Accountable2You » Resources » Personal Accountability » Why Pursue Purity?
In a culture that tells us to pursue whatever brings pleasure, sexual purity can seem restrictive. What’s wrong with pornography? Why shouldn’t I have sex outside of marriage? They bring me pleasure, so why should I deny myself things I enjoy? What’s in it for me?
At some point, “purity” came to be understood as synonymous with virginity or chastity. While God does care about what we do with our bodies, His call for purity is much deeper than abstaining from sexual acts. He wants us to be pure from without and within. When we reduce purity to external behavior, we end up asking the wrong question. When we think, “What’s in it for me?”, we sin by assuming that withholding temporary pleasure somehow puts God in our debt.
Even Christians who understand the purpose of purity can grow weary in the battle for it. A single woman might think: I’ve been waiting to have sex until marriage, but God hasn’t given me a husband. A married man might think: I’ve been trying to quit pornography, but I keep failing. We know we shouldn’t be asking, “What’s in it for me?” but we might begin to yearn for hope in the midst of our discouragement.
Instead of asking, “What’s in it for me?” ask, “How can I please God with my life?”
There are many personal benefits to pursuing purity that can help motivate us. Scriptures speak of the blessings that accompany walking in wisdom (Proverbs 2). For instance, when we live in purity, we can avoid the painful consequences of sexual sin. We can have peace, not fearing sexually transmitted diseases or an unplanned pregnancy outside of marriage. We can also enjoy the freedom of living with integrity instead of covering up our lies and maintaining a double life.
All these tangible benefits come when we live in sexual purity, but I want to invite you to look beyond them. Instead of asking, “What’s in it for me?” ask, “How can I please God with my life?” (1 Thessalonians 4:1). It will help us persevere in our pursuit of purity when we shift the focus from ourselves to God.
We please God when we do His will. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 explicitly tells us what God’s will is concerning our purity: “for this is the will of God, your sanctification: that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.” God’s clear will for His children is that they be sanctified or set apart for holiness. As those who have been saved, we should desire to do our Father's will (Matthew 7:21).
People who reject or persistently resist God's call to pursue purity may not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them (1 Corinthians 3:16–17). They find it hard to obey God’s will because they have sinfully corrupt minds and consciences (Titus 1:15). Their only hope is Christ, whose blood purifies consciences from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14).
We please God when we live consistently with who He has made us to be. Purity is fitting for those whom Christ has made holy, blameless, and above reproach through His death on the cross (Colossians 1:22). Because He has purified us, we are now called to purify ourselves, both in body and spirit (2 Corinthians 7:1).
We will never reach perfect purity in this life, but because Christ gave His life to purify us for His own possession (Titus 2:14), we have every reason to pursue purity. It may seem like a high standard, but God’s call to purity is not an impossible ideal. Through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, every believer can live out purity.
There is no greater motivation for pursuing purity than obedience to the Lord who redeemed us, because our obedience pleases Him (1 Samuel 15:22). One of the commands He has given us is to strive for holiness (Hebrews 12:14). This command does not imply that we earn God’s favor through our efforts. Rather, it reveals that a life of growing obedience characterizes those who truly belong to Christ.
We see the same point in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Those who have been cleansed by Christ and are keeping themselves pure are the ones who enjoy fellowship with Him now and will one day enjoy His presence in eternity.
It pleases God when we live in pure conduct before unbelievers. 1 Thessalonians 4:5 exhorts us not to be like the Gentiles who do not know God and live according to their lustful passions. This doesn’t justify the sexually immoral lifestyle of those who do not know God, but Paul is saying that it is consistent with their character as unbelievers.
As believers, on the other hand, God expects us to live as His redeemed and transformed children (Titus 1:15). When we live in purity, we are showing the world that the Almighty God has changed us from the inside out (Matthew 5:16). We desire the things that He desires, and do not pursue the same things the world runs hard after.
God calls us to set an example of purity for other believers (1 Timothy 4:12). As Christians, we are called to live set-apart lives and to keep ourselves unstained by the world (James 1:27). But we also know that living in a sex-saturated world can leave us weary and lonely in the battle for purity. In those moments, seeing another believer persevere can remind us that purity is possible by God's grace.
Our pursuit of purity shows that our hope is beyond this world, not what’s in it. According to 1 John 3:3, when our hope is fixed on Jesus, we will purify ourselves as He is pure. When we say no to the fleeting pleasures of sin and say yes to purity, it reveals our priorities. It shows that our hope and joy are anchored in Christ and His return, not in sexual satisfaction. We choose to deny worldly lusts as we look forward to the blessed hope of Jesus' return (Titus 2:13–14).
We should want to pursue purity because we want to please God. It can be difficult to persevere in our pursuit of purity when we encounter doubts and discouragements. Yet God calls us to live by faith in order to please Him. That faith rests not in our circumstances but in God Himself and His unchanging character.
Hebrews 11:6 reminds us, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (KJV). The phrase “He is” alludes to God’s title in Exodus 3:14: I AM. Theologian Bob Wilkin writes, “To believe ‘that He is’ means one believes that God is the sovereign ruler of the universe, that He is omnipotent, and that He will do all He promises.”
The answer, then, to the question, “What’s in it for me?” is not marriage, sex, or an easy battle against sin. The ultimate answer is God Himself. So please Him by pursuing purity by faith, fixing your eyes on God, who is your greatest reward.
Stephanie Colinco is the Educational Content Manager at Accountable2You. She holds degrees in biblical counseling (MABC, TMU; DEdMin, SBTS) and loves using her training to serve women both globally and at her local church, Grace and Truth Church Cincinnati.