On Purity

Chastity: it is one of those unabashedly churchy words. It is one of the words the church uses to call Christians to do something hard, something unpopular...Chastity is one of the many Christian practices that are at odds with the dictates of our surrounding, secular culture. It challenges the movies we watch, the magazines we read, the songs we listen to. it runs counter to the way many of our non-Christian friends organize their lives. It strikes most secular folk as curious (at best), strange, backwards, repressed.

Lauren Winner, Real Sex

Before we start today, take a moment to be introspective. Where do you stand on the purity continuum? Are you pursuing purity in all areas?

Read

Today's Scripture is Matthew 5:27-30.

Think

Remember that Jesus is highlighting the impossibility of the Law to save us. The Scribes and Pharisees followed the Law as well as any human could, and Jesus still said, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." So do you look at someone of the opposite sex with lust in your heart? Only you can say. I know that I do. It's kind of part of our human condition.

The difficult thing for me is that he seems to say that if we lust we will be thrown into hell. Wow. That's harsh. But what is it worth to you? There are few things that distract me from my relationship with Christ more than my own lack of sexual purity. In fact sexual temptation is the only temptation the Bible tells us to flee. It is such an all-consuming, all-encompassing thing that it takes radical, decisive action to keep or regain purity.

Jesus isn't saying that if you lust you will be thrown into hell. He is saying that if you lust, you have broken the commandment and are guilty. Just like the other paragraphs in this section, the impossibility of keeping the Law is the key, and our dependence on an outside source is necessary. So, purity is worth whatever radical, decisive, even countercultural action you might choose to take. But I would stay away from chopping off body parts to achieve it.

There are few better ways to truly be countercultural than to pursue purity at any cost. But it's worth it.

Pray

Ask God to reveal to you ways that you are not fleeing sexual temptation, and to help you to take action to remain pure. Ask Him to send you friends who will help you in your pursuit of purity.

Do

Find one or two friends that you can trust and share your struggles with them. Ask them to challenge you on your choices and to keep reminding you to remain pure.