Shalom,
Please begin by reading Phil 1:3-11.
That you "may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ" is something we should be striving to attain to, something we should be putting a lot of effort into. It also means untainted, with sincere hearts that are clean of the world's filth. We can attain to this lofty place by remaining right with Jesus through submission and confession. Yes, it takes hard work to maintain a position of integrity and faithfulness. Yes, our flesh won't appreciate being deprived of earthly indulgences. But if we love Jesus we'll obey him and put forth a good effort.
The word pure literally means "judged by the sunlight for purity." We should be transparent before our Lord and others. All our motives should be clear. Our pure motives should inspire us to spread the Gospel, duplicating ourselves in Christ and producing spiritual fruit. There should be no effort or attempt to hide what we're doing from the world or from our fellow Christians. If we don't want our fellow believers to know our motives, isn't that a good sign that we're off track We may be able to hide our impure motives from our fellow Christians, but there's no way to hide them from our Lord and Master.
To attain to this level of purity isn't impossible, but it does take some hard work and some determined effort on our part. If we can strive to meet these lofty goals we can accomplish lots of Kingdom work for our Lord and the spreading of his Kingdom. Isn't the great love of Jesus worth this level of intensity in serving his will and purpose? Doesn't our Lord deserve a whole-hearted effort from us? What's good about giving him less than our best?
1. Purity of Life. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah give us a great example of striving for this while living in the midst of pagans. Dan 1:8 says, "Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." As we know from the rest of the story, these young men made a stand for their God and refused to compromise. They were all threatened with death eventually because of their upright lives, but each faced it without fear because of their faith and trust in Yahweh.
Paul asked in 2 Cor 6:14, "What fellowship can light have with darkness?" There's no place for compromise with the world if we're to remain sincere to our heavenly Father. To be pure before our Lord is difficult, but totally possible and achievable. When we make the decision to follow our Lord whole-heartedly, he gives us supernatural strength and wisdom and insight to help us maintain a pure life. Instead of allowing ourselves to give in to our fleshly urges by aiming low, we need to strengthen our resolve by aiming high.
In fact, Ezek 36:23 offers us some powerful hope. "The nations will know that I am the Sovereign Lord when I show myself holy through you before their eyes." Yahweh knows our hearts, and yet he says he will show himself holy through us. The world can see Jesus in us when we're obedient and faithful to his guidance and call. Don't allow yourself to dwell in the "poor sinner saved by grace" mode. Be an over comer, a warrior, a powerful vessel in the hands of your Almighty God. To be a part of the great hope we have to work at living a pure life.
2. Humility. 1 Pet 5:5 says, "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." We have many admonitions to humility throughout the Bible, especially the resistance of pride. We're even told that pride will only lead to a fall. Pride is to be avoided because it makes us unteachable, unwilling to listen to good counsel, and ignorant of the wisdom of others. Humility should lead us to seeking help from our brothers and sisters when we need it. It should also keep us from striving for worldly position or influence. If Yahweh places us in a leadership position we'll serve, but as a servant and not a prideful grasper.
If we'll do as Yahweh's Word tells us and lift our brothers and sisters above ourselves, we can then display true love. It's only with this agape love that we can really be sincere in our humility. To serve others for gain will only bring us loss. To serve for others to gain will bring us blessing. Never take Yahweh's glory for yourself, because that makes you lose the source of all power. Be like Daniel, he confessed that all he was able to do was through his Lord alone. He took no credit for himself.
3. A Life of Faith. Heb 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Earnestly is the key word here. Again we're talking about a sincere desire on our part to find the Living God. Notice it doesn't say we must do great things to be rewarded. We must believe in him and diligently seek him. If we really believe he can bless and touch us, we'll spend lots of time trying to get into his presence. If we really desire to experience his eternal blessings, we'll be extremely earnest in approaching him.
Every word that comes out of our mouth and every thought we have is known to our Sovereign Lord God Almighty. If we have faith in him, no matter how small, he says we can accomplish great things. The accomplishments aren't what's important though. The service rendered and the faith expressed in that service are what will determine our heavenly rewards. And if we have true faith, we'll be much more conscience of pleasing our Lord than the benefits we gain from that service.
2 Chron 16:9 says, "The eyes of Yahweh range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." Those whose hearts are fully committed to him, not those whose actions are perfect or works are wonderful. Yes, our heavenly Father wants us to do excellent work. But our best work is done through full surrender to his will and purpose, denying ourselves and lifting up the name of our Lord Jesus. The life of faith comes from listening to the Holy Spirit within us and obediently following his direction. Our faith is shown by the actions we take after hearing our Lord's instructions.
But be careful! Don't forget that actions can be done with a wrong heart. Don't get caught up in the "super" Christian trap of doing your will in God's name. You may ask what the difference is between the two. It's simple, Kingdom building always produces godly results. Trying to get Yahweh to bless my agenda will have me selfishly pursuing something that will help me gain influence or position.
4. An Absolutely Sensitive Spirit. If our hearts are right with our Lord and we have a good prayer life, we won't need signs over the heads of the people we encounter to discern their problems and be able to offer real help. The more time we spend seeking the presence of the Father, Son, and Spirit the more time we'll be spending in his presence. The more time we spend in his presence, the more we get to know his plan and purpose for everything - and the more sensitive we become to the indwelling Holy Spirit. That sensitivity will help us minister to others through our prayers and efforts on their behalf.
Many times in the Gospels it's pointed out that Jesus had compassion on the people and healed them all. He ministered to them at the point of their need. He didn't ask them for money to support his ministry. He didn't tell them he couldn't help them because they didn't belong to his church. He didn't turn them away because he was too busy or tired. He took care of them no matter what. Their spiritual condition didn't matter. Their nationality didn't matter. They didn't even have to fully believe in him. Remember the man in Mark 9:24 who said, "help my unbelief."
Jesus had compassion. We must also develop compassion in our lives. If we're to be sensitive to those around us, it's a requirement. We must develop a genuine concern for our fellows Christians first, without forgetting the needs of the lost. We can't expect all followers of Jesus to be strong. We certainly can't expect them all to be like us, nor should we want them to be like us. We must be sensitive to the limitations of others. We must develop our spiritual abilities to the uttermost, trusting in the Holy Spirit to work in and through us. And as they develop, we must use our spiritual abilities to bless others.
The weaker Christian can only become stronger as the more mature properly mentor them. We're all destined to be leaders of some sort. If one person is looking up to you for guidance or as an example to pattern themselves after, you're a leader. But always remember Paul's advice in 1 Cor 11:1. "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." We should be a good example of holy and faithful living, but only as we genuinely serve our Lord Jesus.
1 Thes 5:14 gives leadership instructions. "We urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone." Those who don't step up to actively serve Jesus need a warning about their inactivity. Those who are shy need encouragement to use their gifts. Those who are genuinely weak need our strength and love to help them overcome their weakness. We can't let other people's sin bother us, but we can speak directly to the sin that's obvious in the lives of other Christians.
Be pure in your actions, thoughts, and words. Show genuine Christianity to the world around you. Never forget: "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion." Be a good vessel used by the hand of your Lord by doing your part.
Blessings & Peace, Mike
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Blessings! I hope that this study has enlightened you or helped you in some way. Please feel free to leave a plain old comment, or a question. Comments are moderated to keep the peace