Just what does it mean to be pure? It means we are free from contact with that which weakens, impairs, or pollutes. Free from moral defilement, but it also means we have to be innocent and chaste. To be pure, we must continuously be in a repentant attitude. We must continuously repent of our sins, our weaknesses, and our mistakes, so that God can change us so he can use us and mold us into the people He wants us to be in His Kingdom. “O LORD, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand” (Isaiah 64:8). We are the clay and God is the potter. A person who is committed to a life of purity must WORK at separating himself from sin. He must be taking steps to separate himself from the works of the flesh which are listed in God’s Word.

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21). This is an awful long list of problems. They cover an enormous amount of ground and we need to be aware of all these things, to make sure they don’t creep into our lives, and keep us from being in God’s Kingdom.

Timothy tells us, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim 4:1-2). We have seen this happen recently, we must be constantly on guard lest we do the same things.

I would like to relate to you a couple of personal examples from my own life. When I was a boy growing up, my grandfather operated a machine shop in North Central Indiana, and he was also a blacksmith. My job in the blacksmith shop was to turn the crank on the forge with the coals in it which made the fire hot enough that when he put a plowshare in, it would get white hot. Then he could put the plowshare on an anvil and hit it with a hammer to feather the edge of it and make it sharp enough to cut through the ground and turn the furrows. Not long prior to this incident my grandfather had paid to have a big lettered sign painted on a plate glass window in the front of the shop. The sign had the company name, address and phone number on it. He was sharpening a plowshare one day when his hammer came down slightly twisted and hit that plowshare and made a big nick in it, that meant he would have to spend a lot more time to take out the nick in order to make the plowshare function properly. He instantly lost his temper, and got so mad that he drew the hammer back and threw it full length of the shop, which was about 3 times the length of a good size meeting hall. The hammer went right through the plate glass window, destroying it and the sign and landed on the sidewalk in front of the shop. Then, to add insult to injury, my grandfather had to walk out there and pick up the hammer and carry it back into the shop. I was about 10 or 11 years old at the time, but I vividly remember that incident.

Secondly; not too long after I was married we lived in a little apartment where the living room and bedroom were one room. The bed was on one side of the room and the couch was on the other side! My wife was sitting on the side of the bed doing crochet or embroidery work and I was sitting on the couch. I always carried a jackknife (switchblade) and I was cleaning my finger nails when the lock released and the blade closed on my fingers and like my grandfather I got mad instantly and drew that knife back causing the blade to lock in the open position. I threw the knife and it stuck in the wall behind my wife’s head. Thankfully, the knife did not do hit my wife or do any major damage to my fingers, but it very well could have!! I did not control my temper!! Think of the damage that could have been done! That knife could have put her eye out, or stuck in her chest had it been aimed right. It was a very silly and stupid thing to do. But I was just a stupid kid then, and hadn’t gained the maturity that God has blessed me with since I’ve been in His Church.

In Philippians we read: “Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil 4:8). Here is something we need to work on. Our thoughts!!!

We must be pure in our thoughts.“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psa. 12:6). God is working to purify us. He is teaching us His truth, His ways, and we had a good example of that: Just before the Feast of Trumpets, it was discovered that it was necessary to keep the Day of Trumpets on Sept 20th instead of the 21st. We changed and kept it on the day God revealed it should be kept. We must be ready and willing to accept new truth, new knowledge and GO with it when we have proven it is right. The words of the Lord are pure, as silver tried in the furnace. We are being tried in the furnaces of the world with all of its distractions and evils. We are being tried so that we can produce the character of Jesus Christ in our lives, and produce the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit. “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psa 19:8). We need to be striving for purity!! Going back to Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” This is the goal that Almighty God has set before us: THAT WE SHALL SEE GOD!!

We need to be pure in our actions. “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned” (1 Tim. 1:5). This is something we all still have trouble with. God knows we have a long way to grow! But, we must keep working on growing into purity of actions.

Some time ago, leaving a restaurant and a beggar came up and asked for money to buy a sandwich for himself and a supposed sick friend. But the problem was, when I offered to buy the man a sandwich instead of giving him the money he said, “Forget it” and turned and walked away. So I feel that he probably wanted the money for some other purpose!!

God looks to see how we conduct ourselves. We must examine ourselves to be sure our actions are in harmony with God’s Word. “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed” (1 Sam 2:3). We must be constantly changing. That is what being a Christian is all about!

We need to be pure in speech. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exo 20:7). God won’t hold us guiltless if we take His name in vain! How do we do that? NOT intentionally, of course, but quite often we do it un-aware, through the use of euphemisms! What is a euphemism? It is a very subtle way for Satan to get us to take God’s name in vain.

You might want to look in your dictionary for more information on euphemisms. It is a pretty big subject. We must think about these things in relation to our own lives so we can live lives that are pleasing to God. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-3). We are told that everyone who has the hope of being like Christ purifies himself, even as Christ is pure. We need to be pure in our minds! We must avoid thinking lustful thoughts, because we leave ourselves open to demon influences and even possession!! “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil 4:8).

We need to be pure in body. We need to keep our bodies in control and take good care of them. The Apostle Paul understood this. “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Cor 9:27). God’s Word tells us our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:19).

We need to be pure in conscience. “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience” (1 Tim. 3:9). We are told in the second book of Timothy. “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day” (2 Tim. 1:3). Here the Apostle Paul said he served with a pure conscience.

God shows us His Words are pure! “Thy word is very pure: therefore Thy servant loveth it” (Psa. 119:140). “Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him” (Prov. 30:5). God shows us His ways are pure. How do we measure up? “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). Here we are shown our religion is to be pure. We cannot mix religions which is syncretism! We cannot mix the truth of God with the traditions of man!

BUT,---suppose we were transparent spiritually---then people could see our thoughts, attitudes, our plans, and yes, even our hopes and dreams! Think about what that would mean if people could examine us that way! You know God DOES see us that way. God sees everything about us. He knows ALL about us. “O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea. Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and the right hand shall hold me. 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” (Psa. 139:1-10,23-24).

Finally, here is something we can all look forward to: “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass” (Rev. 21:21). PURE GOLD!! Think about the beauty of pure gold!! Let’s strive to be pure as our