Inside Out Living

In the instructions that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses, purity was greatly stressed. There were a number of reasons for this, and the one given in this passage is because the Lord dwelled in their camp.

Praise God that we live under a covenant of grace and not one of law as the Israelites did. And yet, even though we are called to grace, we cannot ignore the need for purity. God demanded purity because he dwelled among Israel. God now, through His Spirit, dwells in the life of every believer and in the community of believers as a collective whole. His expectation is still purity in the lives of believers and in the community of believers. As a new creation, we are made pure by the blood of Christ, and we maintain purity by confessing our sins (1 John 1:9). Unfortunately, some within the community of faith stop practicing personal confession and knowingly and willing engage in sin, thus defiling the church. As with Israel, the church must take action to remove those who defile the community (1 Cor. 5:5). However we must not forget that once purity is restored, through forgiveness and grace, fellowship is also to be restored.