Brandi was a cute, young 16-year-old when she first slept with a boyfriend.  In her world, one was expected to have sex with a guy if you liked him.  Other boyfriends came and went in the following years.

Now a striking 22-year-old, Brandi had seen her world completely change. She met some church-goers who introduced her to Jesus Christ.  Brandi fell in love with Jesus and gave her life to Him. She was smitten with the way he loved her without preconditions.  Though nothing in her past had prepared her for a life in Christ, she was on fire for Jesus and wanted to make Him proud with her life.

Within a couple years came Mike, a charismatic young leader among the young adults at church.  Mike had grown up with Christian parents.  He was active in his church youth group, a positive example and an encouragement to others.  Though not perfect, Mike’s life exuded a confidence that came from his dedication to Jesus.

Mike and Brandi began to date and seemed to instantly fall in love. Brandi was giddy with excitement.  Since becoming a Christian, she had dreamed of finding a man like Mike.  She was certain God was answering her prayers.

Slowly though, the shadow of her past crept into her thoughts.  She loved Mike but began to worry that he would reject her if he learned about her past.  She was now passionate about purity, but her past was far from perfect.  Mike seemed to be a virgin, but she had given herself to previous boyfriends before becoming a Christian.  Could he accept someone whose standards had been so low?

Purity is such an important concept in the scriptures.  Paul says there must be no hint of impurity among us (Ephesians 5:3).  We are to put impurity to death (Colossians 3:5).  Church leaders are to be blameless or above reproach (1 Timothy 3:2).  Jesus says the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8).

Misunderstandings about Christian purity, however, can lead us into problems.  While God expects us to grow and mature, He never expects us to be perfect (1 John 2:1).  God knows that no one can become fully Christ-like in this lifetime (Philippians 3:12).  He does not expect all of our thoughts, words and actions to be 100% pure.

God does not expect us to be perfect, but He does demand that we trust in Him without wavering.  In Psalm 26:1, the psalmist calls upon God to vindicate him, “for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.”  While modern poetry uses rhyme, one of the most common literary devices in Hebrew poetry was parallelism – making a statement, then repeating it in a different way.  Here specifically, the writer equates integrity with trusting in God.  Our integrity (being pure) is not a result of perfection; it is a product of our devotion to God.

In Psalm 19:13, we again find that blamelessness is a by-product of trusting in the Lord and His teaching.  Paul states that Christians are pure only through the washing of Jesus’ blood (1 Corinthians 6:11 and Titus 3:5).  Wives are made pure through their husbands’ deep and sacrificial love (Ephesians 5:25-27).

God calls us to be passionate about following Him and to open our hearts and our lives to His teaching.  When we do this, God makes us pure.  If church leaders had to be blameless before becoming elders, we would have no elders.  If wives had to perfect before their husbands could love them, we would have no Christian marriages.  If men had to be perfect before God would act on their behalf, God would never act.

Brandi and Mike should be able to enjoy a wonderful marriage in Christ Jesus.  While the fleshly side of Mike might be temporarily disappointed that Brandi has had other sexual relations, the love of Christ should enable him to see past the old Brandi who has been “put to death” in Christ Jesus.  Together, they can become a great team for the Lord, purified by the suffering of Jesus and passionate about God in all they do.