Today, along with several thousand men, I am beginning “31 Days of Purity.” This is for all of us—for those who are young and those who are old, for those who are married and those who are single, for those who struggle mightily in the area of sexual sin and for those who may barely struggle at all. It is a time–a month–to focus on what the Bible says about sexual purity. Each day I will share a short passage from Scripture, a brief reflection on that passage, and a prayer. You can ponder the Scripture, read the devotional, and pray the prayer, and why not do it together with a friend, a brother in Christ? (Read more here)
As we begin these days together, I think we ought to begin with the gospel.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
It is good that you have this desire to pursue sexual purity. It is good that you are joining with us for these thirty-one days. And yet even a good desire can be sinfully motivated or sinfully directed. The sad fact is that we are never far from self-centeredness, from attempting to do these things for our own glory. We are never far from self-reliance, from attempting to do these things in our own strength. We are never far from legalism, from attempting to do these things to merit God’s favor.
This is why we must begin with the gospel and this is why each of these thirty-one days must be founded upon and directed toward the gospel of Jesus Christ: that Christ died for our sin and that he was raised from the dead. The gospel makes all the difference. The gospel destroys self-centeredness by gripping our hearts with a great and growing desire to see Christ glorified. The gospel destroys our self-reliance by showing that Christ had to do what we could not do for ourselves. The gospel destroys our legalism by assuring us that we do not have to earn God’s favor because through Christ Jesus we already have it. And so, as we embark together on these 31 Days of Purity, we must begin with, dwell upon, and finish with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Father in heaven, please help me to glory in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Please remove from within me any desire for self-glorification, any hint of self-reliance, even the smallest thought that I would ever have to earn your favor. I pray that through these thirty-one days, my desire would be to see you glorified in my life, to grow in my reliance upon you, and to rest in what Christ has done in restoring peace and fellowship between me and you. Make the gospel resound in my heart today and every day.
