Will You Take the ‘June Purity Pledge’?

Written by Scott Foreman (@scottdforeman) and Rich Andrews (@theyouthcampguy)

We need a purity revolution. Which is why we’re asking you to take the June Purity Pledge.

Think about it for a second.  What is constantly bombarding us on TV, Facebook ads and mall underwear stores?  Sex, sensuality and soft-porn.

There’s absolutely nothing we can do to stop this.  It is what it is.  But there is something we can do about how we respond as God’s children.

“Purity” isn’t easily attained in our 2014 hedonistic culture.  But despite its increasing difficulty, God makes it very clear in His Word that purity is a requirement for young people and all of His children.  It’s not just a requirement though: God (through the Apostle Paul) is commanding us as His children to exemplify what pure living is:

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Tim. 4:12)

Why is this important?  God tells us through the Apostle Peter:

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)

Clearly there is a connection between our holy lifestyle as God’s children and who God is as our Father.  Because God is holy, and we have His nature (2 Peter 1:4), it just makes sense that we should live as holy/pure believers.  Sadly enough though, this idea of ‘purity’ doesn’t seem to be overly important.  We live in a society that makes light of sensuality.  Slowly over time, our Christian culture is looking more and more like the world and less and less like Christ.

Many of us as believers exercise our Christian ‘liberty’ in these areas, believing that because we are under grace we can live however we want. That is a disgusting abuse of grace (and we’re all guilty of it).  We can never make light of God’s commands, particularly in the age of grace that we live in.  Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins we should be compelled to a higher standard of obedience from the heart than any other group of believers in human history.  We should be passionate about God, which will result in a passion for holiness.

It must be possible to live a pure life otherwise God would have never have commanded it. We can tell you from personal experience that the area of personal purity is an everyday battle.  But is purity a reality in your life?  The truth is you probably do great in some areas, but maybe not in others.  We’re getting ready to start summer vacation and as we move into June would you consider how passionate you are about purity in the following areas?

Purity Upward – You and God

How are things between you and God?  Do you sincerely want to be holy like God is?  Why or why not?  Do you really even care?  We believe that how you answer this first question will impact what you look at, what you think about, how you live.

Purity Downward – You and the Bible

What do you really think about the Bible?  Is the Bible the Word of God?  Is it an important part of your life?  Is it the authority of your life?  What Scriptures do you need to memorize now, meditate on now to bring you purity victory?  Maybe start by memorizing Romans chapter 8.

Purity Outward – You and others

How do you view others?  Do you look at other people as objects of lust or as a fellow human for whom Christ died?  Do you think about others first when it comes to your purity decisions?  If you do, you’ll start to think about the clothes you wear, activities you participate in, the pictures you send them and the suggestive comments you make on social media or text.

Purity Inward – You and yourself

How do you feel about you?  Are you satisfied with who you are in Christ, or are you constantly looking to supplement your life with ‘things’ apart from Jesus?  So many people, young and old suffer from a low self-esteem because they’ve let the world define how they should dress, what they should do or not do and redefine who you are.  So…we have to ask the question: are you allowing the world to force you into its mold?  Have you allowed it to redefine who you are in Christ as you selfishly go about activities like personal, sexual sin because of a wrong view of ‘you’?

Here’s what we’re asking: we’re calling on all believers to take a 30 day purity pledge in how we think about God, the Bible, others and ourselves.  We’re asking believers to allow June to be a month of careful introspection regarding purity.  The purity pledge isn’t to make us feel better about ourselves, it’s about wanting to be more like Jesus.  Because being like Jesus will impact what we watch on TV, the internet, the music we listen to, what we wear, how we treat others and what we think about ourselves.

Would you make the following commitment:

I am taking 30 days of my life to carefully monitor my life relating to purity.  My goal isn’t be a better person, it’s to be more like Jesus. 

If this is your decision for the next 30 days, would you consider doing 3 things:

1. Would you leave a comment at the bottom of this blog and simply state something like “I’m making the June Purity Pledge.”
2. Would you consider making the image below your Facebook profile picture for the month of June and tell people you’re making this commitment?  Let’s spread the word about being passionate about purity.
3. Would you share your struggles and victories on social media using the hashtag #junepurity?  Then we can pray and encourage fellow believers in their purity pledge.

Scott Foreman and Rich Andrews are both ministering to students through Word of Life Fellowship, an international organization dedicated to sharing the gospel with students and helping them grow in Christ.