Living a life of purity is more than just “saving yourself for marriage.” Living a pure life refers to all aspects of your life, not just the sexual relationship between you and your partner. Of course, the Bible preaches remaining clean and undefiled before marriage, but the Bible also preaches about having a pure heart in all that you do.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. —Psalms 24:3-5, KJV
God wants to be part of all aspects of your life, not just parts of it. It is not just about yourself for marriage; God wants you to enter into anything you do with purity: pure in your thoughts, heart, words and soul.
From the moment you wake up, God wants you to set your thoughts on Him. We should wake up and thank the Lord for another beautiful day, programming our mind to be pure in Him. As we begin our day, living pure means to rid ourselves of negative thoughts, feed our bodies only the best of foods, treat others with respect and spread our love to all living beings. Living a life of purity is meant for every single aspect of our day.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. —2 Corinthians 7:1, KJV
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8, KJV
The pure in heart shall see God. In what ways do you live a pure life?
Have you read from your Bible yet today? Did you say hello to your neighbor or ignore him as you walked past? Did you encourage your coworker or gossip about her behind her back? Have you exercised today? Did you have peace on your commute to work or did you curse at all the traffic? Did you do everything in your power to give your spouse a fantastic day or did you grumble something under your breath about a chore that didn’t get done?
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; —Colossians 3:23, KJV
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31, KJV
Living pure extends far beyond the bedroom. Everything we do is unto God. We do not live for others or for ourselves, we live to please God. So whether you are making breakfast, working at your job, exercising or contemplating having intimate relations with a loved one, God is there. Our actions should be directed toward God at all times.
Purity refers to being free of contamination. Living a life of purity, then, refers to living free of contamination: removing the unnecessary elements of life that do not contain God. Free your mind of negative thoughts, drench your spirit with the Word, stay away from anything that tempts the flesh and yes, save yourself for marriage.
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. —2 Timothy 2:22, KJV
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. —Romans 13:14, KJV