day 2 Pure Hearts Begin your study by asking God to create in you a clean heart and renew a right Spirit within you (Psalm 51:10). Paul s generation was no stranger to impurity. In fact, it was rampant in his day. Paul writes in Titus 1:12 that the Cretans were viewed as liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons, and he talks of the unbelieving as defiled. He reminds Christ followers that even they were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another (Titus 3:3). Like those Paul was addressing, we live in a land where we are constantly surrounded by impurity. We live among a people who are consumed with the search for the next way to gratify the lusts of their flesh. We have witnessed firsthand the creeping of R-rated language and content into PG-13 movies and even onto network T.V. In addition, scantily clad women serving as waitresses in some restaurants have become acceptable to the point that they no longer trigger our alarms. We have lingerie companies whose provocative catalogs and T.V. specials are surely not for the benefit of their female consumers. With all of these examples and many more, one does not have to look far to find evidence that our culture is also depraved. Thankfully, as believers in Jesus Christ, we no longer pursue that way of life. Continuing on in Titus 3:4-6, Paul says, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. Positionally pure a people set apart. Purity encompasses more than just morality; it includes the ethical and spiritual, speaking of an inner integrity of the heart and mind. We have been saved from ourselves, from the pull of being led astray by these various passions and pleasures. The world around us is characterized by impurity. But believers should desire to walk in purity. e Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 f Remember the two aspects of purity we examined yesterday? Positional purity is what took place in your life the moment you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. God declared you pure, and you became a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus died in your place, taking your sins upon Himself once and for all. You can now stand before the Father pure and unblemished, wearing the righteousness of Christ. Look back at the end of yesterday s lesson and find the definition for practical purity. Write that definition here. Sanctification is not a one-time event. It is, as Nancy Leigh DeMoss says, a lifetime process of becoming practically pure, of living out that which God has already declared positionally to be true of us. 1 Where does practical purity begin? It begins in the heart. 156 156
The Greek word kardia is the word from which we get cardiac. When the Bible refers to the heart, it refers to the inner part of man. In Western society, we often talk about our heart as the seat of our emotions. But for Jewish writers, the use of the word heart also included reference to the thinking processes. Usually when the Bible is speaking of emotions, the word used refers to the bowels and not the heart. This is due to the feelings generated in the abdomen when one experiences strong emotions. Still, because of the effect our thoughts have on our emotions, the two are inextricably linked. And it all begins in the heart. According to Jeremiah 17:9, choose the adjective(s) below that best describes the heart. Wicked Loving Deceitful Basically good The Bible teaches that our hearts are not basically good, as French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau argues, but are evil. Rousseau took his argument as far as to posture that children are a blank slate (tabula rasa), and that evil comes from society s influence. One only has to look as far as the nearest nursery school, however, to see that the heart is indeed wicked and deceitful from birth. No child has to be taught to be selfish. Unfortunately, due to the fall, we come by that naturally. The writer of Proverbs pondered this concept. q Better to be blind and see with your heart, than to have two good eyes and see nothing. Helen Keller q Read Proverbs 20:9 and fill in the missing words. can say, I have made my pure; I am from my? Similarly, Jeremiah 13:23 reminds us that the leopard cannot change its spots. Thankfully, even though we cannot purify our own hearts, God can and will purify them. According to Acts 15:9, how are our hearts purified? By love By prayer By good works By faith Faith in Christ and accepting His sacrifice for our sin is the way that God has provided to purify tainted hearts. Look up the verses listed below. Draw a line from each reference in the left column to the appropriate words of the verse in the right column. Proverbs 23:7a (NASB) Luke 6:45 Ephesians 6:6 1 Samuel 16:7b Proverbs 27:19 Matthew 15:19-20a [Obey] as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. For as he thinks within himself, so he is. As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. 157 157
Considering the passages in the previous question, why is it important to be pure in heart? Y The heart is where all of our thoughts, emotions, and actions originate. Z The heart is where all of our thoughts, emotions, and actions originate. So it is no surprise that Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, exhorts us to guard our hearts diligently (Proverbs 4:23). Or that David, a man after God s heart, prayed that the meditations of his heart might be acceptable in God s sight (Psalm 19:14). David and Solomon understood two important truths: Our lives flow from our hearts. God looks upon our hearts and knows our thoughts and motivations. Read Matthew 5:8. What does God promise to the pure in heart? What a sweet promise for those who believe! Do you know Him? Can you join the cry of the redeemed who cling to the future promise? [W]e know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2). In closing today, I want to give you four marks of a pure heart: A pure heart is an undivided heart (Psalm 86:11). A pure heart has pure motives (Psalm 32:2b). A pure heart loves what God loves (Psalm 11:7). A pure heart hates sin (Psalm 119:104). Which marks of a pure heart do you bear? Check those that describe your heart today. Undivided Loves goodness Pure in motives Hates sin A pure heart is a heart that refuses to give in and capitulate to the cultural norms that rage. If you feel that you are constantly fighting against sin and temptation, don t be discouraged! That is the action of a pure heart a heart that refuses to rest in complacency and to let sin creep in. Keep fighting the good fight! Prayer Journal: Read Psalm 51 and pray verse 10 in first person, as if it is coming from your own heart to God. Think about your own circumstances and struggles. Confess any sin that lingers and ask Him to purify your heart to live for Him. 158 158
day 3 Pure Minds Begin your study by asking God to make you new in the attitude of your mind and to give you the mind of Christ as you approach His Word today (Ephesians 4:23, 1 Corinthians 2:16). e For as he thinks within himself, so he is. Proverbs 23:7 (NASB) f As a first grade teacher, I have always been fascinated by the brain and how learning occurs. I did some research in preparation for this lesson and uncovered some amazing facts found in a traveling exhibit called Brain: The World Inside Your Head. 3 Our mind contains as many neurons as there are stars in the Milky Way. Wow! The brain never turns off or rests throughout the entire lifespan but is always working, always processing. This fact has important implications for our thinking. We need to stop being complacent about our thought lives and start thinking about what we re thinking! Please read the following verses where David is worshiping God (Psalm 62:5, Psalm 103:1-2, Psalm 116:7). What part of David s being is he consistently addressing in these verses? King David refused to allow his mind to take him into bondage. He was willing to talk to his soul and to command it to think rightly. Ladies, we can learn from his example! We do not need to allow our emotions to rule our lives. Every thought has an emotion associated with it. When we allow the Holy Spirit to control our thoughts, He empowers us to control our emotions. Instead of entertaining a negative thought and allowing it to linger, we need to examine our thinking and make a conscious decision whether to accept or reject each thought. Write 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 on the lines below. 159 159
e Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. This verse clearly outlines that it is our responsibility to take captive every thought and to make it obedient to Jesus Christ. To become adept at taking our thoughts captive, the first step is recognizing a lie. How do you learn to recognize a lie? By knowing the truth. The more that you immerse yourself in the Word of God, the easier it will be for you to discern when your thinking does not match up with truth. How well do you know the truth? I can quote every verse from Genesis to Revelation! I feel comfortable with the Bible and have hidden much of it in my heart. I am reading my Bible regularly and learning what it says. I m not sure what comes from the Bible and what comes from Oprah. I know that we are all over the spectrum of our comfort levels with God s Word. That s OK, girls! Please hear my heart on this. No matter what your current comfort level, there is no time like today to begin cultivating a love for God s truth. Start now and quickly you will see your ability to discern truth begin to change. Every woman who knows the Bible well had to begin as a new learner at one time. Don t be afraid! God loves it when we seek Him in His Word. Just open it and begin reading. Philippians 4:8 f The second step to taking our thoughts captive is having a good thought ready to replace the captive one. The Bible thankfully gives us a wonderful place to begin in knowing how to think. Read Philippians 4:8, which is printed in the margin. Make a list of the eight types of things on which Paul encourages us to think. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. This verse provides a filter through which we can run every thought. When a thought knocks on the door of our minds, we can decide whether to allow it entrance or to replace it with a thought that does pass the Philippians 4:8 test. Here are some questions to help you know whether a thought is worthy to be entertained: True: Does it line up with what the Bible says? Honorable: Is it worthy of respect? Just: Is what I am thinking about right or wrong? Pure: Is it innocent and untainted? Lovely: Is this beautiful? (e.g., the beauty of nature, art, music) Commendable: Is it admirable? Could I recommend it to someone who admires me? Excellent: Is it wholesome? Does it follow the path of integrity? Praiseworthy: Will it bring glory to God? In Colossians 3:2, where are we encouraged to set our minds? 160 160
In Romans 12:2, how are we to be transformed? Learning to take your thoughts captive is a process. It does not happen overnight. Like any learned habit, it takes vigilance and practice. And there will be setbacks, but persevere. We are called to be women who do not think like the culture that surrounds us, who do not set our minds on the things of this world but on things above. God wants your thoughts to honor Him. He wants us to have renewed minds. This can only happen as the Holy Spirit teaches us through God s Word (John 14:26). Whereas gritting our teeth and having a self-reliant attitude may provide a fleeting victory, allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us is permanent. More neurons than there are stars in the Milky Way? Wow! What a gift our brains are! Let s strive to walk in purity and honor Him with our minds. Prayer Journal: Pray Philippians 4:8 back to God, asking Him to help you learn to take your thoughts captive and to glorify Him with your mind. q Research shows that around 87% of illnesses can be attributed to our thought life, and approximately 13% to diet, genetics and environment. Dr. Caroline Leaf 2 q 161 161
e But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Ephesians 5:3 f day 4 Pure Bodies Pray that God will prepare your heart to offer your body to Him for His glory (Romans 6:13). Ask for Him to give you a right view of your body as His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). I approach today s lesson with a tender heart, knowing that this will be a difficult one for many of you. Please know that if you have stumbled sexually in the past but have confessed your sin, Christ has faithfully cleansed you from that and you no longer need to feel condemned (1 John 1:9, Romans 8:1). If you are someone who is in the midst of sexual sin today, I pray this will be a difficult lesson for you, one in which you are confronted by the truth of Scripture and are turned back toward the path of sexual purity. We have been learning this week how to walk out a life of purity before God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, beginning with pure hearts and pure minds. These two things are foundational to sexual purity. If you have a pure mind and are thinking rightly, based on the sound doctrine of God s Word, you will not stray onto the path of impurity. In the same way, if you have a pure heart, a heart that loves God primarily and loves your neighbor as you love yourself, you will not sin sexually. You cannot have pure love and sin against someone sexually. Love wants the best for the other person. Let s quickly talk about the biblical view of sex so that we can begin our discussion today with minds rooted in sound doctrine. Sex is good! It is God s idea (Genesis 2:23-25). Sex was created to foster intimacy. In the Old Testament, the primary Hebrew word for sex is yadah, which means to know. It is speaking not of an intellectual knowledge but of an intimate knowledge where two people are transparent with one another, nothing hidden or held back. Sex is what joins a married couple together. It is not a marriage certificate or a ring on the finger. The Bible says that the two became one flesh physically when their union was consummated (Mark 10:7-8). Sex was created for procreation (Genesis 1:28). Sex was created for pleasure. (If you are not sure about this one, spend some time in Song of Solomon. Sex is not meant to be a duty. It is meant to be enjoyed in the proper context of marriage between one man and one woman.) Sex was designed for marriage. The only scriptural allowance for sex is inside a monogamous, committed heterosexual marriage (Genesis 2:24, Exodus 20:14, 1 Corinthians 6:9). Please keep these things in mind as you do the rest of today s lesson. 162 162
Please read 1 Corinthians 6:18. Write the command found in this verse on the lines below. I thought about having us do an extensive word study of the Greek for the word flee. But what I found is that flee in Greek means simply that. Flee! Run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. Whether it is the story of Joseph and Potiphar s wife (Genesis 39) or the verse we examined above, the overarching command of Scripture is to flee sexual temptation and not just resist. The key to sexual purity is that we must flee the temptation of sexual immorality and run toward righteousness. How do we run toward righteousness? It doesn t happen by accident, but rather it is a deliberate choice that you make ahead of time and then affirm day after day by your actions. The choice to run toward righteousness involves the following commitments: I. Commit to set before your eyes no worthless thing (Psalm 101:3, Psalm 119:37, Job 31:1). Please read Luke 11:34-36. What is the eye called in this verse? Why is it important to set before your eyes no worthless thing? q Secrecy provides a ripe atmosphere for sin to grow from an event, to a habit, to a character trait. Gary Thomas 4 q Do you currently set before your eyes any of these things? Pornography Racy romance novels T.V. shows that promote a promiscuous lifestyle Magazines that buy into and promote the world s definition of love This is rooted in the attitude of the heart. How silly it is to set before our eyes the very things from which we are to flee! If you checked any of the previous boxes, you are playing with fire and may be showing self-sufficiency. God would not command us to flee if it was possible for us to remain and resist. II. Commit to transparency and accountability. Read the quote in the margin and think about the progression of sin. Sin flourishes in secrecy and darkness, which is why God calls us to live in the light. 163 163
Read Proverbs 16:18. What does this verse have to do with sexual purity? Just when you think you are not susceptible to sexual temptation, you may fall. This is where the body of Christ is so vital to our faith walks. We need to be transparent with others, allowing them to speak into our lives with words of advice, guidance, and reproof when necessary. Getting together with an accountability partner regularly someone who can ask you hard questions and with whom you can be honest is an important part of walking in purity. III. Commit to honor. As challenging as it is for us as women to walk in sexual purity, it is unbelievably difficult for a man in today s culture. As their sisters in Christ, we want to help them guard their purity. And we certainly don t want to be a stumbling block to them. Here are some simple, concrete examples of ways we can honor our brothers in Christ. If you get lingerie catalogs, throw them away before your husband/boyfriend/ friend sees them. Definitely don t leave them lying on your coffee table (Romans 14:13)! Watch how you dress. Men are very visual. You can help them by dressing with modesty. What does that look like? A simple guide is to avoid clothing that is tight fitting, shirts with plunging necklines or that show a midriff, and pants/ skirts/shorts that ride too low or are too short (1 Timothy 2:9-10). Leave a little mystery, ladies! Pray for the purity of the men in your life and in your church. They are fighting a difficult battle every day. Let s come alongside them and help them to stand with our prayers (Proverbs 31:12a). Write 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 on the lines below as a reminder that we want to honor our brothers and not defraud them by creating any type of sexual desire or expectation that cannot be rightly fulfilled outside the bonds of marriage. YJust when you think you are not susceptible to sexual temptation, you may fall. Z 164 164
Time for a heart check: Which commitment do you need to renew or improve upon? Commit to set before your eyes no worthless thing. Commit to transparency and accountability. Commit to honor. Commit to modesty in dress. What is one thing you can do this week to demonstrate that commitment? e You shall be holy, for I am holy 1 Peter 1:16 f Purity for purity s sake is not our goal. Yes, we want to be obedient to God s command to avoid sexual immorality, but the primary reason that Christ followers strive for purity is because He is pure, and He calls us to His standard when He says, You shall be holy, for I am holy (1 Peter 1:16). As believers, we have the privilege of portraying the image of Jesus Christ to a dying and hurting world. We want to reflect Him in a pure, untarnished way because our lives are to be all about maximizing His glory. Nothing shines more brightly in a world steeped in sexual sin than people who are refusing to dwell in the darkness and are instead choosing to walk in light. Let s be in the light as He is in the light! Let s wear the mantra of set-apart ones with pride as we honor Him with our bodies. Prayer Journal: Reread the three commitments we worked through today that will help us run toward righteousness. Choose one and make it the focus of your prayer today as you share with God your commitment to be sexually pure. 165 165