As a young person in high school, I read a book called “Passion and Purity” by a woman named Elisabeth Elliot. Her friend at the time in college, Jim Elliot, would later become her husband, and they would go on to becoming missionaries to an indigenous tribe in South America.
Jim became a martyr early on in their married life. He and several other men landed in a plane in this remote village, and were killed and cannibalized by the tribe they were trying to reach. Later, Elisabeth would go back to that tribe herself and bring them Jesus.
Early on in their relationship, Jim and Elisabeth, as friends, were both seeking the call of God on their life and weighing their real feelings for each other. Elizabeth wrote this book about her passion for purity and Jim’s real struggles, their conversations, personal letters and thoughts related to this topic. It was so impactful for me as a young person that I pledged my life to be set apart in this way.
After Bible college, God gave me my husband as my best friend without us even going on a date.
Paul’s warning is clear: we don’t want to defraud others, say we’re Christians, yet hurt them and bring pain and abuse to their lives by not following what the Scriptures say. Sanctification is love for God and others and it is demonstrated clearly in this important section of our lives—our sexual purity.
If we don’t receive this word on sexual purity, we’re rejecting not just man’s words, but we’re rejecting the Holy Spirit Himself. That’s a heavy statement but it is what Scripture says. The Holy Spirit is after our lives. He wants us to be like Jesus, period.
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Jesus said in John 16:7-9: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me.”
He is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a person and part of the Triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is the Godhead inside of me, and the Godhead inside of you, if you’re a born-again Christian.
We think many times that we get saved by faith through grace—but then the work of sanctification is all up to us. This is a lie as well. The Holy Spirit wants to do the work of sanctification in our lives, but we must allow Him to change us. We must turn our will over to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to do His work.
The grace of God is here to bring us into Christlikeness and holiness. To not esteem the grace of God as that powerful is to cheapen its power.
What is the Holy Spirit after in your life? Where does repentance—“turning away”—need to happen specifically in your life? How can Holy Spirit empower you to live more like Jesus?
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Bunni Pounds is president and founder of Christians Engaged, a ministry activating the Body of Christ to pray, vote and engage regularly. Formerly a congressional candidate and 16-year political consultant, she is a motivational speaker and bible teacher. Her book, Jesus and Politics: One Woman’s Walk with God in a Mudslinging Profession comes out nationally on 2/6/24.
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