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.
Paul exhorted Timothy to be an example of the believer in purity. When he wrote to the church in Thessalonica where immorality and promiscuity were common and acceptable, he reminded them that “God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7)
There is a Gnostic type of holiness that is as alive and well today as it was in the days of the early church. It is legalistic and unbiblical. “Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:20-23)
This kind of “holiness” has nothing to do with purity. In fact, a person can be very rigid in his or her holiness belief system and at the same time be very promiscuous.
Beloved, we are living at a time where the very foundations of manhood and womanhood and gender and sexuality are being attacked, demanding that we re-examine the biblical call to purity. Any attempt to challenge these “new” standards results in accusations of being haters and old-fashioned.
Dear reader, God says that our bodies are His temples to be used for His glory, and His tools for His service. Read with me 1 Corinthians 6:19,20: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Now read Romans 12:1,2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
May The Holy Ghost empower each follower of Jesus to live an exemplary life of purity that reflects the very nature of Jesus in a fallen world that has lost its moral compass. Scripture, not society, is the foundation of what purity looks like in the sight of God.
