What Does “to the Pure All Things Are Pure” Actually Mean?

One of my favorite lines in The Princess Bride is when Inigo Montoya informs the villain, Vizzini, that his use of “inconceivable” is not correct. “You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.” It’s a popular quote, and since 2008 has been a popular meme on the internet to point out when somebody is using a word often, but incorrectly.

I wish I had that meme about twenty years ago when I was listening to a rant from a fellow pastor. He was upset that people had the audacity to call something a sin, even though that action is pretty clearly condemned in Scripture. What was his justification?

Titus 1:15. “To the pure all things are pure…” His argument was that if somebody was saved, thus pure, then no matter what they did it would be pure. I had to inform him, “You keep using that verse, but I do not think it means what you think it means…”

But what does Titus 1:15-16 mean?

"To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”

What Is the Context of Titus 1:15-16?

In the beginning of Titus, Paul tells his young protégé that when he plants churches, it is important that he quickly establish elders. He then outlines the character traits of these elders, also noting that “he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught.” The reason why you must hold firm to gospel truth is “so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

But why must he be involved in contradicting those who oppose the truth? Verses 10-16 answers that question. There are those who are “empty talkers and deceivers”. These are “upsetting whole families” and as such Titus (and those he trains) must “rebuke them sharply.” The purpose is so that they will be “sound in the faith” and not “devoting to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.”

Then, we have verses 15-16. That little statement “to the pure all things are pure” is there to be set in apposition to Paul’s main point, “to the defiled, unbelieving, nothing is pure…” They are able to corrupt anything. Verse 16 further outlines the character of those who “defiled and unbelieving.”

Then in Titus 2, Paul turns back again to Titus (and those Titus will train) and says, “But as for you…” In contrast to the “defiled and unbelieving,” this then is how you are supposed to live.

So the context, then, is an exposition of those who are “defiled and unbelieving.” That little statement “to the pure all things are pure” is a maxim that is used to highlight the corruption of their opponents.

It is likely connected with what we read in verse 14 about “Jewish myths” and “commands.” These false teachers are likely using elements of the law to enslave their hearers, but they are doing so in order to pad their wallets. It’s not hard to envision a Jewish flavored Gnosticism which claimed to hold the keys to truth, and in order to have access to God one must follow their rituals.

But what does it mean “to the pure all things are pure”?

What Does “to the Pure All Things Are Pure” Mean?

This phrase “to the pure all things are pure” is one that is often ripped from its context. This is likely a proverbial saying that was used by Paul to make his larger point about the false teachers who defile whatever they touch.

If I wanted to tell you how scrawny and insignificant a sparrow is, I might do this by comparing it to a majestic eagle. To do this I might say something like this, “The eagle, our majestic national bird, demands attention, but sparrows are scrawny, insignificant, and easily cast aside. Hundreds of them barely garner your attention when the flit about your yard.”

What is that paragraph about? Is the main point the majesty of the eagle? No. The eagle is only there as a foil to talk about my main point — scrawny little sparrows.

The same thing is happening here in Titus 1:15-16. Paul’s main point isn’t to say, “to the pure all things are pure.” That’s simply a tried-and-true maxim, something that everyone would agree with, in order to highlight his major point — whatever these dudes touch gets defiled. They can pervert anything. Even the law.

What, then, does it mean to be “pure” or “corrupted”?

What Does It Mean to Be "Pure" or "Corrupted"?

The use of the word “pure” here is interesting. Paul typically would use the word “righteous” when comparing those in-Christ with those who are not in-Christ. But he says “pure” here likely in contrast to his opponents who are hanging on Jewish myths to scare people.

I think Yarbrough explains it well:

“In Titus 1:14, however, he spoke of ‘Jewish myths’ and specious regulations. Informing such tales and scruples would be hoary tradition grounded in the Torah about matters ‘clean’ and ‘unclean,’ the same word group Paul uses in v. 15 to refer to the ‘pure.’ It may be the Jewish framework of the discussion that inclines him to refer to people in this way, a usage otherwise absent from his writings.”

What Paul is saying here is very similar to what Jesus said in Luke 11:41 and Mark 7:15. “But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.” And in Mark, “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”

Paul has said something similar in Romans 14:20: “Do not for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.”

To be “pure,” then means to be connected with Jesus. It is to believe in sound doctrine and to hold fast to the truth. Guthrie is correct, “A pure mind cannot be contaminated by physical contact, and the purest minds will have no relish in seeking unnecessary defilement.”

The corrupted are those who are in and of themselves unclean. They are not connected to Christ and therefore not able to be holy or pure. That which comes out of them, the impurity, is what is defiling them. They are corrupted because they have tampered with the gospel.

As such, everything they touch becomes defiled. A pure person, then, is able to partake of any morally neutral item or event and infuse it with their inner purity. “All food is clean.” But to the corrupted, they will make anything impure. Paul’s point is to show the utter wickedness and defilement of those who are trampling on the gospel.

Is It True That "to the Pure, All Things Are Pure"?

This saying only goes as far as the proverb is supposed to take it. To use this to say that someone is able to engage in something that is morally impure and not be defiled is to misuse this verse. It is talking about that which is morally neutral. Purity begets purity.

How foolish would it be to take this verse and argue that a believer can engage in pornography with purity? That is most certainly not what Paul is saying and that would be more in line with those who are “corrupted” in this text. Paul’s focus here is upon those things which are permitted by Scripture but forbidden by the false teachers. They are binding the conscience of believers and attempting to make a profit off their fear.

But the gospel has freed us up; we don’t have to live in that fear anymore. The false teachers’ message will not hold sway over anyone who has drank of the freedom given in Jesus. And those who have enjoyed the purity and freedom of Christ will not thirst for a drink from a carnal stream.

What Does This Verse Mean for Us Today?

This verse means that you are either free in Jesus, or you do not have freedom at all. It doesn’t mean that because the believer has the Holy Spirit, he or she can engage in sinful activity and somehow make it pure.

There is also a subtle warning in this passage. What happens if I engage something that is morally pure? Do I enjoy them as good gifts from God and partake of them with thankfulness in my heart? Does this morally neutral thing or action have a spark of purity because of my engagement with it, or does it seem to be dirty with me having touched it?

If a person is taking things which are morally neutral and corrupting them with crass joking or ingratitude, or if they are used to further pride and self-satisfaction, then it might be an indicator that I do not have purity of heart.

Sources

Robert W. Yarbrough, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, ed. D. A. Carson, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; London: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos, 2018), 500.

Donald Guthrie, Pastoral Epistles: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 14, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 210.

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