Proverbs 21:8
“The way of a guilty man is crooked, but as for the pure, his conduct is upright.”
Q: What is “upright conduct?”
It is any conduct that glorifies God.
Proverbs 21:12
“The righteous one considers the house of the wicked, turning the wicked to ruin.”
Q: What do righteousness and purity have in common?
The righteous pursue purity while the wicked ignore and dislike purity.
Q: How do you pursue righteousness?
By seeking guidance from the Lord in His Word and being obedient to Him.
Proverbs 21:23
“He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles.”
Q: How do you guard your tongue?
By only saying things that glorify God and lift up others, not cursing or gossiping.
Proverbs 19:1 & 18:7
“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.”
“A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are the snare of his soul.”
Q: Why are your words an accurate measurement of the degree of purity in your life?
There is direct correlation between our words and our heart/soul. Pure words = purity of soul.
Psalms 119:7-9
“I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments. I shall keep Your statutes; do not forsake me utterly!”
Q: How does God’s Word develop uncompromising moral purity in your life?
It creates an upright heart, a heart that yearns to glorify God and live in relationship with Him.
Psalm 119:37
“Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways.”
Q: How can you turn this Psalm into a personal prayer?
Pray these words to God and add the areas in which you personally struggle.
Picture
Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
Q: What role does the “eye” play in maintaining purity?
As the lamp of the body, the “eye” guides us through darkness. If we only seek to look at things that are good and pure, we are kept in the light of Christ.
Q: Why does an “eye of darkness” fill the entire body with darkness?
Looking at “darkness” (images of impurity) makes your entire body, soul, and mind dark and full of evil intent. Each part of our body affects the rest of the parts.
Paul
2 Timothy 2:20-22 – “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” (NASB)
2 Timothy 2:22 – “Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness – faith, love, peace – joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God.” (The Message)
Q: Why is purity so vitally important in order to be “useful to the Master?”
If you are pure, God can use you to minister to others. If you are not pure, God is unable to use you to minister to others because your example of impurity can lead others to darkness.
Peter
1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Q: What would it take for you to completely abandon your “former-ness” and elect a standard of holiness in your life?
I need to start confessing my sin to others and surround myself with believers who want to help me abandon my past sin and live in the light.
APPLICATION: How do these passages relate to me today? What changes do they bring to my life?
LOCKER ROOM: Is there anything this week that you have been enslaved to, and how we can help you?
