OceanSide church of Christ




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SEEKING HIGHER GROUND

…in Purity

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.     Have you ever been to a restaurant and found a bug or hair in your food?

Have you ever seen tap water that can be lit with a match?

Have you ever seen a diamond with a large piece of carbon inside?

Have you ever had a brand new car and found a dent or scratch on it?

 

B.     All of these things cause us a great deal of distress.  The reason is because we want things to be and remain as pure as possible. 

 

C.     As Christians, each of us should be just as concerned about the purity of our Christian lives.  In fact, we should be more concerned about it.

 

D.    Our theme this year for the OceanSide congregation is:  “Seeking Higher Ground in 2021.”

1.       Our lesson today is centered upon this theme.

2.       The title of the lesson is:  “Seeking Higher Ground…in Purity.”

 

I.             PURITY DEMANDED

 

A.     The Bible exhorts us in numerous places to be pure.

 

B.     Three New Testament verses:

1.       Matthew 5:8

 

Blessed are the pure in heart:  for they shall see God.

 

2.       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.

 

3.       I Timothy 5:22

 

Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other man’s sins:  keep thyself pure.

 

II.           PURITY DEFINED

 

A.     In order to practice purity, we must understand what it means.

 

B.     The common definitions:

1.       Clean, that is, washed of filth

2.       Chaste

3.       Having no defilement

4.       Having on contaminates

5.       Purged of intoxicants

6.       Free from pollution

7.       Sinlessness of life

8.       Freedom from an admixture of what is false

9.       Free from corrupt desire

10.   Blameless, innocent, modest, perfect

 

C.     Recently, I read another definition of purity that was interesting.  Purity was defined as “wholeness.”

1.       This definition of purity involves both the inner and outer parts of an object.

2.       Examples:

a.       A newborn baby

b.      A 24 karat gold bar

c.       Pure light (Sir Isaac Newton, one wave length that cannot be broken down into different colors or component hues)

3.       This was the problem with the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day (Matt. 23:25-26).

 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

 

D.    Purity is not a mere outward display.  It is a matter of one’s being, his character, and his nature.  The purity that is within must be manifested by what is shown on the outside.

 

III.         PURITY DEDICATED

 

A.     Purity is something that must be applied to every aspect of our being.

 

B.     The Bible talks about different portions of our person being pure.

1.       Psalm 24:3-4

 

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?  or who shall stand in his holy place?  He that hath cleans hands, and a pure heart…

 

2.       II Timothy 1:3

 

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience…

 

3.       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.

 

C.     It is interesting that these three verses focus upon the inner man:  the heart, the conscience, and the mind.  Again, if we can keep the inside clean, the outer man will manifest that state of purity (See Job 33:9).

 

I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.

 

IV.         PURITY DESTROYED

 

A.     Purity is destroyed by adding or mixing dirt, pollution, toxins, worldliness, sin, error, and falsehood to our lives.

 

B.     Let’s look at some examples found in Scripture.

1.       The Israel of Isaiah’s day (Isa. 1:16)

 

Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.

 

2.       The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day (Matt. 7:7-9)

 

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandment of men.

 

3.       The Christians to whom James wrote his epistle.

a.       The defilement (Jms. 4:4)

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is the enmity of God?  whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

 

b.      The exhortation to cleanliness (Jms. 4:8-10)

 

Draw nigh unto God, and he will draw nigh unto you.  Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep:  let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.

 

C.     One of the hardest problems for Christians is not absolute defilement. 

1.       We often get something on our washed clothing, but keep on wearing it.  (Ex., I bumped a pole with my white shirt and here was rust on it.  I brushed it off the best I could, but the stain of rusted metal could still be seen).

2.       Our world is so filled with dirt, filth, and pollution, we often feel

a.       We must tolerate it.

b.      We must compromise it.

c.       We can practice it just a little and be okay.

3.       Two verses:

a.       Proverbs 30:12

 

There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

 

b.      II Corinthians 7:1

 

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

 

V.           PURITY DEVELOPED

 

A.     The alien sinner is complete engulfed by sin.  His soul needs to be washed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  Let’s consider several passages.

1.       Jesus’ blood is essential to our cleansing (Rev. 1:5b).

 

…Unto him that love us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

 

a.       John tells us that Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world (I John 2:2).

b.      Yet, we know that not all of the world will be washed from their sins.

2.       The saints at Corinth and the Hebrews Christians had both been washed.

a.       I Corinthians 6:11

 

And such were some of you:  but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

 

b.      Hebrews 10:22

 

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

 

3.       The Hebrew penman made an interesting statement.  He noted that our bodies had been washed with pure water.

a.       The only action that one completes wherein it would appear his body was washed in pure water is the action of baptism (See Acts 22:16).

 

And now why tarriest thou?  arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

 

b.      The action of baptism, however, is not to cleanse the flesh (I Pet. 3:21).

 

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us, (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

c.       It is there the old man of sins is buried and our sins are cleansed by the blood of the Savior (Rom. 6:3-4).

 

Know ye not that, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:  that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

 

B.     Once a person has become a Christian, the Bible instructs us how we can cleanse ourselves in a number of ways.

1.       Obedience to God’s will (Ps. 119:9)

 

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?  by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

 

2.       Simply lay our sins to the side (Heb. 12:1; Jms. 1:21; I Pet. 2:1).

 

Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

 

3.       Being refined by fire (I Pet. 1:7; Isa. 48:10)

 

That the trial of you faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

 

4.       Being willing to confess our sins unto God (I John 1:9).

 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

5.       Developing our hope (I John 3:2-3).

 

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.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.     In the Revelation, John saw those who are victorious standing before the throne (Rev. 7:9).  John was asked:  “What are these?” (Rev. 7:13).  The answer was given unto him in Revelation 7:14.

 

…And he said unto me, These are they which came out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 

B.     Purity is essential to entering into Heaven.  Nothing that defiles shall be found therein (Rev. 21:27).

 

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie:  but they that are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

 

C.     The only way to assure our purity is by taking heed to the precious words of Jesus Christ (John 15:3).

 

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.