Purity and Idolatry

 

Unbelief can cause defilement and produce idolatry. That which leads us to purity is what we think on. Purity is thinking purely and seeing with the eyes of Jesus. Seeing God in everything, that is purity to me.

Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure but even there mind and conscience is defiled. (Titus 1:15)  


Romans 16:19 admonishes us to be, "wise unto that which is good and simple concerning evil."


In other words, do not focus solely on evil. Do not be conscious of evil as much as you are conscious of God in his goodness. Be conscious of what HE is doing.

Philippians 4:8 tells us that we are to think on all good things. One of the things is, whatever is pure. Imagine for a moment of how Adam and Eve thought and looked at things before they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

What can cause us to go into idolatry? Well, we might say, when one is tempted by sin and falls, then we can go into idolatry. This may be one way but as we will see it can be much deeper than this. Some of us who are seeking God often do not seem to be the ones Jude spoke of when he said, they turn Gods grace into lasciviousness. (see Jude 1:4)  A Bible teacher once taught somewhat about this in a teaching entitled "the religious spirit." He posed a question and said, if we aren't duped by these deceptions of turning God's grace into lasciviousness, what are some other ways the enemy would seek to ensnare us? One of the ways I have found is... attempting to defile our consciences. Again, we are told in Romans 16:19 to be simple concerning evil. Some versions of the Bible read be innocent about what is evil. 
Paul urges the Church at Corinth, But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. ( 2 Cor. 11:3)

One of the definitions I found in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible for the word simplicity is singleness. We can be safe to say we are to have singleness of heart, having our minds (hearts) fixed on Jesus and him alone! 
Again, imagine what Adam and Eve thought like before they ate from the forbidden tree in the garden. 

Isaiah 66:17 reads, They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves behind one tree in the midst, eating swines flesh and the abomination and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.

This is signifying the presence of people who try to purify themselves by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Therefore they are being ministered to in the soulish realm rather than the spiritual. To be ministered to by the Holy Spirit is to partake of the tree of life which is in fact a type of Jesus Christ and what he is saying NOW by his Spirit! It is when a person is ministered to in the soulish realm that their mind can be corrupted and defiled causing them to see everything through eyes of defilement. Many are coming to God their own prescribed way instead of the way God has already provided. I am talking about a lot of Christians and Churches today! 

Revelation 2:20, Notwithstanding I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, which calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. This jezebel is not just a woman but can manifest through men as well. This is a religious spirit which is very active in the Churches today. Many have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof. (see 2 Tim 3:5) One of the ways this spirit seeks to gain access is by seducing us to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It is interesting to note that one of the meanings to the name Jezebel is Chaste. This religious spirit masquerades as godly, having a form of Godliness. This Jezebel spirit seeks to defile believers minds, seducing them and bewitching them, (Galatians 3:1) and attempting to cause them to lose their innocence in Christ Jesus. In Revelation 2:20 this spirit is first allowed to TEACH in the Church and then seduce Gods servants to commit fornication and eat things sacrificed unto idols. The fornication spoken of here can imply more than sex before marriage but committing SPIRITUAL fornication! This spirit seeks to cause us to see our nakedness in a false way, therefore raping us of our innocence in Christ Jesus. (Read Ezekiel Chapter 23) 

Paul says in second Corinthians 11:2, For I am jealous over you with a Godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. God wants his people to be fixed on, and full of our devotion to Christ in all purity and innocence. Not in an attitude of obligation of cans and can't (rules). This is where the enemy would desire us to commit fornication, in our devotion to Christ. Praise be to God alone, for he has paid it all and we are his. We need to be so in love with him, enraptured by him, that our focus is more on magnifying God then on how much power the enemy has to deceive. Nor should we be looking for outward symbols of the demonic. I have noticed many ministries today whose primary focus is the demonic. These ministries end up straining at gnats and swallowing camels, as Jesus said. These ministries are pointing many to the corrupt tree of knowledge of good and evil and not the tree of life.