Titus 1:15-16
“To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
Purity is important to God because God is pure. Purity is freedom from anything that contaminates, debases, or pollutes. A pure life characterizes believers: sin no longer determines the choices we make. Instead, God’s purity has cleansed us from our sins and we strive to live for Him. The believer becomes pure in Christ, and to the pure, all things are pure. This purity is not that which appears to be pure on the outside, but that which is truly pure from the inside out.
The purity spoken of in Titus 1:15-16, points to the pattern of works, which is a verification, that those who love God are moral. God determines the standards of morality, not men who say they love God yet often ignorantly go their own way in many areas of life. Without the keeping of the commandments, there is no other means acceptable to God to identify that we are in union with Him (John 14:15; I John 2:3-5).
Romans 5:2 reminds us that we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Our goal is set, but now we learn it is conformity to Christ that leads to glorification. Justification by itself is wonderful, but it only begins the process. Can we honestly say that our walk is every bit as pure as Jesus Christ’s walk? If we are honest, we freely admit that, in comparison, our walk is irregular, inconsistent and sometimes thoroughly misguided. Our actions, reactions, words, and attitudes are all too often not in accordance with Christ. We take Him into situations He never would have gotten into Himself. It is comforting and encouraging to remember God’s mercy. Because He sees us as Christ, He gives us time to recognize what we are, repent of it, yield and progressively conform to His Son’s image. Our life, given in total devotion to walking as our Creator and Elder Brother Jesus walked, is the sacrifice that brings conformity to Him. May we cry out as the psalmist, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
