1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
God says in the last verse of chapter 6, "I will be a Father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters." Therefore, Paul writes, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
What a promise we have from God. He told Abraham I will be Your God and you shall be the father of many nations. God is restating the same promise that He made to Abraham. In fact, the promise that He gives us in this passage is the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. Because Abraham trusted God and walked with Him in faith, so can we today believe God and take Him at His Word and walk with Him.
Because God has given us this position of prominence in His family, we need to do our part. We need to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. We need to take God at His Word and allow the Holy Spirit convict us of our sin and then cleanse us of that sin. Our part is to repent and turn to God for His redemptive work. God knows what we need and He will give us His grace through His mercy as we look to Him to cleanse us. We cannot cleanse ourselves. We have to look to God for that cleansing.
We have to look to the Word of God and the Spirit as we surrender our wills to His Will. We need to make His thoughts our thoughts and when we do our ways become His ways. Obedience is the key to that cleansing. Obedience to the Word stands in direct opposition to submission to the desires of the mind and the lust of the flesh. When our will lines up with His will, He is able to perfect His righteousness in us.
God's righteousness is what He looks for in our lives. God wants to see the effects of His provisions in our lives. He wants to see His glory reflected in our lives. When we cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, God's righteousness fills that void and that is what others see as the look at our lives! When the rest of the world is able to see Jesus in us, then his glory is made full and He is able to reach out and touch others!
1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
A Pastor's thoughts about the Scripture and it's influence in our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment