August 5, 2022

Ephesians 5: 25-27 (NIV)

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy . . . and to present her to himself as a radiant church . . . holy and blameless.

There is no trace of a pure Church anywhere on earth.*

If you had to go away and leave your fiancée for awhile, you would want her to be faithful, wouldn’t you? Even though you aren’t married yet, you have a right to expect her to maintain her commitment to you. And if you were that bride-to-be, you would take measures to arm yourself against the attentions of other men, right? 

The church is like that bride-to-be, awaiting the return of her fiancé. While she waits, she is exposed to temptations presented by the world. As the church, we need a strategy to help us remain pure in the bridegroom’s absence so that we may be presented to him as his radiant, holy, and blameless bride. Here are some scriptural behaviors and attitudes the church should adopt to protect herself from temptation and to demonstrate her faithfulness: 

1. Love one another. (John 13: 35) This is how the world will know that we love the bride groom. 

2. Don’t love the world. (I John 2: 15) You can’t love your fiancé and other men at the same time! 

3. Don’t conform to the world. (Romans 12: 2; Philippians 1: 27) Your behavior shouldn’t leave someone wondering who you belong to. 

4. Be united in mind and thought. (I Corinthians 1: 10) A united front helps keep us strong against temptation. 

5. Behave as a faithful bride should. (James 1: 27) A faithful church looks after the defenseless and keeps herself from being polluted by the world. 

6. Be devoted to the gospel. (II Timothy 2: 15; Titus 2: 1) A faithful church is faithful to the word of God. 

As a church, we should remain pure and we should behave in a manner that clearly demonstrates our faithfulness to the Lord. While the church is made up of many members over whom we have no control, each of us as individuals is responsible for choosing to remain pure in a polluted world. As Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Matthew 26: 41)

Jesus demanded total commitment to God, not outward appearance of religion.*