Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!
Job 14:4 NIV
One truth we find concerning the natural man’s heart is that it is too sick to be healed (Jeremiah 17:9 GNT). The man has lost all sense of godliness and holiness. Just as one cannot train a lizard to become a crocodile, so too, one cannot train or discipline the heart to achieve purity. It is incurable. Master all manner of principles, dos, and don’ts, you cannot make what is pure from the impure. No human has the power to transform impurity into purity; it remains an impossible feat for us all.
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
Genesis 5:3 NKJV
Note that this occurs after the fall of mankind, when their hearts had been corrupted by sin. Meanwhile, it is from this same likeness that we have all been born. We now bear the sinful nature, the image and likeness of Adam. So, the Lord Jesus Christ says:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:6 AMP
Therefore, as one born after the likeness of Adam, the flesh, we are, will only remain flesh. There’s nothing within this nature to bring about the extraordinary. Going to church, and being occupied with religious activities in itself does not necessarily change the heart. It is through new birth that we receive the heart that is pure and which is able to please God. Human efforts to adhere to principles and rules cannot bring about the transformation from impurity to purity. A man can conjure up every form of spiritual activity but it does not stop such life from producing iniquity.
So, without a change of the heart by God, it will only remain in the likeness and image of Adam (Ezekiel 36:26).
Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever]; the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.
Romans 8:6-8 AMP
Recognizing the limitations of our own efforts, we surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit within us. It is through this surrender that true purity begins to blossom. God replaces the stony heart with a heart of flesh and He gives the Holy Spirit also. The Spirit molds us, renewing our minds and purifying our hearts. As we partner with the Spirit, we experience a journey of transformation that leads us closer to a life of purity. Living in purity means cultivating a heart that seeks righteousness, allowing the Spirit to guide our thoughts, words, and actions. It involves embracing grace, forgiveness, and a continual reliance on the Spirit’s power to sanctify us.
