Purity Thursday: Give Thanks For Purity

There are direct, reactive, in-the-moment strategies to fight lust (e.g. Matthew 5:29, “if your eye cause you to sin, tear it out…”). There are also indirect, preventative strategies. Growing in gratitude is an indirect, but powerful preventative measure.

Just think about it. Lust can’t cohabit with thankfulness in the human heart. One has to go. Lust is covetous and never satisfied and ungrateful by its very nature. A lustful heart can’t be a thankful heart. And a thankful heart can’t be a lustful heart. 

No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote like this (Ephesians 5:3-4, emphasis added):

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

So, give thanks for purity…and you will have purity for which to give thanks.

Purity Thursday: Harnessing Unrestrained Lust in the Battle for Purity

Installment #1:

Today (7/22/14) in Starbucks a guy comes in and is unashamedly looking at every girl/woman he can feast his eyes on. He moves around to check out the young girls at the table. He stares at the woman in line, stepping back a pace or two to get a better view. And on it goes. It’s obvious, repeated, unrestrained. I want to punch him in the mouth.

And it helps me. Seeing unrestrained lust in all its despicable ugliness – and thinking of my wife and daughters (I’m glad they weren’t at Starbucks today!) – made me want all the more to fight against lust in my own heart. This man seems to allow no sense of civility or respect for women to hinder his lust. I want to allow no sense of selfishness or lust to hinder my pursuit of purity and love.

I’m reminded of a powerful account in Richard Wurmbrand’s book, Tortured For Christ (35-36, emphasis added):

I often asked the torturers, ‘Don’t you have pity in your hearts?’ They usually answered with quotations from Lenin: ‘You cannot make omelets without breaking the shells of eggs,’ and ‘You cannot cut wood without making chips fly.’ I said again, ‘I know these quotations from Lenin. But there is a difference. When you cut a piece of wood it feels nothing. But here you are dealing with human beings. Every beating produces pain and there are mothers who weep.’ It was in vain. They are materialists. For them nothing besides matter exists and to them a man is like wood, like an eggshell. With this belief they sink to unthinkable depths of cruelty. 

The cruelty of atheism is hard to believe. When a man has no faith in the reward of good or the punishment of evil, there is no reason to be human. There is no restraint from the depths of evil that is in man. The Communists torturers often said, ‘There is no God, no hereafter, no punishment for evil. We can do what we wish.’ I heard one torturer say, ‘I thank God, in whom I do not believe, that I have lived to this hour when I can express all the evil in my heart.’ He expressed it in unbelievable brutality and torture inflicted on prisoners. … 

I learned from them. As they allowed no place for Jesus in their hearts, I decided I would leave not the smallest place for Satan in mine.

This man in Starbucks has no hint of love or respect toward women in his heart. I want to have no hint of sexual immorality (Eph 5:3 NIV) in mine. “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Rom 13:14).

Introducing "Purity Thursday"

Temptation to lust abounds. It's everywhere and it's easily accessible. Nevertheless, the biggest problem is not "out there" on the internet. It's "in here," with my heart that can be like a seething cauldron of illicit desire. 

There was obviously no internet in the 1st century, but Jesus knew about our lustful hearts. He knows the human heart better than anyone. He was tempted in every respect, as we are, yet without sin (Heb 4:15). And he says we need to be ruthless in our pursuit of purity. Listen to his words in Matthew 5:27-30: 

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman (or a man) with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her (or him) in his (or her) heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

You might be toying with temptation today. You may have given in, repeatedly. You may be totally entangled in the unsatisfying slavery of sexual sin. Do you hear this word from Jesus? If so, then listen to Hebrews 3:15:

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

If this word from Jesus awakens new desires in you, then fight with all your might! Take the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17) and start hacking away at the sin that so easily entangles, so you can run FREE, following Jesus (Heb 12:1-2). Talk to someone you trust and ask them to pray for you and hold you accountable. Ask them how they fight for purity. Share ideas. Preach the gospel to each other. Fight for each other's faith!

One of the habits I got into years ago was to write up any strategy for purity that proved helpful to me. I figured it would help me think more clearly about HOW to fight, and I figured I could pass along those strategies to others to help in their fight. Over the years, I've sent not a few of these strategies to different guys who have shared with me their struggles. I hope they've been helpful.

I was reminded of one I wrote up recently and thought I'd share it here. Maybe I'll make it a habit for awhile. Yes, I think so (I really am making this up as I go along - just had to re-title this post). It's not very creative, but I'll call it "Purity Thursday," or "PT." Could also stand for "Purity Therapy." Therapy is defined as, "treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder." Lustful hearts are disordered hearts. We need gospel therapy for the sake of purity and love. Done. Installment #1 to follow. 

And by the way, if you have or discover any strategies helpful to you, please pass them along. I want all the firepower in my arsenal that I can get! Maybe I'll even share some of them here in weeks to come and you can help a number of others fight the good fight of faith. 

Moral Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

Justin Taylor:

Francis Schaeffer once described moral relativists as those “who have both feet firmly planted in mid-air.” An even more vivid illustration is that of Cornelius Van Til (The Defense of the Faith):

Suppose we think of a man made of water in an infinitely extended and bottomless ocean of water.

Desiring to get out of water, he makes a ladder of water.

He sets this ladder upon the water and against the water and then attempts to climb out of the water.

So hopeless and senseless a picture must be drawn of the natural man’s methodology based as it is upon the assumption that time or chance is ultimate. On his assumption his own rationality is a product of chance. On his assumption even the laws of logic which he employs are products of chance. The rationality and purpose that he may be searching for are still bound to be products of chance. 

On the contrary, our worldview is summarized well by Isaiah 26:4:

Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

When Helping Hurts

Laurie Chapman recently shared a very helpful illustration of how struggle is necessary in the path of growth. There are personal and interpersonal lessons here. Check it out.

20 Ways To Be Refreshing In The Local Church

As a follow up to our "Faith in the Local Church" series, here's a great post by Jason Helopoulos entitled, "20 Ways to be Refreshing in the Local Church." 

Here are a few samples from the 20: 

• Show up each Sunday morning with a mental list of three or four people that you are going to find and minister to (Philippians 2:4). Many of us walk into church with an attitude of, “I wonder who will minister to me today.” Nothing can be as drastically encouraging to a local church’s membership than a people united in the understanding that they are there to serve and love one another.

• Don’t rush out of church on Sunday mornings. Be one of the last to leave because you are taking the time to talk with everyone you can (this will be hard for the introvert—but some of the most engaging and refreshing people I have served with are introverts. They wear themselves out on Sunday morning). The football games and lunch will be there fifteen or thirty minutes later. Often remind others of the benefits of salvation and the graces that flow from union with Christ. Let it season your conversations.

• Aim to remember peoples’ names and greet them by name each Sunday (I wish I was better at this, because it means so much to people). The Cheers’ theme song had a point, we all feel loved when our name is known (Isaiah 49:16).

• Get to know the children of the congregation and seek to talk to five different children each Sunday morning (Matthew 19:14).

• Write thank you notes to volunteers in the church.

Imagine the impact of just these 5 being pervasively implemented, let alone the whole set of 20! 

Conviction

I had a few people ask me for this Ray Ortlund, Jr. quote I shared this past Sunday. It's found on pages 25-26 of his commentary on Isaiah (which, by the way, I HIGHLY recommend):

What is conviction of sin? It is not an oppressive spirit of uncertainty or paralyzing guilt feelings. Conviction of sin is the lance of the divine Surgeon piercing the infected soul, releasing the pressure, letting the infection pour out. Conviction of sin is a health-giving injury. Conviction of sin is the Holy Spirit being kind to us by confronting us with the light we don’t want to see and the truth we’re afraid to admit and the guilt we prefer to ignore. Conviction of sin is the severe love of God overruling our compulsive dishonesty, our willful blindness, our favorite excuses. Conviction of sin is the violent sweetness of God opposing the sins lying comfortably undisturbed in our lives. Conviction of sin is the merciful God declaring war on the false peace we settle for. Conviction of sin is our escape from malaise to joy, from attending church to worship, from faking it to authenticity. Conviction of sin, with the forgiveness of Jesus pouring over our wounds, is life.

Left Behind?

I haven't read the Left Behind books or seen the movie, but in case you have or plan to, I'd encourage you to read this brief post entitled, "Will Christians Be Secretly Raptured?" by Jeramie Rinne.

So, what do we believe the Bible teaches about the return of Christ? From our doctrinal statement:

We believe in the blessed hope (Titus 2:13) that at the end of the age Jesus Christ will return to this earth personally (Acts 1:9-11), visibly (Mark 14:61-62), physically (Luke 24:39-43), and suddenly (1Thess 5:2-3), in power and great glory (Luke 21:27); and that he will gather his elect (Matt 24:31), raise the dead (1Thess 4:15-17), judge the nations, and consummate his kingdom. 

We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust—the unjust to everlasting conscious misery in hell (Matt 25:41, 46) and the just to eternal blessedness in the presence of him who sits on the throne and of the Lamb, in the new heaven and new earth, the home of righteousness (2Pet 3:13). 

We believe that the end of all things in this age will be the beginning of the never-ending, ever-increasing happiness of the redeemed, as God shows the infinite riches of his glorious grace for the everlasting enjoyment of his people. God will be all in all and his people will be enthralled by the unmediated sight of his ineffable beauty. We therefore eagerly await (Heb 9:28) our Savior’s return (Php 3:20-21), longing for his appearing (2Tim 4:8), living as pilgrims (1Pet 2:11) in this vapor-like life (James 4:13-15) on earth, desiring our better homeland (Heb 11:13-16), where we will see our Savior face to face and be forever with our Lord (1Thess 4:13-17).

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Pray For Iraq

From Frontiers USA:

If you are interested in learning more or donating, Frontiers is a reputable missions agency doing great work among Muslim people groups. 

Do You Know Who You Are?

If you are a Christian, do you know who you are? Do you really believe it? I think we often act more like street child survivors and cosmic orphans than beloved children and heirs of God.

In J.I. Packer's classic book, Knowing God, he offers some great advice on how to practice believing our identity as God's children. It's found at the conclusion of his chapter entitled, "Sons of God." This just might be one to print off and keep in your Bible for awhile, so you can preach the truth to yourself and prayerfully ponder these questions until you believe in sonship deep down in your bones.

Here it is (italics original):

Do I, as a Christian, understand myself? Do I know my own real identity? My own real destiny? I am a child of God. God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Savior is my brother; every Christian is my brother too. 

Say it over and over to yourself first thing in the morning, last thing at night, as you wait for the bus, any time when your mind is free, and ask that you may be enabled to live as one who knows it is all utterly and completely true. For this is the Christian’s secret of –a happy life?—yes, certainly, but we have something both higher and profounder to say. This is the Christian’s secret of a Christian life, and of a God-honoring life, and these are the aspects of the situation that really matter. May this secret become fully yours, and fully mine. 

To help us realize more adequately who and what, as children of God, we are and are called to be, here are some questions by which we do well to examine ourselves again and again. 

• Do I understand my adoption? Do I value it? Do I daily remind myself of my privilege as a child of God? 
• Have I sought full assurance of my adoption? Do I daily dwell on the love of God to me?
• Do I treat God as my Father in heaven, loving, honoring and obeying him, seeking and welcoming his fellowship, and trying in everything to please him, as a human parent would want his child to do? 
• Do I think of Jesus Christ, my Savior and my Lord, as my brother too, bearing to me not only a divine authority but also a divine-human sympathy? Do I think daily how close he is to me, how completely he understands me, and how much, as my kinsman-redeemer, he cares for me? 
• Have I learned to hate the things that displease my Father? Am I sensitive to the evil things to which he is sensitive? Do I make a point of avoiding them, lest I grieve him? 
• Do I look forward daily to that great family occasion when the children of God will finally gather in heaven before the throne of God, their Father, and of the Lamb, their brother and their Lord? Have I felt the thrill of this hope? 
• Do I love my Christian brothers and sisters with whom I live day by day, in a way that I shall not be ashamed of when in heaven I think back over it? 
• Am I proud of my Father, and of his family, to which by his grace I belong? 
• Does the family likeness appear in me? If not, why not?

1 John 3:1-3 (emphasis added):

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.