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Devizes To Westminster A Paddler's Perspective |
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Be Clean!
"I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" (Luke 5:13)
Do you feel unclean? Are there things in your life which you wish you'd never done, or said? Are there marks upon your conscience that you can't get rid of? Are there relationships that went wrong, friendships that were spoiled, or times that just weren't what they should have been, that got spoilt by petty jealousies and arguments? Everybody has things they wish they'd never done; everyone has memories they'd prefer not to recall, that make them feel more than a little dirty.
The Bible teaches that we are unclean - very unclean. Human relationships aren't all they could be; but much more important than this, we are unclean before our maker, God. We are unfit to know him, because we are evil in his sight - we have not obeyed his laws, or lived as he instructed us to do. It is not just a matter of trying and failing; we don't even care. We behave well when it is advantageous to us; but nothing at all is done so as to bring honour to God. And hence, just as some individuals are so evil as to be unfit to dwell with the rest of society and are imprisoned away from our presence, so we are so evil as to be unfit to dwell in the presence of God. Men and women are rebels against God; they care little for him, except for occasional bouts of religion to satisfy the yearning inside for spiritual things. God is far, far away now, because he cannot have direct dealings with such beings; and one day he will be further, when he judges and casts into hell all those who did not meet the perfect standard of God's moral purity.
But the fantastic news of Christianity is this: God is not willing that anyone should perish, but that all should turn back to him; he has visited this world to bring news of how we can be reconciled to him, how our relationship can be restored and our sins (breaking of his laws) blotted out! Jesus Christ has come, and lived a life of moral perfection, in perfect obedience to God - he alone has done this, because he himself was God. And then he willing let himself be beaten and crucified on a cross, executed in the most painful way possible, although he was innocent of all wrongdoing. And on that cross he took the punishment we deserve - he took it as a substitute, a swap - him instead of us. He was punished for sin; he died. But he did not die forever; he is risen! And more than that he is willing that we be cleansed, cleansed from the pollution of our sins, from the stain that we can never ourselves remove however many good works we try or whatever church we entrust ourselves to. But now, if we will turn away from ourselves and our evil, and turn to him to serve him; if we will trust in what he has done on the cross to save us from eternal hell, then we can be saved from the judgment to come. Why not turn to him and seek his forgiveness today? The Bible teaches that God now commands all people everywhere to turn to him, and to seek his mercy which is available through his way to be saved - Jesus Christ. There is no other way to be saved; only by trusting in him. If you will do this, then you will be declared not guilty on the day of judgment, not because of anything you have done, but because of Christ's work on the cross 2000 years ago. He is willing to forgive, infinitely more willing than men and women are to be forgiven; why not come to him and be cleansed? There is only one other option; to die dirty, and guilty. What is the point of that, when he stands before you now and says, "be clean!"
