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Around our homes we have products and tools for cleaning our homes and cleaning us: dish soap, bleach, cloths, brushes, mops, buckets, dusters, brooms, towels, vacuums, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, hand soap, toilet cleaner, shoe polish, clothes detergent, washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, and so on. We like to be clean and we like clean homes.

There’s a saying that states, “cleanliness is next to godliness.” It’s not a saying from the Bible, but it does echo a biblical truth. To approach God, our lives must be pure and clean from sin. Listen to Psalm 24:3-4.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.

Psalm 24 is known as a Song of Ascent. It’s a song Israelites would have sung as they walked in procession to the Temple to worship. Together, they would remind themselves that God is holy and only those who are pure and righteous may enter his presence.

For the ancient Israelite, this depended upon repeated, faithful observance of all the ritual sacrifices and regulations for purity expressed in such books as Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Without following these, it was impossible to enter God’s holy presence.

As Christians, we know these ritual sacrifices and regulations have been perfectly fulfilled by Jesus Christ, who was without sin. His death on the cross is the final, once-for-all sacrifice for sin. We no longer need to observe the old sacrifices and purity regulations. Now, when we put our trust in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection, and welcome him as Lord of our lives, something utterly amazing happens. God’s holiness and purity enters our lives as the Holy Spirit transforms us. We are transformed from within. Jesus’ purity becomes ours. It’s God’s amazing grace.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says,

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Today, we enter God’s holy presence not because we’ve done anything to make ourselves clean but because Jesus has done everything so we can be clean and pure in God’s sight. Isn’t this astonishing?

Next time you wash your hands, give thanks to Jesus that he has washed you by his shed blood on the cross. By faith in his death and resurrection, we have peace with God, we are forgiven of all our sin, we are welcomed into his presence – now and forever.

我們家里到处都有用于清潔房屋和潔净我們自己的工具和盥洗产品。盤子、肥皂、漂白劑、布、刷子、拖把、水桶、撣子、掃帚、毛巾、吸塵器、牙膏、洗髮水、沐浴露、洗手液、潔廁劑、鞋油、衣物洗滌劑、洗滌機、洗碗機、烘乾機等等。我們喜歡乾淨、喜歡乾淨的家。

有句話說，“清潔与虔誠近似”。這并不是聖經裡的一句話，但它確實呼應了聖經的真理。要亲近神，我們的生活必須純潔無罪。聆聽詩篇 24:3-4：

誰能登耶和華的山。誰能站在他的聖所。就是手潔心清、不向虛妄、起誓不懷詭詐的人。

詩篇 24 被稱為攀登之歌。這是曾经的以色列人遊行到聖殿敬拜時都會唱的一首歌。他們一起提醒自己：上帝是聖潔的，只有那些純潔和正義的人可以進到他的面前。

對於古代以色列人來說，這取決於反复、忠實地遵守所有祭祀儀式和利未記、申命記等经文中表達的純潔規定。不遵循這些，就不可能進入上帝的神聖至所。

作為基督徒，我們知道無罪的 耶穌基督完美地完成了這些祭祀儀式和規定。他在十字架上的死是为了我们的罪而做的最後一次永遠的犧牲。現在，我們不再需要遵守舊的獻祭和潔净規定。當我們相信 主耶穌基督的死和復活，並歡迎他成為我們生命的主宰时，非常奇妙的事情發生了：上帝的聖潔和純潔作為聖靈進入到我們的生活並从里面改變了我們。耶穌的純潔成為我們的純潔。這是上帝的奇妙恩典。

哥林多后書 5:21 說：“神使那無罪的，替我們成為罪，好叫我們在他裡面可以
成為神的義。”

誰能登耶和華的山？今天，我們与上帝的聖潔同在並不是因為我們做了什么事情使自己潔净，而是因為 主耶穌已經做了所有，这样我們才能在上帝眼中变得潔淨和純潔。這不是很驚奇嗎？這難道不让我們有充分的理由表示謝謝吗。

下次你洗手的時候，感謝 主耶穌用他在十字架上流出的血洗淨了你。因著對他的死和復活的信心，我們得以與 神和好，我們所有的罪被赦免並被欢迎到祂的面前与祂同在——從現在到永遠。

Grace and peace

Pastor Callum