Articles
Purity, 2
Purity and the Child of God (2)
“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Last week we noticed that purity for the Christian is rooted in God: our desire for God, our knowledge of God, our fear of God, our awareness of God’s Spirit within us, etc. So as it is with every other thing in our spiritual life when our relationship with God grows, our purity grows as well. This is a critical point. It is foundational. The only way to overcome impurity is to strengthen one’s relationship with God.
This week we want to point out that this text clearly states that we must grow in purity. Paul tells them that they should “abound more and more” (v 1). There are a few important implications we can draw from this.
First, we learn the patience of God. God knows our frame. He knows our weaknesses and imperfections. He does not excuse our sinful behavior because of this (and we must not either!), but He does understand our human limitations and His grace gives us opportunity to grow. This should be a comfort to us. Purity is a battle and we often fail. God’s grace is the key to victory in this battle. Without it none of us would stand a chance. Don’t ever forget that! Don’t ever lose heart! God is patient!
Second, we learn of God’s high expectations. Though we may be pure in our own eyes and by worldly standards, God has called us to a much higher standard. There is always room to grow. Consider these two exhortations to purity in scripture:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)
“But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints…” (Ephesians 5:3)
The saints have been called to a high calling! There is not to be even the suggestion of sexual impurity among us (“let it not even be named among you”). While we draw the line at the physical act of adultery, Jesus does not even allow for impurity within our hearts! The bar has been set very high. Anything less is not acceptable to God. We must never settle for something less than the high standard He has set.
Finally, we learn that purity is something that requires constant vigilance. This is not something that you ever master. It’s not something that you work on for a few years and then you can forget about it. It’s not something you bring up to a level and then work to maintain once you get there. We’ve got to constantly strive to grow more and more. Like anything else, we’re going up or going down, increasing or decreasing, climbing or backsliding. There is no thought in scripture of maintaining the status quo when it comes to purity. We’re either growing or we’re dying.
So how does this square with your thinking? Do you see purity as something you must maintain or something you must grow in? Do you consider yourself to have reached an acceptable level and feel satisfied? Do you feel as though you have “arrived”? Or are you on the other side of this? Have past failures caused you to give up? Do you feel as though you could never please the Lord?
We must keep in mind both God’s lofty goal and His immeasurable grace! We must press on toward God’s high calling, remembering that it is only by His grace that we can attain this level of purity. In the verses leading into this text Paul prayed,
“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)
~by David Maxson http://www.embryhills.com/category/growing-in-christ/purity/
- Purity_2.doc (29.18 kB)
