All Things Are Pure

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.” (Titus 1:13-16)

There’s an unexpected way to identify false teachers who corrupt the Bible’s message: They make lots of rules. That’s unexpected, because people often think that the Bible has a lot of rules. In fact, sometimes people assume that Christianity is focused on all the things that Christians can’t do.

On the contrary, Paul wrote to Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure.” To the Christian, all things are pure. Is that surprising to hear? Of course, Paul isn’t saying that it’s okay to sin. He’s insisting that anything that doesn’t go against God’s commands is pure. The Bible isn’t filled with rules about every detail of life. God gives Christians a lot of freedom in what to eat and drink and wear.

False teachers don’t like that. False teachers love rules. False teachers make up human commands that go beyond God’s commands in the Bible, because they think we’re saved by our works and not by faith.

Some false teachers say that certain foods are sinful (see Colossians 2:20-23). Are they right? No! To the Christian, all foods are pure. Some false teachers teach that marriage is wrong and all sexual relations are to be avoided (see 1 Timothy 4:3). Are they right? No! To the Christian, marriage—and sex in marriage—are a blessing from God. Some false teachers teach that you have to worship God on a certain day (see Colossians 2:16-17). Are they right? No! To the Christian, every day is pure.

On the other hand, “to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.” If a person doesn’t have faith in Jesus, nothing they do is good. If you reject God, nothing you do is pleasing to him.

Here’s what it all comes down to: Your heart! Jesus said that it’s not what goes into our bodies from the outside that makes us sinful. It’s what comes out of our hearts that makes us sinful (see Matthew 15:17-20). Life isn’t about making our bodies look good on the outside. Life is about daily repenting of our sins and trusting in Jesus to purify us on the inside. To the pure, all things are pure. 

Dear Jesus, we want to be pure. Please keep us from ever thinking that our purity comes from following man-made rules. Instead, lead us to trust in you to make us pure from the inside out. Amen.