Jesus tried to convey the message of purity to the religious leaders of His day. They were so concerned about keeping their traditions and making sure everyone recognized their "holiness" that they forgot to live holy.

In Matthew 23:27 Jesus said,

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
(Matt. 23:27)

Some people think of Jesus as being a passive man who let others push Him around for the sake of the Gospel. He was no pushover, however, and those around Him knew it! When it came to purity and serving His heavenly Father, Jesus was serious.

Why do you suppose He kicked out the moneychangers and everyone who bought and sold goods in the temple? Rather than worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Ps. 29:2), they had turned the temple into a dishonest marketplace (Matt. 21:12-13).

Jesus didn't first ask them if they would mind leaving. No! Instead, He overthrew their tables and drove them out with force. He said, "...It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves" (verse 13).

What the Bible says concerning Jesus' cleansing of the temple ministers to me. It tells me that like the physical temple, my body (the dwelling place of the presence of God) is supposed to be a "house" of purity (2 Cor. 6:16).

Jesus cleansed the temple to remind believers that purity is a prerequisite to accessing His power. After Jesus cleansed the temple and declared God's house a house of prayer, the blind and lame experienced God's power and were healed (Matt. 21:14-15).

Not only that, the children in the temple began to praise Jesus. Praise is also a power connector. God wants all believers to become "houses" of purity, prayer, power and praise. He wants to prosper you, but prayer and doing all the "right" Christians things is not enough.

God can speak to you and lead you toward total life prosperity—prosperity in your spirit, soul and body—once you commit to living pure. Keep in mind that purity is a choice; no one can make you pure.

Make a Mark
As a man of God, I choose not to live in sin. I don't have time to steal money from others, lie, hold grudges, be unfaithful to my wife or compromise my Christians values. I have made living pure before God a top priority.

Every day I am learning the value of making a purity connection with heaven. Not only am I experiencing God's goodness in my personal life, He has also entrusted me with His power so I can effectively touch the lives of millions worldwide.

God wants to use you as well. Regardless of your specific calling in life, He wants to use you to make a mark in the lives of others. However, before you can make a mark on someone else's life, a mark needs to have been made on you.

The Word of God and your time spent with Him should compel you to make changes in your life so that you can affect change in the lives of those around you.

The Bible says that fellowshipping with God and Jesus is a "distinguishing mark" of Christians (1 John 1:3 AMP). What does fellowship have to do with purity and operating in the power of God if you want to help others? The more you fellowship with Him in prayer and by reading His Word, the more like Him you will become.

Others will recognize that there is something special about you. In actuality, what they will notice will be your spiritual connection with God and will desire that same connection for themselves. You cannot associate with Him without His nature rubbing off on you and affecting others.

Fellowshipping with God daily and cultivating the many facets of what the Bible refers to as "the fruit of the Spirit" positions you to be used by Him. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love and that joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance are expressions of love and the nature of God.

I am convinced that cultivating the fruit of the Spirit exemplifies a life of purity. A person who is pure is a person of love and wholeness. This includes knowing how to handle challenging situations in the spirit of meekness and temperance.

Rather than allowing people or circumstances to have a negative affect on us, we choose to retaliate God's way. That is because the character of God has marked us. When the character of God has marked you, patterning your life after godliness won't be a problem.

I encourage you to be an example of purity to those around you-not just in the obvious areas, but in the seemingly insignificant ones as well. The Bible clearly says that it's "...the little foxes, that spoil the vines..." (Song 2:15).

In the context of purity, the "little" sins that you may think won't hurt anyone are the ones that can ruin your life or someone else's.

You may not be a murderer or thief, a rapist or drug addict; however, in God's eyes, purity must be exemplified in every area. Therefore, examine your life for areas where you may have compromised certain biblical principles.

Regardless of how small they might be, purge yourself of anything that could hinder you from living pure before God. When you do, you can truly do the right thing!

First published in the May 2003 issue of Changing Your World Magazine, (c) by Creflo Dollar Ministries. Reprinted by permission.