Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. | Philippians 4:8–9
It is strange to talk about purity in 2022. Not because it is in itself a controversial topic, but we have made it into one. Specifically, the term ‘purity culture’ has become a pejorative representing everything that is wrong with the organized religion. Before we go too much further, let’s define how the term ‘purity culture’ is usually used:
“Purity culture” is the term often used for the evangelical movement that attempts to promote a biblical view of purity (1 Thess. 4:3-8) by discouraging dating and promoting virginity before marriage, often through the use of tools such as purity pledges, symbols such as purity rings, and events such as purity balls. | TGC article on purity culture
There was a movement in the 90s, that elevated purity (specially sexual purity) to the primary focus of Christian living. As people made purity the focus, all of the other doctrines had to serve this goal. Theology shifted to make purity the main definer of identity in the Christian life. Not surprisingly, this did not go well and has been critiqued to death over the last decade. Here is a summary of some of the reasons why it has been criticized:
There are other weaknesses too: in an effort to set a high standard, it emphasized practices (not dating, not kissing before marriage) and concepts (giving your heart away) that are not in the Bible. In trying to warn people of the potential pitfalls of dating, it instilled fear for some—fear of making mistakes or having their heart broken. The book also gave some the impression that a certain methodology of relationships would deliver a happy-ever-after ending—a great marriage, a great sex life—even though this is not promised by Scripture. | Joshua Harris
I don’t want to argue with these conclusions, or many of the others that have been levied against ‘purity culture’ (many of which are fair). I do want to address the response that has made ideas like purity, modesty, and complementarian bad words. To many, the failures of this specific movement have made a culture of purity something to discard. This becomes a difficult position to hold in light of the section we looked at this week, the one from Phillipians quoted above, and the one from 1 Thessalonians mentioned in the first quote (to name a few). God is obviously interested in His people pursuing purity, fleeing from sexual immorality, and cleansing ourselves from every defilement of the body and spirit. We need to make sure that we do not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
This begins by defining what is baby and what is bathwater. The Christian sexual ethic has not changed, even though the cultural acceptance and practice of it has. This is the beauty of having a morality that is codified in words and laws – it is always exactly as it has been. Sex has always been defined as a gift from God, to be practiced within a heterosexual marriage. There is nothing in the sexual revolution or current LGBTQ+ movement that changes God’s defintions of sex and marriage. Purity, then, is the attempt to align ourselves with His good order as an act of worship and trust. We follow His moral way because we love Him and desire to align our lives with His. This is the baby.
The bathwater is the way that human beings try to promote, or even force, this. The ‘purity culture’ movement erred when it made purity a goal in itself (this is the same error that existed in the holiness movement a century earlier). By placing purity (specifically sexual purity) above all other forms of obedience, it tied identity deeply to performance. The main definition of who a person is in Christ had to do with their behavior, rather than God’s glorious grace. As a matter of fact, grace became so downplayed that it often was not applied to those who were suffering under the weight and consequences of their sin.
Our response to all of this should not be to redefine sin or pretend that sexual immorality is not a major temptation in our society. We should not respond to a movement that had deficiencies, by creating a new movement with its own blind spots. Instead, we should live toward holiness, following God’s way because we both trust Him as the Creator of sex and morality, but also because we believe that He is bringing us into holiness. In the end, we will be washed whiter than snow, living out purity in His eternal presence. We should live now in light of this eternal purity. The Apostle Peter describes this in his first epistle:
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 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 1:13–16
The end is God’s glory, which we will get to experience. Until then, we live to align ourselves with His good way. Purity is a pursuit, not something to possess; it is just one part of what it means to be sanctified toward glory. It is not self-will or systems that will get us there; our love for Him is what should fuel our pursuit of purity. As we live in this direction, our desires will be shifted, more and more, in line with His. Purity will feed our love for Him, as our love for Him feeds our purity.
This made me think of all of the friends I had in college who wanted to quit smoking (this is not a perfect analogy, but bear with me). Even though they wanted to quit, many of them just could not will themselves to stop. They were ideologically opposed to continuing, but the draw to it (both chemical and of desire) was stronger. Almost without fail, the one thing that could get them past this barrier was meeting a girl that they fell in love with (and who did not want to be in a relationship with a smoker). At that point, no one had to make them do anything, because their priorities had shifted. The girl was more important than the habit.
The same is true for us: we have all of this sin that clings closely and that we can not shed. We try all of these methods to be righteous. In the end, the only motivation powerful enough to overcome our sinful desires, is a love for God and His holiness.
We need to lead with the concept of who God is. When we define God purely in terms of laws and systems, God becomes a cruel taskmaster who just wants to keep things from us. Purity and holiness become a means of control that lead to shame. When we understand what it means that God is making us holy for the sake of living with us and lavishing His blessings on us, the pursuit of purity becomes a good thing. It is how He is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 4:17). As Christians, we should want to be part of a culture of purity, that takes seriously the things that God takes seriously, as we work with Him to be transformed into His likeness.