I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. (Ezekiel 36:25)
Oh, what a word of encouragement we have before us today! The Lord, who shed His blood on Calvary’s hill to pay the penalty for all our sins and bring us into the family of faith, has promised us the supernatural cleansing of the Holy Spirit. Notice these words: and you will be clean. Of all the promises of God that are “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20), this one should come to us like a cosmic cheer, encouraging us to keep fighting the good fight of faith.
However, I am convinced that this truth will cheer us only to the extent that we understand just how unclean we truly are. If we, like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, believe ourselves to be already clean and thank God that we are not like other men, this promise won’t mean all that much to us. But if we are like that tax collector who cried out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner” (Luke 18:13 NASB), we will be supernaturally strengthened and encouraged to press on toward the goal. Only the dirty can fully grasp and appreciate what it means to be truly clean.
Look at just how great this promise is. God will cleanse us from all our impurities. He will clean up our language; He will sanctify our desires; He will purify our thought life. But that’s not all! God also promises to cleanse us from all our idols. And who of you reading this right now can count the number of idols to which you have bent the knee and bowed your heart?
Perhaps you’re thinking, “Idols? What idols? I don’t bow down to some sacred cow or golden calf!” No, in this culture we are far too sophisticated for that. Instead, we bow to the approval and applause of others, the achievements we produce, and the assets we possess. We make idols of our work, our families, our relationships, even our hobbies and recreations. But God will send His Spirit to make us clean from our sins . . . and our idol worship too.
So regardless of where this finds you today, please be encouraged! God has promised a supernatural shower that will one day bring to completion the work He has begun in you. Until that day, keep looking to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith, knowing that He who has promised to cleanse you will not fail, regardless of the uncleanliness that still remains.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 