The purity of God is generally something that is assumed, and not generally something that is discussed at great length. But I though that it was only appropriate to discuss this topic considering that this blog is all about purity and striving to understand it. The dictionary definition of purity is: "Freedom from adulteration or contamination." To adulterate something is to cause it to become poorer in quality based on what is added to it. Because God is God, far above and beyond anything we could ever fully understand, anything that caused him to change, especially anything that came from us, would take away from his purity. To contaminate, means to "make something impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance."
While the term purity is not one that is used very often of God in the Bible, we know that God is pure based on other things that are said of Him in his word. Numerous places in the Bible speak of God as being both "eternal" and "unchangeable".
Hebrews 6:17-18 says "In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose, interposed an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us."
And Deuteronomy 33:2a says "The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms..."
These are just two of the passages that deal with these two parts of the nature of God that show his purity. No one has ever added to God. No one has ever contributed something to him that he was lacking. God has always been who he is, and he will always be who he is. He is not corrupted or changed and he cannot be corrupted or changed because that is who he is. This is a part of what the name of "I Am" means, which is the name he gave himself when he first began his plan to rescue the people of Israel. God is. He is God, he is divine, he is holy, he is complete.
Note: All definitions on this blog are from The New Oxford American Dictionary, unless otherwise noted.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Guard Your Heart, Day 4: Disciplines of the Mind, Part 3
Today I am finally finishing up the passage we have been looking at, in Proverbs. Proverbs 4:26-27 says: "Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil." These verses could simply be talking about keeping in mind the things of God and considering carefully where you are going in a broader, more general sense; but they could also be talking about planning where you will take your next step. Considering that the Proverbs tend to be both deeply spiritual and highly practical in nature, I am inclined to believe that both are the case here. With careful planning of where you are going and what you are desiring to do, and subsequently presenting and committing your plans to the Lord, you are much more focused on your goals and therefore less likely to fall into temptation and sin. This needs some explaining, so I will begin with an illustration from my own life.
Before we met, my husband and I made a lot of mistakes and poor decisions in our dating relationships with others. But God was gracious and forgiving, and as we repented of our pasts he forgave us and replaced our foolishness with wisdom. When we met we were both determined to be wise and to honor God in our relationship. For us this meant that we started our relationship with planning. We were very clear with each other that dating, was solely in order to discover if we were meant to get married and we agreed that if, at any point, either of us thought that we might be a good match for a God-honoring marriage, then we would break up. We wanted to be pure towards each other and before God. So as we were in the planning and discussion stage of our relationship we decided that we would in everything, and at all times, strive to have a relationship that would not keep us from being friends if we ever broke up.
This meant there were certain things that we did not do because they caused us to become too emotionally invested too early on. One of these things was holding hands, not that holding hands is bad, but for us, personally, this caused too close of an emotional connection. For me, personally, it meant that I strove very hard not to allow myself to think too specifically about a future with Brian. The whole time we were dating, until we became engaged, I never allowed myself to imagine our wedding or think about having a certain number of children with Brian. Let me stress that these things were personal applications of our desire and determination to be pure towards each other and not a prescription for how everyone can be pure in their relationships. I am merely using this as an illustration on how this passage can be applied in a practical manner so as to be pure in one area of life.
Additionally, I would like to stress that we must always be alert to grace. There are practical things we can do that will help us to remain pure, but we must never substitute these things in our minds for the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and the atoning work of Christ on the Cross*. In planning, we plan our time carefully in order to help us not to fall into sin, but this does not mean that if our plans fail, or do not work out properly that we have no means of remaining pure. True purity is found in Christ alone, and while there are practical applications of the state that we are in, that of being saved by grace through faith in Christ, nothing can fill in for the work that Christ has already done on our behalf. The Bible, practical planning, and self-discipline, are all means to help us in living out what we already have and already are in Christ.
*For those not as familiar with Christian terminology here are some definitions for you:
1. To sanctify means to be set apart as holy. 2. Holy means to be dedicated or consecrated to God. 3. Consecrate means to be sacred; devoted to God for His purposes. 4. To atone means to make amends or reparation. Sanctification is generally considered an ongoing process that is accomplished by the Holy Spirit living within us. Atonment is the work that Christ did on the cross, and was completed when he rose from death to live forever. That our sin is atoned for does not mean that we are done with sin once we become a Christian. Christ died not only for the sins we committed before we were saved, but also for the sins we commit after we are saved. It is as though Christ gives us a clean page that only the good things we do are written on, and even our sinful motives in doing those good things are taken away in him.
Before we met, my husband and I made a lot of mistakes and poor decisions in our dating relationships with others. But God was gracious and forgiving, and as we repented of our pasts he forgave us and replaced our foolishness with wisdom. When we met we were both determined to be wise and to honor God in our relationship. For us this meant that we started our relationship with planning. We were very clear with each other that dating, was solely in order to discover if we were meant to get married and we agreed that if, at any point, either of us thought that we might be a good match for a God-honoring marriage, then we would break up. We wanted to be pure towards each other and before God. So as we were in the planning and discussion stage of our relationship we decided that we would in everything, and at all times, strive to have a relationship that would not keep us from being friends if we ever broke up.
This meant there were certain things that we did not do because they caused us to become too emotionally invested too early on. One of these things was holding hands, not that holding hands is bad, but for us, personally, this caused too close of an emotional connection. For me, personally, it meant that I strove very hard not to allow myself to think too specifically about a future with Brian. The whole time we were dating, until we became engaged, I never allowed myself to imagine our wedding or think about having a certain number of children with Brian. Let me stress that these things were personal applications of our desire and determination to be pure towards each other and not a prescription for how everyone can be pure in their relationships. I am merely using this as an illustration on how this passage can be applied in a practical manner so as to be pure in one area of life.
Additionally, I would like to stress that we must always be alert to grace. There are practical things we can do that will help us to remain pure, but we must never substitute these things in our minds for the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and the atoning work of Christ on the Cross*. In planning, we plan our time carefully in order to help us not to fall into sin, but this does not mean that if our plans fail, or do not work out properly that we have no means of remaining pure. True purity is found in Christ alone, and while there are practical applications of the state that we are in, that of being saved by grace through faith in Christ, nothing can fill in for the work that Christ has already done on our behalf. The Bible, practical planning, and self-discipline, are all means to help us in living out what we already have and already are in Christ.
*For those not as familiar with Christian terminology here are some definitions for you:
1. To sanctify means to be set apart as holy. 2. Holy means to be dedicated or consecrated to God. 3. Consecrate means to be sacred; devoted to God for His purposes. 4. To atone means to make amends or reparation. Sanctification is generally considered an ongoing process that is accomplished by the Holy Spirit living within us. Atonment is the work that Christ did on the cross, and was completed when he rose from death to live forever. That our sin is atoned for does not mean that we are done with sin once we become a Christian. Christ died not only for the sins we committed before we were saved, but also for the sins we commit after we are saved. It is as though Christ gives us a clean page that only the good things we do are written on, and even our sinful motives in doing those good things are taken away in him.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Guard Your Heart, Day 3: Disciplines of the Mind, Part 2
I have a very limited amount of time to write today, so I am just going to launch right into it. Proverbs 4:25 says: "Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you." While meditating on this passage, I wondered what it would mean and what it would look like to "Let your eyes look directly forward" and to keep your gaze "straight before you." And as I meditated on the passage and thought about it, I realized that, for the Christian, sin is behind us and Christ is before us. Not to say that we will never sin again, we most definitely will, but as Romans 6:17-18 states it: "But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness."
Our allegiance, our hope, all that we are, is no longer devoted to our own gratification, but to the honor and glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ is before us and our ultimate destination is heaven, with him. We have a powerful and wonderful tool for purity in this one truth, that Christ lived the perfect life that we were, on the whole, completely incapable of living. That he died the death that we could never die. To pay the price that we could never pay, so that we could have life in Him. If we fix our eyes on who he is, and give our time, emotions and purpose to seeking him out, we will find ourselves living much more purely than we could ever hope to on our own. We can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit, his work in our lives, to change us and mold us, is the ultimate thing that will keep us pure and like Christ. So ask Him today to make you more holy, to make you more pure, and to give you the strength to put aside the things that are distracting you and focus on what is before you. Christ and His kingdom.
Our allegiance, our hope, all that we are, is no longer devoted to our own gratification, but to the honor and glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ is before us and our ultimate destination is heaven, with him. We have a powerful and wonderful tool for purity in this one truth, that Christ lived the perfect life that we were, on the whole, completely incapable of living. That he died the death that we could never die. To pay the price that we could never pay, so that we could have life in Him. If we fix our eyes on who he is, and give our time, emotions and purpose to seeking him out, we will find ourselves living much more purely than we could ever hope to on our own. We can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit, his work in our lives, to change us and mold us, is the ultimate thing that will keep us pure and like Christ. So ask Him today to make you more holy, to make you more pure, and to give you the strength to put aside the things that are distracting you and focus on what is before you. Christ and His kingdom.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Guard Your Day 2: Disciplines of the Mind, Part 1
Now I come to looking at the actual passage that first inspired me to write about the importance of guarding the heart. Proverbs 4:23-27 says:
"Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil. "
Oh how I love the Bible! Not only is it true and spiritual, it is also practical and applicable to our lives across the board, across cultures, and across the centuries. God first gives us new life in Christ, but then God also speaks to us by his Spirit through his word. Not in the same manner that we speak to each other in conversation, this is a common misunderstanding. In fact, the truth is much more astounding and much more amazing. That as we seek to know the words that are written and the context of the passage, God makes himself known to us and changes our hearts deeply and wonderfully. If all we seek is a conversation, we will still find God and meet with him through his word. But we cannot fully understand what he is speaking to us until we submit to his word and to understanding what he is saying, rather than interpreting what he is saying based on our lives and circumstances.
In light of that, the context of the passage is that of a father instructing his son and teaching him to be wise. Proceeding instructions include staying away from evil and wickedness and avoiding companions that will draw you into an unwise lifestyle. That is something that I will write more about another time. But these particular verses have to do with the mind and thoughts, disciplining the mind in order to keep your heart from sin. The structure of the passage starts with the goal "Keep your heart" and the means "with all vigilance" and the reason for doing this "for from it flow the springs of life." It is followed up by practical application on how to do this.
"Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you." Even the words we say are important to keeping our hearts before God. For everyone, depending on their circumstances and struggles, this will look slightly different. For me this meant thinking and speaking soberly and thoughtfully about men, not disrespecting them in the way that I talked and doing the same with relationships. This also meant a period of time when I did not watch much television and completely forgoing "chick flicks" because they encouraged me to think lightly about sex and relationships and hardened my heart to conviction the way that I behaved towards the opposite sex and thought about relationships.
That is all I have time for today! We'll have to finish up the rest of the passage tomorrow, or tomorrow and for a day more more following.
"Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil. "
Oh how I love the Bible! Not only is it true and spiritual, it is also practical and applicable to our lives across the board, across cultures, and across the centuries. God first gives us new life in Christ, but then God also speaks to us by his Spirit through his word. Not in the same manner that we speak to each other in conversation, this is a common misunderstanding. In fact, the truth is much more astounding and much more amazing. That as we seek to know the words that are written and the context of the passage, God makes himself known to us and changes our hearts deeply and wonderfully. If all we seek is a conversation, we will still find God and meet with him through his word. But we cannot fully understand what he is speaking to us until we submit to his word and to understanding what he is saying, rather than interpreting what he is saying based on our lives and circumstances.
In light of that, the context of the passage is that of a father instructing his son and teaching him to be wise. Proceeding instructions include staying away from evil and wickedness and avoiding companions that will draw you into an unwise lifestyle. That is something that I will write more about another time. But these particular verses have to do with the mind and thoughts, disciplining the mind in order to keep your heart from sin. The structure of the passage starts with the goal "Keep your heart" and the means "with all vigilance" and the reason for doing this "for from it flow the springs of life." It is followed up by practical application on how to do this.
"Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you." Even the words we say are important to keeping our hearts before God. For everyone, depending on their circumstances and struggles, this will look slightly different. For me this meant thinking and speaking soberly and thoughtfully about men, not disrespecting them in the way that I talked and doing the same with relationships. This also meant a period of time when I did not watch much television and completely forgoing "chick flicks" because they encouraged me to think lightly about sex and relationships and hardened my heart to conviction the way that I behaved towards the opposite sex and thought about relationships.
That is all I have time for today! We'll have to finish up the rest of the passage tomorrow, or tomorrow and for a day more more following.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Guard Your Heart Part 1: We Need Jesus
Proverbs 4:23 says: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”* This is an idea that I have always liked, but only began to understand about 6 years ago, right before I met and started to date the man who is now my husband. I had many theories and many ideas about what this was and what it looked like, but it took me a long time to understand it, as I imagine is the case for many others. This is why I am actually going to spend several days on this topic, looking at guarding your heart from several different angles.
As a young girl struggling with the ideal of purity, but lacking many of the tools necessary to live it out, God gave me the wisdom to search the scriptures. I hope you will too. The verses following 4:23 read: “Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” (Proverbs 4:24-27).
Now this passage is clearly talking about much more than just sexual purity but, it can be applied to purity when it comes to the disciplines of our mind, which is what this passage deals with. Disciplines of our mind, which ultimately, can only be accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, changing us and making us like Christ. Because, ultimately, it is God who watches over us, guards and protects us.
So, before I give you my understanding of these verses and how they apply to the topic of purity, I want to remind you that ultimately, it is only by the grace and love of God that we are at all even remotely able to live purely and to discipline our minds to be pure. It is God and God alone who gives us the strength to do all these things, so today I am just going to end on this note, and tomorrow I will talk about the passage further. God is good, God loves you so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for you. So whatever disciplines you learn to practice, He is the one who ultimately gives you the strength to live purely before him. The danger with this sort of blog is that I give all sorts of practical advice and forget to remind you of God and his grace and love and goodness. He is a great and loving and wise and wonderful God, and we desperately need him for all things.
*ESV.
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