“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.” Isaiah 52:11
If God is our Creator, and He is, and if Christ is our Redeemer, and He is, what are we to be to Him? How can it be that a mortal man, sinner in nature, blind by sin’s curse of spiritual death, and hopelessly imperiled by time and helplessness, find God, be accepted before and by God, and become not only a servant of God, but His child, to live a life of usefulness and fruitfulness for His glory? The answer begins with something DONE, finished, and at the grasp of all men, specifically those who are moved to seek it. It was Charles Wesley who wrote: “And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain?” Wesley begins with God, the provision of the Savior’s blood and HIs suffering on Calvary. But then he goes further and unveils God’s working in the life of the individual. He writes: “Long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature’s night: Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.” We are brought by Wesley’s words and testimony before the fact that God awakens the heart and soul of the lost man, draws out his heart by the revelation of Christ, provides the power to repent and believe so that chains fall off, and the heart is free. Then we must ask, for what purpose? It is to rise, go forth, and to follow Christ. Wesley concludes his hymn by declaring: “Bold I approach the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own.” From inescapable death, from a human standpoint, to the awakening by the intervention of God, to the quickening to life of the new creation in Christ, to the glorious access to God, having peace for ever with God, we are brought face to face with the matter of an eternal purpose, a present usefulness, and a certain fruitfulness that God alone provides, and this in abundance. What then is a “vessel of honor” to God, a life lifted up to Him, and lived for Him, to please and glorify Him in greatest measure? The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that such a vessel is one which “departs from iniquity,” deliberately separating himself to Christ from all that is not glorifying God. He is one who has the mentality, will, and purpose, to be by the Spirit, “…fit for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Timothy 2:19,20) Practically, how can an individual believer be this? What must he specifically trust Christ for?
The first thing he must see is that all becomes possible “…by the mercies of God.” Those who would seek to know and serve Christ must appeal to, and wholly rely upon the mercy and grace of God, believing Him specifically to meet certain needs of mind and heart. The first of those needs is cleansing from sin, being fully assured that God has forgiven all sin, and that the pathway to communion is open. The Psalmist wrote: “If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (66:17) He then goes on to write: “But verily God hath heard me: He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.” Just as certain as true confession of sin, and repentance is essential, so is the certain assurance that God cleanses from “all” sin. (1 Jn. 1:7) Isaiah wrote of the same issue: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.” (59:2) Sin must be dealt with, and can be dealt with, for it is the will of God for us to be cleansed from it. Christ’s precious blood was shed to cleanse perfectly, constantly.
Dear Father, Keep us clean today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.