Avoiding Evil

What is Purity? Purity means being spotless or stainless. Containing nothing that does not properly belong. Being free from moral fault or guilt

What is the purpose for Purity?

Sins are not a list of petty irritations made for the sake of a jealous God, rather they are a description of the obstructions to spiritual growth. If we sin, we are the ones who suffer, and maybe others. By choosing to sin we forfeit the development of character and Christlikness that would have resulted in us if we had not sinned. God has something better to offer than sin.

What does God say about Purity?

It should be a part of everything we think about and do!
“Finally, beloved,s whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil 4:8)

We are not to perticipate in sin, but in purity!
“…and do not participate in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.” (1 Timothy 5:22)

The basis for purity is the wisdom of God! Wisdom is a combination of understanding and knowledge. I can have knowledge about something and not understand it. But when I have both knowledge and understanding I have wisdom. Knowledge and understanding of God’s word brings about purity in our own lives because it informs us of right and wrong.

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy” (James 3:17)

We are to be Pure as Jesus was and is Pure:

“If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him. See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8)

We are to teach pure doctrine other than that of the world, science religion and so on…

“I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions” (1 Tim 1:3-7)

We can purify ourselves by Obedience to the truth.

“Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:22-25)

“These are the things you must insist on and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:11-12)

Pressed
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“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4

Jesus was trying to explain to his disciples that he was going to die. He wanted them to know that he was going to the Father’s house to prepare a room for them and that they would one day be reunited and because of that he told them to not let their hearts be troubled. Jesus leaving them was a hard thing for the disciples because they, like most of the Jews in that time, wanted Jesus to be the earthly ruler and king. The Jews expected the messiah to come and rule as their king removing them from the hands of the Romans and bringing Israel to a place of power once again. The only problem is that the Jews plan was not God’s plan and therefore many people missed the messiah because they were too busy looking for an earthly king. I often wonder how many times we miss God working in mighty ways because we are too busy looking for the things WE expect to happen in our own way.

My grandmother passed away Sunday morning and I will be attending her visitation tonight and funeral tomorrow. I am stuck between feeling joy and sorrow. She has suffered for so long and now she is in the Father’s house, the place that Jesus prepared for her, where she will suffer no longer. Her suffering is over and her life has just now begun. My grandmother isn’t really dead she is in fact more alive than she has ever been and it is in this that I take great joy. And yet as I look at my father and my uncles and see their sorrow and pain, and as I recount all of the good times I have had with my grandma then I am filled with sorrow for the loss of such a sweet woman. “Do not let your hearts be troubled…”

One thing that funerals always teach me is that life is not about material wealth, selfish pleasures, and personal gain, but instead life is about relationships. When it is all said and done and life is coming to an end the only thing you have left is your relationships. Material items fade away along with wealth and pleasures, but the strong relationships you build in life will be with you till the end. Do you have a wonderful group of Christian friends? Do you spend time with your family? Do you care for others more than you care for yourself? And most important of all, do you know Jesus?

Pressed