Welcome to "Tuesday Morning"—where only the best ideas see the light of day. Well, let's think about that before we make an absolute out of it.

 

How often does the adjective "pure" find its way into our language? I don't know, but the number exceeds the number of eggs in a dozen. Let me start the list of things that are often included in things or objects pure. Add to the list if this interests you:

 

Pure gold; pure silver; pure water; pure air; pure soil; pure ingredients; pure sugar; pure grain; pure oxygen; pure white; pure pedigree, pure risk; pure food and drug act.

 

Specifically, pure means "without defilement, unmixed, without alloy, separate from extraneous matter." And most dictionaries say that "pure" can also carry moral overtones: "clean, guileless, and free from moral defilement." It is in this category that some say that the church should be silent. However, if the secular mind pulls no punches when it applies the adjective "pure" to a wide range of categories, should not the serious Christian at least ask, "Is purity of heart and motives something God wants me to explore?"  

 

I have assumed that a sincere question calls for a sincere answer. This week's "TM" is entitled, "Purity Now." I believe you will find it interesting. Open it whenever you are ready. And then, please do this: Ask God to reveal to you whether or not moral purity is a subject that has relevance to your spiritual life. If God's answer is "Yes, it is," read on. Let me know what you decide.

 

Tom Barnard

A Senior Encourager

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Purity Now

Tom Barnard

 

“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy

and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons

by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”

(Ephesians 1:4, 5 NKJV)

 

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself

without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

(Hebrews 9:14 ESV)

 

Have you ever wondered how Proctor & Gamble came up with the slogan, “99-44/100% Pure”? Check it out at Google. Look up the reference, “99.44% Pure,” and you will find the story about how Proctor & Gamble “discovered” how to make floating soap. In 1863 James N. Gamble, a son of the company co-founder and a chemist at the company, made the following entry in his notebook: “I made floating soap today. I think we’ll make all of our stock that way.” According to company archives, in October 1879 the first bar of Ivory Soap was produced. The record shows that by whipping a small amount of air into the soap mix as it is being made, the end result is soap that is lighter than water, and it floats.

 

Where did the “99.44/100% Pure” slogan come from? P&G sent samples of their soap to chemistry professors and independent laboratories for analysis. Castile soaps were the standard of excellence then. One chemist’s analysis listed the ingredients by percentages. Harley Proctor totaled the ingredients that did not fall into the category of pure soap, and they equaled 56/100%. He simply subtracted that number from 100 and in 1891 created the slogan—“99-44/100% Pure: It Floats.”

 

What does this have to do with Scripture? Probably nothing. But it is interesting. Beginning with Genesis, the word “pure” (purity, purify, etc.) appears more than a hundred times in the Bible, but many of the references have to so with the quality of a substance (i.e. pure gold), not the quality of a life. Jesus gave a spiritual meaning to “pure” when he said in Matthew 5:8. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The Apostles developed the theme of purity in their writings. Here are a few examples:

 

“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

(1 John 1:7)

 

“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands,

you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

(James 4:8)

 

“Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.”

(1 Timothy 5:22)

 

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless

 and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation,

in which you shine like stars in the universe.”

(Philippians 2:14-15)

 

“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from

all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

(2 Corinthians 7:1)

 

How can purity of heart be understood other than through the lives of Christians? Why would Jesus say, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” if purity of heart were something unrelated to life here on earth? Was Paul misinformed? John? James? If purity of motives is beyond possibility in this life, why is it mentioned so much in the New Testament? Maybe God wants us to seek it now.