More Than Just Physical Purity: Part Three

3. Purity will bring blessings we can’t even imagine

 

Maybe now you’re thinking, “okay, so purity is good for me…in an ‘eat your Brussels sprouts’ kinda way…”  No!  With the measure of punishment for sin, there is also reward for doing what’s right.

 

Proverbs 2:6-8 – For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

 

God gives wisdom to those who seek it, He is a shield to the blameless, guards those who are faithful to Him.  God isn’t all about discipline and “thou shalt not”, He’s a God of justice, yes, but He is also the God of love, of happiness, of goodness.

However, we have to be following Him before He will guide and shield us.  We must surrender to Him, our will, our desires, our life.

 

A friend once told me, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”  Our ways are not His and He may have something completely different than what you want, but His way is always best.  We can’t see what’s going to happen even the next second.  God, on the other hand knows what will happen a million years from now.  Personally, I think it is best to trust God with our futures.  But that’s not always easy.  As humans, we naturally (not that it’s right) want to be in control.  We can’t stand letting other people take charge.  It’s the same way with surrendering to God.  We don’t want to because we don’t like letting others take control.  That is why we have to work so much harder at it.  But it is well worth it!

 

Being pure isn’t just about avoiding bad things, like STDs, punishment, pregnancy…  It’s about gaining everything good that is just waiting for us to snatch it.  Freedom.  Maybe you think being able to do what you want is freedom.  No, John 8:34 – Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”

 

We have a choice, be a slave to sin, and be destroyed, or be a slave to righteousness (God), and inherit everlasting life. 

 

Romans 6:22 – But now that you have been set free from sin [talking to Christians here] and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

 

We have two choices, be slaves to sin, or be slaves to God.  Now, you might think being God’s slave sounds very unlike what Christianity should be, but it’s not at all what you’d think a slave would be.  God doesn’t make us his slaves, He doesn’t force us to do His will.

 

Being a slave to God’s will is something we put upon ourselves.  Being a slave to God is basically the same as saying we surrender everything to him, even our own will.  Maybe that’s a scary thought, how can we trust that He won’t say “Okay, now go move to New Mexico, wear floor-length gray dresses and never leave your house unless absolutely necessary.”?

 

God put laws in place to keep us safe.  Every law He placed that has something to do with our sexuality is to keep us safe.  One man, one woman, for life.  We shouldn’t just keep our bodies pure, but our minds, our hearts.

 

Romans 2:16 – All these things will happen on the day when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge people’s secret thoughts. The Good News that I preach says this.

 

Imagine this:  You are standing before the Lord on Judgment Day.  You see playing before you not just the outward sins like lying or stealing, but every wrong thought, every sinful intention.  As they play, you see tears rolling down Jesus’ face, every single one of them bringing pain to Him, your own dear friend and comforter.  On His back you see the scars, one for every one of those thoughts.

 

It’s not “just a thought“, the same as it’s not “just a kiss“, not “just sex”.  It’s all sin, it’s all wrong, even the thoughts that nobody sees but you and God.

 

2 Corinthians 10:5b – and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.