To the pure, all things are pure …
Summary: Paul needs a way to illustrate how impure the rebellious people are. To do so he gives us a glimpse of what it means to be pure.
In verse nine, Paul explains why an overseer needs to “hold firmly to the trustworthy message.” Then he gets off on a tangent about “those who oppose” sound doctrine.
He has told us several things about these people. He explains how they are rebellious and deceptive. He tells us they must be silenced because they disrupt households and teach things they should not teach. They reject the truth and rely on merely “human commands.”
Now, in today’s passage, Paul takes a breath. Before continuing his description of “those who are corrupted” (verse 15), he draws a contrast. To help us understand how impure these people are, he points us to the pure.
“To the pure, all things are pure,” he wrote. But what does that mean?
It may be a bit of hyperbole on Paul’s part. After all, can anyone claim to be pure? Well, yes, there are a couple of examples that come to mind. The first example is in Genesis, chapter two. It is the story of Adam and Eve; the people God made and set in the Garden of Eden.
In the Genesis story, Adam and Eve have not yet eaten of the forbidden tree. Their eyes have not yet been opened, and they did not yet know “good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). At this point in their lives, they had not yet sinned, nor had they incurred any guilt. In this sense, they were pure. What did this mean? Genesis 2:25 tells us, “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” That is a characteristic of purity; being without sin and shame. (Not to be confused with having sinned and being shameless.)
The other example that comes to mind is Jesus himself. He was faithful to his Father and was free from any sin. In every sense of the word, he was and is pure. Matthew tells a story that illustrates Paul’s point.
In Jesus’ day, people who had leprosy were considered unclean. They were to remain apart from other people, and if someone came near, they were to cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” (Leviticus 13: 45-46)
The clean were to stay away from the unclean. The unclean were not to be touched. Yet to Jesus, all things are pure. When confronted by a leper who asked to be healed, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’” (Matthew 8:3)
The power of Jesus’ righteousness is so vast that his purity extends to all who believe in him. Paul, in his speech to the people of Pisidian Antioch, said:
“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.” (Acts 13: 38-39)
While every believer still struggles with the flesh as long as we live in the flesh, the purity of Jesus cleanses us from impurity. In the same way that Jesus made the unclean leper clean, he makes you and I clean from sin.
Application: Live as one who has been set free from sin. To us all things are pure.
Food for Thought: How does a Christian live a pure life in an unclean world?
We will at least occasionally stumble. Use 1 John 1:9.
Be in the Word. Meditate on it. Be actively growing. Make plans to be obedient to what you know and the Lord is teaching and directing you to do. (Joshua 1: 6-9)
Be thankful. Be Rejoicing in God’s goodness and grace. Stay fervent in consistent prayer for God’s Kingdom priorities, the needs of others, and your own and immediate families needs.
(1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18).
Monitor your thoughts. Think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Follow great examples, and have good companions. (Phillippians 4:8-9).
Pray not to be led anywhere or into any circumstances which might lead to temptation. Ask to be delivered from the enemy of our souls. Be alert and watchful for the devils’ schemes, traps, and devices. Resist Him, and them, and be prepared for spiritual warfare ( Matthew 7: 13, 1 Peter 5: 8-9). Pursue Righteousness.
These things may not make you pure, but Jesus can. At least if we are actively engaged, and have a plan to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us more into the likeness of Christ it is certainly more likely the Lord will be pleased and enable us to walk with Him, stumble less, sin less, and have a better testimony, witness as well as be an encouragement to fellow believers ( 2 Corinthians 3: 16-18).
I believe these things will at least be a good start in maintaining or increasing purity in our lives. It is probably also a good idea to watch the images, video, words, and behavior of what we experience with our senses. 😀😇🤔🙄🤠🤘☝️👍👊🙏🦻🙈🙉🙊🎈✨💒🎯
Jeff,
Thank you for sharing! I especially relate to the battlefield of thoughts. For me that is a continual challenge.
Jeff sums it all up so well. The only thing that I would add is that I have found the more I do the things Jeff has mentioned above, the more intune I am to recognizing and hearing Him when I am faced with temptation or an earthly situation where everyone else is going one way – the “popular” or “easy” way – but I need to choose the earthly unpopular way, which is usually the way that is most pleasing to Him.
I heard in church this past Sunday, “You can be on the wrong road and believe in the right God.” And I have certainly been on that road more than a time or two during my life. However, I have learned that the closer I am to Him in prayer and in the word, etc., the more my internal compass helps guide me with choosing and staying on the right path. I’m learning what good is the journey if I fail to think about the final destination.
As a recovering people pleaser, it has been a difficult shift in thinking, but I have been learning that pleasing Jesus is so much more easier than pleasing people. (Even when I stumble, pleasing Him is still easier. I never have to worry about whether I will be forgiven or if he’s going to “unfriend” me.)
Darla,
These meditations on Titus have helped me understand how right you are. Our Lord is like a fountain of light that fills us with God’s light and love. Turning to him is always a safe choice and a safe place to be.
Focusing on the Good, the Beautiful and the True like Jeff H. points out in Philip 4:8 would seem like the way to accentuate the pure, leaving the unclean left untouched.
Have a great day! Brent
Thanks, Brent!
We do get to choose what we look at and what we focus our minds on. Well said!
Good thoughts here. Thank you all. We must be intentional in abstaining from things of the world that would pollute our single minded devotion to Christ. Not easy to do. James 1: 21 – 27.
Rich,
I especially appreciate the last verse of that passage:
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
How does a Christian live a pure life in an unclean world?
To become proficient in any task people must deny themselves, study and apply the skills they wish to learn. A person must sacrifice and serve years in an apprenticeship capacity under the guidance of a journeyman before they can move into the coveted journeyman position in specific trades. Doctors sacrifice and spend years in study in college and serving as interns under the guidance of graduate doctors before they are qualified to be an actual doctor.
As believers we want to know how to live a more holy life, how to sin less and have victory more, how to praise God properly. We want to know how we can keep our ways pure?
We do this by living according to God’s Word, which requires we make sacrifices and devote time to study and application under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We become disciplined people, daily serving our apprenticeship under the teachings of the Holy Spirit.
In time we will notice a change taking place. What we want to do and what we want to avoid begins to change. We find some actions bring us closer to our Lord and others take us away from our Lord. Peace, security and true contentment come to us as our lives are in obedience to God’s Word, and are absent when we do as we please. At some point we go all in for God, knowing we will not become a journeyman or doctor in this lifetime, but the process of working toward our goal is more rewarding than anything this world has to offer and our time with the Holy Spirit each day has become a necessary part of our lives here.
The Apostle Paul said, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”.
And of believers, he said “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory”.
Psalm 119:9-16, Matthew 5:8, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3-5
Thank you, Ron!
Your description is very apt. There is a tug-o-war between our flesh and our spirit. God’s Word and Spirit help us surrender both to Him.