The presence of God’s Word, coupled with our vigilance in knowing and heeding it, will keep both young and old pure in our way. Left on our own, we will drift toward sin and folly.

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
—Psalm 119:9

What Is Purity?

In recent years, purity has gotten a bad rap. Some of this is a result of the backlash against so-called “purity culture,” which refers to the supposed overemphasis on sexual purity, abstinence, courtship, and the like, that pervaded evangelical churches about two decades ago. The despisers of purity culture claim that these emphases are, at best, only partially biblical and, in most cases, seriously harmful to those who adopt its tenets. One writer, reflecting on her past experience of purity culture, laments, “I felt embarrassed realizing that so much of what I had accepted as true had nothing to do with biblical sexuality or the grace of God.”¹ In light of such experiences, purity culture needs to be jettisoned. Yet, I wonder if, in the aftermath of this onslaught against purity culture, we are in danger (and are sometimes guilty) of discarding the baby (purity) with the bathwater (purity culture). If calling young people to a life of purity produces a cringe, then we’ve likely crossed that line.

Our Longing for Purity

As much as we may question the importance of purity, there is no evading the primal human sense that we require it. Religions as diverse as possible share a common belief that, in some way, we must be cleansed. During the Pitcher Festival (or Kumbh Mela), tens of millions of Hindus bathe in the filthy waters of the Ganges River in the belief that they will be cleansed of sins and even end the cycle of reincarnation. The desperation for purification is so strong that people risk grave sickness by bathing in the bacteria-laden water.

Purity is also woven into the fabric of the Jewish faith. The categories of clean/unclean and pure/defiled fill the pages of the Old Testament. Those who were pure had access to God in the tabernacle. Those who were impure, whether through disobedience or contact with an impure thing, had to be ritually cleansed to gain that access. The laws of ritual purity were daily reminders of what was required to approach their holy God. In Israel, their highest good was bound up with their purity.

Lest we think purity is solely an Old Testament thing, this sentiment is repeated in a powerful statement from the author of Hebrews: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). There are no two ways about it: holiness is, in some sense, essential to salvation. J. C. Ryle, commenting on this passage, affirms: “If unsanctified souls can be saved and go to heaven, the Bible is not true.”² Therefore, strive for holiness, the author of Hebrews implores. The apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to set an example of purity (1 Tim. 4:12) and for the young women “to be self-controlled, pure” (Titus 2:5). Paul’s ministry is centered on presenting the church as a “pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). James is concerned about “pure and undefiled” religion (James 1:27), while Peter calls the church to “respectful and pure conduct” before non-believers (1 Pet. 3:2). John talks about how our ultimate, eschatological purity—reflecting Christ’s own purity—is the motivation for a life of pursuing purity (1 John 3:3). And believers in heavenly glory are regularly portrayed in Revelation as clothed in pure garments (Rev. 15:6; Rev. 19:8, 14). Purity is not an incidental feature of the Christian worldview. In fact, whether Hindu, Israelite, Christian, or otherwise, God’s revelation in our consciences and in Scripture bears witness to the fact that we need to be purified if we want life.

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