Endorsements of The Purity Principle
From Keiki Hendrix, The Vessel Project —
The Purity Principle is a short book full of wise advice, straight to the point stating the obvious but often overlooked message that ‘Purity is smart and Impurity is stupid’—can it get any simpler than that?”
Published in 2003 by Multnomah, Randy Alcorn’s The Purity Principle: God’s Safeguards for Life’s Dangerous Trails is as relative and pertinent today (maybe even more so) than when it was first published. The message in this book is timeless, obvious, and wise.
I re-read this book as research for my current non-fiction book for women on the subject of purity and because Randy Alcorn tops the list of my favorite authors whether fiction or non-fiction. His words are sound truth and offer no fluff.
His illustrations are, at times, heartbreaking. We’ve all heard the stories of how good men and women fall to such temptations. He offers these short stories to state the obvious response. We will rationalize our actions and then look to excuse all the warning signs until it is too late.
Using these stories, Alcorn tracts back the origin of the issue—purity. First, one must admit that no one is above such temptations. We should expect temptation to come our way, consider our response in advance, and be ready with a godly response—not excuse it.
He later drives home the point that there is no one else to blame when we find our witness destroyed, our marriages broken, and our relationships with friends and family forever changed.
One of my favorite portions of this book was how God sees things. Alcorn states that God does not deal in right or wrong. God deals in wisdom and righteousness. A point to ponder as a culture can excuse or manipulate right and wrong but God’s Word cannot be morphed in such a way. An act is either wise or foolish and is never subject to man’s judgment on the matter.
A quick, relative read on the subject of purity. Don’t let this book’s small size suggest it is not thorough. There is enough wise instruction in this little book if applied to your life, to save you many a heartache.
These books should be in every church library and perhaps used regularly in a church discipleship curriculum. I recommend this book highly.
This review originally appeared on: http://vesselproject.com/2010/06/28/review-of-the-purity-principle-by-randy-alcorn/ on June 28, 2010.
From Rev. Bill Berry, Director of Battle Plan Ministries —
The Purity Principle, by Randy Alcorn, is the must-read for anyone who is serious about walking the walk that is worthy of Christ exhorted by the Apostle Paul in Eph. 4: 1.
This is a small book, only 93 small pages—one of those quicky, travel reads. But make no mistake, this is a powerful book; and if you read it on a trip somewhere, it’ll make you squirm with conviction and purpose. If you’re a Christian who really wants to walk in purity—but maybe you’ve had some challenges in this area -- this book will set you on the right course; and I’m convinced that an occasional reread will keep you on that straight and narrow road.
What is The Purity Principle? Well, simply stated by Alcorn, it is this: “Purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid.” And for 11 brief, but potent, chapters, the author convinces the reader that in Christ, this is a winnable war!
After reading this book, I thought to myself, “How I would have loved to have been a Christian at age 12, when I was introduced to pornography and began a 22+ year double life of habitual sexual sin, and to have read this book.” I could have saved all those years of agony and stupidity, which almost cost me my marriage, my family life, and my career. This book could have been a light for my path in life.
What a wonderful book this would be for a father and a young, adolescent son to read together! But even more relevant, what a pertinent and powerful book this is for the Christian, man or woman, who is floundering in repetitive rides on what I’ve written about and called the “repentance roller-coaster,” those ups-and-downs of anti-purity, followed by repentance, remorse, and regret. Those who want to get off that rollercoaster simply must read and apply this book, which is laced with biblical support, to give God’s direction to what Alcorn has been led to write.
This book will be a life changer for those who want to walk with Christ in purity; and as Director of Battle Plan Ministry, this book will be the purity primer for our ministry. So, having been in the dregs of impurity in my life and now walking the road of purity in Christ, I heartily exhort any BPM warrior to get this book into your soul as soon as possible.
