A Call to Purity

So a few weeks ago we looked at the section in the Heidelberg (Lord’s Day 41) that dealt with the seventh commandment.  I appreciate how Q & A 109 reminds us that the seventh commandment forbids much more than just the actual act of adultery;

109. Q. DOES GOD, IN THIS COMMANDMENT, FORBID ONLY SUCH SCANDALOUS SINS AS ADULTERY?

     A. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, body and soul, and God wants both to be kept clean and holy.  That is why He forbids everything which incites unchastity, whether it be actions, looks, talk, thoughts, or desires.

In Paul’s instruction on Holy living in Ephesians 5, he says;

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints (v. 3). 

The word translated as sexual immorality is from a greek term that refers to all sexual sins.  So as christian parents, one of our goals is to come alongside our children, helping them in this battle against lust, pornography, and all impurity.  One way that you help them in this area is by protecting them.  This article will seek to point to a few ways that you can pursue this goal.

Before I do though, I want to mention that this is subordinate to the overall goal of training our children up to know, love, fear and serve the One True God.   Dan Phillips writes in his commentary on Proverbs, “Establishing a relationship with God is primary (God’s Wisdom in Proverbs, 247).”  As parents, our child training must always aim at the right goal.

Therefore, with that as our chief goal for our children, our homes must be filled with gospel instruction.  As parents, we must clearly model the gospel by our actions. 

But in this training and protection regarding the issue of purity, I want to suggest two things; keep it God-centered, and avoid additional temptation.

God-Centered Training

Guard against moralism by continually reminding your children of how important this is to God.  God cares about what we do with our bodies.  We are called to offer them up as living sacrifices unto God (Rom. 12:1).  1 Cor. 6:15-20 reminds us that our bodies belong to God.

Avoid additional temptation

What I mean by this is that as parents we are responsible to protect our children.  While they can learn from their mistakes, the book of Proverbs often reminds us that the best school of learning is from listening to wise instruction rather than from foolish mistakes (Proverbs 5:7-8).  So be involved in this battle with your kids.   Help them avoid foolish mistakes.

Set-up some sort of internet and television accountability.  This can be done in part by some sort of accountability software for your computers, and parental controls on your televisions.  But it should also involve you physically monitoring and regulating these areas. 

I just read about a study that was done by pediatricians that observed one third of three year olds have a television, and one third of teenagers have a computer with internet in their own bedrooms.  These doctors were legitimately concerned about the dangers this might bring about in their physical lives, but we as Christian parents must surely recognize that these statistics speak to a variety of dangers spiritually.

We are tempting our children to sin if we call them to holiness and then provide them with all sorts of unmonitored access to ungodliness.  “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:20).