Psalm 119:9 – Biblical Principles!

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word."

Psalm 119:9

Many a young Christian, young person, etc may ask "How can I keep my way (life) pure?" They want to know what to do to live a godly life. And the answer is rather simple "Live it (or guard it) according to the word of the Lord." Live your life by Biblical principles. What are Biblical principles you may ask? Well they are a set of principles solely based on scripture. They can be standard or completely individualized but the key is that they are based on the Word of God. They aren't based on our own opinions, the church's opinions or even the opinions of our friends or the media. They are complete based on what the Lord says in His word to us.

You can develop your own set of Biblical principles for anything, from the music you listen to, to the TV you watch, to your friendships, relationships, finances and your devotional time with the Lord. Anything can be made to be a set of Biblical principles. For example let's look at some standards principles for dating relationships.

From my own personal principles here is my number one, the man I date/marry MUST be a Christian. It isn't just my opinion or desire it's from the Word of God. 2 Corinthians 6:14 "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers, for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness. Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" Simply put, your closest relationships should not be with unbelievers. This isn't to say you can't have unsaved friends. You should have unsaved friends so you can witness to them, but your close circle of friends and especially your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse should without a doubt be a believer and have a close relationship with the Lord. Another one of my principle is that my boyfriend/spouse needs to be a spiritual leader to me and my family. 1 Timothy 3:4 "He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect." Do you get the idea? Use verses to support your ideas, but be careful not to twist verses into saying what you want them to say. For instance the 2 Corinthians passage can be twisted into saying that you shouldn't have any contact with unbelievers which isn't the case, otherwise how would we share the gospel?

How about Biblical principles on speech, these days speech is a big thing, even Christians are prone to using the phrase "OMG" and the G doesn't stand for "gosh" and other forms of the Lord's name in vain as well as other swear words. What we say and how we speak says a lot about who we are, if you have a quote-unquote "potty mouth", people aren't going to think highly of you if you turn around and say you are a Christian. I am truly appalled by the number of Christians who swear. And the Bible says sooo much about our speech, one of the 10 commandments is that we not take the name of the Lord in vain. Ephesians 4:29 says "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Are you getting it? Every person can keep their way pure by developing Biblical principles and living their lives according to the Word of God instead of just the opinions of the church and friends and family. It is important that what the Lord says becomes the most important. If we base our principles for living on the Word of God and as we will see in verse 11, hide the Word in our hearts. We can live pure, godly lives that are set apart for Christ Jesus.

Abba Father, Thank You for giving us Your inspired holy scriptures that we can read and learn about You and Your ways. Thank You for giving me the instructions I need to live a pure and pleasing life and I pray that You give me the wisdom to develop Biblical principles that I can live my life by and that will help to direct my ways. Thank You again and may my life be an example of how to live a life that is driven by Your Word. In Jesus name, Amen!