The Need for Thorough Cleansing
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.”
Psalm 51:6–9
Those who have been in the military or attended a school with strict requirements for cleaning know what is meant by a “white glove” inspection. It is easy to put a few things away, run the vacuum over the middle of the floor and call a room clean. But that kind of cleaning won’t pass white glove. In the literal sense of the phrase, the person doing the inspection would put on a pair of gloves before checking whether the room was actually clean. Those gloves would quickly reveal whether a thorough cleaning had taken place, or whether the occupant had done just the minimum to make things look good on the surface.
God looks at our lives and measures them against a standard of perfect holiness. He does not overlook sins just because we think they are small or insignificant. In fact, most of the major tragedies of character, the devastating public sins that seem to be so sudden, begin with small sins allowed to linger rather than being dealt with. Charles Spurgeon said, “Dread sin; though it be never so small, dread it. You cannot see all that is in it. It is the mother of ten thousand mischiefs. The mother of mischief, they say, is as small as a midge’s egg; and certainly, the smallest sin has ten thousand mischiefs sleeping within its bowels.” If we treat sin casually, it will not be long before we find ourselves enslaved to it. If we bring them to the Lord in repentance, He will cleanse us and help us walk in freedom from them.
Psalm 51:6–9
Those who have been in the military or attended a school with strict requirements for cleaning know what is meant by a “white glove” inspection. It is easy to put a few things away, run the vacuum over the middle of the floor and call a room clean. But that kind of cleaning won’t pass white glove. In the literal sense of the phrase, the person doing the inspection would put on a pair of gloves before checking whether the room was actually clean. Those gloves would quickly reveal whether a thorough cleaning had taken place, or whether the occupant had done just the minimum to make things look good on the surface.
God looks at our lives and measures them against a standard of perfect holiness. He does not overlook sins just because we think they are small or insignificant. In fact, most of the major tragedies of character, the devastating public sins that seem to be so sudden, begin with small sins allowed to linger rather than being dealt with. Charles Spurgeon said, “Dread sin; though it be never so small, dread it. You cannot see all that is in it. It is the mother of ten thousand mischiefs. The mother of mischief, they say, is as small as a midge’s egg; and certainly, the smallest sin has ten thousand mischiefs sleeping within its bowels.” If we treat sin casually, it will not be long before we find ourselves enslaved to it. If we bring them to the Lord in repentance, He will cleanse us and help us walk in freedom from them.
Today’s Growth Principle:
If you allow small sins to linger in your heart, it will not be long before they are joined by larger sins.
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment