites. I also recommend a program called x3watch. X3watch is a free program that records questionable websites that you visit and sends them to the email of an accountability partner of your choice. Both of those programs are available here: www.x3watch.com

C. Do not flirt with sin, but flee from it

1 Corinthians 6:18-20
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

2 Timothy 2:20-22
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Notice that God’s Word does not say to “casually walk away from sin,” rather, it says to “FLEE” fornication and youthful lusts! That means that you are to turn and run from them! God gives us a tremendous example from the life of Joseph in His Word. When the temptation arose for Joseph to have an adulterous relationship with the wife of Potiphar (his master), here is what the Word of God says happened:

Genesis 39:12
And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

Joseph knew that to have sex with Potiphar’s wife would have been a grave sin, so when she tried to force him he ran! He got out of there! May we follow Joseph’s example and flee fornication and youthful lusts.

D. Make no provision for the flesh

Romans 13:13-14
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

This point is directly related to identifying areas of struggle and eliminating them. It is important that we understand our flesh and its propensity towards sin. Paul said, “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” Our flesh is at enmity with God. It does not want to live for Him and according to His Word. Our flesh would rather indulge in carnal, or fleshly, pleasures. Sexual sins are examples of fleshly pleasures. Do not make provision in areas where your flesh will say, “I want that!” Because more times than not, in your weakness, you will give the flesh what it wants, even if you know it’s wrong. The Word of God commands us to walk in the Spirit, and it says that when we do we will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.

It is not uncommon to hear a teen ask a question like this one, “How far can I go with my boyfriend/girlfriend and not sin?” Often times older Christians have a similar mentality. Do not ask how close you can get to sin, but rather try to live as far from it as possible! One man said, “Why do you want to see how close you can get to Hell without falling in?” Do not make any provision for your flesh.

There was a king in an ancient land who was dissatisfied with his chariot driver. He decided to have a contest to find the best charioteer in the land to be his new driver. The contest ended with three finalists. The king decided how to find which driver was the best. He explained to the drivers that each of them would have a chance to drive him personally in a chariot for the final test. The driver would go full speed towards the edge of a cliff and stop; the driver who stopped closest to the cliff would be the winner. The first driver took off at full speed and stopped within 10 feet of the cliff. The king was impressed. The second driver took off also at full speed and stopped within 5 feet of the cliff. The king was very impressed. The time came for the third driver to have his try and he said, “Your highness, I would not dare get near that cliff, your life is too precious and dear to our people to jeopardize it in any way.” The king was astonished at this man’s wisdom and chose him as his new chariot driver.

May we treasure our purity like that charioteer. Please understand that our mentality should not be to see how close we can get to sinning without actually sinning. May we stay far from any wickedness and live holy lives for our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, please think over these truths again. Have a biblical understanding of holiness and your calling to be holy. Do not blur the lines or what is or what is not sin. Know that the eyes of the Lord are in every place. Confess sin and forsake it. Make a whole-hearted commitment to be pure for the glory of God. Identify areas of struggle in your life and eliminate them. Do not try to live a pure life alone; depend on God and others. Don’t flirt with sin, but, rather, flee from it. Do not make provision for your flesh. Stay as far from sin as you can. May God help you and me to live pure lives for His honour and glory.