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I. THE CALL FOR PERSONAL PURITY

A. THE CALL TO APPRECIATE THE PERSON OF CHRIST - 2 Timothy 2:19

1. In this passage in James, we are informed that those whose lives have been sanctified by the impact of the word (those who are doers of the Word and not hearers only), will possess compassion for the needy and a concern about their personal purity - "and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

2. To understand this expectation, we must understand what is meant by the world a. It is clearly not referring to the material world b. It is referring to world of unredeemed humanity as alienated from God and in rebellion to His will - cp. 1 John 2:15ff c. It is referring to that system of philosophy and perspective that knows allegiance to the "prince of the world" whom we served before we were saved - cp. Ephesians 2:1-3

3. In that we have been saved, we who are in Christ Jesus must willingly strive to depart from indulgence in that which is characteristic of the world but not consistent with Christ - cp. 2 Timothy 2:19

4. In order to know what is inconsistent with Christ, you must know Christ - this is the problem with most professing believers, they are not sensitive to Christ.

a. Instead of attempting to align with Christ with a full heart, many today are attempting to find out how little they can align with Christ if such alignment places them at odds with what is most popular with the world.

b. Instead of seeing how far we can get away from the system of the world, it has become the fad in Christianity to see how close we can come in order to "gain a hearing"

c. Today many believers are obsessed with finding areas where they can agree with the world - and the conse-quence is that instead of confronting the world with the contrast that exists in the new man from the world, they attempt to integrate with the world and minimize the contrast.

5. However, we are told that if we are devoted to the Lord, and allowing the Spirit of God to conform us to His image and likeness, we must put off the old man and put on the new.- cp. Ephesians 4:22-24

6. The moment we do this, the ability to integrate and attract the world ends - John 15:18-21

7. The only way compatibility is restored is through the preaching of the cross through word (spoken witness) and deed (a lifestyle change)

B. THE CALL TO ASPIRE TO PURITY - 1 Peter 1:14-16

1. This is the second half of the call - not just to appreciate Christ, but to aspire to imitate Him by being pure even as He is - to "keep oneself unstained"

2. The choice, as presented in Peter, is to either be conformed to our former lives, or to be conformed to Christ; a choice between being defiled or being sanctified

3. Since we have the hope of being conformed to the image of Christ, we must aspire to attain that hope as much as possible in this life - -cp. 1 John 3:2-3

4. Purity will never be maintained as long as we cling to that which is consistent with the enemies of God - they must be released and not returned to - cp. 1 Peter 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:20-22.

II. THE CAUSE FOR PERSONAL PURITY

A. THE TRANSFORMATION OF BEING BORN AGAIN

1. In past times, the thought was that physical separation was needful to escape the defilements of the world - hence monasticism was implemented whereby people sequestered themselves thinking they could thereby be pure.

2. The absurdity of this approach became apparent to the sincere - they still wrestled with the impurity that sprang from within

3. Another approach is to attempt to overcome the flesh through the performance of good deeds and thereby separate from sinful pursuits in order to gain righteousness

a. Such an approach is the essence of legalism - whereby a person believes they can do enough to compensate for their sin.

b. However, Scripture clearly teaches that "by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight" - Romans 3:20a

4. Thus, for the genuine believer, separation from the world to Christ springs from within and results from having been born again - Romans 12:1-2

5. When the heart of a sinner has been transformed, from it flows the fruit of righteousness as an outworking of God's power - cp. Matthew 7:16-20.

6. The heart of the believer is summarized by the instruction of Paul to "abhor what is evil; cling to what is good." - Romans 12:9.

B. THE TESTIMONY OF BEING BORN AGAIN

1. In addition to having been made a new creature through being in Christ Jesus, we also are concerned about the testimony that we portray to others - 1 Peter 2:9-12

2. The only way that we have the ability to proclaim the excellenc-ies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light is to abstain from the fleshly lusts and keep our behavior excellent.

3. This is done only when we are personally separating ourselves from worldliness - shining as lights in the midst of the perversion - cp. Philippians 2:15-16a.

4. It is through the indulgences of believers that many unbelievers deny the reality of the Gospel of Christ - knowing this, once again we must deny ourselves for the sake of the Gospel - cp. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3.

5. To a large degree, the church of Jesus Christ in the United States is knowing diminished impact in reaching the lost for Christ because we are not confronting the world with a contrast that will either draw the searching and offend the hostile.

6. Instead, through diminishing the importance of personal separation from worldliness, we are indulging in their music, entertainment, priorities, attitudes, their philosophies and the like - exercising no discernment or discretion..

III. THE COMPROMISE OF PERSONAL PURITY

A. The Camaraderie with the World - James 4:4

1. We have been called to a glorious post - that of declaring the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

2. We've already seen how that when a believer attempts to lie close to the world, that defilement necessarily results.

3. Often believers, who are already promised that the world will hate them, become preoccupied with image and influence, thinking that to win the world to Christ we must first win the world's favor.

4. In an effort to woe the world, we commit adultery spiritually for we are trying to synthesize that which is irreconcilable - God and the world.

B. The Carelessness of Being Oblivious to Defilement - Matthew 26:41

1. When the believer stops concerning himself with the issue of sin and temptation, and concludes that all is well, the sensitivity wanes to the point where sin can exist undetected.

2. Jesus admonishes us to "keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation." - providing us with the state of alert that we must maintain.

3. In other places we are challenged to be sober and vigilant - because of the eagerness of Satan to induce us to sin - 1 Peter 5:8

C. The Criticism of Strong Convictions - Romans 14:13

1. A common characteristic among people today is the thought that everything is really a matter of opinion - that your opinion is as good as the next person's regarding truth and righteousness.

2. Essentially, the modern approach to the issue of absolutes is that there is only one absolute: there are no absolutes!

3. Hence, it is very difficult to find people who are willing to take a stand on any issue - because everyone's opinion about what is right is as good as the next.

4. The culture around us has declared war on all standards, and the church is unwittingly following suit. It has become quite popular among Christians to assert that almost nothing is really black and white - we are capitulating to the relativism of an existential culture.

D. The Celebration of Individualism - 1 Timothy 4:12

1. The previous concern for the welfare of others has been replaced with a primary concern for personal comfort - ego-centrism has replaced an others-oriented ethic.

2. An additional responsibility of the believer is to be "an example of those who believe" - and to concern oneself with what image is portrayed through one's behavior.

3. The assumption the assumption is made that I exist for me; or, that pleasure and self-actualization is the highest good, I will not concern myself whatsoever with how my behavior impacts those around me - cp. Philippians 2:3-4

E. The Challenge of Biblical Principle - 2 Timothy 2:15

1. There are plenty of Christians that justify their worldly behavior on the basis that the Bible never directly addresses an issue.

2. For these people, if they Bible doesn't directly spell it out, they will not process biblical principle through far enough to gain and understanding of the heart of God on a matter.

3. Often one's approach to the Bible must be that they will "be diligent" so that they might "accurately handling the word of truth" - implying that there are times when things aren't just "black and white" and the heart of God must be pursued in the pages of the Word.

4. Often people ask the question such as "what's wrong with it?" An equally important question to be asked is "what's right about it?"

F. The Comparison with Others instead of Christ - 2 Corinthians 10:12

1. The final compromise that devastates personal purity is that we compare ourselves with a faulty standard of righteousness, and then conclude that we are fine.

2. However, the sole standard for righteousness is the perfection of God Himself - "be holy for I am holy"

3. This approach is damaging because it creates an attainable standard that we can feel good about keeping.

4. However, instead of our depravity constantly being thrown up at us through our failure to measure up to the standards, this creates a sense of well being that diminishes our total and complete dependence on the Son of God.

5. This is the essence of pharisaism.

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