Who Can Say, ‘I am Pure from Sin’? (Proverbs 20:9)

 Who Can Say, ‘I am Pure from Sin’? (Proverbs 20:9)

We return in this newsletter to a review of “critical questions in the Bible.” This is related to a study that I did, marking all the questions in the Bible, and then picking out those I (subjectively) regard to be worth considering and addressing. Today, I combine two of these questions from Proverbs.

The first question, from Proverbs 20:9 is simple, but profound: “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart; I am pure from my sin’?” The answer is “no one.” Some might say Jesus, but since He was and is sinless, He never “cleansed His heart.” For us, cleansing our hearts is not something we can accomplish ourselves, and keeping ourselves absolutely pure is a task too great for us.

So we are all sinners. So what? Isn’t it just the goal to be a little less a sinner than the next person? No. The significance of being a sinner is that we are a sinner before God. And the next questions, from Proverbs 24:12, asks these questions in ascending order: Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work? 

The first of these questions indicates that God is the One who sets the standard for righteousness and morality. It is not a matter of current social standards, whether conservative of progressive. It is this: what does God say? He weighs the heart according to His judgment; according to His standard, which establishes once and forever what is true and what is good.

The second question is close to the first, but different. Because not only does God establish the standards, but He is the One who holds our souls, and the destiny of our souls, in His hand. Our souls, created by Him, are designed to live forever with Him, or without Him, according to our standing with (or, against) God, whether our hearts have been cleansed and are being made pure through the work of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. His strong hand will deliver us either to blessing or curse; heaven or hell.

And thus the third question in this verse asks what should now be obvious: if God is the One who sets the standard; and if He holds our eternal destiny in His hand; is He not also the One who will render judgment and consequence regarding our state and condition, whether forgiven and sanctified by faith in Christ, or stubbornly independent and beating our own drum by which we march? 

Critical questions? Yes. Sobering? Certainly. Too heavy to be carefully ponder? Not on your life.