Power For Purity

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.” Ephesians 5:1-4 (NLT).

Purity is powered by love. The Greek word for love in verse two is agape. Agape love is love that originates from God and is not self-serving, but serves others without any expectations. Jesus is our perfect example of love because He is 100% God in born as a human. God defines Himself as love and Jesus exemplifies that love by coming to Earth and serving us, saving us without any expectations of repayment.

Why would agape love be the foundation for purity and rejecting sexual immorality and greed? By definition, pornography, sexual outside of marriage, gay relationships and sexual fantasy are all selfish. Lust is the driving force behind sexual immorality and greed, resulting in an insatiable appetite for satisfying your cravings. On the other hand, agape love is interested in blessing others. Just like Christ blessed us with all spiritual blessings, a believer wants to bless others and do what is in the interest of others. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 4:2 (ESV). Agape love considers what is in the best interest for other people. In the area of sexual purity, agape love realizes that adulterous sex hurts the spouse and fornication or pornography hurts those who are being objectified. There is no victimless crime with pornography because even a future spouse can be impacted by the pornographic fallout.

“Imitate God in everything that you do because you are His dear child.” Notice that this statement is made from a context of grace. Your identity is established. You are God’s beloved and accepted child. You no longer have to chase acceptance and love from impurity. You already have ultimate acceptance and love as a sure reality in your life. So, imitate God and make decisions from that identity of being agape loved, so you can agape love others.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:9-14 (ESV). As a son or daughter of God, you have the freedom to choose to use your body as an instrument for doing the right thing in each situation. You have been born into God’s family through an act of Jesus’s selfless love on the cross. The old selfish you is dead and buried and the new, selfless you is resurrected and alive. Take control of your will and make it serve righteousness.

In war, the “dead man’s switch” is when a leader dies and the factions that served under him continue to execute his will. He’s gone, but his will continues to be done by the remaining commanders. Don’t let this be the case in your soul. The dead man is gone, so take control of the remaining forces. Your body doesn’t have to serve the old rebel any longer. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” You have to grab the dead man’s switch and turn it off! That means using your will to starve the dead man’s remaining flesh and to activate the alive man’s army of righteousness.

Prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, Please show me how much you love and accept me. Let me feel your acceptance in my soul and let me understand your love for me. You have already given me the power to be pure and released me from the bondage to sin. Help me to imitate you and make selfless choices. In Jesus’s name, amen.”