Name Tags: You Are... Clean
If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:7-9 (NKJV)
Through faith in Jesus, our sins are removed! What an unexpected, undeserved gift!!!
A sinless Man took the hits WE deserved…therein cleansing us from ALL unrighteousness. Therein…
No matter the stupid mistakes we've made.
No matter the dirty words we've spoken.
No matter the people we've hurt or wronged.
No matter the gravity of the sins.
God loves, forgives, and CHOOSES to forget... if we CHOOSE to trust and follow His Son. To me, this extraordinary blessing can only be topped by Heaven itself: a dazzling life with Jesus and our kin. The Bible gives us hints of coming joy–without tears, pain, darkness, evil, or sin.
Actors, models, and talent for Christ:
Review the steps to be clean. Assuming we're committed and baptized:
We walk in light by reflecting Jesus, which is accomplished by following Him and modeling His Life as best we can.
We stay in fellowship with our Christian kin. The body of Christ should work together– and is FAR LESS EFFECTIVE when alone.
Just as a heart pumps blood through a body, Christ's Blood flows through each part of His true church. He cleanses and revitalizes us.
If we ever feel “holier than thou” (Isaiah 65:5), seeing sin in others (but not ourselves), we're NOT walking in truth and WON’T be cleansed.
When we sin (which we will), and confess it (with genuine and heartfelt repentance), God continues to cleanse us (if we ask).
“FOOT” NOTE: When Jesus orders us to wash our feet… symbolically, it means worldliness.* The world's idolatry will cling to us if we don’t stay aware and “wash it off.”
'Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you' (James 1:27, NLT). How do we refuse worldly corruption? Recognize it and never believe it.
'Little children, keep yourselves from idols' (1 John 5:21).
Name Tags: You Are... Clean (Part 22)
* Said to Peter in John 13:10)
* Ellicott's Commentary on John 13:10: 'The man who has been bathed is clean, but his feet coming in contact with the dust of the road need to be washed. It was so morally. They had been cleansed; their whole moral life had been changed, but they were liable to the corruption of everyday life through which they walked, and needed to be cleansed from the pollution of it.' http://biblehub.com/commentaries/john/13-10.htm