Congratulations on recognizing that purity is what God expects of us as Christian men. You have taken the call of the Bible seriously:  1 Peter 1:16-“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” I am sure you have been praying about it.

As you start your journey to purity and freedom in Christ here are three keys:

  1. Make a manly promise to God that you will be pure
  2. Set a goal to be pure by the end of the year
  3. Surrender yourself to the Lord
  1. A promise is a commitment. My grandson didn’t believe a Kindergarten friend’s claim that he wouldn’t push him again because “he didn’t make a promise.” It’s natural for men to take responsibility for their promises. We make promises at work, at sports, and in all aspects of our lives. The promise helps you when you fall into temptation. Instead of giving in, remind yourself that you have made a promise to God to stay pure.

1 Corinthians 6:18- “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.”

  1. There is a lot of supporting research to verify that setting a goal is a powerful tool to use when you want to accomplish something. Formulating the goal in your mind, and then writing it down, helps your mind commit to the goal. Your mind will get to work helping you figure out how to achieve it. That’s the psychological side of things. In the case of purity it helps you to put everything you’ve got into it. On my personal journey, I read all the books I could find, and listened to lessons on who I am in Christ by Neil T. Anderson.
  1. This is most critical for your success. You’ve got to surrender this thing to the Lord. You are already acutely aware that you cannot get pure on your own strength. You’ve tried it and failed. I know, me too. But, the beauty of it is that in your weakness God can show his strength.

2 Corinthians 12:9- “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Rather than feeling bad about your weakness, celebrate the fact that if you let him, God will show his strength in your weakness just like he did for Paul. Trust God and see what he can do. You can experience God’s power in a personal way for yourself and your faith will grow.

God bless your journey.

Now I want to hear from you! If you have a comment or question please post it. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. What are some of the keys on your list? I know that this post is not a complete discussion of everything involved in your purity.

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6 thoughts on “Three Keys to Purity”

  1. As the temptations of the flesh, especially the addiction to sexually lust engulfs oneself, turning to the fear of the Lord will give us the knowledge of why He desires us to be holy. Through-out the New Testament we are reminded that, because of God grace and mercy extended to us through Christ Jesus we are compelled to surrender our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord. Because of our weak state, we find that it can be impossible to change. The sin living in us is to strong, as it is written, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my sinful nature.” We just can’t seem to stop the pornography and the sexually thoughts that creep into our minds whenever that nature desires to take control. So, we often find ourselves in a constant conflict over what our sinful nature desires and what we know God is desiring for us. But the pleasure of control over oneself causes us to fall victim again and again to our weakness. Then after the sinful nature has been satisfied we struggle to reconcile with God, only to be overwhelmed by guilt and shame. We try to pray harder, sing louder, and read the scriptures more, but in time the sinful nature’s desires creeps back into our minds and we start the cycle all over again.
    Only when we admit we are powerless over this trap can be begin to find freedom. The good news is that freedom is in us, that is if you know Christ Jesus as savior and Lord. From that reality, Jesus’s death and His resurrection has empowered us to live a life free of sin. Allowing the Holy Spirit to take our weakness and turn it into a victory and a ministry, will turn what Satan wanted to us to condemn us into a living reality of God’s love and forgiveness. Make this your goal by asking and seeking God to turn your guilt and shame into a victory for God’s glory.
    References:
    Proverbs 1:7
    Romans 7:14-8:17
    Romans 12:1-2

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    • Hi Dave: Very good points. The second to the last sentence in #2 above I think could be worded differently. It reads “Allowing the Holy Spirit to take our weakness and turn it into a victory and a ministry , will TURN WHAT SATAN WANTED TO USE TO CONDEMN US INTO A LIVING REALITY OF GOD’S LOVE AND FORGIVENESS.”

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  3. Good words Dave. We need to commit ourselves to God and realize His commitment to us; we need to have an expectation that God will work in us the purity He calls us to and so the next goals are possible to meet; we need to keep surrendering all within us that stands in the way of Him breaking through to bless us along the path toward purity. Oftentimes that’s the noise within and around us.

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  4. Jesse: That is well said. I like the reminder of “His commitment to us.” He loves us and wants the best for us. “Keep surrendering.” Purity requires our dependence on God and trusting Him with our sexuality.
    Thanks for your comments.

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