Asking the question again...(for a friend, of course) – Does God actually take pleasure when His children ‘suffer’? And once again, that depends on what kind of ‘suffering’ we are talking about.

It is not the will of God for any to suffer/perish, but for all to come to repentance. (2 Pet. 3:9) And yet, if we don’t repent, we will perish. (Luke 13:3,5). When Jesus “saw the multitudes who were weary and scattered, like sheep with no shepherd, He was moved with compassion and healed ‘every sickness and every disease’ among the people.” (Matt. 9:35-36). So no, God does not take pleasure when He sees His people, taken ‘captive and going astray’, suffering in the process. (Jer. 13:17; Isa. 53:6). And God never changes. (Mal. 3:6)

But the kind of ‘suffering’ He does delight in, is when we ‘suffer in the flesh’ when we are following in obedience, putting to death once and for all, those fleshly desires, as we stand in the furnace of affliction. Why does He delight in this? Because we are actually demonstrating to Him that we truly do love Him more than...we love ...greed, or pride, or anger, or lusts, etc. This is the purpose of the fiery trials that we are told to ‘think it not strange’ when we face them. (1 Pet. 4:12). We are being ‘perfected’ when we go through them, overcoming them ONLY by His grace. (Yesterday’s message). It breaks His heart when we ‘choose’ to hold on to those things He says defile us and make us ‘unclean’. (Mark 7:21-23). The rich young ruler in Matt. 19 conveyed loud and clear that while maybe He loved God, there was something else he was loving more. This thing about loving God with ‘all’ our heart...truly matters to Him as He purifies us for Himself.

So this ‘purity’ thing we hear and read about so often throughout scripture...like when Jesus said: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God...’leads to the question of just how ‘pure’ does one need to be in order to be able to see Him? (Matt.5:8)

How about we toss another scenario and question into the mix here and ask: Suppose you, or a child of yours, or even a grandchild has undergone some lengthy and serious cancer treatment. Which report are you wanting to hear from the doctor – “We got ‘most’ of those cancer cells so now it is just a wait and see process.” ... or 

"We got it ‘all’ of them and there is no more cancer cells; you have a clean bill of health and are cancer free!”

There is only one obvious answer to that question.

Had Paul lived in our day, he may very well have used a similar example when addressing the problem of ‘sin’ within the church and/or the life of professing believers. Instead, he asked this question: “Do you not know that a little yeast, or leaven, leavens the whole loaf?” (1 Cor. 5:6). When he wrote to the Galatians, it was not presented in the form of a question. (Gal. 5:9)

So again, we need to address the question of how ‘pure’ does one need to be in order to be...’pure’?

I have a suspicion that there are some who probably don’t appreciate my ‘style’ of sharing scripture with you since I jump from one place to the next on a regular basis. It might be said I am ‘pulling scripture out of context’, which I would disagree with. I’ll be the first to tell you that I have no formal training and only attended one semester of a Bible college many years ago, so if that means something to you, I hate to disappoint you with having zero ‘qualification’s or ‘credentials’.

But these past four years have been life changing for me as the scriptures have ‘opened up’ in such a way that I liken it to having so many more ‘pieces to the puzzle’ that seem to fit together, make more sense, answer so many more questions and in the end, is painting a different picture than what many are seeing in their ‘denominational church puzzle boxes’. And I make no pretense to hide the fact that this picture is quite serious and alarming. And I make no apologies for coming across oftentimes with a serious and urgent tone that we better ‘wake up’ and take another look at our Bibles while the Holy Spirit is giving us some light during this hour. (John 12:35; Matt. 25:7-8; 1 John 1:7). The least one can do is study out these scriptures on their own. (Acts 17:11)

So if we are going to look at and study what it means for one to be ‘pure’, why not examine multiple verses from an assortment of places to see if we can’t get a better understanding as to what it means to be ‘pure’. I would even submit to you for examination that the very reason Jesus came to earth was to not only ‘save’ us but also conform us to His image and likeness as He would be the ‘firstborn of many brethren’. (Rom. 8:29)

From the Merriam-Webster dictionary – [Pure]: not mixed with anything else: free from anything that might make it dirty; change or lower the quality; free from sin or guilt.

It really is amazing how much the Bible stresses the importance of ‘purity’ and how God seems to have ‘a thing’ about His people being ‘pure’

 I know that most of us have been taught and indoctrinated to believe that our ‘purity’ has nothing whatsoever to do with our being ‘saved’...but dare I ask the question of: “What if we have been wrong?”

We are told that Jesus is coming back for a bride (church) that is “holy-blameless-without any stain or wrinkle or spot -without blemish. (Eph. 5:27).

I know, you were taught that we could never be ‘holy enough for God’...and therefore we simply ‘put our trust in Jesus and in God’s unconditional love...and all will be well with our soul’.

But again, I ask: “What if we were taught wrong, maybe even...’deceived’? (Eph. 5:6; Matt. 24:4-5; James 1:16; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 2 Thess. 2:9-12; Gal. 6:7)

What was Paul talking about when he comes across sounding like his only goal or mission was to ‘present us as a chaste/pure virgin to Christ’? (2 Cor. 11:2). And what was his main fear that might hinder this goal...that we might be ‘deceived as Eve was’...and end up receiving ‘another gospel, another Jesus, and yes, even another spirit’? (3-4)

I don’t know what your thoughts are, but it sure sounds to me that this ‘process of being made pure’ involves a little bit more than just ‘saying Lord, Lord’. (Matt. 7:21)

Why else would we be admonished to “cleanse ourselves from ALL filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”? (2 Cor. 7:1)

Why else would we be told that ‘without holiness, no one will see the Lord ”? (Heb. 12:14)

What was John talking about when he wrote: “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure”? (1 John 3:3)

Did Jesus teach us to ‘sin less’ or ‘sin no more’? (John 5:14; 8:11)

Did Jesus say ‘try harder to do better’ or “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”. (Matt. 5:48)

When John wrote about if/when God abides in us that “His love has been perfected in us” (1 John 12,17), was he using poetic language or was he serious?

When Paul wrote to Timothy and told him the ‘purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart’...(1 Tim. 1:5) ...did he actually believe we could get to such a place of purity? Is it actually possible to ‘keep one’s self pure’? (1 Tim. 5:22)

I know we tend to talk and sing about ‘coming in to the presence of the Lord’ and all, but what do we do with scriptures like Ps. 24:23-24 that asks: “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol...”

Oh, that is from the Old Testament, you say? Then why did James rebuke an impure church, pointing out their ‘double-mindedness’ as they were exhibiting conflicting natures and then admonish them to “cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts you double-minded ...lament and mourn and weep!”? (James 3:9-12; 4:7-10)

When Paul listed some areas of sin, ranging from ‘foolish talking to fornication’, suggesting these things should ‘not even be named among us’, (Eph. 5:3-4) ...and Peter admonished us to be ‘holy in ALL our conduct because the One who called us is holy’ (1 Pet. 1:15), were they being too hard and unrealistic?

I know...you know of no one who lives this way and therefore these verses could not possibly mean what they say. (Has God really said? Gen. 3:1)

There is no way ‘so many’ people could be wrong on this, could they!? (Matt. 7:13-14)

I would like to challenge you with something here today. If you have made it this far and find yourself feeling a bit uneasy, and reading many of these verses has caused something...to squirm, maybe even ‘rise up within you’... could you take some time and ask yourself just ‘what is that thing rising up within you simply because you heard/read the word of God?

So you have been taught that no one will ever be really pure until they get to heaven and this purity thing has nothing to do with whether you are ‘saved’ or not...so just put your trust and hope in Jesus and know that He ‘covers a multitude of sins’.

Friends...that is the message nearly all of us have been indoctrinated with.

What if we have been wrong?