The Pursuit Of Purity

1 Timothy 4:12-Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

1 Timothy 5:22-Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

Christian believers are called to pursue purity. We must never stop in this pursuit. Jesus is returning for a church (the bride of Christ) that is pure and holy and without spot or wrinkle. We must pursue purity in the following areas:

I. Purity of Mind and Thoughts

A. Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...”

Philippians 2:5-“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

B. If I were to ask you, “Do you have a dirty mind?” how would you answer? Before you consider what your answer would be remember the definition of dirty. Dirty is that which is not pure. What kind of thoughts do you think? We are living in the days that precede the coming of the Lord and Jesus told us that as it was in the days of Noah so will it also be in the days prior to the return of Christ. What were those days like. Look at how Genesis 6:5 described those days.

C. Genesis 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

D. A dirty mind is a mind that has been tainted by and entertains thoughts that are inappropriate in any way for a Christian.

E. Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”

F. Psalm 10:3 “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.”

G. Watch what you fill your mind with. Watch what you watch. Watch what you listen to. Watch what you expose yourself to.

H. It’s amazing how much people love dirt; that’s why so much of the news is about dirt. You hear it, you see it, take it into your mind, you picture it, you imagine it... Now your own mind has become dirty as well. And from a dirty mind spring dirty acts.

Imagine your mind as a washtub. If you fill it with dirt the water will be dirty. If you fill it only with that which is pure the water will be clean. - adapted

I. Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

J. Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. [Frank Outlaw]

K. Let the mind of the Master be the master of your mind. – source unknown

II. Purity of Conduct – We are to have clean hands

A. Psalm 24:3-4 “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.”

B. John Gill points out that the hands are instruments of action. The actions can be holy actions or unholy actions. Clean Hands or Dirty Hands. To have clean hands is to be morally, ethically, spiritually upright. To do right. To do no wrong. It is not being perfect but striving always to do that which is right.

C. 1 Timothy 5:22 “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.”

D. 2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

E. How many of you have washed your hands at least once this morning? All of us have. For the past 15 months everyone in our nation has learned how to keep their hand clean and I wash my hands all the time now all because of COVID 19. It’s a matter of hygiene, isn’t it? Getting rid of germs, microbes so that we don’t catch or spread diseases. We are determined more than ever to keep our hands clean.

F. How many spiritual infections do we spread by having unclean hands? How many blessings are we holding back because we have dirty hands?

G. Psalm 18:21-26 “For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful ; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright ; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure ; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself forward.”