Chase for Purity

"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee." 1 Timothy 4:12-16

Purity means "freedom from foreign admixture, or heterogeneous matter; as the purity of water, of wine, of spirit; the purity of drugs; the purity of metals. Cleanness; freedom from foulness or dirt; as the purity of a garment. Freedom from guilt or the defilement of sin; innocence; as purity of heart or life. Chastity; freedom from contamination by illicit sexual connection. Freedom from any sinister or improper views; as the purity of motives or designs. Freedom from foreign idioms, from barbarous or improper words or phases; as purity of style or language."

Purity and virtue go hand in hand. Virtue is defined as moral goodness, the practice of moral duties and abstaining from the conformity of life. (Mark 4:19) It is an acting power or that which constitutes value and merit.“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Rom 12:2) “For the fashion of this world passeth away.” (1 Cor 7:31b) Faith in God defines our virtue, our moral goodness, the acting power in which we live our lives and begins our chase for purity.

-Stacey Wallace