J Heinrich Arnold-Freedom from sinful thoughts.pdf

16. PurificationWHEN WE have just experienced true repentance andrebirth, a clean conscience and a pure heart are livingrealities, and the joy and conviction they bring maycarry us for many days. For most people, though,struggles soon resume, and even if they are new, or lessintense – even if we do not return to old sinful habits –we feel less and less able to speak of our purity withconfidence. Faced with this knowledge, it is no wonderthat many Christians simply give up believing in thepossibility of true healing and a pure heart.Is purity a practical goal, or just a wonderful ideal? Instruggling to answer this vital question over manyyears, I always find myself returning to the one whocalls us to a pure heart in the first place. If Jesus – theonly sinless man to have ever walked the earth –struggled with temptation, how much understanding hemust have for our lapses and failings! Yet he stilldemands of us, “Be ye perfect” and tells us that only thepure in heart will “see God.”