Cleaning Up Our Lives
A life’s Chore
2 Corinthians 7:1
This past weekend, Becky and I spent all day Saturday cleaning up the house. We both work so much that we just allow things to keep going until we finally say enough. I had already started on my mess, which took all day to relocate, while she started in probably the cleanest room in the house. However, as she worked toward my location, she slowed down too. Even though she accomplished more than I did, I was reminded of how filthiness slows us down in our lives too. Thinking about that, I was reminded of what Paul told the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 7:1. He said, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Life, in general, has a tendency to drag a person down. Christians are no different. A statement that David made about ‘the wicked prospering,’ shows us how much we desire to be like the world. We can’t seem to separate ourselves from it, can we? Amazing enough, we should know that we are obligated to live for Christ. He gives us direction in our lives, through HIS Word, but at times we choose our own roads in life too. I can’t count on my hand the number of times I went my own way, thinking, ‘I know this is wrong, but…’ Sin is sin, no matter how much man tries to totem pole them. In God’s eyes, no one sin is greater than another, except for the sin of blaspheming the Holy Ghost. That is an unpardonable sin.
If we study up on the church at Corinth, we find that this particular church had many issues. I think that many of the issues that they had where based upon the fact that maybe they weren’t growing spiritually like all Christians should. Paul laid out a grand example of how Christians should live in Roman 12: 1 – 2. Paul begged the Christians at Rome to surrender their lives to the Christian duties. He said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
This particular passage is often preached in many churches simply because it directs us with an authority that stands out more to some people. However, we need to examine the directions that Paul is stating in this passage too. Paul said to present your bodies a living sacrifice. This means that we should strive to live for the Lord with all we have. We need to discipline our lives to where HE can been seen. It’s all supposed to be about HIM anyway, right? It will be about HIM, whether we try to make it about HIM or not. The part of Romans 12 that catches one’s eye after the charge in verses 1 and 2 is verse 3. “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he out to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.’
For a person to be able to clean up the filth in his life, he must first humble himself and allow God to show him how dirty he is. Obviously the people in Rome, just like the people in Corinth, had what is called an ‘I’ problem or ‘me’ problem. ‘Look at me, I’m so important!’ Most people have a big problem admitting that they are wrong. Why? The answer to this is easier than we think; nobody wants to admit that they are sinners. The reason for this is simple; we have an inferiority complex, to some extent. If we don’t fit into a certain group of people, we don’t feel needed or wanted. Nobody wants to admit that they are bad. We can’t believe that God would actually allow somebody to go to hell when they die, simply because they don’t accept HIM as their Savior, by repenting of their sins and asking HIM to be LORD of their lives. After all, where’s the justice in that, huh?
We all need to realize that hell was created for the devil and his angels; not for man. If a person chooses to live his life for himself and rejects God, then they put themselves into hell at death. It’s not God’s fault! He paid every person’s way into heaven by allowing HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to die on the cross for us. It’s not HIS fault if a person doesn’t choose to pick up their paid ticket. There are people who have accepted the free ticket, but choose to live life as they please. These folks, like many others, need to clean their life up. Paul instructs us to ‘be separate,’ (2 Cor. 6:17). He also stated to ‘abstain from all appearance of evil,’ too, in 1 Thessalonians 5:22.
Cleaning our lives up for Christ’s sake is the only way we can truly have a relationship with HIM. Sin separates us from God, and the call of repentance is loud. We should be challenged today to listen to HIM and ask HIM to show us what needs to be cleaned up. We need to give HIM our all. If you were served food on a dirty plate who you be willing to eat the food? That’s how some of our lives are; we expect God to bless us and accept us with our plates full of dirt. The main reason that the church of Corinth was so dirty was the same reason we are today. There is no real fear of God in our lives. Oh, it’s pretty easy to say we fear God, but does our life show it? We love to talk our talk, but we don’t necessarily want to walk our talk, do we? Walking our talk is a great way to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” It’s just a thought.
A life’s Chore
2 Corinthians 7:1
This past weekend, Becky and I spent all day Saturday cleaning up the house. We both work so much that we just allow things to keep going until we finally say enough. I had already started on my mess, which took all day to relocate, while she started in probably the cleanest room in the house. However, as she worked toward my location, she slowed down too. Even though she accomplished more than I did, I was reminded of how filthiness slows us down in our lives too. Thinking about that, I was reminded of what Paul told the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 7:1. He said, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Life, in general, has a tendency to drag a person down. Christians are no different. A statement that David made about ‘the wicked prospering,’ shows us how much we desire to be like the world. We can’t seem to separate ourselves from it, can we? Amazing enough, we should know that we are obligated to live for Christ. He gives us direction in our lives, through HIS Word, but at times we choose our own roads in life too. I can’t count on my hand the number of times I went my own way, thinking, ‘I know this is wrong, but…’ Sin is sin, no matter how much man tries to totem pole them. In God’s eyes, no one sin is greater than another, except for the sin of blaspheming the Holy Ghost. That is an unpardonable sin.
If we study up on the church at Corinth, we find that this particular church had many issues. I think that many of the issues that they had where based upon the fact that maybe they weren’t growing spiritually like all Christians should. Paul laid out a grand example of how Christians should live in Roman 12: 1 – 2. Paul begged the Christians at Rome to surrender their lives to the Christian duties. He said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
This particular passage is often preached in many churches simply because it directs us with an authority that stands out more to some people. However, we need to examine the directions that Paul is stating in this passage too. Paul said to present your bodies a living sacrifice. This means that we should strive to live for the Lord with all we have. We need to discipline our lives to where HE can been seen. It’s all supposed to be about HIM anyway, right? It will be about HIM, whether we try to make it about HIM or not. The part of Romans 12 that catches one’s eye after the charge in verses 1 and 2 is verse 3. “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he out to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.’
For a person to be able to clean up the filth in his life, he must first humble himself and allow God to show him how dirty he is. Obviously the people in Rome, just like the people in Corinth, had what is called an ‘I’ problem or ‘me’ problem. ‘Look at me, I’m so important!’ Most people have a big problem admitting that they are wrong. Why? The answer to this is easier than we think; nobody wants to admit that they are sinners. The reason for this is simple; we have an inferiority complex, to some extent. If we don’t fit into a certain group of people, we don’t feel needed or wanted. Nobody wants to admit that they are bad. We can’t believe that God would actually allow somebody to go to hell when they die, simply because they don’t accept HIM as their Savior, by repenting of their sins and asking HIM to be LORD of their lives. After all, where’s the justice in that, huh?
We all need to realize that hell was created for the devil and his angels; not for man. If a person chooses to live his life for himself and rejects God, then they put themselves into hell at death. It’s not God’s fault! He paid every person’s way into heaven by allowing HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to die on the cross for us. It’s not HIS fault if a person doesn’t choose to pick up their paid ticket. There are people who have accepted the free ticket, but choose to live life as they please. These folks, like many others, need to clean their life up. Paul instructs us to ‘be separate,’ (2 Cor. 6:17). He also stated to ‘abstain from all appearance of evil,’ too, in 1 Thessalonians 5:22.
Cleaning our lives up for Christ’s sake is the only way we can truly have a relationship with HIM. Sin separates us from God, and the call of repentance is loud. We should be challenged today to listen to HIM and ask HIM to show us what needs to be cleaned up. We need to give HIM our all. If you were served food on a dirty plate who you be willing to eat the food? That’s how some of our lives are; we expect God to bless us and accept us with our plates full of dirt. The main reason that the church of Corinth was so dirty was the same reason we are today. There is no real fear of God in our lives. Oh, it’s pretty easy to say we fear God, but does our life show it? We love to talk our talk, but we don’t necessarily want to walk our talk, do we? Walking our talk is a great way to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” It’s just a thought.
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