Book Review of ’The Purity Principle’ by Randy Alcorn

“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 tracks 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.  That is 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.

It's a quick, relevant 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. This books should be in every church library and perhaps used regularly in a church discipleship curriculum.  I highly recommend this book.

The Purity Principle: God’s Guardrails on Life’s Dangerous Roads By Randy Alcorn

# Hardcover: 96 pages
# Publisher: Multnomah Books (July 7, 2003)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 1590521951
# ISBN-13: 978-1590521953

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