Dear friends, it’s good to be back with all of you😀. It’s really sad to see the level of immorality and impurity in the church these days. When people who call themselves Christians and claim to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit indulge in debauchery and lasciviousness, that is an affront and insult to our Heavenly Father. People in high positions who are leaders in their church fornicate in ways that defiles the sanctity of a Holy God. Such carnality isn’t noticed even among pagans (1 Corinthians 5:1). What causes self-professing Christians to degenerate into such debauchery and is there a way out? The answer could just be a simple and pure spirit.
Please turn with me to the well-known beatitudes that our Lord preached on the Mount of Olives in Matthew 5:8. That verse reads “blessed are the pure in spirit, for they shall see God.” That verse and the subsequent narrative couldn't be any simpler. The Church or the Body of Christ is a congregation of saints from all walks of life. It’s the Holy Spirit and the Love of God that bind it together (Colossians 3:14). The problem is that even many “believers” confuse lust with love. Infatuation and sexual attraction are mistaken for “agape” or godly love. The other extreme is where people try to shut themselves from others in order to avoid temptation. Churches have indoctrinated saints that it’s better if we dealt with our own kind (i.e., gender, ethnicity etc.). Although, this may help for a while Satan is pretty good at outsmarting even the smartest among us. A sinful opportunity will always present itself in unexpected ways. In Genesis 38:16 we read about the patriarch Judah sleeping with his own daughter-in-law. He was probably innocent to some extent, because the young woman covered herself with a veil and Judah thought that she was a prostitute. That being said, why was a saint like Judah looking for prostitutes to begin with? His motive itself was impure and that eventually led to public humiliation of the saint (Genesis 38:26).
Let’s take another widely-known example for adultery and murder in the bible from the life of God’s chosen one, King David. In 2 Samuel 11-12 we have the narrative of King David’s adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Some theologians argue that David put himself in harm’s way by not going out to war as was customary for kings in spring (2 Samuel 11:1). But we all know from experience that most of the sexual harassment and adultery happens at the work place. The issue here is how could King David, a man after God’s own heart, covet a woman like Bathsheba who was probably young enough to be his daughter? It’s obvious that Bathsheba willingly submitted to adultery. But the man of God should have cherished this precious saint like a child as opposed to exploiting her sexually. Remember saints, whether consensual or coercive, fornication is always a sin. King David’s cover-up didn’t work either as God Almighty sent Nathan the Prophet to confront David (2 Samuel 12:1-13). People may try to suppress a guilty conscience and conviction of sin from the Holy Spirit (John 16:8), but the Lord has His own ways of confronting sin.
Now let’s look at an exemplary role model for a simple and pure spirit, i.e., the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus surrounded and supported by women all the time. In Luke 8:3 we’re told that some influential and powerful women like Joanna the wife of Cuza were actually following the Lord Jesus. We also know about how fond the Lord was of Mary and Martha. Mary was so in love with the Lord Jesus that she was the first to visit His tomb after the Sabbath (John 20:1). Imagine her delight and ecstasy when the Lord spoke to her those familiar words “Mary” (John 20:16). Can you imagine the Pharisees foaming at their mouths as to how Jesus had seduced and misled all these young and impressionable women!? But notice what happens later. The Lord Jesus requests Mary not to hold onto Him, as He had not yet ascended to the Heavenly Father (John 20:17). Although He loved Mary deeply the Lord never desecrated a Holy God. It’s also worth speculating that if the Lord had requested Mary not to hug Him at that instant, He probably allowed her to embrace Him in the past. Such was the simplicity of our Lord’s holiness because He thought of Mary as a daughter (Mark 5:34 also suggests that the Lord referred to the woman whom He had just healed as a daughter).
The simple and pure spirit can only be created in a repentant and regenerated child of God by the Holy Spirit. If someone professes to be full of the Holy Spirit and yet behaves in an ungodly manner then it’s because they haven’t been truly born of God’s Spirit or have disobeyed Him (1 John 3:9). A simple and pure spirit doesn’t lust, covet, desire but longs to serve, cherish, protect, and nurture (1 Corinthians 13:7). The Apostle Paul puts it very simply to the then young Timothy, “love younger women like sisters (or daughters) and older women like mothers (or aunts) with absolute purity (1 Timothy 5:2)”. May I suggest women do the same by viewing older men like fathers (or uncles) and younger men like brothers (or sons) with absolute purity?
Husbands and wives shouldn’t view their spouses as only objects of desire and gratification but also as their co-equals in Christ, as someone to love and cherish (Ephesians 5:25-33). And may I request Pastors and Ministers to shepherd and cherish your flock and not exploit them (1 Peter 5:2), and the flock to love your ministers like your father or mother? For those looking for marital love, my only request is this, “do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires (Song of Songs 8:4).” If you let Him, God Almighty will find your one and only love in His good time and His way. If He doesn’t you’re probably much better off as that may not be His will for you (1 Corinthians 7:7).
Staying busy, isolating yourself may only keep you from sin for a while saints. But eventually an unregenerate spirit will succumb to temptation. Let Holy Spirit produce the simple and pure spirit which was in the Lord Jesus and then you’ll never be confused about your feelings or thoughts. Amen.
Dear friends, I’m quite certain that all of you are sanctified, Holy Ghost baptized saints. Should there be any among you that don’t know the Lord yet, I pray that the Lord of the Universe will set you free from sin and disobedience into His glorious light and freedom. Amen.