6 Points on Purity

When I was fourteen, I wrote a note to myself, folded it up, and wrote “Do not read until 2016” on the outside. I set it on my bookshelf next to my bed thinking, “This isn’t going to be that inspirational when I open it up, because I’m going to remember what I wrote.”

The months passed by. For a while I remembered what I’d written. But then I lost the paper, and forgot it even existed.

June of 2015 I found the paper and felt very intrigued. What had I written? I tried hard to remember, but could not. I almost opened the paper early, but I decided not to. I set the paper back where it had been and waited anxiously for six months, wondering what was on that paper!

Finally, New Year’s Day came! I could read the note! I excitedly picked up the note and opened it. Inside was an acronym for purity. I felt a little emotional reading this note I’d made two years before. “I wrote this?” It read:

Purity:

Pure
Upright
Reserved
Integrity
True
You

While this isn’t a perfect acronym, it was still meaningful and a good reminder to me. I’d like to expound on this acronym and the meaning of purity because this is an important virtue for every Christian’s life.

Pure. To be pure means you’re uncontaminated, unmixed, or free of blemishes or spots. When I hear this, I think of 1 Peter 1:18-19.

knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

To have purity you must be pure, set apart for God, and not mixed with the things of the world. Jesus was the perfect example of purity, because He truly was and still is completely pure.

I think there is a wrong idea about purity that many Christians believe. Many Christians believe that being pure is only about saving sex for marriage, and the focus is placed on our outward actions and behaviors. But being pure is so much deeper than our actions – being pure means having a spotless heart.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. Titus 1:15

There is a very important truth that we all need to understand: none of us are pure in our own strength. We are all born into sin, into impurity. No amount of good behavior and outward purity will make us pure in our hearts.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6

True purity in the Christian life is a result of the amazing grace of Jesus’ Christ. Through His death and resurrection He makes us pure and spotless before God.

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Because we have been made new, through Christ’s strength working in us we can walk in purity of heart, mind, and action. That is truly amazing!

How do we walk in purity? The answer is found in Psalm 119:9-11:

How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

We walk in purity by living according to God’s Word, obeying Him, and treasuring His Word.

Upright. Being upright means to be righteous, honest, just; to be in accordance with what’s right. Just as we are to be pure in heart, we are to be righteous in our actions.

For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face. Psalm 11:7

The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them. Proverbs 11:3

The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed. Proverbs 11:6

Reserved. Reserved means to hold something back or to be slow to reveal emotions. One of my favorite verses is 1 Peter 3:3-4:

Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

This woman is not someone who explodes with emotion or says and does whatever comes to mind. This gentle and quiet spirit is putting others before yourself, it’s being humble, and it is precious in God’s sight. A woman of purity is someone who is reserved – not flaunting herself in words or actions, but rather humbly demonstrating God’s character to those around her.

Integrity. I love the word “integrity.” Integrity means to be honest and morally upright, to do the right thing even when no one else sees you do it. If a believer has a pure heart, then their motives will be pure. Therefore, the pure in heart will do the right thing because they know that it honors the Lord, even if the right thing is hard.

O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. Psalm 15:1-2

True. What does it mean to be true? It means to be honest and accurate. A woman of purity is one who speaks truth and lives in accordance with the truth. If we want to live lives of purity, we must live according to the source of truth – God’s Word.

Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Ephesians 4:25

The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting. Psalm 119:160

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

You. I remember when I was writing this acronym that I had a hard time coming up with a word that started with a “Y.” I eventually chose the word “you” because I couldn’t think of anything else. In a way, though, it fits. To live purely is to not have a double- standard. I know I am guilty of being one person with one group of friends and another person with another group. But as Christians, this shouldn’t be. We should always be representing Christ no matter where we are. So, I’d like for the “you” at the end of this acronym to be a reminder to not be a Christian with certain groups of friends, but rather to always be representing Christ no matter where you are.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

To sum up, I hope that this acronym was a fun reminder to us all that purity is all about living our lives completely for the glory of God. May we strive to more accurately represent Him day by day!

With love,

Kelsey