Purity: What’s the Big Deal About it?

By Tori Harris

“Purer in heart, O God, help me to be; that I Thy holy face, one day may see.”

“Purer in Heart” is a hymn many of us have most likely sung several times. But how often do we step back and really consider what purity is, and why it is necessary for our salvation? There are many different aspects of living a pure life, and all are needed.

But first of all, what is purity? Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines it as “pure from defilement, not contaminated.” In a biblical sense, being pure means being blameless, free from sin. In what areas of our lives can we apply purity?

• Purity in thought.

In the Bible, the mind is called the heart, and we need to guard it and keep it pure. It can be so tempting and easy to sin in thought, those secret sins that only you and God know about. It can be so tempting to dwell on things our minds do not need to be focused on. One way to help avoid this is to pay attention to what you are exposing yourself to. What are you watching on TV? What music are you listening to? What books are you reading? Once you see something inappropriate, you cannot just “unsee” it and completely forget about it. Being careful with what we watch, read, or listen to will help us avoid those temptations. When you catch yourself thinking about sinful things, distract yourself from those thoughts by praying, singing “Purer in Heart” or another hymn, or reading the Bible.

• Purity in speech.

Purity in thought ties in with purity in speech. James 3:9-12 says, “With it [the tongue] we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” We need to be careful with our speech, and bridle our tongues. All humans are made in “the similitude of God,” (James 3:9). It is sin to curse anyone. We should use our words to build each other up, not tear each other down. God created this entire universe, and everything in it. Why would we want to curse any of it? Many people use what we call euphemisms, not saying the actual curse word, but a different word in its place to “soften” it. But what is the difference? If you still mean the same thing, it doesn’t matter which word you use, it is still cursing, and is a sin.

• Purity in act.

We also need to have purity in the way we act. If you are a Christian, do you live like one all the time, or only for worship service on Sundays? Being a Christian is a constant, life-long commitment to God. There is never a time when it is okay to do things that are sinful. Matthew 5:13-14 is a passage directed to Christians, telling us that we are the “salt of the earth”, and “light of the world.” Verse sixteen says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” We have a purpose. Christians are here on a mission. A mission to “Fear God and keep His commandments,” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). The day of judgement is coming, where everyone will be before God and judged. “He who rejects Me [Jesus], and does not receive My words, has that which judges him-the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day,” (John 12:48). We do not know when that day will be. It could be at this very second, or it could be a million years from now. We need to be ready. We need to be pure in order to obtain our crowns of righteousness.

We have looked at purity in thought, speech, and act. Each of these is necessary for our salvation. This is only the tip of the iceberg, there is so much more in the Bible about living a pure life. Let each of us strive to the best of our ability to live a pure and holy life before God, and glorify Him together.