Hopefully you have all applied "Divine Detergent" to your lives since the last time we met and are ready now to go on to the next point that James 4:8 brings out in regard to becoming 'getters' of God's grace, which is:
"....and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
There is a tendency among many Christians to center their attentions upon cleaning up just the outside of their lives - the part that shows, and be rather neglectful of the inside. But thanks to James, he has reminded us that before more grace can be given, the heart must be purified as well as our actions. Spirituality involves regeneration and revival on the inside, not just reformation on the outside! A new heart precedes a changed life…
Psalm 19:12 (KJV)
Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Certainly there is no one who can discern all of his sins, but he who knows the Word of God best knows himself best, amen? And one thing you know for sure is that you most certainly have faults! Some are hanging out in the open for everyone to see, and some are secret - hidden to other men's eyes. But one step more, some of your sins are hidden entirely even from YOU… Even so, we must realize that God always sees all our faults, even when man cannot! For instance, you can be talking to "Mrs. Jones" and appear to have no offense at all with her when in her presence, even while your heart may be bitter towards her. Would "Mrs. Jones" know it; would I know it? Maybe not, but the Lord certainly knows ill will is present within your heart while you stand and converse with her! Ladies, the Lord commands that we purify our hearts! Is your desire to clean away those secret faults as intense as your desire to clean away what shows on the outside?? It should be when you consider the Lord's eyesight! He is the one who will be dishing out the grace, therefore we better care what His expectations are and concern ourselves with what HE can see....
Psalm 90:8 (KJV)
Thou has set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light
of thy countenance.
Job 14:16 (KJV)
For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
Jeremiah 16:17 (KJV)
For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face,
neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
Knowing then that God sees everything, what changes do you think you should make to ensure that your thoughts and deeds are pleasing to the Lord? For what secret fault do you need forgiveness? What did you plan on doing about your secret faults anyway - nothing at all? Just cover them up and hide them forever, letting them settle there upon your heart? Is it possible to go on living day to day without dealing with our sins? Do you really think those improper motives, those impure thoughts, the ill will toward another etc. belongs in the heart of a Christian looking to receive God's grace in their life? Let's see what the Bible says about it in Proverbs 28:13:
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
What is mercy but God's grace in our lives, amen? You'll have it, for we see here that it is promised! But first, our hearts must be purified; our insides must be cleaned up as well as the outside of our lives. Our heavenly Father desires that we live a balanced, prosperous Christian life. Tending only to the outward filthiness of our flesh would create an imbalance if we left our insides in filthy condition. How many of you would keep a dishwasher you purchased that left food residue on the inside of the dishes while leaving the outside of them sparkling clean? We'd be on the phone in a split second complaining to the store manager and requesting either a repair or a new dishwasher be installed! But do we get as appalled when our own hearts remain dirty day in and day out?? Perhaps you're so used to the dirt being there that you've convinced yourself it's not all that bad and that God couldn't possibly be overly disturbed by such trivial little issues. "How much have you been reading your Bible?" would be my next question for you!
Isaiah 29:15 (KJV)
Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and
their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth
us?
Ladies, sin is not to be concealed but confessed. When are you tempted to conceal rather than confess your sins? What lengths to you go to in order to keep them hidden - even from God? Remember, every time you try to hide your sin from the Lord, He hides His grace from you. Don't close your eyes to the problem - why not work as hard at confessing and forsaking them as you do at covering your sins!
1 Corinthians 10:21 (KJV)
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot
be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
We can try real hard, but it is impossible to live like sin is not present within us! It will hinder us; we will not be able to prosper spiritually. That is the reason that James called those with impure hearts double minded - because we are guilty of trying to live a double life - good on the outside while rotten on the inside! What is the description of a double-minded man? This is a person divided in their devotions. In James 1:8 such a person is described as unstable. I would say that this is a pretty good description of most Christians today, wouldn't you? Unstable because there are many unconfessed, secret faults in our lives that we are not obediently or immediately addressing! The Lord says, “purify your hearts” - correct the problem! Ladies, it's up to YOU to see to it that the purification process takes place by choosing whom you will serve. Have you made that decision yet, Christian woman? Have you purified your heart with purpose? That purpose being to serve God? Or are you still serving self?? There is no such thing as neutral ground…
Luke 16:13 (KJV)
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and
love the other; or else he will hold the one, and despise the other. Ye
cannot serve God and mammon.
No, God will not share us with anyone else - He must have complete control of our hearts. The double minded Christian can never be close to God, in fact, he will even hate His Lord! Far better it is to purify our hearts and become singlemindedly sold out for the cause of Christ!
Mt. 5:8 (KJV)
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Where God is seen, His grace is also seen… The purer your heart, the clearer your view of God's marvelous grace will be!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004
