Clean as a Whistle
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: ~1 Thessalonians 4:3
We live in a generation that looks down on clean and holy living. Words like "abstinence," "holiness," "virginity," and "purity" conjure up thoughts going back to the Puritan days hundreds of years ago. Statistically, a small percentage of unmarried, single people can testify that they have kept themselves from moral impurity. This morning, we want to see what it means to live a life that is clean as a whistle.
There is God’s mind on purity.
Paul said, “For this is the will of God....” The will of God is God’s best for us. It is His predetermined desire for our life. God’s will is the best and perfect outcome for our life. We please God by doing His will. To do anything outside of God’s will places us in jeopardy of losing His blessing on our life and makes God unhappy. God’s will is that we pursue holiness. God’s will is that we carefully guard our purity.
There are God’s methods for purity.
First, we should restrain our desires. We restrain our desires by having a proper thought life. Our thought life is affected by what we read, see, and hear. It is also affected by the kind of people whom we associate with. We must be careful to have good thoughts about people, especially those of the opposite sex. Second, we should run from lustful desires. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:18 that we are to flee fornication. Paul told Timothy, “Flee also youthful lusts....” When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife to commit an immoral affair, he ran away from her.
There is God’s management through purity.
Moral purity results in a holy life. Moral purity keeps our marriages together. Moral purity is a preventive safeguard from unwanted diseases. Moral purity is a requirement for serving God. Moral purity is the means by which we maintain proper relationships with members of the opposite sex. Moral purity requires that we establish safeguards against seductive temptations. Moral purity requires us to never let up on our walk with God and to have a prayer life that is intense.
A clean life is a high priority of the Christian life. It is the will of God that we abstain from fornication. Marriages need to be prayed over, and couples need to be sure to render due benevolence to one another. Unmarried singles should value their purity and preserve themselves for the mate whom God has for them. Everyone should decide that they will walk within their house with a pure heart and not set any wicked thing before their eyes. Every man should say like Job, “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?”
Be clean! Stay clean! Think clean! “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification....” Be clean as a whistle!
Have a sanctified God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Jeremiah 26-29