PURIFY YOURSELF AS HE IS PURE

Sermon preached by the Rev Nguyen Gia Hien at True Life BPC on 16 June 2013

We truly thank God for giving us His Word as the spiritual food for our spiritual life, through which we may know the truth about God and His will as well as about ourselves. From the first epistle of John chapter 3:1-3, we can draw some lessons: (1) God’s love and our relationship with God (verse 1); (2) God’s sovereign purpose (v 2); and (3), our responsibility (v 3).

God’s Love and Our Relationship with God

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” (1 John 3:1), “Behold” in Greek oida here means “see with perception and understanding”. God commands you and me to see and understand how He has loved us. Do you know, believe and understand that God loves you personally so much? Satan casts doubt not only on God’s Word but also God’s love for you. If you were a king and had your only begotten son, who was so good, so well-behaved, so lovely, so obedient, and so smart, would you be willing to let your son die for those who have offended you, rebelled against you and blasphemed against you? Would you? You and I surely cannot fully comprehend how God, the holy and almighty Creator, loved mankind, including you and me so much that He gave His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for His rebellious and sinful creatures, and rose again to save those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. May God graciously help you and me “know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Eph 3:19). Moreover, it is a great privilege to be the children of God, the Creator, the King of kings, is it not? We used to be the children of darkness, the children of disobedient, the children of wrath, and the children of Satan (Matt 13:38; Eph 2:2-3; 5:8; 1 John 3:10), but God has saved you and me to be His children by His grace and mercy alone (Eph 2:8). If any of you are not sure that you are saved to be God’s children, this is God’s promise for you, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to regenerate you and me, so we are born again by the Holy Spirit and by God’s Word (John 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18).

When you and I are truly born again and grow spiritually, we shall naturally bear the fruits of the children of God with our saving faith, living faith, enduring faith, obedient faith, charitable faith, separate faith, and longsuffering faith as we have learnt from the epistle of James under Pastor Jeffrey Khoo at our Church Camp. If you and I are God’s children, we shall always need God and His Word, and live by God and His Word, thirst for God and His Word, depend on God and His Word, treasure God and His Word, and repent right away when we fail to honour Him or keep His Word.

Although you and I are God’s children, “the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” (v 1). The verb “know” in Greek ginosko denotes a personal heart knowledge of God manifested through love and obedience—“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments …He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 2:3; 4:8). As the world does not know God, they neither keep His Word nor love Him and His children. Thus, you and I should not be surprised by the hatred, contempt, envy, opposition and persecutions from unbelievers and the children of the devil in this world.

God’s Sovereign Purpose

God’s purpose when He chose us and saved us is to transform us into the image of His Son, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom 8:29), and “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” ( 1 John 3:2). You and I must have the same purpose that God has for us—to be like Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. When you and I turn our eyes unto our Lord, set Him as our perfect Example to follow, and compare ourselves with Him, we shall humble ourselves as we are still far away from being like Him. We have not been holy and pure as He is, gracious and merciful as He is, humble and meek as He is, loving and forgiving as He is, longsuffering and enduring as He is, obedient and submissive as He is, walking, living and serving as He did and so on, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). Do you and I really walk as Jesus did? We shall humble ourselves more and more as many a time we have failed to say, behave, live and serve as Jesus Christ did!

Our Responsibility to Purify Ourselves

“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3), and “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure” (1 Tim 5:22). The verb purify in Greek hagnizō denotes “to make ourselves pure, clean, holy, to consecrate ourselves to God.” Why does God command you and me to purify ourselves and constantly keep ourselves pure? And how can we do that?

• God Is Holy: You and I must purify ourselves because God is holy and He commands us to be holy, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Do you and I truly have a hope to see our Lord Jesus Christ and to be transformed to be like Him when He comes? We must purify ourselves and keep ourselves pure, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8), and “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14), and “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3).

• God Hates Sins and Never Condones Sins: God helped Joshua and Israelites to defeat and destroy the big and strong city of Jericho, but God let them be defeated before the small city of Ai due to an accursed thing among them. When Joshua and the elders humbled themselves before God in prayers, God said to them, “Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you” (Joshua 7:12-13). If God is with us and for us, we shall enjoy His blessings and victory. However, as one Achan affected the well- being of the whole people of Israel, you and I must wisely keep not only ourselves but also our family and our church pure. We must pray for one another and help keep one another pure.
• God Only Uses Clean Vessels for His Glory: Do you want to use a clean or dirty cup for your drink? Surely the clean one! “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Tim 2:21). Many think that they are used and blessed by God with their mega churches while they compromise and fail to live and serve according to God’s Word! Despite their popularity, credentials and fame, they are used by men, and not by God at all, who is holy and pure!

How to Keep Ourselves Pure

• Pray to the Lord for His Searching and Cleansing: It is dangerous if you and I cannot see our shortcomings and sins and think that we are clean and pure and then despise others like the Pharisees. The Lord Jesus Christ exposes the defiled heart of man, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:21-23). It is always wise to pray God to search our hearts and thoughts as David did, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps 139:23). There are many ways that appear good and right but “the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov 16:25). Only the narrow way in the boundaries of God’s Word is everlasting and leading you and me to eternal life. To enjoy our Lord’s cleansing, you and I must confess our known sins, shortcomings and unrighteousness to the Lord, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

• Separate Ourselves from Unclean Things: You and I cannot keep ourselves clean and pure if we touch unclean things and live in unclean environment. That is why God has commanded you and me to be separate, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor 6:17-18).
• Live in God’s Holy Presence by Jesus’ Blood: You and I are holy and pure not because of who we are or what we have done, but because of God’s holy presence in us and with us. God has provided the precious blood of His Son so that we may approach Him and keep a living fellowship with Him, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). May God help you and me practice living in His holy presence through Jesus’ blood in whatever we do and wherever we are.

 

Conclusion

How great and marvellous is God’s love for you and me, to save us and regenerate us to be His children, even to transform us to be like His Son Jesus Christ! May God help you and me always set Jesus as our perfect Example to follow in words, deeds and service, as well as purify ourselves and keep ourselves clean and pure in His holy presence by His Word and Jesus’ precious blood until our Saviour Jesus Christ comes again. Amen.