Purity in Community

1 Timothy 4:12 – “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

You set the tone

I want us to see purity not as a restriction, but as an invitation. An invitation into something better — something freeing and full of life.

It’s not just about what you avoid, but about what you pursue. 

It’s not just about staying away from certain things — it’s about staying close to Jesus. 

Purity is about being undivided, clean-hearted, and set apart in how we love, how we treat others, and how we live in community. It’s not just about avoiding sin, but about pursuing the heart of God.

Purity is not just a list of “don'ts”—it’s a calling to live differently.

Purity Begins in the Heart

Matthew 5:8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Matthew 12:34 -35 - “Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.”

You can follow all the rules on the outside and still have a heart that’s not pure. Jesus was more concerned about the inside than just our outward behavior.

A pure heart is one that:

Desires truth

Chooses love over selfishness

Wants to reflect Jesus in thoughts, motives, and actions

Illustration: Sponges with water, vinegar, grape juice, etc. 

What comes out is only what was put in

Purity in Community Means Building Others Up

Ephesians 4:29 – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up...”

Ask Yourself:

Do I gossip or speak negatively about others?

Do I help create a drama-free space, or do I fuel it?

Am I quick to forgive, or do I hold onto bitterness?

Purity in community looks like:

Encouraging instead of tearing down

Listening to others like Jesus listens to us

Supporting people through their struggles

Being real—not fake or performative

Corinth: “the impure city” A good example in Scripture of what a city was like that did not want to be pure

1 Corinthians 6:12

Here Paul is addressing a lot of things going on among church people. The people in Corinth were living among people that treated what that did with their bodies separate from what they did with their souls and their minds. 

-Gnosticism- “knowledge is king”

Corinth Pic

If they thought right and their souls were right, they could fulfill any desire they wanted with their body and it “didn’t affect their souls.” This belief started to work its way into the church of that time and people started to do things with their bodies while justifying that it really wasn’t sin because it was just their body and not their soul. You can see how this became pretty ridiculous!? Paul is trying to help the people of Corinth see that their WANTS were not the same thing as their NEEDS. Let’s go back just before this and read.

Brandon Kinsey is the best person to be a friend with. He is better than me in disc golf as well.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Paul reminds the readers that their ultimate goal is to inherit eternal life. And that they weren’t going to inherit eternal life by living the way the world around them lives.

But I think it’s important for us to really dig down and think about. 

Our world is REALLY good at confusing us with what we THINK we need. Things we need to look beautiful, to be successful, to be healthy, to be rich, to be accepted, to be liked, to be loved even. 

But when we really start to dig, we find out that we struggle to see what we could call our needs really are nothing more than just wants. 

The true problem is we are letting the world around us determine the difference rather than letting God. 

Our needs are basic. Food, water, shelter, clothing, human connection and a loving relationship with God. Even more from God’s eternal perspective, our need is to be made Holy. If we aren’t made holy, we receive nothing more than just some miserable years on this planet and eternal separation from God. 

When Paul talks in verse 12, he’s kind of sarcastically using a phrase that says “I can do anything I want but the things I do just because I want to doesn’t mean that they are going to actually get me Anywhere.” But the crazy thing is that God is all we truly need and all God wants is to be the thing that WE truly want.

True Purity is admitting that you can’t be truly holy on your own. You can’t do it. You can’t earn it. True Purity is saying “Jesus is Enough”. He is what I truly need. No matter how hard you’ve tried to look like you have it all together and show other people how much you can do to look pure and holy.

None of that changes the truth that “Jesus is Enough.” Jesus has always been enough. Jesus will always be enough. He is what you need. He wants to be what you want. 

And all he asks is for you to say the words, Jesus I need you. 

That’s the place where our needs and our wants come together and they then become pure. Holy. Right.

1 Corinthians 6:11

Call on Jesus. Jesus I WANT you. Jesus I NEED you. Jesus there is no NEED in my life bigger than my NEED for you.

Jesus there is no WANT in my life bigger than my WANT for you. 

Can you say that tonight? 

You’re allowed to do anything you want but what I can promise you is that just because you can doesn’t mean it’s what’s best for you. 

Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it's purposeful.

What do you want? What do you need? I hope it’s Jesus 

True purity is saying “Jesus is enough”

Purity Is a Yes to Something Greater

Purity isn't just about what you're avoiding—it's about what you're choosing.

You are choosing:

To love with sincerity and strength

To create community that lives like Christ

To chase after God’s best, not just what feels good for a moment

2 Timothy 2:22 – “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

True purity is saying “Jesus is enough”