“Being Made Clean”

Last Sunday in our sermon series on the book of Acts, we spent time in chapter 10. In this chapter, the Apostle Peter has a vision from God in which the Lord tells Peter that God is making all foods clean. This is why we are now able to eat food that was once considered unclean or non-kosher in the laws of the Old Testament. Foods, such as pork and shellfish, have been declared clean by God. Foods that are a mix of meat and milk, such as cheeseburgers, lasagna, enchiladas, and beef stroganoff have also been declared clean by God.

But in Peter’s vision, God isn’t just making food clean. God is making people clean. Both Jews and Gentiles are being made clean by the blood of Jesus. Next Sunday, we’ll see how God prepared Peter through this vision to visit the home of a Gentile named Cornelius.

We have been made pure because of the blood of Jesus. Our hearts have been cleansed because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. And yet, we still struggle with sin.

Being tempted is not a sin. Giving in to temptation is a sin. When I was a high school student, an interim pastor of the church I grew up in, Rev. Loren Riddings, preached a sermon on temptation and sin that I have never forgotten. He said:

Temptation is when the bats are flying around in the belfry. Sin is when the bats settle down and make a nest.

Sometimes in the struggle with temptation we give in and engage in sin. Afterward, we are filled with remorse and guilt and shame. Sometimes we even wonder if our sins will be forgiven. And sometimes we long to be made clean and pure on the inside again.

At times like this we find comfort and hope in Scripture passages such as 1 John 1:8-9

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

God has made us clean and pure by the blood of Jesus that was shed for us on the cross. So, enjoy living the pure and clean and holy lives that Jesus has given you!

In Christ,

Pastor David