Cleansed Completely 完全洁净

[Dexu Xia]

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6

Recently, my wife and I were cleaning our house before having guests over. I noticed some dark stains on our white kitchen tile floor—the kind that required getting on my knees to scrub.

But I soon had a sinking realization: the more I scrubbed, the more I noticed other stains. Each stain I eliminated only made the others that much more obvious. Our kitchen floor suddenly seemed impossibly dirty. And with each moment, I realized, No matter how hard I work, I can never get this floor completely clean.

Scripture says something similar about self-cleansing—our best efforts at dealing with sin on our own always fall short. Seeming to despair of God’s people, the Israelites, ever experiencing God’s salvation (Isaiah 64:5), the prophet Isaiah wrote, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (v. 6).

But Isaiah knew there is always hope through God’s goodness. So he prayed, “You, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter” (v. 8). He knew that God alone can cleanse what we cannot, until the deepest stains are “white as snow” (1:18).

We can’t scrub away the smudges and smears of sin on our souls. Thankfully, we can receive salvation in the One whose sacrifice allows us to be cleansed completely (1 John 1:7).  

By:  Adam Holz

Why is it hard to accept God’s forgiveness? Why do you think you’re tempted to try to deal with sin on your own? 

Father, help me to rest in Your forgiveness instead of trying to earn what You’ve already freely given.

我们都像不洁净的人，所有的义都像污秽的衣服。—以赛亚书64章6节

最近，为了要接待客人，我和妻子预先在家中做大扫除。我注意到厨房地板的白色瓷砖上有一些深色的污渍，那是一些顽固的污渍，必须跪着擦洗才能清除。

但没过多久，我发现了一个令人沮丧的事实，原来我擦拭得越多，就会显出更多其他污渍的存在。因为我清除的每个污渍，只会让其他的污渍更加明显。突然间，我家厨房的地板似乎变得超级肮脏。在那一瞬间，我才明白，无论自己多么努力，永远无法将地板完全清洁干净。

关于人想自己洁净罪污，圣经也提出类似的观点：人再怎么努力都无法除去自己的罪。先知以赛亚似乎觉得以色列民不可能得着上帝的拯救（以赛亚书64章5节），他说：“我们都像不洁净的人，所有的义都像污秽的衣服。”（6节）

但以赛亚知道上帝的美善会带来盼望，所以他祷告说：“耶和华啊，现在祢仍是我们的父！我们是泥，祢是窑匠”（8节）。以赛亚明白，我们无法洁净的部分，唯有上帝才能洁净，就连那最顽固的污渍也必“变成雪白”（1章18节）。

我们无法擦去自己生命中的罪污与痕迹，但令人庆幸的是，我们可以靠着这位为你我牺牲自己的耶稣得着救恩，罪污得着完全的洁净（约翰一书1章7节）。

作者：  何安德

为何有些人很难接受上帝的赦免？
你认为你为何会尝试靠自己处理罪的问题？

天父啊，祢早已白白赐下赦罪的恩典，
求祢帮助我能谦卑接受，而非试图赚取。