Then they can urge the younger women… to be … pure…
Summary: Times have changed and so have our cultural norms. The timeless concepts presented in God’s Word may sound unsophisticated to the modern ear.
Imagine being able to sit upon a mountain and look down at the world. From your perch, you sit on a stone seat. A cold wind races across the face of the mountain’s side. The view is expansive. From this particular seat, you can see as God sees.
You look down into the valleys and plains below and see the forests and the rivers. When you concentrate on a particular spot, you can see more and more detail. Your mind races across the open distance. Your view encompasses cities and towns, then buildings and houses, and then you can see the people.
As you look at the people, you find that you can know them as God knows them. You “see” into their hearts and minds. You can know their values. You can see who they are in ways that normally only God can see. To use an old clock maker’s expression, you can see “what makes them tick.”
Then you notice one more thing. The power of this unique perch allows you to see the inner thoughts and workings of the minds spread out before you. In addition, you can see their histories. Like the wake of a speedboat racing across a placid lake, you see the past decisions and actions each person has taken trailing behind them. You can see the impact of those choices spread out across the plains like a boat’s wake. You can see the impact they have on other people’s lives. Some impacts are good, and some are bad.
We cannot actually sit on God’s throne and see what he sees, but our imagination can give us a hint of what that might be like. From my personal mountain in my mind, I can look back on over six decades of living. The people and things I have known paints a tapestry of sorts that becomes my perspective on the world.
When I was very young, we had a black and white television. The case was a mahogany box with two large ivory-colored dials on the front. One changed the channel and included a second dial for UHF (Ultra High Frequency), the other dial turned it on and off and adjusted the volume. I used to enjoy watching old movies on it.
In my mind’s eye, time spans the distance from the present back to my childhood and beyond. The “beyond” included the old movies, some of which dated from three decades earlier. It was these older films that informed my ideas about relationships between men and women. Both men and women had social roles. The men were chivalrous, the women were demure.
Now let’s fast forward to the present. During the past three decades, the roles that used to define men and women have changed. Worldly people have worked hard and been very successful at throwing off all restraint. Biblical values are portrayed as oppressive, and God’s Word is declared to be hate speech.
The word “pure” suggests that women should avoid carnality. They should be unsullied by the baser passions of the flesh. They should be clean, innocent, and modest. Is this any different than what God requires of a man? Not really. It may be worded differently, but God wants both men and women to be holy (1 Peter 1:13-16).
God wants us all to be holy, which is simply another way of saying, “Be pure.”
Application: Read through the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 1-17) and ponder the meaning of purity.
Food for Thought: How does being pure affect our life?
Being pure, or holy, or set apart for God’s use and purposes is challenging. God requires complete purity of mind, heart, conscience, words, and deeds. Our hearts are by nature impure. In fact Jeremiah 17:9 says the human heart is totally, deceitful and beyond cure. Psalm 14:1-3 says foolish people are all unrighteous and fail to seek God as they should. The apostle Paul applies this passage to all human beings who have ever lived, now live and will ever live except One, Jesus Christ. He was able to live a completely sinless life (Romans 3:10-12).
Looking at the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
1. God is to be first in your heat and life vs. 1-3.
2. No idols. – No other gods- deities, no other rivalries for our affections – people, things, passions, concerns ect. God demands complete and exclusive allegiance. He requires faithfulness akin to a marriage relationship. No cheating. God is extremely jealous of our complete devotion and demands exclusive devotion, love, and faithful allegiance. vs. 4-6
3. No misuse of the Lord’s name. No profanity, or false swearing. vs. 7
4. Set apart the Sabbath. Have one day a week of rest. We can reflect and worship. vs. 8-11.
5. Honor your father and mother. Prize highly, show respect to and for, and obey (at least until of age and unless the commands from them are clearly against God’s explicitly stated revealed will). vs. 12
6. Don’t murder. Jesus expands this to include all hateful thoughts in anyone’s mind. vs, 13.
7. No adultery. No sexual sin, or lust. Jesus also expands or clarifies that this applies to our thought lives. vs. 14.
8. No stealing. Don’t take what is not yours. Do no deprive others of what God has entrusted to them.
9. No false testimony. Don’t lie, or deprive others of their rights, or damage their reputation unjustly. vs. 16.
10. Do not covet. Don’t desire something which belongs to someone else or desire something with evil motivation. vs. 17
These commandment may tell me what righteousness and purity look like, and reflect like a mirror, that we do not naturally possess it. In fact, the purpose of the law is to reveal to us that we fail to measure up to it’s standards. We deceive ourselves if we claim we always measure up to the law’s righteous demands. A mirror won’t get you clean, and neither will legalism.
It is only faith in God’s sacrifice, trust in His provision, application of the power of the blood of Christ, cleansing of the soul and spirit by the Holy Spirit, and walking in the power of the Spirit by yielding ourselves to the Lord which will enable us to even come remotely close to God’s desired lifestyle and standards for our lives. God wants purity and righteousness. We need God’s help, in order to have the devotion, input, and frame of mind to rightly obey and follow Him. Romans chapter 8.
Stay safe, take care, and be blessed,
Continued – Oh, and by the way, we are generally a lot happier, and the Lord is certainly more pleased with our behavior if we are making a habit of growing in our purity and exhibiting righteous behavior. “Trust and Obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. Fanny Crosby ( For a hymn writer and musician who was totally physically blind, she sure had a depth of wisdom and understanding far exceeding many or perhaps most sighted individuals).
Jeff,
Using the Ten Commandments as a reference is very interesting! Thank you!
I really don’t think I am the most purest person,..but I know I have been set apart,..I may not see things as God sees them,..but I now have a better way of looking at how He looks at things and us,..
There are things that happened when I was younger that I would just like to forget,..but it just doesn’t happen that way,..so I work hard at not toalking about it too much to others,..I have and do speak about it,..that’s what keeps my fortitude in Christ,..it’s has all been for some kind of purpose or reason,..
I guess you could say I lost my purity when I was just a little boy,..there were doors opened that shouldn’t have been opened,..but as I have read in the letter form Paul to the Romans,..God gave people over to a depraved mind,..and I just happened to be a reciepient of a few of those depraved minds,..
I thank God that He gave me a real helper in Christ through the Holy Spirit,..in Christ alone I now can find purity,..broken,..but pure
John,
It seems to me that the kind of purity Paul is talking about is in the future, not what we have suffered in the past. Christ has accepted you and me as we were when he found us. His love begins to heal us and continues to do so every day. What I hear in Paul’s words is what I hear you doing — Choosing to live for Christ.
If we strive for purity and holiness we can better fulfill God’s will for our lives. This may affect our life through a better, growing relationship with God – for which we were created. 1 Thessalonians 4: 1 – 8.
Great reference, Rich!
BTW – I’ve heard some excellent sermons on 1 Thessalonians lately.
🙂
How does being pure affect our life?
Matthew 5:8, Blessed are the pure in heart, for THEY SHALL SEE GOD.
When something is pure it is unmixed. Something described as being pure gold, is nothing but gold; it has a single ingredient with nothing added. A pure heart is a heart without mixture, a heart that seeks only the Lord and makes the Lord, the unique goal.
Christ is the image of God, we can see the glory of God in Him, as He is placed into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Once we realize, this inward seeing and knowledge of God is in our hearts, we can begin to realize, understand the importance of Matthew 5:8. The condition of our heart determines whether or not we see God and enjoy our relationship with Him. Things in this world such as wealth, worldly success, material objects, and entertainment will distract our hearts. When we give anything a priority over Christ, our heart is impure toward the Lord.
The life of one with a pure heart is daily, spending time with the Lord, seeking to be made single minded, (Steadfast; resolute, having one overriding purpose or goal) as we spend time with the Lord in His Kingdom. As we draw near to Him, He is faithful and just and will reveal our sins as we repent and continue on the path of His transformation of each of us.
2 Corinthians 4:6, Matthew 6:33, James 4:8, Philippians 3:13,
Luke 9:62
Thank you, Ron.
You bring to mind the fact that we are being transformed by Christ.
we are on the same wave link.
Ron
I love that we are being transformed, and a desire for purity enables us to see and know God and walk with Him more closely. I am also very thankful for His protection, as I have also noticed that the enemy, and the enemies of the cross of Christ do not like purity or being confronted with their sin or unrighteousness. I feel and believe at times, not without evidence, that they wish, hope, and if possible would like myself and other Christians who pursue Christ and purity to see God sooner, in the sense of wanting, and if possible, urging their destruction or demise.
I am very Thankful the Lord is in control of whether or not these enemies of God’s people are allowed or not to hurt or kill believers.
(Psalm 46: 1-7) God is our refuge, strength, help, and Strong Fortress.