Let’s start off with a term used in the field of medicine.
Adulteration.
Merriam-Webster says it’s a process. It’s something that happens to a pure substance that changes it and makes it worse.
Take olive oil. One of its benefits is the ability to use it on high heat without it smoking. Yet, mix in old olives to the preparation, and we get low-grade olive oil. It will have a low smoke point. It’s less than the best.
Or online pharmacies. Profit trumps purity, and the goods we receive don’t contain what we expect. By adding chalk or other inert substances to our medicines, the unhealthy results raise the profits of unscrupulous businesses. People die in the process.
Now let’s look at the Biblical use of our word.
Let’s use Exodus 20:14.
“You shall not commit adultery.”
As Christians, we know what this verse means. Keep the marriage bed pure. Don’t let the physical urges of reproduction control us until we step over the lines of propriety and good judgment.
Let’s apply the medicinal definition of this term to our lives.
What happens when we let our roving eyes take us down the road of adultery?
We take something pure, our relationship with Christ, and make it worse.
We mix in poor judgment, make bad decisions, and create an offense to our spouse, to gain something that gratifies our carnal nature.
We go for fun rather than purity. We add something worthless to our salvation, and people die in the process.
- They die through sexual disease.
- They die through emotional devastation.
- They die through divorce.
- They die through our insensitivity to the divine nature of our Christian witness. They see our actions and run from the cross.
Our standard is Jesus. The rules in the Bible are there for a reason. When we keep ourselves all Christian, every part of us, we remain a profound witness to draw others to Jesus.
Purity in Christ is a treasure. Let’s not mess it up.
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