Call to Purity

Call to purity

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”
         Ephesians 5:3,4

The above verses are a challenge to Christians. It’s a call to purity. We as Christians are called to live a life that is different from the world. And Paul is very specific in what he is saying we are called to not even have a hint of sexual immorality or any kind of sin.
I was once told by a pastor, that those around us must see we are Christians without us as much as saying a word.
Our lives must reflect Christ.
This dose not mean we should have a “holier-than-thou” attitude. We should not called to shout out “LOOK AT HOW RIGHTEOUS I AM!” that was what Jesus said was wrong with the hypocrites when he said,
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”
We must remember the words of Isaiah when wrote,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away”
                                                                                                     Isaiah 64:5
Isaiah’s words must humble us. They should make us take stock of our life and remember that we cannot be good enough to stand before a Holy God.
We must remember that it only through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus that we can come before God without fear.
We must remember that as Christians we are not perfect just progressing and that as we become aware of our sin we need to confess that sin, remembering the words of John when he writes,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
We must also remember the words that follow 1 John 1:9 that read,
“If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
      My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.   He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
            1 John 1:10- 2:2
These are words for all Christians. They should keep us humble and set a goal for our lives to as Jesus said,