If we are honest with ourselves, we seek what is pure with greater fervor than we seek to be pure in all that we do. We often associate the word “purity” with one or two areas of our life, yet the Lord is calling us to live a life of purity in all that we do.
Live your life during the week such that you could preach it on Sunday morning. “…be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12 NKJV).
Purity is holiness in action. Holiness is to separate what is right from what is wrong. Purity is what is right. Anytime we have a mixture, we lack purity. Anytime we have purity, we have holiness. Consider a glass of pure water and how much poison you could add and have it still be pure? None.
Be as intent towards righteousness as you used to be towards sin. “He gave himself for us; he died to free us from all evil. He died to make us pure people who belong only to him—people who are always wanting to do good things” (Titus 2:14 ICB).
Purity should extend into every facet of our life. You cannot have a pure cup of water if, in one area of the cup, any impurity remains. The whole of your life must be pure if you are to be pure. There are no exceptions to the call to be holy from our Father, who calls us to live higher.
There’s a whole new life for you when once you’ve given it to God. “Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him” (Romans 12:1-2 CEV).
Purity must begin in our thoughts because what we think is most certainly who we are. You cannot think impure thoughts and be pure in your life. We must take every impure thought and rebuke it in the name of Jesus. We must think pure to be pure.
The thoughts you have is the life you live. “Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things” (Philippians 4:8 NIRV).
Purity is not dependent on our past. Whatever impurity that was in us can most certainly be emptied out. When we confess a sin, we empty out that sin as soon as God forgives us. No matter how stained we were, our Jesus can make us as pure as fresh snow.
You can be forgiven even if you don’t feel forgiven. “’Come now, let’s settle this,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool’” (Isaiah 1:18 NLT).
To be pure, you must stay pure in everything that you are doing. We tend to think it is only sexual purity that God is after. But a life of purity has purity in all things. We need to have purity in our speech and in our motives. We need purity in how we treat one another.
If your actions are justified, then you don’t need words to prove it. “Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right” (Proverbs 20:11 NLT).
Purity attracts evil because evil wants to drag what is pure down to that which evil is living. The purer you are, the greater the world will try to stain you. Living in purity does not make your life easier on earth but makes your life more pleasing to heaven.
Seek to be pure, not popular. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8 NKJV).
If you want to live a life of purity, you need to be helped by that which is pure. The more you try to live in purity by your own power, the more it proves the impurity within you. Pride walks alone while humility reaches out to heaven. Let the Lord help you with what you cannot do on your own.
You can live higher than you are if only you’d let God help you. “I am the Lord who makes you holy” (Leviticus 22:32 NLT).
We are not only called to become pure but to remain pure. Purity is a way of life, not a checkbox to be marked only once. Let your thoughts be pure, your words be pure, your actions be pure, and then your life will be an example to other believers.
If you want to change people around you, then live a life that inspires them to do so. “…Set an example for other followers by what you say and do, as well as by your love, faith, and purity. Be careful about the way you live and about what you teach. Keep on doing this, and you will save not only yourself, but the people who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12,16 CEV).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius