Purity - what you can't attain on your own

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NKJV)
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

So often, emphasis is put on trying to live a more pure life, in trying to earn more favor or love with God by living the way He would like us to. However, Christ points out in His many sermons and speeches that when you abide in Him, who abides in God, there is your direct connection. Besides, if God, who knows all things past, present and future, was willing to sacrifice His only son for the likes of you and me, I'd think that would be enough proof of how He loves us. Can you imagine doing the same?

The key concepts in these two verses is that there are some things you can't do anything to change. If you could fix yourself, Christ's death was in vain. I believe that one of the few things we can do is resist temptation. Some of our choices lead to a downward spiral, and we do have control over those. However, we cannot purify ourselves. We've been tainted since we came out off the womb. It is only through rebirth in the Spirit that we are made new, and only through the forgiveness of sins and Christ's blood that was shed that we can even claim to be alive in spirit and soul.

Sanctify (greek) - hagiazo : from hagios (sacred, physically pure, morally blameless or religious, consecrated); to make holy, to purify or consecrate; sanctify, be holy

There were those in the OT days that could prove themselves righteous. However, even that righteousness was achieved by having complete faith in God. Now, this does not mean that OT saints never fell. We all know that wasn't the case; they all stumbled, from Abraham to David to Solomon. But God looks at the heart, and they all had a heart for God. It was through God and their relationship with Him that they were made spiritually pure.

Also note that it is not just the spirit and soul that is to be preserved. Paul also points out that the body is included. While you are on earth and bound to your physical body, it must be taken care of. It is God's temple, but it also houses your mind and soul. Just like a house must be kept up to be of utmost efficiency to those inside, so must your body. Now, this subject can quickly turn to another conversation, so I'll not get too much deeper into how the physical form serves the spiritual while on earth.

The last point I want to make on this topic is verse 24. God understands that the calling to serve Him does not lead to an easy life on earth. Nowhere in the Bible does it even hint that following God makes all your problems disappear. If that happens, you might be following the wrong one. He does promise many things though, and one of them is that He will be faithful to you. There is no hidden meaning to that word, faithful. God cannot go against His nature, and so He will be true to you, regardless of how many times you slip and fall. He will always be working things out for your good if you have a heart that serves Him, and He will sanctify and keep you...all of you. There is no if-then clause. There's no exception, no rule. It says that He will do it, period.

So, in summary, stay out of what messes you can. But don't stress out when you do make one. God's got the soap and is ready to wash you clean whenever you ask.