THE PRESCRIPTION FOR PURITY

Last week we began a series on Precious Purity. My hope is that your eyes were opened as you began meditating on the amazing value of your purity. This week I'd like to continue, but I want to get more specific.

• What does the Bible say about purity?
• When does a person lose their purity?
• Is their a difference between losing your purity and losing your virginity?
• What are the consequences of losing purity?
  

I could spend the next 15 minutes telling you what Phil Prettyman thinks, but the fact is, you could care less what Phil thinks. You are interested in what God thinks, and for good reason; I don't establish the standard and I'm not the one who has the power to promise blessings or curses on your future marriage. Let's look at the Bible's Prescription for Purity, and see what God considers purity. There are three primary areas of purity that we will discuss.

PHYSICAL PURITY

Let's talk about the most obvious one that we all automatically think of when we hear the word “purity.” I Thessalonians 4:4 says we are to keep the body God has given us pure. The way we do that is to abstain from “fornication.” Fornication is any kind of physical intimacy before marriage. You need to understand early on that God views physical intimacy before marriage as a sin. Any physical contact that is unique to marriage is off limits for the unmarried. Many young people argue that holding hands, kissing, and making out are completely fine for a dating couple.

What would you think if you saw your father at the store holding hands with someone other than your mother? Probably you would be rather irate. Why? Well, because holding hands is an intimate expression that belongs only to the one he married. If a husband was found “making out” with someone other than his wife, we would rightly call him an unfaithful man. The reason is simple: his affection and love belongs only to one woman, his wife. Using this same clear logic, why would it be right for you to hold hands or kiss someone that is not your wife? Some say, “Well, I think we may get married some day.” That kind of thinking is obviously presuming upon God. Besides, most teens who are involved in the dating scene have already experienced some physical intimacy with someone they are no longer dating. Clearly, that kind of thinking is nothing but an excuse to continue gratifying the sinful passions of the flesh.

Recently I asked a group of teens, “How many of you can picture your future dream husband/wife?” After everyone had a moment to envision their idea of a perfect mate, I said, “Now picture them kissing someone else. Does that bother you?” The facial expressions I saw in the next moment were priceless: disgust, anger, frustration, and concern showed on their faces. The idea that some other girl/guy was kissing their future mate drove them batty. Then I said, “Why doesn't it bother you that you are currently holding hands and kissing someone else's future spouse?” Again, their facial expressions were telling as they put the pieces together, “If I don't want my future mate to fool around, I had better not fool around!” It's strange, but most people marry someone who is as pure or impure as they are.

There is a great danger of cheapening all of the special things that belong in marriage. Galatians 6:7 makes it clear that to the degree you defile your purity before marriage, you will reap the consequences in marriage. I have noticed an unsettling trend in modern day marriages. Many new couples are skipping their honeymoon. Perhaps you are wondering why anyone would want to do that. The honeymoon is a special time when a newly married couple experiences new intimate contact with each other that they have never experienced before. So the logic is, “Why waste money going on a honeymoon when we have already experienced those things.” What a great danger! They have cheapened the intimacy in their marriage. A good friend of mine was recently married, and he took his wife on a wonderful Island Cruise honeymoon. They were eating dinner on the ship and were paired together with four other newly married couples. You can only imagine my Christian friend's surprise when the other four husbands began bragging about their promiscuity right in front of their wives. It didn't even seem like the new brides cared! Why?!!! Well, the problem is simple; they both lead impure lives before marriage, and physical intimacy didn't really mean much. When you get married, your physical relationship with your wife ought to be different than any other relationship you ever experience. Don't take all of the special newness out of holding hands, embracing and kissing. Save every intimate connection for your future spouse and you'll never regret it.

Well, I'm going to have to continue this at another time. Next week, I want to look at the appropriate lines to draw in your life to prevent yourself from losing your physical impurity. See you then.