“Who can say I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” KJV and NKJV
“Who can say I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?” NIV Solomon was a genius in a lot of ways, and using words to make a point was one of those ways. A lot of the pithy proverbs that he wrote can be expanded to write a book if one really puts his or her mind to it. For example, there is a lot of theological, sociological and personal wisdom in Proverbs 20:9. Solomon points out some things in this proverb that are covered in the Old and New Testaments. This proverb is about personal pride, self-righteousness and faulty thinking. Throughout the Bible we are warned about the "I" problem. Paul alluded to this problem in Romans 12:3: “For I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.” If we are not careful, we will be our own worst enemy in this matter. The “I” problem is borne of pride and pride is dealt with harshly in the Bible. In fact, Solomon mentioned pride a lot in Proverbs. In Proverbs 16:18-19, he wrote: “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. 19. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” There are other verses I could cite from Proverbs, but the one I cited covers the issue. Ironically, one of the greatest evidences of the proof of the destruction of personal pride is Solomon himself. We need to see our own egotistical needs and live humbly before the Lord. Give yourself an “I” checkup, and see if you have the “I” problem. Notice the problem of self-righteousness that Solomon alludes to in the text: “Who can say I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin.” That sounds an awful lot like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable in Luke 18. We see the Pharisee’s self-righteousness in verse 11: “I thank thee that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” That is, indeed, evidence of an “I” problem. When people see themselves as righteous, they are lying to themselves. What they usually mean is that they are doing better than other people. The Pharisee measured himself against the publican, because he knew the reputation of publicans, that they were selfish and sinful people. In the parable, the publican looks more righteous than the Pharisee. We should never forget what Paul wrote in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Paul wrote in verses 9-10 of Romans 3: “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin, 10. As it is written (Psalm 14:1), There is none good, no not one.” (I added the parentheses.) We need to live righteously, but that does not mean that we can claim self-righteousness. Notice the faulty thinking that Solomon refers to in this verse: “I have made my heart clean.” The faulty thinking is in the words, “I have made my heart clean.” No human being can make himself or herself clean. When we are cleansed from sin, it is because we have repented, confessed and been forgiven. At that point we are cleansed by the blood of Christ. ( see 1 John 1:7-9) The Christian life is not a “self-help” project. We cannot save ourselves and we cannot live the righteous life on our own virtue alone. It is Christ who died for our sins. It is Christ who forgives us for our sins. It is Christ who has given us His righteousness. It is Christ who cleanses our hearts. We did not save ourselves, and we cannot cleanse ourselves from sin. “Turning over a new leaf” only gets us to the other side of the leaf. Give Christ the glory for any victories that you have over sin. If you have an “I” problem, go to the Lord now and confess and be cleansed. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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