What is purity?
According to "Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary" purity is defined as "the quality or state of being pure" and when a substance is referred to as pure, it can also be known as, " spotless, unmixed with any other matter, characterized by no appreciable alteration, marked by chastity, and containing nothing that does not properly belong." Some synonyms of pure are: innocent, guiltless, unblemished, chaste, clean, uncorrupted, unmixed, and genuine. We here people use the term pure gold when speaking of the value of this precious metal.
Even though the value of gold has risen over time, the value of spiritual purity has lowered in our world over time. People continually discover new ways to compromise their spiritual purity and find ways to attempt to justify it to themselves and others.
There are approximately a half a million hits on a Google search for the word and 3 quarters of a million hits on purity test. If you take many of these tests you will in most instances be less pure than when you started because many of the questions are defiling and degrading.
What is fidelity?
Normal desires plus sacrifice = fidelity and fidelity results in purity in a loving relationship between a man and his wife and this relationship is orchestrated by God.
What is infidelity
Abnormal Normal desires plus selfishness = infidelity and results in impurity and a sinful relationship between two people or one person and a virtual image of another person or persons and this relationship is orchestrated by Satan.
Purity and Infidelity
What does the Bible, specifically the book of Proverbs have to say about these two and how does that relate to us today?
In Proverbs 15:26, Solomon mentions the fact that God hates the thoughts of the wicked people, but the thoughts of the pure please him. The thoughts of the pure are thoughts that are by definition as stated earlier “unmixed with any other matter, characterized by no appreciable alteration, marked by chastity, and containing nothing that does not properly belong.”
Pr.23:26-28:
My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways, for a prostituteis a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Like a bandit the prostitute lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Pornography
Prostitution used to be legal and still is in many countries of this world. However in those countries like ours where it has been declared illegal it still thrives not only in the flesh but it is even more prevalent on the internet. This internet prostitution is what I call the cyberspace adulterous relationship. The end user (i.e., the person lusting over the audio and video material being displayed out there in cyberspace) is an adulterer in mind and heart.
Jesus was aware of what goes on in the minds and hearts of men and He spoke out boldly against this type of lustful behavior in Matthew 5:27-29
Matthew 5:27-29
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
In order to emphasize the seriousness of this crime Jesus went on to say in John 5:29
If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
Note that this Biblical principle of committing adultery by lustful thinking would apply both to men and women who look lustfully at another person regardless if that person wasactually present in front of them or if it was merely a virtual image of another person that they viewed on the internet.
When God created Adam and later Eve they lived together as man and wife and were naked and unashamed. They were in essence totally pure. The concept of shame over nakedness came later after they had sinned. They were not ashamed before sin and after God clothed them they were not ashamed of their nakedness in the presence of each other due to the fact that they were man and wife. However they still clothed themselves in the presence of God and their children as we continue to do today.
Lustful thinking as Jesus described it as looking on someone’s nakedness that is not your spouse. This he describes as committed lewd and sinful acts of adultery either physically or mentally outside the purity of the marriage covenant that God had established from the very beginning. So viewing other peoples nakedness is a sinful act of adultery. This sinful behavior is becoming more and more commonplace since the advent of the internet because it can be done in secret where others do not see you. However, God sees all that is done. There is nothing hidden from His eyes. The consequences of these acts of adultery are devastating both to the husband and wife relationship and to innocent victims that are attacked and sometimes killed due to this depravity.
Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny(def. having a hatred or distrust of women), pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction, according to clinicians and researchers testifying before a Senate committee Thursday.
Witnesses before the Senate Commerce Committee's Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee spared no superlative in their description of the negative effects of pornography.
Mary Anne Layden, co-director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Cognitive Therapy, called porn the "most concerning thing to psychological health that I know of existing today."
"The internet is a perfect drug delivery system because you are anonymous, aroused and have role models (out there to model these behaviors for you) for these behaviors," Layden said. "To have drug pumped into your house 24/7, free."
Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny(def. having a hatred or distrust of women), pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction, according to clinicians and researchers testifying before a Senate committee Thursday.
Witnesses before the Senate Commerce Committee's Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee spared no superlative in their description of the negative effects of pornography.
Mary Anne Layden, co-director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Cognitive Therapy, called porn the "most concerning thing to psychological health that I know of existing today."
"The internet is a perfect drug delivery system because you are anonymous, aroused and have role models (out there to model these behaviors for you) for these behaviors," Layden said. "To have drug pumped into your house 24/7, free."
Pornography addicts have a more difficult time recovering from their addiction than cocaine addicts, since coke users can get the drug out of their system, but pornographic images stay in the brain.
Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cures.”
Knowing the addictive and sinful nature of this material it is only wise to avoid it altogether.
Referring to the benefits of wisdom in this area found in the Book of Proverbs, Proverbs 2:6-7 and 2:16-18 gives good insight.
Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cures.”
Knowing the addictive and sinful nature of this material it is only wise to avoid it altogether.
Referring to the benefits of wisdom in this area found in the Book of Proverbs, Proverbs 2:6-7 and 2:16-18 gives good insight.
For the LORD gives wisdom;from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
In Proverbs 2:16-18 referring to this wisdom given by the Lord the WORD of God says
It will save you also from the adulteress,from the wayward wife with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.
Whenever you hear or see the terms adult content, for adult viewing only, adult bookstore, adult website, adult movies the vast majority of the time you can substitute the word adultery in for the word adult and that would be a more accurate description of what these things are all about. Remember Jesus principle it would be better to pluck out the things that cause you to sin and throw it away or avoid them altogether, than for you to be thrown in hell.
In Proverbs 2:16-18 referring to this wisdom given by the Lord the WORD of God says
It will save you also from the adulteress,from the wayward wife with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.
Whenever you hear or see the terms adult content, for adult viewing only, adult bookstore, adult website, adult movies the vast majority of the time you can substitute the word adultery in for the word adult and that would be a more accurate description of what these things are all about. Remember Jesus principle it would be better to pluck out the things that cause you to sin and throw it away or avoid them altogether, than for you to be thrown in hell.
For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
Proverbs5:1-23
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not. Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel, lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man's house. At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly." Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets,your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone,never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer--may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife? For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him;the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
Proverbs6:20-32:
My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life, keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife. Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished. Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay seven fold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house. But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
How many of you have seen the movie the Lion King that came out in 1994? In the movie when Simba is older his father (the Lion King) Mufasa begins teaching how to be a leader. He takes him to the top of Pride Rock to show Simba the kingdom. Simba takes interest in a dark, shadowy area beyond the northern border of the Pridelands but Mufasa explains that Simba must never go there because it is too dangerous there. After descending into the Pridelands, Mufasa has to leave to chase away some hyenas, so Zazu leads Simba home and Simba goes to visit his uncle Scar. Scar tells Simba that the forbidden area is an Elephant Graveyard and that only the bravest lions go there.
Today’s dark shadowy area is out there on the internet beyond the normal border where most legitimate traffic is taking place. Satan like Simba’s uncle Scar tries to lure the unsuspecting out to this area to defile them and then enslave them.
Remember the questions from Proverbs 5:27-28
Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?
Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?
The obvious answer to those questions is no. In the same way a man or woman or a teenage boy or girl cannot go there and view these images without being negatively impacted by them.
Proverbs 7:24-27:
Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.
I want you to know that I am not merely speaking from what I have heard or read or seen on TV. I personally have talked to a number of Christian men and women who have had their lives and their marriages and their families wrecked by this addiction. I know a number of men who have lost their jobs because of this addiction and I know a couple of men who are now dead as a result of this addiction. One of these two men I believe beyond a shadow of doubt was truly a Born Again Christian. So I won’t sugar coat this issue. It is serious and it has serious consequences on both men and women married and single and it has already had an even more serious and devastating effect on the hundreds of thousands of children who have beenand in some cases still are victims of these depraved individuals.
What would you think of man that had witnessed men and women and children being blown up and either killed or permanently crippled by walking through a mine field and the very next day he saw more men, women and children playing kickball right on the edge of the same mine field but he said nothing? What would your opinion of that man be?
Remember in the movie the Lion King Simba’s father Mufasa told him to never go there because he understood the danger. In the same way I also have good reason for saying never go there and I mean never ever go there no matter what!
But what if you have been there and are already caught up and enslaved in this vicious death spiral? Is there any escape? Is there any hope?
Yes!!!Yes!!!! Absolutely yes!!!
Romans 7:1-25
Do you not know, brethren—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only during his life? Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit. What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; the very commandment which promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and by it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Paul goes on to tell us about the deliverance to be found in Christ in chapter 8:
Romans 8:35-38
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So Christ is the answer. He alone can change our abnormal desires and take away our heart of stone give us a pure heart. Jesus said in John 8:31-32
Proverbs 7:24-27:
Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.
I want you to know that I am not merely speaking from what I have heard or read or seen on TV. I personally have talked to a number of Christian men and women who have had their lives and their marriages and their families wrecked by this addiction. I know a number of men who have lost their jobs because of this addiction and I know a couple of men who are now dead as a result of this addiction. One of these two men I believe beyond a shadow of doubt was truly a Born Again Christian. So I won’t sugar coat this issue. It is serious and it has serious consequences on both men and women married and single and it has already had an even more serious and devastating effect on the hundreds of thousands of children who have beenand in some cases still are victims of these depraved individuals.
What would you think of man that had witnessed men and women and children being blown up and either killed or permanently crippled by walking through a mine field and the very next day he saw more men, women and children playing kickball right on the edge of the same mine field but he said nothing? What would your opinion of that man be?
Remember in the movie the Lion King Simba’s father Mufasa told him to never go there because he understood the danger. In the same way I also have good reason for saying never go there and I mean never ever go there no matter what!
But what if you have been there and are already caught up and enslaved in this vicious death spiral? Is there any escape? Is there any hope?
Yes!!!Yes!!!! Absolutely yes!!!
Romans 7:1-25
Do you not know, brethren—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only during his life? Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit. What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; the very commandment which promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and by it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Paul goes on to tell us about the deliverance to be found in Christ in chapter 8:
Romans 8:35-38
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So Christ is the answer. He alone can change our abnormal desires and take away our heart of stone give us a pure heart. Jesus said in John 8:31-32
Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
So if you know someone that has found themselves ensnared by adultery, either real or virtual on the internet, there is hope for them to be cleansed by Christ and His Word. They can then truly live a life of freedom and moral purity.
Paul counsels the husbands of the Ephesians church in Ephesians 5:25-27.
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
Proverbs 24:5-6
A wise man is mightier than a strong man, and a man of knowledge than he who has strength; for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
As for action steps for someone who has been caught by the sin of adultery, ask them to come talk to Carl or John or myself. We can help them apply the biblical promises and principles to combat this issue. If they are married they need to bring their spouse with them so that their spouse can help with the recovery plan.
To summarize Purity vs. Infidelity:
•Purity is defined as "the quality or state of being pure" and when a substance is referred to as pure, it can also be known as, " spotless, unmixed with any other matter, characterized by no appreciable alteration, marked by chastity, and containing nothing that does not properly belong."
•If you pay attention to wisdom found in proverbs and apply it directly to your life you will be able to keep your heart pure and avoid all sorts of evil.
•Abnormal Normal desires plus selfishness = infidelity and results in impurity and a sinful relationship between two people or one person and a virtual image of another person or persons and this relationship is orchestrated by Satan.
•Jesus tells us that if we look on another person with lust we have committed adultery in our heart.
•Adult movies, Adult Bookstores, Adult Viewing Adult Websites can in most cases be more accurately translated “For Adulterers Only”.
•Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
•Just as Christ is able to wash the church as a whole with water and His Word, He is also able to cleanse us individually by washing us with water and His Word and He is able to make us splendorous without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that we might be holy and without blemish.
•A wise man is mightier than a strong man, (therefore, use the wisdom found in His Word)
•and a man of knowledge than he who has strength; (Therefore, be wise and avoid evil before you need strength in order to break free from it)
•for by wise guidance you can wage your war (Therefore don’t try waging war alone get help)
•and in abundance of counselors there is victory (Therefore Carl, John and I are all available to help if you know someone who needs help let one of us know).
So if you know someone that has found themselves ensnared by adultery, either real or virtual on the internet, there is hope for them to be cleansed by Christ and His Word. They can then truly live a life of freedom and moral purity.
Paul counsels the husbands of the Ephesians church in Ephesians 5:25-27.
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
Proverbs 24:5-6
A wise man is mightier than a strong man, and a man of knowledge than he who has strength; for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
As for action steps for someone who has been caught by the sin of adultery, ask them to come talk to Carl or John or myself. We can help them apply the biblical promises and principles to combat this issue. If they are married they need to bring their spouse with them so that their spouse can help with the recovery plan.
To summarize Purity vs. Infidelity:
•Purity is defined as "the quality or state of being pure" and when a substance is referred to as pure, it can also be known as, " spotless, unmixed with any other matter, characterized by no appreciable alteration, marked by chastity, and containing nothing that does not properly belong."
•If you pay attention to wisdom found in proverbs and apply it directly to your life you will be able to keep your heart pure and avoid all sorts of evil.
•Abnormal Normal desires plus selfishness = infidelity and results in impurity and a sinful relationship between two people or one person and a virtual image of another person or persons and this relationship is orchestrated by Satan.
•Jesus tells us that if we look on another person with lust we have committed adultery in our heart.
•Adult movies, Adult Bookstores, Adult Viewing Adult Websites can in most cases be more accurately translated “For Adulterers Only”.
•Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
•Just as Christ is able to wash the church as a whole with water and His Word, He is also able to cleanse us individually by washing us with water and His Word and He is able to make us splendorous without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that we might be holy and without blemish.
•A wise man is mightier than a strong man, (therefore, use the wisdom found in His Word)
•and a man of knowledge than he who has strength; (Therefore, be wise and avoid evil before you need strength in order to break free from it)
•for by wise guidance you can wage your war (Therefore don’t try waging war alone get help)
•and in abundance of counselors there is victory (Therefore Carl, John and I are all available to help if you know someone who needs help let one of us know).
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