Purified

When Peter talks about us purifying ourselves by obeying (1Peter 1:22 "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart."), I feel uncomfortable. I've been taught to avoid any semblance of works-based salvation, so I get uneasy whenever anyone says I can do part of it myself. Jesus purified me; the Holy Spirit continues to purify me. But me myself?

But I have to admit that I can make myself impure through disobedience. I've done that experiment often enough to have validated the theory. So doesn't it follow that I should be able to do the opposite?

I guess to the extent I am able to obey, I become more pure. That I don't obey more is a mark of my own weakness. When I do obey, it's because I rely completely on God.

That may be what Peter is getting at. The act of obedience comes from complete reliance on God. That's the only way I can do it. And it results in a better understanding of God's will. It results in a strengthened ability to obey, to do God's will.

Maybe that's what being purified really is. And maybe the part that I do is to rely fully on God, since that's the only way I can truly be obedient.