Week 4 : Impurity : A vice to avoid

Read: Revelation 21:9-27

There was, is, and never will be, any impurity in Jesus. Not in the distant past, not now, not ever. From the dawn of creation to the last days. You can be sure about this because the Bible states that one day, at the end of time, both he and God the Father will be stations of worship in a perfect city. This Holy City will be the purest place ever made. "Nothing impure will ever enter it."

This means that if you plan to spend eternity with Jesus, which is the hope of all Christians, then you need to be as pure as you can be right now, today. After all, if you're impure when you die, you'll not be able to enter the Holy City. Therefore, you need to make every effort to be pure, at this very time. Don't delay. You never know when death will claim your soul, when you'll be taken up to heaven to be with the Lord.

So, how can you be pure? Well, it's not as hard has you might think. Paul the Apostle succinctly said what needs to be done. He wrote, "God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." How simple is that? Holiness overcomes impurity. How can you be holy? That's easy - to be holy is to be like Jesus because he is holy. In other word, the key is being Him, which this blog will help you to do.

Mind you, as long as you remain in this world, you'll never be 100% pure. Sin will always tarnish you, even if you are the best Christian, the most blessed, in the world. For complete perfection isn't possible here. None other than Paul the Apostle knew this was so. He said your imperfection means you might only be able to change a little bit during your present life, but you will become totally perfect in Heaven.

With the help of God, the ancient Jews came up with a solution to this problem of impurity. The Law included prohibitions that helped the people to be pure. Some medical conditions and bodily emissions were said to cause impurity. Also a woman became impure if she had sex with a man who wasn't her husband. And you were unable to eat three-day-old meat, which is sensible given the lack of refrigeration.

Things changed after Jesus came to Earth. In the New Testament, Peter was horrified by the thought of being exposed to impurity, but God told him that which had been unclean in the past had been purified. Peter came to realise this meant he need to minister to those who weren't Jews. Hence, the Church was opened to Gentiles, such as you and I. As a result, all of us know impurity needs to be done away with.

Prayer: Jesus. Please help me to overcome impurity so I can be as pure as you are, if not in this life then in the one to come. Amen.