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Date Posted: 10:36:41 07/26/00 Wed
Author: HAWKEYEMJL@aol.com
Subject: The Way to Purity


The Way to Purity

"Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart . . . . For
out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man .
. ." (Matthew 15:18-20).

Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust
our innocence, calling it purity.
Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back,
saying,
"But I never felt any of those awful things
in my heart." We resent what He reveals.

Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority
on the human heart,
or He is not worth paying any attention to.

Am I prepared to trust the penetration of
His Word into my heart,
or would I prefer to trust my own
"innocent ignorance"?

If I will take an honest look at myself,
becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test,
I am very likely to have a rude awakening
that what Jesus Christ said is true,
and I will be appalled at the possibilities of
the evil and the wrong within me.

But as long as I remain under the false security of my own "innocence,"
I am living in a fool's paradise.
If I have never been
an openly rude and abusive person,
the only reason is my own cowardice
coupled with the sense of protection
I receive from living a civilized life.

But when I am open
and completely exposed before God,
I find that Jesus Christ is right
in His diagnosis of me.

The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus
Christ.
If I will simply hand myself over to Him,
I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within
my heart.

Purity is something far too deep for me
to arrive at naturally.
But when the Holy Spirit comes into me,
He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was
exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit,
which is absolute unblemished purity.

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