Maintaining a Pure Heart - 3

Maintaining a Pure Heart

Make up your mind! Sanctify the Lord God in your

heart Choose your company

carefully

1 Cor. 15:33

•“Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’”

•“Bad company corrupts good morals” (NAS95)

•“Evil communications corrupt good manners” (KJV)

•Be careful who you associate with!

1 Cor. 15:33

•With determination and sanctification, one of the best ways to maintain purity is by devoting substantial time to those people and things that will promote God and purity in your life.

1 Cor. 15:33• Who we associate with will influence

us• Parents - Prov. 22:6, Eph. 6:4•Prov. 13:20, “He who walks with

wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.”

•Prov. 6:27, “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?”

1 Cor. 15:33• “Corrupt good habits”

• A habit is a regular pattern of behavior

• Wrong associations corrupt our good habits.

•Eph. 5:11, 1 Thess. 5:22

Pick the right friends• We need good friends Prov. 18:24, 17:17

• Solomon also concerned about the wrong friends – Prov. 1:10, 15; 4:14-15

•Prefer your brethren – Heb. 10:24, Rom. 12:10

Pick the right places

• A “companion” can be something instead of someone.

• Where do you go? Jas. 4:4, Rom. 8:6-7 – the carnal mind

• We generally know what is right and wrong!

Pick the right places

• Use your time for good works – Eph. 5:16, Bible study, prayer, preferring brethren, wholesome activities, good works (Gal. 6:10)

Pick the right places

•1 Pet. 4:3, “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.”

Pick the right church

• CRUCIAL to a pure heart

• Christ died to purify the church – Eph. 5:25-27, Acts 20:28

• Paul dealt with impurities, cf. 1 Cor. 5:6Also the 7 churches of Asia –

Pick the right church• The 7 churches of Asia

• Pergamos & Thyatira (Rev. 2:14-16, 19-23) – purity issues (polluted)Ephesus, Sardis & Laodicea (Rev. 2:4-6, 3:1-6, 14-19) – purity issues (diluted)ALL were in danger of losing their “candlestick”

Pick the right church

• We need to find a church that seeks to be pure in His eyes.

• One that refuses to compromise – doctrinally or morally. One striving to grow.

Pick the right church

• Again, WHO do we associate with?

•2 John 9-11 – beware of false teachers that will corrupt (2 Pet. 2:2, 18-19)

Pick the right church

• The church that IGNORES or avoids portions of God’s word is no better Hosea 4:6

Pick the right church• When a generation is raised not grounded

in the truth, apostasy is imminent.

• Why is denominationalism wrong?

• Do we emphasize the sanctity of marriage?

• Other moral issues? Modesty, dancing, etc.

• Can we “contend for the faith”? (Jude 3)

• Are we easily “tossed to and fro”? (Eph. 4:14)

Pick the right church

•Ephesians 5:11, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”

Pick the right church

•Finally, a pure church requires YOU to be pure. The church can help purify you and you can help purify her (Eph. 4:16)

Every day we are choosing who we associate with

Are these choices helping to purify our hearts?