CLEAN BEFORE OUR LORD

 Clean Before the Lord,                                   October 20, 2003

                                    John 13:1-10, 15:1-4, 17:17-19   
    I have prayer in sincerity, and have heard the prayer many years 
for the cleansing of the heart. Remembering the passage from John 
13: 10  as  someone was praying  in public for such  a cleansing,  it
occured to me; this kind of prayer may not be Scriptural. In this pas-
sage Jesus was washing His disciples feet after the Last Supper. Dur-
ing an exchange with Cepas, Peter, as the disciple asked the Lord to  
wash  him  all over,  the  Lord  said; “He who is washed needeth not 
save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and  ye are clean,  but 
not all,"  speaking of  Judas who should betray Him.  In other places
we see how this cleansing is effected.  In John 15: 3, during  the dis-
course on the "True Vine."  Christ said,  ye  are  clean  through the  
Word I have spoken unto you."  Then in John 17: 17, from His inter-
cessory  prayer for  His disciples,  He  said; “Sanctify  them  by thy 
truth. Thy word is truth.”  In  the Psalms we see a reference to  this 
principle: "Wherewithal shall a young cleanse his way?  By  taking
heed according to Thy Word.?"  As children of the living God, heirs 
and  joint-heirs  with Jesus Christ, our Lord  has taken it upon him-
self to cleanse us from sins of the heart.  He knows we are not going 
to  intentionally rebel against known  truth.  The  slipping and error 
into which we  fall victim is unintentional.  At times  our missing the 
mark is out of  ignorance  of the truth of God's Word.  According to
Scripture, under consideration above;  if the child of God is faithful 
in applying the Word to every situation,  he will be free from sins of 
the heart.  The contamination from walking in this world is cleansed
through the "washing of the Water of the Word." In John 1:9, we see
the solution to the problem as it arises. "If we confess our sins, He is
faithful  and  just to  forgive us  our sins  and to  cleanse  us from all
unrighteousness."   This act involves repentance, or turning from the
sin to our Heavenly Father for cleansing.  We must then make a con-
certed effort to avoid sin in the future,  remembering, God hates sin. 
He does not countenance sinful lifestyles on the part of His children.
That should be enough to cause us to avoid sin like the plague it is.

   
  (A life above reproach is required of one who would be like Christ.)
A reproach is a poor reflection on our Lord, His church and family.  
We can only live above reproach as we follow the Word of God. 
"And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld 
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of 
  grace and truth." 
                                                                                     John 1: 14, nkjv

The Lord God will not be separated from His Word, Jesus Christ His 
Son. Read Ephesians 5: 25-26...  "Husbands. love your wives, just as
Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her,  that He might 
sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of the water by the Word.  

    Since we are flawed and imperfect beings,  our God has made provi-
sion for  regular cleansing  of  our vessel  using the Word of God.  This 
does not excuse one who finds himself in this dilemma, but provides a 
way for uninterrupted fellowship with the Father as we walk on earth.
God  hated sin enough to give His  Son as a sacrifice  in redemption of 
the race.   (There is but  one race,  the Human Race or family...) 
  He did,  however,  recognize the fact that we are  weak because of the
body of flesh in which we live, and offers cleansing and uninterrupted
service.  It  is  available to the child of God as  the Spirit brings convic-
tion  and  confession  is  made.  We  know,  according  to  God's Word,
we  are not made perfect  through  keeping  the  law  or  doing "good."
Nor is there any  other way  we may attain  perfection or  maturity  on
our own, by efforts in  the flesh.  There  remains one way cleansing  is 
accomplished.  The lord  “imputes"  righteousness,   just  as  He did  in
Abraham  of  the  Old  Testament.    “Abraham   believed  God  and   it 
was  counted (imputed) to  Him  for  righteousness.”  This  gift  is  not, 
nor  has never been  earned  by  a child  of  God.  The  blood  of  Jesus
is  our only means of  forgiveness and  accessed  through faith in Him. 
(Believe God.) There has never been other  means  of  cleansing  than 
the  grace of  Jesus Christ.  Cleansing of  the  heart of  a  believer  is a 
once for  all thing.  One only  needs  cleansing of  the feet as he walks 
among  the  men  of  this  world  and  even  earnestly  seeking   purity, 
slips into error.  This is offered by exercising 1 John 1: 9. 
     “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive 
        us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  

This is the continuous work of the Word of God, actuated by the Spirit, 
 in our lives to keep us “unspotted by the  world,”  and above reproach 
as we deal with the “world, the flesh and the devil," our  only enemies.
                                                                                           donporter   9.08.12