I just returned from training some young, dynamic Latin missionaries. I shared with them a teaching series on "Developing Christian Character" that they drank in with great interest and enthusiasm. These are really passionate young people who are becoming world-changers that can touch many lives.

I think they have a different definition than the world on what constitutes the good life. Here's what I mean and what I was able to teach them.

The most important character trait of our lives is heart purity, inner virtue, integrity, or in a simple word goodness. When we first come to Christ, our greatest problem is sin. We have been thoroughly polluted by selfishness. Our motives are wrong. Our inner being has been defiled. Our heart has been darkened. When we give our lives to Christ, He immediately begins a massive "moral toxic waste" clean-up operation. Without a pure heart, we can proceed no further. There is too much rubble and junk in the way. So we begin the process of moral renovation by learning to be good.

In I Timothy 1:5, Paul says that the goal of all spiritual instruction, that is, all teaching, sermons, books, video tapes,audio cassettes, or other methods of communicating truth is to produce loving people. He then tells us that what is necessary to be a loving person is to have a pure heart, a good conscience, and a true faith. These three elements give an excellent definition of the character quality of goodness. Let's examine them individually.

A PURE HEART

Heart purity describes a present state of being. It involves analyzing our thoughts and motives, allowing the Lord to search our hearts and minds, and keeping ourselves free of sin at all times.

Many years ago I began the practice of taking daily accounts. I started out by kneeling by my bed at night and opening up my life to the Lord in the attitude of Psalm 139:23,24: "God, examine me and know my heart; test me and know my nervous thoughts. See if there is any bad thing in me. Lead me on the road to everlasting life." Usually, I asked the Lord some questions about my heart and let Him reveal His thoughts to me. Did I demonstrate any pride in my life today? Did I doubt Him in any area? Was I disobedient? Was I unloving to any person?

Then I let Him speak. Where there was conviction, I asked forgiveness. Where there was no perceived guilt, I offered thanks. Today I try to keep my heart pure on a moment-to-moment basis. Christian maturity is, after all, shortening the time period between sin and confession, revelation and obedience. Since sin is our main problem (Romans 3:23), we want to get rid of it as soon as possible. When our hearts are right with God to the best of our ability, we will know deep and abiding peace.

Purity of heart is especially important when it comes to sexual sin and its motivation of lust. Goodness nourishes. Lust rots. In II Peter 1:4, we are told that we can either be "partakers of God's nature" literally, feed on God or we can be eaten up by the passion of lust. Ask basketball star Magic Johnson. He possessed many admirable character traits, but he was bound by lust and impurity and is now is living with AIDS. Ask boxer Mike Tyson. His lustful heart landed him in prison.

A GOOD CONSCIENCE

Many years ago, I attended a large seminar in Seattle put on by Bill Gothard of the Institute of Basic Life Principles. Before 18,000 people, Mr. Gothard explained the importance of having a good conscience before God. He shared his experience of asking God to show him what people in his past he had sinned against and to whom he now needed to make confession and/or restitution for his sins. His list came to twenty or so people.

He went on to share very candidly what freedom had come to his life when he made all of these past relationships right (to the best of his ability). He then turned to the audience and said: "If each of you will clear your conscience of past sins,and if the average list of people you need to make things right with is around twenty then very soon 360,000 people in Seattle will hear a humble testimony of how Jesus can change lives. Also, you will be set free from the guilt of the past."

His words cut deeply into my soul and my mind began to race. Three hundred and sixty thousand people will hear about Christ if we all confess our past sins. My mind began to compute. That's two-thirds of the entire city of Seattle! And freedom will come to my own life if I take care of my sins of the past.

I determined to give it a try. One day, while holed up in the seclusion of my grandparents' waterfront home, I patiently (and agonizingly) listed on paper all of the past sins I could ever remember committing. At the time, I used the helpful guide of Charles Finney's Revival Lectures, chapter three, for making a list of my past sins.  After five hours, and three "goings over,"the list numbered roughly 300 specific acts of sin (that I could remember), and 15 to 20 people whom I needed to make things right with.

I thanked God for His grace and love and then burned the piece of paper in the fireplace with tears streaming down my cheeks. In the coming days, I followed through and cleared my conscience of the sins of the past. It was like taking a spiritual shower that made me feel clean all over. A clear conscience is crucial for inner freedom and holiness. It removes all the skeletons of the past that the enemy loves to drag out to haunt us.

SINCERE FAITH

We've seen that inner purity or goodness involves maintaining a pure heart in the present and clearing away the sins of the past. It also involves having a hope-filled faith in the future. A true faith is really a by-product of meticulously taking care of the first two rules. It is this sincere faith which is
ultimately most "pleasing to God" (Hebrews 11:6).

A sincere faith is one that is optimistic about the future. Instead of looking at the half empty glass of your life, the person with sincere faith is giving constant thanks about the full half. God is in control. I am not. He has a good future for me--and I'm going to trust him. Sincere faith is more than the power of positive thinking: it is gratefully resting in a mode of trust toward God, life's circumstances, and whatever the future holds. "Child-like faith" would be a good synonym.

To sum up, the number one character goal of our lives must be holiness of heart and life. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, "Those who are pure in their thinking are happy, because they will be with God." The apostle Paul stated, "We should make ourselves pure, free from anything that makes body or soul unclean" (II Corinthians 7:1). David added years before, "Who may go up on the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy temple? Only those with clean hands and pure hearts" (Psalm 24:3,4).And the writer to the Hebrews warned, "Try to live in peace with all people, and try to live free from sin. Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

Keep your heart pure in the present, your conscience cleansed of the past, and your faith sincerely pointed toward a hope-filled future. The you will truly experience the good life.