pure

Blessed Are the Pure

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Probably anyone who has studied microbiology and hygiene understands the value of cleanliness to prevent sickness, but physical cleanliness is not the only kind of cleanliness. Spiritual cleanliness is even more important. Without it, no one can receive the gift of eternal life, but the question is, “How can an impure mind become pure?”

Jesus introduced the sixth step of the spiritual ladder that will lead a person into the kingdom of God in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Purity of heart and life is developed as a result of living the spiritual experience of the first five beatitudes. The person who first of all recognizes his spiritual poverty and mourns over his sinful condition until God makes him humble or meek, and who has thirsted for a righteousness that he cannot generate and becomes merciful will then be purified from pride, malice, deceit, and other heart-defiling sins. There is no other road to purity of heart than the beatitude road, and the steps need to be taken in that order. This beatitude, like the others, is not introducing something new. It actually is a restatement of a truth that is as old as the plan of salvation.

In Psalm 15, David asks the question Who is going to be saved? “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill” (verse 1)? He answers: “He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart” (verse 2). Upright walking, righteous working and truthful speaking from the heart are the outworking of a pure heart. The person who does these things will be saved.

After David had fallen into sin, he recognized that a divine miracle was needed in his life. Notice what he said in Psalm 51: “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom” (verse 6). Thinking of all the awful things he had done and how he had sinned, David said in verse 5: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” He understood that he had been conceived and born in sin and because of this understanding, he continues in verse 10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” David was afraid that because of his grievous sins, he had committed the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit and that he was lost. He pleads, “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (verse 11). I know that my heart is wicked, lustful and impure, but Lord, I want a different heart. I want You to recreate my heart. The Lord heard his prayer and gave him a new heart and a new spirit.

Receiving a new heart and spirit is so important that Jesus said that unless it happens, there is no chance for any of us being saved. Speaking to Nicodemus Jesus said, “ ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ ” (John 3:3). Notice, a birth represents a new creation, like a new being is coming into the world when a baby is born. And here Jesus is saying that if you haven’t been born again, you won’t be in the kingdom of God. Nicodemus responded in verse 4, “ ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ ”

“Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’ ” (verse 5). Unless you have been born, not just of water, but of the Holy Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. You see, our hearts are impure, wicked, and unholy. The only way we can have a pure heart is by God’s creative power; He makes us a new creature. The apostle Paul talked about this in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when he said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

If you and I are ever to have a pure heart, we must be a new creation. The Lord must create within us a clean heart, a new mind, and a new spirit. That is what being born again is all about. It is through the Holy Spirit that the heart is made pure. Many people are confused today about the work of the Holy Spirit. They think that the work of the Holy Spirit is the ability to do some kind of magic or miracles, or speaking in tongues, or doing some scientific wonder that unconverted people can’t explain. But the work of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus, is to give you a new heart and a new spirit and to cause you to be born again. Unless that happens, Jesus said there’s no chance for you to be in the kingdom of heaven.

Only he who becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus can have a new heart, a new spirit, new thoughts, new feelings, new motives, all created by the Holy Spirit in that person’s mind. The wise man Solomon said in Proverbs 22:11, “He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend.” The heart is the emotional center of a person, the fountain of life. The character and conduct are determined by the spiritual condition of a person’s heart.

The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” What a person is in his heart determines the kind of a character he will have. It is for this reason that the wise man counsels us to guard our hearts. Notice what it says in Proverbs 4:23: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Another version of the Scriptures translates it this way: “Keep your heart above all that thou guardest.” The heart is a fortress, a citadel that is to be guarded against the attacks of the enemy. The chambers of the heart should be most diligently and heavily guarded. Why? Because out of the fountain of the heart flows the stream of character and conduct. Our words and our actions are simply the result of what is in our hearts. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” All the evil in our world has its source in an evil heart. The evil nature of the human heart is a part of our inheritance from Adam and Eve, our first parents.

When the Lord spoke to Noah after the flood He said, “And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done’ ” (Genesis 8:21). Notice, the Lord said the imagination of a man is evil from his youth. How evil is our imagination? How evil is our heart? Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” During His life on earth, Jesus made it very clear that the heart is the source of all evil. In Mark 7:21–23, Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness [licentiousness], an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man.”

That was the cause of the terrible wickedness that came on the world in Noah’s time, before the flood, and brought the judgment of a world-wide deluge. The Bible says in Genesis 6:5, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” And continuing in verse 11, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”

Jesus stated very clearly that this same condition of wickedness would occur in the world before His second coming (Matthew 24). Prophecy explains, to a large extent, the cause of the present tidal wave of crime and iniquity, hatred and lawlessness that is sweeping over all the earth today. The source of it all is the corrupt and unregenerate hearts of mankind.

The patriarch Job asked, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one” (Job 14:4)! No human being can bring a clean heart out of an unclean heart. No one is able to cleanse the heart. The purpose of the gospel is to tell the world that there is one power in the universe that can give you a new heart and spirit and make you a new creation. Jesus is the great purifier and cleanser from sin and that is the genius of the Christian religion. The core of the Christian religion is that when you accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord of your life, the Holy Spirit will recreate your heart and your mind.

All forms of false religion tend toward corruption. Purity of heart does not find any prominent place in the teachings of Socrates or Aristotle, or other heathen philosophers. The wisest and the greatest of them were impure and they knew it. They were corrupt in their teachings and in their practice. But the gospel will produce purity and holiness, not just on the outside, but in the heart. It brings the heart and the life into conformity with the divine law which is the standard of righteousness.

During His life on this earth, Jesus Christ was the very incarnation of purity. He said in John 8:46, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” They had no response. The Bible says that if we accept Him and hope to meet Him, we will be made pure as He is pure (1 John 3:3).

Only the pure in heart will see God. This purifying process cleanses our motives. When right principles are enthroned in the heart, then we will do what is right because it is right. The pure in heart aren’t controlled by sinful nature, only doing right because of policy or expediency, or to escape punishment, or for hope of reward.

Here is a question that many Christians should ask themselves, and many likely would be shocked by what they discover. Why do I obey God’s law? Is my obedience for the purpose of avoiding punishment, or because of an inborn love of what is good and right? This beatitude says that the pure in heart will see God. If my heart is full of sin, then my vision is beclouded and I cannot see or understand God. The disease of sin produces spiritual blindness and the Bible talks about that in many places (see 2 Peter 1; Revelation 3:17). Sadly, this spiritual blindness leaves you ignorant of your true spiritual condition.

Spiritual blindness is the reason that the majority of the Jews failed to recognize Jesus. Their spiritual blindness prevented them from seeing anything in Him that would lead them to desire Him and this is true with the mass of mankind today. It explains the reason why there are so many modern thinkers or philosophers who see Jesus only as a man. Oh, they may believe He was a very good man, but still only a man. To them, the beauty of His matchless character is no evidence that He is the Son of God. To them, Jesus is just the same as they are. You see, sin dims our vision of God. But when we have a vision of God, sin is revealed and we are given a vision of ourselves and our condition. The Bible says that without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). When Job saw the Lord, He said, “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). A vision of the Lord’s glory had the very same effect upon other Bible writers: Isaiah (Isaiah 6), Daniel (Daniel 10), Peter (Luke 6), Paul (Acts 26) and the apostle John (Revelation 1).

We can never know the blackness of our sin until we see the purity of the character of Christ. And once we really see that, the contrast awakens us to the realization that we need a complete change in character. We will say with Isaiah, “Lord, I’m all undone.” In response, the Lord says, “I will purge your iniquity and give you a new heart and a new mind.”

Jacob was a crooked dealer, a cunning trickster, a person that you would not want to do any kind of business with. His very name meant deceiver or supplanter, and he lived up to that name. But his character was completely changed one night when he wrestled with the Lord Himself (Genesis 32). He was a spiritually bankrupt man, but he was changed into a prince of God. What was the secret of the wonderful transformation that he experienced?

The apostle Paul had that same experience. It was the vision of the crucified One on the road to Damascus that transformed him into a different person and changed the whole course of his life. From that day forward, he sought only to behold Jesus and to be changed into His image.

Paul tells us that by beholding we will become changed (2 Corinthians 3:18). Jacob said, “I have seen God face to face …” (Genesis 32:30). This is the secret of the wonderful transformation that must be accomplished in our lives.

Have you beheld the purity of Christ? The spiritual vision of God must eventually involve seeing Him face to face. We must see Him now with the eye of faith and then we will see Him in the kingdom of glory, because He has promised to His people, “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty” (Isaiah 33:17).

But when Jesus comes, only those who are pure in heart and have seen the beauty of His character in the present life will see Him face to face. They have seen God with the eye of faith in this life and they will be blessed with a vision of His immaculate loveliness when He returns and they will have fellowship with Him in the future immortal life. Everyone else will be calling for the rocks and mountains to fall on them (Revelation 6:16) so that they will not have to see Him. They will be destroyed by the brightness and glory of His person.

Friend, are you reading your Bible and studying to understand not just the words, but to see the character of Jesus Christ? How else will you know His character? You must become like Him if you are going to be with Him. The apostle Paul says, “Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12, last part). He says, “Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face” (verse 12, first part, KJV). Those who are pure in heart, in whom the Holy Spirit has created a new heart and a new spirit, only these will see Him face to face.

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Unadulterated

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The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. 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.” Psalms 24:1–4.

God is looking for a pure people. A people who are totally His and who have the pure character of Christ, unmixed and unadulterated by the sins and practices of the world.

“When the character of the Saviour shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim His own.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, 324. The reason Christ has not yet come is because His character has not been reproduced in us. It is still mixed with impurities that should not be there. But when we represent Christ and our homes represent Christ’s home, then He will come to receive us unto Himself. It is time, brethren and sisters, that we take the impurities out of our lives and out of our homes. Shall we do it?

Adulterations

From time to time we hear of government inspectors finding other things in hamburgers besides beef. Some hamburger chain is trying to cut down on its costs and so they find some cheaper substance to mix with their beef. It may be a soy product or it may be a pork product, but whatever it is it should not be there and it is against the law. For when a product is labeled as “hamburger,” that signifies that it is all beef. Any added alteration makes it an adulterated product. This is what the government inspectors call it.

When you add an alteration to what something is supposed to be, it becomes adulterated or an adulteration. The dictionary says adulterate means: “To make impure by mixing in a foreign or inferior substance.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 1974.

Thought Question:

If there is not a pattern or standard for a product (if there is no label), can you alter it? Can it become adulterated?

The Home Pattern

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” Ephesians 5:22–26.

“God would have our families symbols of the family in heaven. Let parents and children bear this in mind every day, relating themselves to one another as members of the family of God. Then their lives will be of such a character as to give to the world an object lesson of what families who love God and keep His commandments may be. Christ will be glorified; His peace and grace and love will pervade the family circle like a precious perfume.” Adventist Home, 17.

The family is a symbol of heaven. Can you think of another symbol of heaven that God has given to this earth? Hebrews 8:5 says, “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.” “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” Hebrews 9:23.

The sanctuary that Moses built was patterned after the exact same object which the home is patterned after. They are both patterned after and are a symbol of heaven.

Thought Question:

If you made two copies of the same thing, would they resemble each other?

Our families are to be built upon heaven’s plan and this Divine Plan for our families is graphically illustrated in the sanctuary. In fact, as the home is copied after heaven, as illustrated in the sanctuary, the home becomes a miniature sanctuary itself: a place patterned after heaven so closely that it becomes a little heaven on earth where God meets with His children.

God said: “And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8. “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” Psalms 77:13.

“The subject of the sanctuary . . . should be clearly understood by the people of God.…Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill.” The Great Controversy, 488.

God’s way, His Divine pattern, is found in the sanctuary. This is where He meets in a special way with His people. As our homes copy this pattern, they in-turn become miniature sanctuaries and God in-turn meets in a special way with its occupants there.

“From the sacredness which was attached to the earthly sanctuary, Christians may learn how they should regard the place where the Lord meets with His people. . . . The house is the sanctuary for the family.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 491.

Adventists used to be known as the Sabbath and Sanctuary people. The sanctuary was so important that it was the very first thing God presented and enjoined upon us as a people—even before the Sabbath message. We used to preach and preach and preach about the sanctuary, but now it has become almost a dead subject to some members.

Let us look at heaven’s pattern and maybe we will see some alterations that have been added in our families and in our homes.

The Sanctuary

Who was allowed in the different areas of the sanctuary?

Court…………………… Israelites

Holy Place ………………… Priests

Most Holy Place ……. High Priest

It is noteworthy to observe that the further into the sanctuary you go, the more beautiful, luxurious, and holy it becomes and the more exclusive it becomes. The Most Holy place was filled with gold and tapestries and exquisite workmanship which radiated with untold glory.

And what was it that kept other people out of the respective places? The veil. The veil was a curtain that hung in front of each compartment to keep people out who should not be in. The veil, or curtain, that was rent from top to bottom at the time of Christ’s death, signified that there was no more sanctity in the Most Holy Place. Without the veil, there was no sanctity or holiness! The veil kept out what was not supposed to be there. It kept out any added alteration: any adultery. The veil provided the protection that maintained the purity and holiness within.

No Guided Tours

Once upon a time there was a very good king in Judah. The Bible says that “he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 26:4. His name was Uzziah and because he was such a good king the Lord permitted him to reign a very long time and gave him prosperity all around. No king since Solomon had been so prosperous and no king had ruled longer. “He sought God…(and) God made him to prosper.” “And God helped him against the Philistines.…And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly.” “And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.”
2 Chronicles 26:5, 7, 8, 15.

He was a professional. He was the king. He had rights and privileges which no one questioned. So one day, he decided he wanted a guided tour of the temple. He wanted to see what all was in there. He wanted to take part in its services. The priests, not seeming to understand his profession and authority, tried to dissuade him, but he would not be turned aside from his heart’s desire.

Uzziah took the “censer in his hand to burn incense . . . (and) leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense alter. . . . And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 26: 19, 21.

What a severe punishment! And for one who had been so good for so long! But God said there would be no guided tours of the holy sanctuary. Only certain people were to go beyond the veils and anyone else was an added alteration to God’s heavenly plan.

Thought Question:

Why were these curtains covering things up? Why were others not allowed to go in? Was it because there was something bad going on in there? Why was only the High Priest allowed in the Most Holy place? Was there something “dirty” and unholy about the service?

Answer:

No! It was quite the opposite. (There are doors that do cover up things because they are unholy and “dirty” but that is not the case here.) These veils formed a sacred enclosure. Within each enclosure was found a more intimate and personal relationship with God until the high priest himself, alone, stood personally face to face before God.

It was totally holy for the right people, but totally unholy for all others. But remember, the sanctuary is but a symbol of heaven and of heaven’s relationship with us (like the home is).

Each individual can have a sanctuary relationship with God. (See Testimonies, vol. 5, 491.) Each individual can have the same personal relationship with God that the high priest illustrated. Each of us can enjoy all of God’s riches as though they were meant just for us. Each of us can receive the blessing of Christ’s sacrifice as though it was done just for us.

“The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son.” Steps to Christ, 100. That is worth memorizing!

And as the sanctuary represents Christ’s plan of government—His love—for us, so our homes and families do the same thing. “Through the… deepest and tenderest earthly ties that human hearts can know, He [God] has sought to reveal Himself to us.” Ibid., 10.

What are the “deepest and tenderest earthly ties that human hearts can know?” Mrs. White says that “The family tie is the closest, the most tender and sacred, of any on earth.” The Ministry of Healing, 356.

As in the sanctuary, so there are certain expressions of love and service that are perfectly proper within the church but which would be improper outside of the church body—such as foot washing. This is represented by the court.

Within the family there is more intimacy and devotion that is sacred and holy—but only as it remains in the family. This is like the Holy Place of the sanctuary.

But it remains for the husband and wife to receive the full glory of intimacy—and only within the veil. Is this exclusiveness because there is something that is unholy about marriage and its ordinances of love and service? No, Paul says:

“Marriage is honourable in all [some religions teach that it is not], and the bed undefiled; but [he quickly adds] whoremongers and adulterers [ones that have added alterations to the marriage—added a person that should not be there] God will judge [as He did Uzziah].” Hebrews 13:4.

Within the Most Holy

Within the Most Holy Place of the family, God would teach us that we are to give our allegiance to only one. We are to be all to God and He will be all to us. And so there is to be only one man for each woman and only one woman for each man. They are to be all to each other. (See Adventist Home, 177; 1 Corinthians 7:3, 4.)

“For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to
his wife: And they twain (2) shall be
one flesh?” Matthew 19:5. (To see how this teaches us about God, read
John 17:21–23.)

Christ said that they twain shall be one. Not they three or they four but they twain. Any third party to this union is an added alteration that is contrary to the pattern (or label). Around this sacred institution God has placed a “sacred circle” to maintain its purity and any third person makes it impure.

Thought Question:

Who all are excluded from this principle? Kings? Professionals? Friends? Parents?

(For further reading, read what Mrs. White says about physicians preserving “those barriers of reserve [the sacred veil] that should exist between men and women” in Counsels on Health, 363–365.)

Around every married couple and around every family God has put a veil, a sacred circle, which must be preserved. “There is a sacred circle around every family which should be preserved. No other one has any right in that sacred circle. The husband and wife should be all to each other. The wife should have no secrets to keep from her husband and let others know, and the husband should have no secrets to keep from his wife to relate to others. The heart of his wife should be the grave for the faults of the husband, and the heart of the husband the grave for his wife’s faults. Never should either party indulge in a joke at the expense of the other’s feelings. Never should either the husband or wife in sport or in any other manner complain of each other to others, for frequently indulging in this foolish and what may seem perfectly harmless joking will end in trial with each other and perhaps estrangement. I have been shown that there should be a sacred shield around every family.

“The home circle should be regarded as a sacred place, a symbol of heaven, a mirror in which to reflect ourselves. Friends and acquaintances we may have, but in the home life they are not to meddle. A strong sense of proprietorship should be felt, giving a sense of ease, restfulness, trust.” Adventist Home, 177.

“And they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain; but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.” Matthew 19:5, 6. God formed the union between man and woman in the garden of Eden. It was one of the two sacred institutions that were established even before sin.

God made man and woman with certain essential characteristics which would draw them together into this circle of love—into partnership—into being one.

God made man to notice (his wife!)

God made woman to be noticed (by her husband!)

It is as this plan is carried out in the home that the two become one. This is sacred and holy within the Most Holy Place of the home. But God made this blending to be carried on between two people, only, and around these two people he has put a sacred veil. Any third party within this enclosure is an added person and is adultery.

Thought Question:

God made man to notice his wife. Would the husband noticing another woman be, in actuality, introducing a third party into the relationship—and therefore committing adultery?

Christ understood this principle (for He had established it). He said: “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Matthew 5:28.

Have you ever wondered why Christ did not mention women looking at men, but only men looking at women? This is man’s special problem, not woman’s. When a woman looks at another man, she is hoping that he will notice her.

God put into man the desire to notice his wife and any third party is adultery. (And any “third party” attraction of the husband lessens the attraction he should have for his wife.)

And yet, just as Satan has perverted the Sabbath institution so he has perverted the marriage institution. The seventh commandment is just as rarely kept today as the fourth. But those who go to heaven will be keepers of the commandments; the seventh as well as the fourth.

All around the devil has attractions which lead men to look at and notice other women than their wives. The whole television industry is built upon immorality—upon showing attractive women to catch men’s attention. Immorality is so common today that we take it for granted. But the chosen, peculiar people of God are going to be a pure, unadulterated people; keepers of the seventh commandment. They are likened to virgins. (Revelation 14:4.)

But if any man is going to escape the corruption that is in the world, he is going to have to have a veil in front of his eyes! We will have to be as a people that have ears and hear not and have eyes and see not.

Christ said that if you do not have this veil in front of your eyes, it would be better to cut out your eyes—because that would be the only way that you could be saved.

“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:29.

The television “eye” in the living room is more precious to many people than would be their own right eye. But most people, if they are ever going to be saved at all, are going to have to cut this eye out from their life—because most of us do not have a good enough veil to block all the “third party” sexuality that comes over the screen. (Plus there are other commandments that are broken on television.)

The beginning of Lucifer’s fall was the desire to invade the sacred veil that enshrouded the Father and the Son. He wanted to be included in their councils and to be a third party into their relationship. We must learn to respect the veil God has put around man and woman before we can be trusted in heaven.

A Woman’s Problem Too

Listen! Do you think this is only a man’s problem. No, it is just as much a woman’s problem but it is in a different area. Because God made man to notice and He made woman to be noticed. The woman’s problem is in seeking to be noticed rather than in noticing!

The man’s veil must be in front of his eyes, but the woman’s veil must be in front of her body and conduct. The woman’s dress and demeanor are her covering veil (not a wedding ring—that does not cover nearly enough).

“Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands.” 1 Peter 3:1–5.

Notice that after telling women to be subject to their “own husbands” Peter immediately goes into the dress question and into conduct and the “adorning” and “putting on of apparel” and “chaste conversation.” These are a woman’s veil.

And remember, did the veil around the temple say to “come in” or “stay out”? The woman must resist the attentions and attractions of “third party” men or she is allowing a third party into the marriage relation and is also committing adultery.

“Any woman who will allow the addresses of another man than her husband, who will listen to his advances and whose ears will be pleased with the outpouring of lavish words of affection, of adoration, of endearment, is an adulteress and a harlot.” Testimonies to Ministers, 434.

Have you ever wondered why the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy talk so much about woman’s dress and not about man’s? It is for the same reason that the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy talk so much about man’s “eyes” and not about woman’s. They each have their particular veil to keep, in order to preserve the sanctity of the marriage. And the devil has made it equally hard on each of them.

Have you, as a man, ever wondered why women have such a problem with their dress—but do you always guard your eyes? Or do you as a woman ever wonder why men have such a problem with their eyes—and yet, you have not mastered the dress problem?

A woman’s demeanor and dress are her veil. What would you think of someone in the sanctuary taking a pair of scissors and cutting off some of the veil in front of the Most Holy Place? Think about it.

The Home Is a Symbol of Heaven

Let us now remember, that as the sanctuary is a symbol of heaven, so is the home. As in the home there is to be no “third party” in the marriage relation, so there is to be no third party in our relation with God. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3.

God is all sufficient. He wants to be all to us (as the wife and husband are to be to each other. (Adventist Home, 177.) God wants us to have an exclusive relationship with Him only. No courting with the devil. No enticing glances. No attracting. No lust.

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24. It is time to break away from our besetting sins and become wholly married to God. Then He will come back and claim us as His own.

The Lord is waiting to reproduce His character in us and to reproduce His home in ours; to establish His sanctuary in our midst. “And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, [they will have sanctified homes], when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” Ezekiel 37:28. When the sanctuary is reproduced in our homes and in our church, then Christ “will come to claim His own.”

Bible Study Guides – Free From Mixture

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January 10, 2010 – January 16, 2010

Key Text:

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” I John 3:2, 3.

Study Help: Psalm 15; Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 24–27; My Life Today, 263.

Introduction

“As the wax takes the impression of the seal, so the soul is to take the impression of the Spirit of God, and retain the moral image of Christ. We are to become partakers of the divine nature, realizing in our experience the vigor and perfection of spiritual life.” The Review and Herald, November 1, 1892.

1 Many people want to see God, but according to Jesus, who will see Him? Matthew 5:8.

Note: “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.” Psalm 15.

“Always kind, courteous, ever taking the part of the oppressed, whether Jew or Gentile, Christ was beloved by all. By His perfect life and character, He answered the question asked in the fifteenth Psalm: ‘Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.’ In childhood and youth His course was such that when engaged in work as a teacher, He could say to His disciples, ‘If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love: even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.’ [John 15:10.]” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 402.

2 Read John 1:12. As we “receive” or associate ourselves with Christ, what gift are we also receiving? Where does this “holiness” or “state of purity” come from? Ephesians 4:20–24. Once “received,” what are we then to do? Colossians 2:6.

Note: “No man receives holiness as a birthright, or as a gift from any other human being. Holiness is the gift of God through Christ. Those who receive the Saviour become sons of God. They are His spiritual children, born again, renewed in righteousness and true holiness. Their minds are changed. With clearer vision they behold eternal realities. They are adopted into God’s family, and they become conformed to His likeness, changed by His Spirit from glory to glory.” God’s Amazing Grace, 120.

3 Being pure, meaning free from mixture or containing no material from a foreign country, does this apply to the inward man or the outward man? II Corinthians 4:16.

Note: “Those who receive the Saviour become sons of God. They are His spiritual children, born again, renewed in righteousness and true holiness. Their minds are changed. With clearer vision they behold eternal realities. They are adopted into God’s family, and they become conformed to His likeness, changed by His Spirit from glory to glory.” God’s Amazing Grace, 120.

4 To what has God not called us? I Thessalonians 4:7.

Note: “In his anxiety that the believers at Thessalonica should walk in the fear of God, the apostle pleaded with them to reveal practical godliness in the daily life. ‘We beseech you, brethren,’ he wrote, ‘and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.’ … ‘For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness’ [I Thessalonians 4:1, 2, 7].” The Acts of the Apostles, 262.

5 When we are filled with uncleanness, mixtures from a foreign country, what needs to happen? Ezekiel 36:25–27.

Note: “When Jesus speaks of the new heart, He means the mind, the life, the whole being. To have a change of heart is to withdraw the affections from the world, and fasten them upon Christ. To have a new heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, new motives. What is the sign of a new heart?—a changed life. There is a daily, hourly dying to selfishness and pride.” God’s Amazing Grace, 100.

6 What important advice did Paul tell Timothy and what we need to follow? I Timothy 5:22, last part.

Note: “To know what constitutes purity of mind, soul, and body is an important part of education. Paul summed up the attainments possible for Timothy by saying, ‘Keep thyself pure.’ I Timothy 5:22. Impurity of thought, word, or action will not be indulged by the child of God. Every encouragement and the richest blessings are held up before the overcomers of evil practices, but the most fearful penalties are laid upon those who profane the body and defile the soul.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 103.

7 What is the Lord going to do in our lives with all of the dross, which is refuse or anything worthless—rubbish, and tin, which is a mixture of two or more metals or something that reduces purity? Isaiah 1:25; Isaiah 4:4.

Note: “To sin, wherever found, our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29. In all who submit to His power the Spirit of God will consume sin. But if men cling to sin, they become identified with it. Then the glory of God, which destroys sin, must destroy them. …

“Wherever men came before God while willfully cherishing evil, they were destroyed. …

“Only the pure in heart could abide in His presence.” The Desire of Ages, 107, 108.

8 When we have received the Lord, what must we do? Romans 6:19–22.

Note: “Holiness is wholeness to God. The soul is surrendered to God. The will, and even the thoughts, are brought into subjection to the will of Christ. The love of Jesus fills the soul, and is constantly going out in a clear, refreshing stream, to make glad the hearts of others.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1076.

9 Being a child of God means bearing a likeness to Christ in character. What will happen to all of those who are “pure in heart,” who are free from mixture and contain no “foreign material?” Revelation 7:2, 3.

Note: “ ‘And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure’ [I John 3:3]. In a little while every one who is a child of God will have His seal placed upon him. O that it may be placed upon our foreheads! Who can endure the thought of being passed by when the angel goes forth to seal the servants of God in their foreheads? …

“The seal of the living God will be placed upon those only who bear a likeness to Christ in character.

“As wax takes the impression of the seal, so the soul is to take the impression of the Spirit of God and retain the image of Christ.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 969, 970.

10 Knowing what purity really means, what should be our most earnest prayer to our Heavenly Father? Psalm 51:10–12.

Note: “One of the most earnest prayers recorded in the Word of God is that of David when he pled, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God’ [Psalm 51:10]. God’s response to such a prayer is, A new heart will I give you (Ezekiel 36:26). This is a work that no finite man can do. Men and women are to begin at the beginning, seeking God most earnestly for a true Christian experience. They are to feel the creative power of the Holy Spirit. They are to receive the new heart, that is kept soft and tender by the grace of heaven. The selfish spirit is to be cleansed from the soul. They are to labor earnestly and with humility of heart, each one looking to Jesus for guidance and encouragement. Then the building, fitly framed together, will grow into a holy temple in the Lord.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1165.

Additional Reading

“ ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life’ [Proverbs 4:23]. Diligent heart-keeping is essential to a healthy growth in grace. The heart in its natural state is a habitation for unholy thoughts and sinful passions. When brought into subjection to Christ, it must be cleansed by the Spirit from all defilement. This can not be done without the consent of the individual.

“When the soul has been cleansed, it is the duty of the Christian to keep it undefiled. Many seem to think that the religion of Christ does not call for the abandonment of daily sins, the breaking loose from habits which have held the soul in bondage. They renounce some things condemned by the conscience, but they fail to represent Christ in the daily life. They do not bring Christlikeness into the home. They do not show a thoughtful care in their choice of words. Too often, fretful, impatient words are spoken, words which stir the worst passions of the human heart. Such ones need the abiding presence of Christ in the soul. Only in His strength can they keep guard over the words and actions.

“In the work of heart-keeping we must be instant in prayer, unwearied in petitioning the throne of grace for assistance. Those who take the name of Christian should come to God in earnestness and humility, pleading for help. The Saviour has told us to pray without ceasing. The Christian can not always be in the position of prayer, but his thoughts and desires can always be upward. Our self-confidence would vanish, did we talk less and pray more. …

“Let the prayer go up to God, ‘Create in me a clean heart;’ for a pure, cleansed soul has Christ abiding therein, and out of the abundance of the heart are the issues of life. The human will is to be yielded to Christ. Instead of passing on, closing the heart in selfishness, there is need of opening the heart to the sweet influences of the Spirit of God. Practical religion breathes its fragrance everywhere. It is a savor of life unto life.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1157.

“Genuine conversion is needed, not once in years, but daily. This conversion brings man into a new relation with God. Old things, his natural passions and hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, pass away, and he is renewed and sanctified. But this work must be continual; for as long as Satan exists, he will make an effort to carry on his work. He who strives to serve God will encounter a strong undercurrent of wrong. His heart needs to be barricaded by constant watchfulness and prayer, or else the embankment will give way; and like a millstream, the undercurrent of wrong will sweep away the safeguard. No renewed heart can be kept in a condition of sweetness without the daily application of the salt of the Word. Divine grace must be received daily, or no man will stay converted.” Our High Calling, 215.

“The Lord purifies the heart very much as we air a room. We do not close the doors and windows, and throw in some purifying substance; but we open the doors and throw wide the windows, and let heaven’s purifying atmosphere flow in. The Lord says, ‘He that doeth truth cometh to the light’ [John 3:21]. The windows of impulse, of feeling, must be opened up toward heaven, and the dust of selfishness and earthliness must be expelled. The grace of God must sweep through the chambers of the mind, the imagination must have heavenly themes for contemplation, and every element of the nature must be purified and vitalized by the Spirit of God.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 940.

Lesson Studies were prepared by Judy Hallingstad of the LandMarks staff. She can be contacted at judyhallingstad@stepstolife.org .

Editorial – Purity

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“For three hundred years Enoch had been seeking purity of soul, that he might be in harmony with Heaven.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 87.
Only the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8).

“A great price has been paid for the redemption of man, and none who are untruthful, impure, or unrighteous can enter the kingdom of heaven. If men do not make Christ their personal Saviour, and become true and pure and holy, there is only one course for the Lord to pursue. He must destroy the sinner, for evil natures cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Thus it is that sin, if not destroyed, will destroy the sinner, just as Satan designed it should.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, 273.

The people who are finally saved at last will be people who have been seeking for purity as Enoch did. Here is an abbreviated prophetic description of their final struggle.

“The tempter stands by to accuse them, as he stood by to resist Joshua. He points to their filthy garments, their defective characters. He presents their weakness and folly, their sins of ingratitude, their unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer. He endeavors to affright the soul with the thought that their case is hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes to so destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations, turn from their allegiance to God, and receive the mark of the beast. …

“ ‘Are these,’ he says, ‘the people who are to take my place in heaven and the place of the angels who united with me? … Behold their selfishness, their malice, their hatred toward one another.’…

“The assaults of Satan are strong, his delusions are terrible; but the Lord’s eye is upon His people. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but Jesus will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. Their earthliness must be removed that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected; unbelief must be overcome; faith, hope, and patience are to be developed.

“The people of God are sighing and crying for the abominations done in the land. … With unutterable sorrow they humble themselves before the Lord on account of their own transgressions. …

“The people of God afflict their souls before Him, pleading for purity of heart.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 473–475.

Will you be one of these people?