I accidentally dropped my cell phone into the garbage can. It slid straight to the bottom, and when I pulled it out, it was covered with some kind of disgusting mystery goo. Horrified, I set to work spraying, scrubbing, and disinfecting. I didn’t stop until the phone was spotless.
God called the people of Israel to “sanitize” themselves. They’d been living as a nation of spiritual renegades (Isaiah 1:4) even as they continued to observe their religious ceremonies. God was seriously fed up with them. He said, “I am sick of your burnt offerings” (Isaiah 1:11), and “When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look” (Isaiah 1:15). God didn’t want an outward show of confession without an inner commitment to act differently.
Fortunately, God outlined a couple of steps to help the nation get right with Him. He began by saying, “Give up your evil ways” (Isaiah 1:16). As believers in Jesus, we have the same responsibility to knock off the sin that separates us from God. Anything less is abusing God’s grace. Paul asked, “Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not!” (Romans 6:1-2).
Once we discontinue specific sinful actions, it’s important to replace them with activities that please God. Getting clean involves “[learning] to do good” (Isaiah 1:17). Specifically, we can lend a hand to the poor, defend orphans, or champion the rights of widows.
Like the Israelites, many of us sin like crazy, and then supposedly come clean before God every Sunday. With the Holy Spirit’s help (Ezekiel 36:27), we can stop that cycle and align our actions with our repentant hearts. We can follow God’s command: “Wash yourselves!” (Isaiah 1:16), and He will make us truly spotless.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: John 12:37-50
More:
Read Romans 13:11-14 to understand the urgency involved in getting right with God.
Next:
How does insincere confession by believers in Jesus affect the way nonbelievers view the Christian faith? Why is it so important to replace sinful habits with God- pleasing actions?
tom felten on August 31, 2011 at 11:39 am
Keith Green once wrote and sang, “To obey is better than sacrifice, I want more than Sundays and Wednesday nights.” The lyrics, based on 1 Samuel 15:22 and written from God’s perspective, challenges me to truly live for Jesus 24/7. To worship Him in my family, my local church, my work—everything! Thanks, Jennifer, for this challenge. None of us will ever do this perfectly in this life, but—as you wrote—with the Holy Spirit’s help our lives can reflect better and better the holiness and obedience that God deserves.
jennifer benson schuldt on August 31, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Tom,
Great reminder about not being able to do this perfectly in this life. That is why we need God’s grace. There is an important relationship between our humility and God’s grace. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6). There is humility in trying to do better, and perhaps a bit of pride in doing the Sunday/Wednesday night routine with our sin, I think…
GChoo on August 31, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Well said Jennifer. I think many of us, including myself, have in the past or even now have left behind the teaching of God come Monday. Take for example simple thing like driving, we can become impatient with slow drivers, driving close to them or giving them the frustrated look when overtaking them. I can agree with Tom that it is a challenge living in this world and being fallen in nature. May we continue to stay close to God’s teaching and pray that the Holy Spirit will give us the wisdom to walk in holiness and in obedience to God. And that in what we do and say will bring glory and honour to our Great God and Creator.
jennifer benson schuldt on August 31, 2011 at 5:12 pm
GChoo,
Yes, it is easy to forget our Sunday promises to resist sin. Sometimes it becomes disheartening …speaking from my own personal experience, I know there are things I can pray about in the morning, only to have fouled up by (or before) lunch time! I cherish this verse: “…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). These words remind me that holiness is a process—a long one. : )
daisymarygoldr on August 31, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Both are essential i.e. to be clean on the inside and to do good outside.
Clean hearts provide clean service. Water can be contained in a clean glass and a dirty one as well. But no one will drink the water from the dirty glass. An unclean vessel is of no use to God or for people.
Overheard in the Community:
“For dollars, I will look to this country but for morals I will go back to my country.” — An International student.
Moral soundness is a must for preaching the gospel. Christian works and moral cleanliness go hand in hand. We cannot have one without the other.
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God is to care for orphans and widows— and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world (James 1:27). Thanks Jennifer for the reminder to be spotless and align our actions with our repentant hearts!
jennifer benson schuldt on August 31, 2011 at 11:12 pm
daisymarygoldr,
Thanks for your comment! When you said “moral soundness is a must for preaching the gospel,” I was reminded of Paul’s writings in the New Testament. Specifically, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, and especially the last verse in the passage, which goes like this: “…that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory”. This is great motivation for following God’s rules as best we can, and for being transparent and humble when we miss the mark.
regina franklin on August 31, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Dear Jennifer,
I love that you point out that sanctification isn’t just focused on what we”don’t” do but also on those things we can do to express our heart for the Lord in life-giving actions. My faithfulness to my marriage covenant is defined by far more than the fact that I don’t go out with other men. More so, it’s about the love relationship I share with my husband. The same is true for our covenant with the Lord.
jennifer benson schuldt on August 31, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Regina,
Great analogy. There are so many lessons from loving in this life–especially the marriage relationship–that help us understand spiritual truth. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
P.S. I really enjoyed the devotional you wrote about your son and the rearview mirror. The last line, “…love takes us beyond our base responses rooted in self-preservation” was so powerful and true!
winn collier on August 31, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Just today, I’ve been delving into the Sermon on the Mount – and accompanying that, how Jesus said that washing the outside of a cup is easy but the real action is cleaning out the inside. I’m glad God’s Spirit works inside out.
jennifer benson schuldt on August 31, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Amen!!