A Purified Life

When we think of purity we think of God and then we realize how far we are from being pure. Our sin condition is a constant reminder of impurity and that impurity is the problem of the human race. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But God doesn't keep us in the impure life and calls us and uses us anyway. In Isaiah 6 we see the calling of Isaiah and that calling came to him in a vision from God. Isaiah 6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above Him, each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.”

One of the Seraphim took a burning coal and flew to Isaiah and touched His mouth with the burning coal and his guilt was taken away and atonement was made for him. Purity in service was necessary because this prophet was going to speak for God and his words were going to be God's Words. Isaiah realized how needy he was in that he was a man of unclean lips and he needed God's help to be made pure. We realize the importance of those prophecies also as they told of the coming Messiah and gave direction to God's people at that time. Another element of this "calling" is found in the following verses in Isaiah 6 where God says Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”9 And He said, “Go, and tell these people.

Isaiah surrendered and let God purify His heart and prepare him for what he was about to do and then he became a useable instrument for the Lord. Isaiah's commission to serve God and answer the call is also seen in our calling and in the Great Commission as written in the book of Matthew. Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus is speaking through each of us who call Him Lord, and we are His mouth, his ears, his witness, and He commissioned us to "finish" strong. Our purity is found in the relationship with Jesus and His blood has purified us. Paul wrote this to the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace.

To live the purified life is to live a life that is purified by the blood of Jesus and that life is a true life of freedom. Freedom drives us to tell others about this great love of God and freedom to live the abundant life promised by Jesus. John 10:10. In fact, scripture tells us of our access to God through that blood in order to live in the power of God to salvation. The writer of Hebrews said it this way in Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need. God has given so much to give us this freedom and He has enabled us to tell others of this great and matchless love. Purified in our base relationship causes us to desire purity in our lifestyle and with God's power we are totally able to do that because God is able to do it in us.

The Pilgrimage Continues

David Warren