The Purity Problem

"For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you His Holy Spirit." 1Thessalonians 4:7-8

I have a rather difficult question, "Is there any purity anymore?" Thank God for grace, huh? Without His forgiveness and mercy, how can we even begin to address purity, or better yet, impurity? So much of which our families are exposed, is increasingly vile, profane, unholy and impure. Strong words, but the antidote for the poisons of living in a sinful, morally bankrupt world can only be the strongest dose of absolute truth. The Word of God warns us of exposure and, even more, overexposure to the things that are not of God.

I'm afraid we are like the frog in the kettle. That which first seemed to be giving us a little innocent warmth might actually, eventually cook us as the heat is regularly and often turned up. As we adapt to lower and lower standards of decency, the angle and slickness of the slippery slopes quickly increase, and the effect is an abnormal slide into oblivious degradation. Everything seems to be slipping away; whatever shall we do?

We often complain like there is no tomorrow. Tomorrow comes, and all we have done is pay lip service to, once again, identifying what is obvious and dangerous. To yell "fire" helps some, and should be done. However, dousing the fire would help more and coating us and our children with flameproofing would be even better. Now, may I suggest three remedies for the impure plague that is upon us?

Give your family the only flameproofing we have. That would be a strong coating of the Bible. Teach your children to use it, love it, hide it in their hearts and believe it as the only final source of authority and truth for their lives.

Promote whatever is pure and lovely… especially Jesus. The simplest of kindnesses, courtesies and decency often stymie the pervasive attitude of nastiness that is the bane of our society. Try it! Sow seeds of purity; they will sprout and overtake the weeds.

Stop compromising! Set a standard and stick to it. Your children will get over it and appreciate you later. Compromising has fueled the direction we are headed in, and the sooner we stop, the faster we can slow the slide.

It is a lot to think about; hopefully a lot to do. May His grace abound in your family as you put on your flame resistant armor, promote Jesus, and stop compromising. The results will be purely wonderful!

In Him,
Pastor Fred

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