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The importance of purity, both for one’s own sake and for the sake of the church, drew me to 2 Timothy 2:22: “Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
Many think of this passage as an exhortation directed to young people. In context, the Apostle is speaking of vessels for serving in a great house. The exhortation is to purify oneself to be of greater use in the master’s house. This passage targets young and old alike. All are called to pursue purity.
In typical Pauline fashion, the call is to “put off” and to “put on” (see Eph. 4:17–32; Col. 3:1–17).
Put off. “Flee youthful passions.” As I near the end of seven decades of life, it is clear to me that youthful passions are not an exclusive problem of the young. Such passions dog us throughout our lives. Paul may have been thinking of the tendency of the young to embrace false and dangerous teaching that masquerades as wisdom. Perhaps he had in mind impatience with old ways of thinking coupled with a love for debate, or perhaps the desire for others to think of us more highly than they ought. Who among us hasn’t wished that passion was restricted to the young?
There are other passions that one might associate with the young: sexual passion and all manner of sensual impurity in thought or action. Money and all the associated accruements of status and power are temptations to young and old alike. We could add compulsive self-centeredness, self-ambition, self-assertion, and arrogance, coupled with headstrong obstinacy. These passions reflect the wayward tendencies of both young and old alike. They are only suggestive of what must be put off in the pursuit of purity.
Put on. Fleeing sinful passions is not just a matter of prohibition or denial. Purity is also a positive pursuit. In 2 Timothy 2:22, the pursuit of purity is delineated in three ways.
Righteousness. We know that righteousness is a gift of God, granted through faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, that redeems us from sin (Rom. 3:22). The pursuit of righteousness is transformative as grace realigns our action and character with God’s revealed will. Submission to God and the purposeful pursuit of all that God has revealed as holy must mark the child of God.
Love. The pursuit of righteousness will always produce a life of love—love for God and love for others. Love is the badge of the Christian. Love marks out true Christians as disciples (John 13:35). Love is patient, kind, humble, and self-giving. Love delights in truth, protects, trusts, and perseveres (1 Cor. 13). Christians are called to imitate Christ by self-sacrificing love for others (Eph. 5:1–2).
Peace. Pursuing purity means pursuing a life of peace. The fruit of justification is peace with God (Rom. 5:1). Peace, however, is not only vertical; peace is also horizontal. Paul exhorts, “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone” (2 Tim. 2:24). Peace, of course, rules the hearts and minds of those who cast their cares on God (Phil. 4:7).
If we reassemble the two parts of the Apostle Paul’s call to pursue purity, we see that we are to run from spiritual danger and run to spiritual good. We escape the one as we pursue the other. This is the consistent message of Scripture. We deny ourselves to pursue Christ. We put off the old self and put on the new. We say no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit. We put away falsehood, embracing and speaking truth. We turn from earthly things to heavenly things. This is the double calling of Christian living—flee sinful passions and pursue purity.
The Apostle adds a phrase in 2 Timothy 2:22 that underscores the corporate nature of the pursuit of purity: “along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” The pursuit of purity is never a solo endeavor. Calling on the Lord from a pure heart marks the church. In my nearly fifty years of ministry, I observe that every vibrant, growing Christian who is fleeing sinful passions and pursuing purity is a vital part of a local church family. Every Christian needs the teaching and admonishing of sisters and brothers in Christ in whom the Word of Christ dwells richly (Col. 3:16). Spiritual health and vitality are found in the church.
The church provides means of purifying as shepherds keep watch over our souls. We need shepherds who have their hands in the fleece, looking for anything that would endanger our spiritual health. The pursuit of purity requires being under the care of shepherds. Additionally, the Christian’s walk is full of dangers. There are wolves that will try to devour the flock. There are false teachers who seek disciples for their perverted teachings. Thus, God has provided overseers to care for the church that He obtained with His own blood (Acts 20:28–30).
Not only are we under the care of shepherds, but we belong to a flock. I have spoken with Christians who thought that missing church was just a personal loss. They failed to understand the corporate nature of worship: the mutual encouragement of hearing others sing God’s praise, watching others attend to God’s Word, and hearing others pray. Fellowship with others who call on the Lord is an essential means of grace.
We pursue purity out of love for the gospel but also for the sake of the church. Purity is a holy pursuit as we imitate Christ (Phil. 2:5). Each Christian’s pursuit of Christ and all that He is for us in the gospel encourages others in the pursuit of purity and contributes to the purity of the church.