Spiritually Cleansing Ourselves, Both Inside and Out...

There was a crippled woman in China, who was the greatest spiritual power in her province. As a child she was dropped by careless hands. For many years she was bad tempered, lashing with her sharp tongue against fate and her en­vironment. But when she became a child of God, all was changed. She became a teacher.

When she was sent to her first school, there was a riot, because the people said this cripple would bring them bad luck. But when she was transferred to another school after several years, there was a greater riot, because they had never had such a teacher. No one in her city had led so many people to God.

And in the time of sorrow, God pities. Let us not forget that. I see people, ignorant people, who do not know that and I tell them this truth about God, and they are surprised. God is the God of all comfort. -The Gospel Herald

People are often concerned about appearances, especially when they are viewed as moral and upright. The funny thing is, this occurs even when deep down inside they are not moral and upright!

Jesus warned of cleaning the outside without cleaning the inside (Luke 11:37-41). The Pharisees were often guilty of this (Matthew 23:25-26); appearing righteous, but full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matthew 23:27-28).

To avoid hypocrisy, we need to clean both the outside and the inside! To succeed, it begins by being born again and obeying the gospel. As to being born again, Jesus taught the necessity of a "new birth" (John 3:3-8). This new birth involves the Spirit and water (cf. John 3:5; Titus 3:5). It also involves the Word of God (James 1:18,21; 1 Peter 1:22-23).

By obeying the Gospel, we means that the Word which causes rebirth is proclaimed in the gospel (1 Peter 1:24-25). This was the good news which Jesus wanted everyone to hear (Mark 16:15-16). This was a message that included faith, repentance, and baptism (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:35-38).

When one obeys the gospel in faith, repentance, and baptism, their sins are washed away through the blood of Christ (Acts 22:16; Revelation 1:5). That is truly "cleaning the inside"!

But it doesn't end there! The cleansing continues through sanctification by putting off the "old" man, and putting on the "new" man. First, in putting off the "old" man, sanctification involves becoming "holy", or "set apart." This requires seriously addressing those things which defile a person (Mark 7:20-23). Keep in mind that this is an ongoing process for Christians, putting off the "old" man (Colossians 3:5-11).

Second, by putting on the "new" man, it is not enough to just get rid of the old, we must replace it (cf. Matthew 12:43-45)! When we replace the old man by putting on the new man (Ephesians 4:20-24; Colossians 3:12-17), we produce the fruit of the Spirit instead of works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-23; cf. Luke 11:41).

In closing, we must ask ourselves, "Are we clean on the outside while dirty on the inside...?" If so, we must look to Jesus for true conversion and sanctification!

Prayer:

Jesus, have mercy on me.
O God, forgive me for all the sins of my life;
The sins of my youth and the sins of my age,
The sins of my body and the sins of my soul,
The sins I have confessed and the sins I have forgotten,
The sins against others in thought, word, and deed.
0, my God, I am sorry for all my sins, because you are so good;
And I will not sin again with the help of God.
God please be merciful to me, a sinner.
Amen

Have a blessed day!

Janet