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Purged For Use
January 29, 2012
The blood of Jesus cleanses us of our sins and adds us to the body of Christ when we are born again of water and spirit. Once purged, we are set aside for the master's use. We become vessels of honor, vessels of clay to hold the knowledge of the glory of God and to praise and honor Him. When first purged by the blood of Jesus, we are empty, and must fill our empty space with the good things of God. We are to be full of good works.
Bernie Parsons
Purged For Use
by
Bernie Parsons
Presented to Load church of Christ on 01-29-2012
Presented to Globe church of Christ on 02-05-2012
We
last studied that the blood of Christ purges us of our sins. Today, I want
to take a look at our condition once we are purged.
Hebrews 1:1 "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,
and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"
Purge,
in its modern sense, means to remove
something that is unwanted. It comes from a root word which means
to purify. Purify comes from the
root, pure, which comes from root
words that mean to sift, to cleanse.
It connotes the act of removing debris from something in order that the
unadulterated material might remain.
2
Peter 1:5 "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue;
and to virtue knowledge;
6
And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness;
7
And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8
For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall
neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9
But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath
forgotten that he was purged from his old sins."
We
studied these qualities of the believer a few months ago. Peter warned that
those who do not add these things to their faith are blind, unable to see at
a distance, having forgotten that their old sins were purged, purified, or
taken away.
What do we do with the empty space that is left when the sins are removed?
The apostle Paul wrote to the younger evangelist, Timothy, about
these very things.
2
Timothy 2:19 "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this
seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the
name of Christ depart from iniquity.
20
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but
also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21
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.
22
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace,
with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
23
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender
strifes.
24
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt
to teach, patient,
25
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure
will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are
taken captive by him at his will."
Once emptied of the sinful mess that was in our hearts and minds, scoured
clean and purified, each of us becomes an empty container, a vessel fit for
our Master’s use, prepared for every good work.
2
Corinthians 4:6 "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the
power may be of God, and not of us."
The
light does not originate from within us, it is merely stored there. We are
vessels of clay, containers for God’s knowledge to reside within us, and to
pour out as God’s good works.
Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to
all men,
12
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God
and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
Jesus purified us. Notice that Paul told Titus that we are taught by God
that to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. We should be serious, righteous,
and godly in this world. This means that we fill the empty space with
righteousness, not desires of the flesh and the world.
1
Peter 2:11 "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12
Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak
against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall
behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."
James 4:6 "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the
proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you.
8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye
sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning,
and your joy to heaviness.
10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
We
have an obligation to keep sin away from us, to put up a fight against the
intrusion of fleshly desire upon our spiritual nature. By cleansing our
hearts, we approach God, and He, us.
2
Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
17
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good
works."
By
studying the written word, we learn what God desires of us. He teaches us
what He expects, and that allows us to see what we need to be doing.
When we return to God, which is done through the blood of Jesus Christ, we
are born again.
John 3:5 "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit."
With this rebirth, we are cleansed, reborn, a clean vessel to receive the
things of God. If we do not fill ourselves with the word of God and the
resultant good works, we leave ourselves open to works of the flesh and
wickedness. As we learn the good things of God and add them to our lives, we
must pay careful attention to maintaining those good works.
Titus 3:8 "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou
affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to
maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men."
If
we are not diligent about maintaining good works, we will find ourselves
continuing in the evil that the blood of Jesus has cleansed.
Titus 1:15 "Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are
defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience
is defiled.
16
They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being
abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."
Let
us continue in the faith in which we first started.
Hebrews 10:38 "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back,
my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
39
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that
believe to the saving of the soul."
