Paul echoed Solomon’s words when he wrote, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But Solomon forces us to address the same fact by asking a pointed question no one can escape: “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin’?”
Sometimes we look at sin as a big “lump of things we did or did not do.” Sin, we believe, has its origin outside of us or is the result of something that happened “to us,” and we simply have to “deal with it” the best we can by trying to “do better.” But that is impossible.
Sin is a “heart” problem and something we cannot change on our own. No one has ever been able to free themselves from sin. And here we find the reason.
If I were able to talk with Solomon, he might begin by asking, “Larry - have you kept your heart pure?” Heart, as you will recall, includes the sum total of “us” - our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, behaviors, values, and goals - that forms the way I relate to everything in life. And if our hearts are not pure, whatever we do will be impure. Only God can purify our hearts through the work of Christ. Only God can free us from an impure heart and the consequences of sin.
When Solomon posed this question, he framed it in such a way that anyone who answered it would be forced to respond by saying, “Not I.” In his wisdom, he forces us to look inside of ourselves, at our own heart, and answer for our own impurities. We each must answer for our own sins. There is no way for us to escape our individual accountability or responsibility for what we have done. No one has kept their heart pure. No not one!
God alone, through the work of Christ on the cross, can remove our sins and cleanse us!
Prayer: Father, how very grateful we are to have the promise of a pure heart that is available through Christ. May we, through Your grace, accept Him as our Savior and Lord! Amen!
Scripture For Today: Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin’? Proverbs 20:9
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