I Timothy 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Introduction: This lesson is the last lesson on this series regarding being and example of the believers. On this lesson we are going to cover the topic of purity, specifically how we need to purify ourselves so that what comes out of us, is an example of the way a believer should be regarding purity. The idea in this lesson is to show us how to you can purify the heart, mind, mouth, and body so that we can be a right example of the way a believer should be, act, say, and do. Purity- the quality or state of being pure. To make pure: such as to clear from material defilement or imperfection. To cleanse.
You can be a good example of the believers in purity by:
1. Purifying Your Heart– James 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” According to this verse, a Christian must purify his heart.
- This is purity from the inside out- not the appearance, that’s hypocrisy. The Christian needs to guard himself from the following, just to name a few:
- Pride– Proverbs 18:12 “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty”.
- Envy- Proverbs 23:17 “Let not thine heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long”.
- Deceit- Jeremiah 17:9 “The hear is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it? Vs 10 “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins”.
- Solution: have God search your heart to point out what’s wrong, and have Him help you change it. Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”.
2. Purifying Your Mind– (Webster 1828- Freedom from sinister or improper views, purity of motives or designs) II Peter 3:1 “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. According to this verse not only is it possible to be of a pure mind but it’s actually expected of us from God.
- Protect it from being carnally minded– Romans 8:5-8 “because the carnal mind is enmity against God”.
- Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee”. The key is to keep our mind ON CHRIST all the time.
- Protect it from what you think– Philippians 4:8- Loose the bad thinking and think on pure things and the other things on this list. Where do we think, is it not in the mind? If that is the case, and it is, then in order to have a pure mind, we need to think on pure things.
3. Purifying Your Mouth– (Webster 1828- Freedom from foreign idioms, improper words, or phrases) Proverbs 15:26 “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words”. Regarding the words of the pure, God says they are pleasant words. Because we want our words to be pure words, we need to watch what we say.
- Quit it, put it off– Colossians 3:8 “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth”. Many Christians I talk to will say regarding their language, (old habits die hard) etc.
- Get away from it– I Corinthians 15: 33 “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners”. I heard a person say one time, (It takes one to ruin one). If you are around a person that does not have pure words, eventually you will pick up on those things. I hear Christians say, (I can’t help it, it’s the people I work with, etc). Yes we can, we just choose not to do so.
4. Purifying Your Body-(Webster 1828- Freedom from contamination by illicit sexual connection)
- Recognize your body belongs to God– I Corinthians 6:16- You don’t do what you want to do, you should do what God wants you to do. You don’t go where you want to go, etc.
- Watch how you possess your vessel- I Thessalonians 4:3-4 this goes for anything and everything, to include fornication in the context.
- Don’t go with the crowd- I Timothy 5:22 “neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure”. Don’t go with the crowd, just because “everyone” is doing it.
Conclusion: If we are going to be an example of the believer in purity, these four things will definitely get us closer to that point. Start from the inside out, purify your heart and mind, then purify your mouth, and your body. If we do these things, we will be a good example to other believers or lost people, and it will definitely please God.