Singleness also includes divorcees, widows and widowers and can be of any age.įor the single person, the struggle for emotional purity is typically borne out of loneliness. When talking about emotional purity and singleness, don’t only imagine a young person who desires a romantic relationship. What exactly does this mean? How do you know if you’re taking steps towards emotional oneness? What is emotional oneness? Let’s unpack this a bit. And if you’re married, don’t explore the depths of emotional oneness with anyone other than your spouse. In other words, don’t explore the depths of emotional oneness until there is a commitment that is taking you directly towards marriage. ![]() Sex in marriage is meant to be the binding of two people, and there are consequences if that binding is done outside of marriage. Sexual union is meant to be the completion of personal, emotional, and spiritual union. When we’re married, we want to avoid any sexual activity that doesn’t include our spouse, etc.Įmotional purity should be thought about in the same way. ![]() When we’re dating we want to avoid all those things, as well as physical activity that should be kept for the marriage bed. We want to be sexually pure when we’re single, meaning we want to avoid sexual fantasies, pornography, masturbation, etc. The goal of sexual purity is to remain sexually pure for the glory of God. Understanding emotional purity can be helped by thinking of it in similar terms as sexual purity. My hope is that touching on this topic will encourage more conversation, contemplation, prayer, and consideration. This is a complicated subject that deserves attention, yet we must all take this topic to the throne of God and ask for clarity. While there are biblical truths that can be applied to emotional purity, it is also true that emotional purity looks different for different people and in different stages of life. The other difficult part of this conversation is that people tend to make blanket statements implying there’s a “one size fits all” way to be emotionally pure.Īnd let’s be honest, some people don’t even know what we mean when we talk about emotional purity. We approach this subject having been influenced by our upbringing, our own experiences, and by observing what did and didn’t work for those around us. 1997.Protecting your emotional purity can be a touchy subject. indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical BibleĮlwell, Walter A. Published by Baker Books, a division ofīaker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan USA.įor usage information, please read the Baker Book House Copyright Statement. Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Paul encouraged Timothy to set an example in his lifestyle and his purity ( 1 Tim 4:12 ), as well as in his relationships with other believers ( 5:2 ).īibliography. His ministry was enhanced and accredited because of the kind of person he had shown himself to be. Paul as God's servant commended himself through his sufferings and his moral and spiritual qualities. Purity is associated with understanding, patience and kindness ( 2 Cor 6:6 ) speech, life, love, and faith ( 1 Tim 4:12 ) and reverence ( 1 Peter 3:2 ). ![]() Rather, the focus is on moral purity or purification: chastity ( 2 Cor 11:2 Titus 2:5 ) innocence in one's attitude toward members of the church ( 2 Cor 7:11 ) and moral purity or uprightness ( Php 4:8 1 Tim 5:22 1 Peter 3:2 1 John 1:3 ). In the New Testament, there is little emphasis on ritual purity. Before they can engage in any cultic or ceremonial activity, God's people must be consecrated or had to sanctify themselves ( Exodus 19:10 Exodus 19:14 Joshua 7:13 1 Sam 16:5 Job 1:5 ). Yet the idea of purity does surface in a number of instances. Purity is not a cultic term in fact, it does not appear in the rules for holiness detailed in Leviticus. In Exodus 23:7, an innocent person is portrayed as someone who is righteous as measured by the demands of the law. Purity is related to guiltless, blameless, or innocent behavior. ![]() Purity consists of "clean hands" ( Gen 20:5 ), innocence ( Psalm 26:6 73:13 ), and an "empty stomach" ( Amos 4:6 ). It stands over against such conduct or attitudes as unfaithfulness to God's covenant ( Hosea 8:1 ), rebellion against God's law (v. The verb appears about forty times, most occurrences with an ethical, moral, or forensic sense. In the Old Testament, the basic sense of the Hebrew word for purity is probably an emptying out or being clean.
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