This next installment on the Character of a Christian is again one that is difficult to attain to, Purity, remaining clean in body, mind and soul from all desires of the flesh and the world. A task wholly impossible until we stand before our Lord in our glorified bodies, yet we are commanded to be pure. (1st John 3:3) Can a man control every thought, can anyone who sees un-see, can the ears continually stop the barrage of the world, or our spirits desires? By the Grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are blessed with abilities in this area that the unsaved can only dream of, can only pretend to acquire, and in their posture of acting, as it were, their hearts and actions deny the truth.
“It is the Spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing…”(John 6:33) There are those that believe there is such a thing as a ‘carnal Christian’, a person who has professed Christ as Lord, yet still treats this earth as if it is their home, one who seeks worldly goods, attributes and decorations. I resolve to the truth that there are weaker brothers and sisters in Christ, yet for the most part, they are those who are newly saved, and are those that the Spirit of God is just beginning His work in. While there are those that I have met over the years that have been saved for a very long time, even decades, that show no signs of desiring to live a pure life, saving for the show on Sunday morning. I cannot say if these are carnal or remain among the lost, only God knows.
We are not speaking here of the actions spoken of in Galatians 5:19-21, the Word of God is quite clear here, these are not the saved. Instead I call attention to those who still walk in the vanity of their mind, those who will change the subject when the things of God are brought up in a conversation, those that make sure to wear the ‘right’ clothes in public, an outward show, an example only with no truth behind the mirror. Purity of the spirit within them is for public view only, their private lives are a completely different matter altogether. Well-rehearsed, selectively memorized verses cover envy, jealousy is hidden behind a mask of piety, an air of vanity is covered by a false shroud of religious outpouring.
Purity was truly only in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb that was slain, and as you search the Scriptures and read about His earthly life here you will see a life that always held the Father in the highest, never sought it’s own, and remained completely sinless and pure till the end. We cannot hold these attributes, but we can ask our Lord daily to continue to conform us into the image of His Son. A pure conscience requires perseverance, a commitment from the believer to stand in the gap, as it were, between his own flesh and soul, for herein is the truth of Matthew 26:41, our desires to become Christ-like must override our own sinful flesh. To remain pure in our hearts and minds is a continual battle, a never-ending pursuit to rid ourselves of the muck and mire of this flesh, the darts that Satan would throw at us, and the world that would see us fail.
Much prayer is required, much patience, seeking His face constantly is a requirement, recognizing that it is the Fathers will to transform us into the image of His Son, ridding us of the desires of this world for the treasures of the next. We are our biggest enemy in this endeavor, for the call of the world is an enormous pull, the things in our past that we enjoyed that were ungodly still lurk in our memories, singing a siren song of false happiness, trying to beguile us into believing that they were for our good, that they were enjoyable. And they were, for our flesh, and it is this enemy that we are diligently trying to vanquish, to bring under subjection for the glory of God. (1st Cor. 9:27) What I want, I want, yet not I, but my flesh, and what I deny myself, I do for His Glory.
A believer who is pure cannot be railed against, so lies, rumors and innuendoes must be invented. Re-read the verses in Isaiah 53, search the Scriptures for their fulfilment in the New Testament, and see how a pure man received these false accusations, know in your heart how He who created all things and sustains all things by His own will showed a love that cannot be measured to those who hated Him, and how a pure life lead to a sacrificial death that was acceptable to the Father, a debt paid in full by one who did not owe the debts burden. Satan’s inventions are not few, there are literally thousands of ways that he knows how to make our minds fall to temptation and lies, yet they are not new. They are the same tricks he has used from the beginning, “The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.” (1st John 2:16) “Hath not God said.” He is subtle, he is perceptive, and outside of God, he knows the mind of man better than anyone ever created. Do not think you can stand against him, for you can’t, only with the full armor of God (Eph. 6:11-24) and much prayer is their any hope of resistance against his desire to see you fall into a trap of impurity.
Our sinful natures though do not need any assistance from the forces of our adversary, we are quite capable of leading an impure life all on our own. It is a continual battle, and it will not stop, in fact it will most likely grow in its intensity until we walk into the Kingdom of our Lord, yet God is well pleased with His children that would seek a pure life that will glorify Him, those that seek the path of purity, for it is truly a path of love. Not just in love for others, but in a deep, abiding love for the one that showed us what true love is, the one that went to the cross for us, our Lord Jesus Christ. This alone should be enough for the believer to seek Him for a pure heart, a heart that desires to serve Him in righteousness, one that will seek never to offend Him in anything we say, do, or think. A heart that seeks always to “exalt His name above the Heavens” (Psalm 66:7)
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8) If this one verse alone out of all the Scriptures does not give your heart a fervent desire to be as pure as you can at all times, none will, for these shall see God.
To deny ourselves for His glory is the beginning of the path to purity, for even our flesh will then begin to be brought under submission to His will, and our minds and hearts will overflow with the knowledge that it is He that leads us, and wherever our Lord leads we should willingly follow, for He above all knows the way.
