Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure (Psalm 24:3-4, NLT).
Psalm 24 says that purity gives access to God!
Jesus says in the Beatitudes …
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).
The implication of Psalm 24 and Jesus’s teaching indicates that we must be pure or holy to enter God’s presence.
The Bible defines God’s holiness as the fruit of the Spirit, aka love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Without purity, there will be no peace, joy, love, patience, or self-control. Happiness and contentment don’t exist without God’s presence.
Is there a correlation between the ever-increasing statistics of violence, anxiety, addiction, and depression and the lack of purity? If a culture rejects God’s holiness, will it be left to its self-devised desires that masquerade as peace?
We now have books added to the curriculum (or libraries) of grade schools that throw out Biblical purity in favor of no gender and no sexual mores and are actually procurement manuals for impurity.
No one thinks it easy to be holy. The Bible and history list behavior that misses the mark of God’s holiness. But holiness is possible, as Paul states after listing the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:24 …
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
Those who are reading this Interruption and want to throw an “Amen” stone at the lascivious behavior in culture probably deal with sensual temptation daily. As Paul writes in Galatians 6:1 …
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
Our response to sensuality must be grace for ourselves and others. We will find that the supernatural power of mercy can set us free!
If we lose purity culturally and personally, without God, we suffer the consequences of our decisions. If we repent, praying for our country and revival, then God says in Psalm 24 that …
They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior (v. 5).
God’s grace and mercy have the objective to lead us back into the presence of God!