why purity has nothing (and everything) to do with sex

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -- to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-10, emphasis added)

I float about quite a few Christian blogs, and I'm amazed by the number of articles about purity that centralize on the issue of sex. I suppose that I should not be surprised: if one utters the word "purity" in a secular setting, the assumption is raised that the speaker is referring to the uncommon guarding of one's virginity. Because we are a culture that is fixated with sex, this same connotation is typically assumed in Christian circles as well: whether in regards to intercourse, pornography, or "lesser" sexual pleasures.

There are some circumstances in which sexual purity is specifically addressed in the Greek text (1 Tim. 4:12 and Titus 5:2 for example), but I have to believe that the Holy Spirit can transcend an educated handling of an ancient language to give every believer the proper perspective. We shouldn't have to break out the parallel Bible each time we see "pure" or "purity" to ask ourselves if Jesus, Paul, or Peter are talking about sex.

Despite our obsessions, something much greater is at stake than our sexuality. We have given our hearts to many idols, and each is as certain to kill us as the next. When Paul asks us to be "pure and blameless," he makes it clear that this righteousness can only come from Christ, but this is still to be our aim. If this was nothing more than a decision to remain sexually pure, I would have lived purely and blamelessly my entire life. Trust me -- I haven't. My sexual purity is far from my most difficult act of obedience.

Paul's prayer is that the church would begin to discern on their own how to live blamelessly. He could have written hundreds of these letters and established another law, but it would not have served the church anymore than Moses's Law served Israel. God's intent since creation was that His people -- however He determines "His people" within a particular age -- would manifest His glory through praise and holy living. This is the point of it all. Every act of obedience trails back to this intent. This is why living according to a moral standard or upholding some justice to society is of little use in itself: if that standard does not reflect His glory, we have missed the point. We have drawn attention to our own good deeds, but we have not set ourselves apart for His noble purpose.

It is through the Holy Spirit that we are granted the insight and knowledge to know what is pure. We can listen to the secular world or the church's arguments for or against particular acts, but those abounding in love and intimacy with Christ will not be deceived by that which isn't His best. Again, purity and holiness is not an issue of what is common, or even what the church allows. The pursuit of holiness is the continual shedding of things that are not God -- He does not categorize anything in scripture as "neutral." Are there common acts that do not kill our bodies or grieve the Spirit? Yes. We partake in them everyday. But these same acts bring us no closer to manifesting His glory, and this is the only thing that matters in the end! In abounding in love, purity, and righteousness, He would have these removed as well.

Let us not define purity by what it is not. While certain acts may reflect or speak of our purity, it is less about what we do or abstain from, and more a condition of the heart. This condition is served by our willingness to come before Christ and ask Him to make us clean. The power of His blood has already been poured out upon us. Our struggle in purity is not with this earth. It is a question of lordship: to whom would you give your heart?

God has never been impressed with lip service. Likewise, we can do all the good deeds in the world and neglect the idolatry of our heart. If we say that we serve God, but our lives reflect a different "glory," then we are deceiving ourselves. We have made a god of ourselves (and our "purity"), and have handed ourselves to the lordship of the condemned. How can we claim to love Him and not love the things (and people) that He does? How can we claim to serve Him and never stand in His presence? How can we accept His grace and bear no testimony of a life redeemed? How do we glorify Him with closed mouths?

The pure condition is continually looking for opportunities to demonstrate Him to the world. This is where I conclude that while purity has nothing to do with sex, it in fact has everything to do with sex in this culture. If God would have us be set apart for His purpose, there is no deed more common than sexual obsession. We cannot run from it if we tried. Therefore, what deed more greatly represents the pure heart than a rejection of our culture's obsession? I do not glorify God because I manage to abstain -- anyone can abstain in their flesh. I abstain because it speaks of His truth, which allows me to shed light among a dying world. And this speaks of His glory.

And so do many other things: selflessness, patience, peace, and the like. All of these are products of the clean and blameless life, and cannot be pursued or found outside of the presence of Christ. In seeking purity, we must refrain from cutting out the "middle man," which is in fact the Foundation -- Christ himself! Find purity in the daily richness of His presence, and discern what is good through the depth of His love.