Answer: Everyone who has this hope of being like Jesus when He appears again should purify himself, just as Jesus is pure, (1 John 3:3).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
Psalm 18:25-26: "To the faithful you show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless, to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd."
Psalm 24:3-5: "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior."
Psalm 51:10: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Psalm 119:9-11: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word. I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands. I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You."
Proverbs 15:26: "The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to Him."
Matthew 5:8: [Jesus said,] "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
2 Corinthians 6:14 through 7:1: "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial [Satan]? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.' ‘Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.' ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.' Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." [NOTE: Belial came to mean Satan during the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Some say that here it represents a personification of the system of impure worship connected especially with the cult of Aphrodite. Others interpret this word as a proper name meaning "worthless one." Hence, "sons of Belial" or "children of Belial," as found in Deuteronomy 13:13 (KJV), are "worthless fellows" or "wicked men."]
Philippians 1:9-11: "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God."
Philippians 2:14-16: "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the Word of Life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing."
Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
1 Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
2 Timothy 2:22: "Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
Titus 1:15: "To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted."
James 3:17: "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."
2 Peter 3:10-14: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him."
