The Cleansing Which Comes of Godliness

Kindling with strong emotion, constrained by the love of Christ, and animated by the fellowship of all spiritual blessings, the apostle here strikes out an exhortation, in which he appeals to the noblest passions of the children of God, to their possession of divine lineage, a present endowment, and their expectation of an exalted destiny. These he uses as incentives to holiness of life.

To stir up in us this godly ambition he sets before us the Christian in various lights—

I. AS POSSESSED OF MOST GLORIOUS PRIVILEGES. “Having these promises.” Not promises in reversion merely, but in actual possession, received, embraced, enjoyed.

The promises referred to are mentioned in the previous chapter.

1. Divine indwelling: “I will dwell in them.” (Chapter 6:16.)

2. Divine manifestation: “I will walk in them.”

3. Divine covenanting: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

4. Divine acceptance: “I will receive you.” (Chapter 6:17.)

5. Divine adoption: “I will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (Chapter 6:18.)

   • These promises are already fulfilled in our experience.

II. AS LABORING TO BE RID OF OBNOXIOUS EVILS. “Let us cleanse ourselves.” The matter has in it—

1. Personality: “Let us cleanse ourselves.”

2. Activity: we must continue vigorously to cleanse both body and mind.

3. Universality: “From all filthiness.”

4. Thoroughness: “Of the flesh and spirit.”

   • If God dwells in us, let us make the house clean for so pure a God.
   • Has the Lord entered into covenant with us that we should be his people? Does not this involve a call upon us to live as becomes godliness?
   • Are we his children? Let us not grieve our Father, but imitate him as dear children.

III. AS AIMING AT A MOST EXALTED POSITION. “Perfecting holiness.”

1. We must set before us perfect holiness as a thing to be reached.

2. We must blame ourselves if we fall short of it.

3. We must continue in any degree of holiness which we have reached.

4. We must agonize after the perfecting of our character.

IV. AS PROMPTED BY THE MOST SACRED OF MOTIVES. “Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

1. The fear of God casts out the fear of man, and thus saves us from one prolific cause of sin.

2. The fear of God casts out the love of sin, and with the root the fruit is sure to go.

3. The fear of God works in and through love to him, and this is a great factor of holiness.

4. The fear of God is the root of faith, worship, obedience, and so it produces all manner of holy service.

   • See how promises supply arguments for precepts.
   • See how precepts naturally grow out of promises.

Outpourings

“Cleanse ourselves.” It is the Lord that is the sanctifier of his people, he purges away their dross and tin. He pours clean water, according to his promises, yet does he call us to cleanse ourselves; having such promises, let us cleanse ourselves. He puts a new life into us, and causes us to act, and excites us to excite it, and call it up to act in the progress of sanctification. Men are strangely inclined to a perverse construction of things: tell them that we are to act and work, and give diligence, then they would fancy a doing in their own strength, and be their own saviors. Again, tell them that God works all our works in us, and for us, then they would take the ease of doing nothing: if they cannot have the praise of doing all, they will sit still with folded hands, and use no diligence at all. But this is the corrupt logic of the flesh; its base sophistry. The apostle reasons just contrary, Philippians 2:13: “It is God that works in us both to will and to do.” Therefore, would a carnal heart say, we need not work, or at least, may work very carelessly. But he infers, “Therefore let us work out our salvation with fear and trembling,” I. e., in the more humble obedience to God, and dependence on him, not obstructing the influences of his grace, and, by sloth and negligence, provoking him to withdraw or abate it. Certainly many in whom there is truth of grace, are kept low in the growth of it by their own slothfulness, sitting still, and not bestirring themselves, and exercising the proper actions of that spiritual life, by which it is entertained and advanced.—Archbishop Leighton.

Virtue, forever frail, as fair, below, Her tender nature suffers in the crowd,

Nor touches on the world without a stain:

The world’s infectious; few bring back at eve,

Immaculate, the manners of the morn—

Something we thought, is blotted; we resolved,

Is shaken; we renounced, returns again.

—Edward Young.

“Let us go on to perfection” (Hebrews 6:1) should rather be rendered, “Let us be carried on.”.… If we are unable to go on, we are surely able to be carried on to perfection.—Charles Stanford.

The promises, as they have a quickening, so they have a purging power; and that upon sound reasoning. Does God promise that he will be my Father, and I shall be his son? and does he promise me life everlasting? and does that estate require purity? and no unclean thing shall come there? Certainly, these promises being apprehended by faith, as they have a quickening power to comfort, so they purge with holiness. We may not think to carry our filthiness to Heaven. Does the swearer think to carry his blasphemies thither? Filthy persons and liars are banished thence, there is “no unclean thing.” He who has these promises purges himself, and “perfects holiness in the fear of God.” “He who has this hope purifies himself, as he is pure”: 1 John 3:3.—Richard Sibbes.

A spiritual mind has something of the nature of the sensitive plant: a holy shrinking from the touch of evil.—Richard Cecil.