Proverbs 20:9: Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?
Insight
The great King sits on his throne to judge and challenges every child of Adam: “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me” (Job 38:3). The question is confounding. The answer humbles us in the dust. Who can say, truly say, “I have kept my heart pure …”? A sinner in his self-delusion may conceive himself to be a saint. But it is impossible for a saint ever to consider himself in this way. Who can say, … “I am clean and without sin”? What? No vain thoughts, no sinful imagination dwelling within? No ignorance, no pride, no coldness, no worldliness, no unbelief indulged in? The more we search the heart, the more its impurity will confront us. But for the clear manifestation of gospel grace, we would have good reason to tremble in case our sins should remain uncanceled. The pure heart, therefore, is not the heart without sin, but the heart cleansed and renewed by grace. 1
Application
The apostle John shares with us the blessed hope of cleansing our heart from sin in 1 John 1:8–10: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. – Which one of the three “IF WE” are you embracing today?
Motivation
For we all stumble in many things. James 3:2
Purity of heart is only found under the graceful fountain of His cleansing blood. – TWEET IT
Prayer
Father, thank You for the power of Your blood to clean my heart and mind from sin.
1. Bridges, C. (2001). Proverbs. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
