Sinstains
There are numerous advertisements on tv for stain removers. There are convenient detergent sticks that are supposed to clean clothing. There are strips for teeth that claim to remove the residue from coffee, tea and even just aging. There are sprays that advertise they are just what you need to keep your shower tiles sparkling and stain free. So, I have been thinking, how do stains happen? Are they the result of constant and repeated exposure? Or is one cup of coffee enough to make teeth less pearly? Is one encounter with spaghetti sauce enough to ruin a white blouse or must the cotton be exposed to the stainmaking tomato over and over? How do stains happen?
We know both repeated exposure as well as a one time encounter can stain. So for us, James 1:27 says "Pure religion is this to visit the widows and orphans in the affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world." NIV says "keep from being polluted by the world". So, when we are washed in the blood of the Lamb---in the waters of baptism, we are, according to Psalm 51:7, "whiter than snow". How do we stay that way? The earlier verse in James says it is our responsibility --while we know we cannot make ourselves pure, only the blood of Christ can do that, James says we are to keep ourselves unstained, to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world.
We already know that stains happen as a result of continued exposure. When we constantly put ourselves in sinful situations, when we neglect services and instead surround ourselves with ungodly people, people who practice sin, we cannot hope to escape without a mark. Likewise, we must be on guard, protecting ourselves from the one time encounters. When our conscience says "this might not be okay"---we should run!!!! When we know we are treading where Jesus would not, we should turn around and go the other way. We should flee the very appearance of evil. That is our responsibility.
But sometimes, we fail. We think we are being careful and still we get a stain. Sometimes we discover sin as part of a life lesson and we are unable to remove ourselves quickly enough. Should we be spotted by sin, we are blessed because according to I John 1:7, the cleansing we have is perpetual, as long as we are walking in the light. And unlike commercial stain removers, the blood of Christ leaves us completely cleansed. There is no shadow of the stain, no telltale mark, no evidence that sin had marred our purity. He can keep us stainfree, but we must try to keep ourselves unspotted, pure and unpolluted.
When Jesus comes again, those without sinstains will be taken to live with Him eternally. We will live forever unspotted and pure--- totally devoid of sin and its ugly stains.
Neva
We know both repeated exposure as well as a one time encounter can stain. So for us, James 1:27 says "Pure religion is this to visit the widows and orphans in the affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world." NIV says "keep from being polluted by the world". So, when we are washed in the blood of the Lamb---in the waters of baptism, we are, according to Psalm 51:7, "whiter than snow". How do we stay that way? The earlier verse in James says it is our responsibility --while we know we cannot make ourselves pure, only the blood of Christ can do that, James says we are to keep ourselves unstained, to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world.
We already know that stains happen as a result of continued exposure. When we constantly put ourselves in sinful situations, when we neglect services and instead surround ourselves with ungodly people, people who practice sin, we cannot hope to escape without a mark. Likewise, we must be on guard, protecting ourselves from the one time encounters. When our conscience says "this might not be okay"---we should run!!!! When we know we are treading where Jesus would not, we should turn around and go the other way. We should flee the very appearance of evil. That is our responsibility.
But sometimes, we fail. We think we are being careful and still we get a stain. Sometimes we discover sin as part of a life lesson and we are unable to remove ourselves quickly enough. Should we be spotted by sin, we are blessed because according to I John 1:7, the cleansing we have is perpetual, as long as we are walking in the light. And unlike commercial stain removers, the blood of Christ leaves us completely cleansed. There is no shadow of the stain, no telltale mark, no evidence that sin had marred our purity. He can keep us stainfree, but we must try to keep ourselves unspotted, pure and unpolluted.
When Jesus comes again, those without sinstains will be taken to live with Him eternally. We will live forever unspotted and pure--- totally devoid of sin and its ugly stains.
Neva
posted by Neva | 8:56 AM
1 Comments:
Good post
Jean
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