Lesson 27: Enduring in purity
2 Timothy 2:22-26 - www.bible.com/bible/59/2ti.2

22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.
24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,
25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

In our last lesson we noted the importance of cleansing ourselves from everything God tells us He wants out of our life. This is the third way we endure – by purifying our lives.


What are youthful passions? They can be many things, but we’ll talk about just a few here. First, the Bible speaks over and over about our sexual purity. God created us to want to be with someone, to create a family with them, to enjoy a sexual relationship with them. But God’s way is for such a relationship to be only with the one person to whom we are married – one man and one woman. Everything outside of this is a sin, not only against God but also against our own bodies. Sin ALWAYS damages, and sexual impurity will ALWAYS damage us as well as the person with whom we are impure.

Second, youthful passions are often prideful arguments which come from the certainty that we know what is right. Such arguments quickly descend into quarrels and fighting. They are never based in a spirit of love or patience or gentleness (see Galatians 5:22-24). Only the emotionally pure are able to learn from mistakes and difficult circumstances, because they will seek God in those times rather than their own ability to correct the mistake or circumstance.

Third, youthful passions are only self-serving. We are concerned only about ourselves rather than about anyone around us. We think we deserve what we want (greed) and we don’t care who gets hurt as long as we can have it (not loving our neighbor). Only the spiritually pure are able to love others to such an extent they can put the other person’s needs ahead of their own – as Jesus did in His life here on earth.

*What are some steps you can take with God to remain physically, emotionally and spiritually pure? Think about the last time you were tempted to cross the line sexually … the last time you were filled with pride … the last time you reacted in a way that demonstrated self-centeredness. What did you learn from these incidents about God’s power to help you resist temptation the next time? (If you struggle with sexual purity, ask for the very helpful 10-lesson Bible study on this vital topic.)