Matt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Oh how we want to see God but oh how we struggle with purity. We really don’t understand exactly what it is other than in relation to God; who is pure holiness. We all want it in our lives but we’re often not committed to the lifelong process it takes to understand it and finally achieve it.
So what is it?
The pure definition says:
Purity is the quality or state of being free from mixture, pollution or other foreign elements.
And in our lives it is reflected in our minds, motives, desires and actions. As we grow closer to God we by nature become more holy as these things in our life become more and more like Him. But in the process one of the greatest hindrances is the very world we live in. James understood this and gave us clear direction in how to deal with it.
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Pure religion as used by James in this verse is not “religious” worship but rather the correct “spirit” of worship. A clean and undefiled religion is one in which our conduct and character are disciplined in accordance with God’s Word. And His Word clearly tells us that He is not interested in religious ritual but on right living. James brings this home by telling us that the focus of religion should our conduct; looking after orphans and widows and keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world. In other words, if our “religion” is pleasing to God it is focused on moving away from the world and closer to Him while helping others along the way. This is what keeps us pure; clean. The contrast couldn’t be clearer — the mere acts of worship and ritualistic observances seen in many churches today as compared to a mature Christian walk that is focused on the goal of practical “holiness.”
The world on the other hand is just the opposite and represents everything opposed or alien to God. Acts of love and kindness evident in our lives make the case that we have the true Spirit of pure religion within us. They represent the purity of our Father, which is pure as gold and not contaminated with impurities.
Purity has always existed in God but within us it is an ongoing process like the refining of gold. It takes heat for the impurities to rise to the top where they can be drawn off. I once had an engineer ask me if I knew what pure gold looked like. I told him that 24 carat gold was deep rich yellow in color and very soft. I was surprised when he said that 24-carat gold is not, in fact pure. When continually heated until all the impurities are burned off gold becomes transparent. You can see right through it because there is nothing left to cloud it with color. That gave me pause for thought. Remember John’s description of the heavenly city:
Rev 21:18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
If we are obedient to the Spirit of God and allow Him free reign to lead us into God’s purity, we can be certain that the heat will be intense at times as our impurities are drawn off. Unfortunately many in the church have concentrated on purity from the outside; ignoring the fact that true purity comes from within. And our internal appetites and how we treat them are the determinates of the level of purity we attain in our life. These appetites can become spots (disgraces) and blemishes (flaws) in our personal temple. Our carnal appetites will present themselves but we have the power to refrain from satisfying them whereby they will eventually starve and die. Remember that trash doesn’t jump out of the dump and get on you; you have to get down and roll in it to pick up the stink and stains.
Our road to purity therefore involves protecting our spirit by watching our body (Rom 6:12) and watching our tongue (Jas 3:2-8). Mixture, pollution and foreign elements certainly describe the world and its system, a system the enemy uses all too effectively within the church. We too easily forget that just because we are delivered from the bondage of sin doesn’t mean we are exempt from its effects. The devil doesn’t change his plan of attack, it has always worked in the past and it will work in the future until Jesus returns. Look how God warned the Israelites about the world just after they were “delivered” from their bondage:
Ex 34:12-14 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: 13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their grove: 14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Destroy (overthrow), break (crush) and cut (consume) are pretty strong words but that’s what it takes to deal with this world if we are going to worship the LORD our God and no other. We are not to make a covenant with this world and worship its gods; the carnal idols of man today — self-centered materialism in all its forms. And avoiding it is the only way we are going to keep ourselves without spot or blemish. How much better for us to focus our attention and affection on the Holy One that was sent to lead and bring us into purity.
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
We need to have our very inward nature taken hold of by the Spirit and cleansed with the blood of Jesus that was shed for us. We need a cleansing that doesn’t just merely deal with the surface but one that gets down into our very being; the being that controls our appetites. And this we cannot do on our own. It can only be accomplished if we free the Spirit of God to work within us; only if we submit to His cleansing.
The church at Ephesus lost her first love and what was she told to do?
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
When we do likewise and venture our “everything” on Jesus and trust Him completely, we will discover the process that cleanses our conscience and purifies our soul. And we need to remember that while we consider the crucifying of our flesh as something that needs to be done the Word of God always speaks of it as a thing that “has been done;” an accomplished fact. That leaves us with only one option; to submit or not — to trust our own flesh or the working of the Spirit. It’s our choice and purity hangs in the balance.
I give my old man, my flesh, self, with its will and work, as a sinful accursed thing, to the cross. It is nailed there: in Christ I am dead to it, and free from it. It is not yet dead; but day by day in union with Christ will I keep it there, making dead, as they still seek to rise up, every one of its members and deeds in the power of the Holy Spirit … I tremble at the thought of allowing the flesh, my natural mind and will, to usurp the place of the Holy Spirit. Andrew Murray
Take some time to look up the following scriptures and pause and reflect on the meaning of purity and where it is in your life; what priority does it have?
Purity is affected by: Purity is protected by:
Purpose – Dan 1:8 Putting on Jesus – Rom 13:14
Environment – Pro 23:29-31 Walking in the Spirit – Gal 5:16
Distractions – Luke 21:34 Abstaining from Lust – 1 Ptr 2:11-12
Following His Will – 1 Ptr 4:1-6
With all things considered there is only one way to be sure that purity has a place in your heart; giving Him first place. Look back at the very first scripture we opened with (Matt 5:8). That’s what it’s really all about; the heart. We control the heart by the life we live and it all begins with death. We need to die to that selfish nature that resides within all of us, which cries out continually — me first. Only then will purity begin to find her place in our lives and draw us every closer to Jesus as He slowly molds us into His image.