November 2015 Words of Life

Words of Life

Whose Responsibility is it to Keep Your Hands Clean and Heart Pure?

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8

Who may ascend  to the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place?  The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from their Savior.  Psalm 24:3-5

The Bible is very clear that you and I cannot save ourselves. Salvation is a free gift from God through Jesus Christ His Son (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10).  However, once a person gets saved or becomes born again they have an obligation as a Child of God to get into the Word of God (Matthew 6:33) and let the Word of God get into them and clean them up or sanctify them and set them apart for God (John 17:17, Phil 2:12, ).  The setting apart is called sanctification. Jesus said in John 17:17 that we are sanctified, set apart from the influence of this world with the Word of God, which is the Truth of God.   In other words, it is walking on this earth with clean hands and a pure heart. Another way of saying it is to walk on this earth being knowledgeable and obedient to the Word of God (John 14:21).

As a child of God, it is your responsibility to keep your hands clean and your heart pure.  However, without the Word of God and the Holy Spirit you will be ignorant of what it means to have clean hands and a pure heart (John 17:17, John 16:8-11). It is only by the Word of God (Truth) and the power of the Holy Spirit that your eyes will be opened to see areas in your life that are not clean and impure. It is only by the Holy Spirit that you are empowered to change those areas in your life that need to be changed.  The Bible tells us in Hebrews 4:12 that the Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword going to the deeper areas in our life to show us truth and give us discernment.  The Bible tells us in Acts 1:8 that the Holy Spirit empowers us to live a clean and holy life unto God.

Realize the enemy wants to keep you out of the Bible and out of God’s plan for your life. But, let me encourage you to get into the Word daily (Joshua 1:8) and let the Holy Spirit use the Word to teach you and empower you (Acts 1:8) to follow God with clean hands and a pure heart.

 

Leave a Reply