Get Rid of Your Sin

2 Corinthians 7.1

I think that I’m safe grounds if I say that this section of Scripture isn’t so terribly hard to understand. Paul appeals to the saints in Corinth with a very basic thought: ‘Get rid of your sin.’ It’s a simple, straightforward idea. Yet, there are depths here. Paul says more than just, ‘Get rid of your sin’, and it’s the ‘more’ that drives home his appeal and that gives hope and encouragement to those saints. So, this morning we’re going to look at the ‘more’ of this bit of Scripture. And we’ll do this by using a method that is very useful when it comes to understanding Scripture. We’re going to ask questions of the text. Actually, we’re going to ask one question of the text and see several different ways that this text answers that question. The question is this: ‘Why?’ That is, why should you get rid of your sin? The answers of the text will, I hope, prove helpful to you as you work at believing what it has to say.

So, why should you get rid of your sin? Here’s the first answer of our text: because it’s filthy. ‘Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness…’ What an apt word for our sin. Imagine yourself on a hot summer day, working at some project. This is one of those large projects that you have been putting off, and on this day you’re finally getting to it. After a full day of going at it you get a passing glance at yourself in a mirror. Ugh! You’re covered with sweat and dirt – and you smell too. When I find myself in a situation like that there is only one word that comes to mind: shower. Oh to feel the hot water and to lather up! One of the true pleasures of modern living! But now imagine someone in a third-world country, stuck in a tiny, smelly cell where the bathroom is a bucket in the corner – just a bucket and nothing else. Think of living there week after week and never leaving. Filth. Paul chose this word well. We need to be careful lest we adopt the attitude of our neighbors when it comes to our sin: ‘an unfortunate infraction of some religious rules.’ Instead, remember how the Apostle labeled sin: filthiness. We will not need to ask our question twice if we see our sin for the filth that it is.

That leads to the next answer of our text: ‘perfecting holiness’. We work at getting rid of sin so that we can become holy. Sadly, ‘holiness’ is not an attractive word in our day. Most people associate being holy with negative notions. So, being holy means that you don’t do certain things, like that famous list of ten. Some also associate being holy with a God who gets angry at people who do, in fact, do those certain things. This so misses the point. When you think about holiness, think about Jesus. Jesus is the revelation of God to us and that includes God’s holiness. Now, Jesus’ holiness does include not doing certain things, and it does include His being angry. But you need to put those in the right context. Jesus refused to do some things so that He could accomplish other things. Jesus refused to give in to Satan’s temptations so that He could rescue you. And Jesus did get angry at people. He tossed tables and whipped people because they made the Temple into a flea market. He was angry because of their insults to the God of that Temple and because of the obstacles that they placed in the way of people who wanted to worship God in that Temple. There is, to be sure, a negative side to holiness, but it always leads to a positive.

There are times, though, when holiness shows only as a positive. Recall the time when Jesus told the Twelve that they all needed a break. They had been ministering to people and were really drained. As a result, they sought out some desolate place just to catch their breath. But what did they find when they arrived at that desolate place? Lots of needy people. Jesus was tired. He needed a break. But He wasn’t going to get one here. So, what did He do? Did He have a fit that He never got any time for Himself? Did He get back into the boat and look for another place where He would be sure not to find any people? Did He respond to the people by ministering to them but with a bad attitude? No. He was compassionate to the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He cared. That’s holiness. So, why get rid of your sin? You work at that so that you can be holy. That is, you work at getting rid of your sin so that you can become like Jesus.

Let’s move on to the next answer to our question, ‘Why?’ We get rid of our sin because of the promises of God. ‘Therefore, having these promises, beloved…’ Now, we need to pause here because some of you are thinking, ‘What promises?’ Well, our text, 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 1, though it’s the beginning of a new chapter isn’t the beginning of a new thought. Actually, it’s the end of a thought begun back in chapter six. So, the English fellow who broke the Bible down into chapters a couple of centuries ago goofed. Our text really would be better labeled 2 Corinthians 6.19. Oh well. What this means is that the promises Paul referred to are in chapter 6. There are three. Let’s take this one first. ‘I will be their God and they shall be My people.’ This is the language of covenant which means that it is the language of commitment. This isn’t as clear as it might be because we understand the word ‘God’ as a name. It’s not. Consider vows that are made on a wedding day. The man says, ‘I will be your husband’ and the woman says, ‘I will be your wife.’ What does it mean to be a husband or a wife? The Scriptures are clear in describing these roles. And so when a man and a woman make these vows, they are filled with content. God has filled these roles with His content. In effect, the man is saying, ‘Whatever it means to be a husband, that’s what I will be to you’; the woman is saying, ‘Whatever it means to be a wife, that’s what I will be to you.’ When our God says, ‘I will be your God’, He is saying, ‘Whatever it means to be God, that’s what I will be to you.’ And the Bible is clear what it means to be God. It provides images of power, rule and control. And it provides those images within a context, the context of His love for you. Being God to you shows as His mercy, kindness and great patience. It shows as His creating in you a sense of satisfaction, and peace and joy. This is what it means to be God – or at least part of it. So, our God, whose name is Jehovah, says to us, ‘Whatever it means to be God, that’s what I will be to you.’ And while the false gods make the same claims, only one God comes through. And here’s the best proof of that. Jesus gathered up what it means to be God – the power and control, the mercy, kindness, the desire to create peace and joy in you – and out of love for you, He went to the cross to suffer your hell. He is determined to rescue you from the filth of your sin. ‘Whatever it means to be God, that’s what I will be for you.’ So, back to our question. ‘Why get rid of sin? Why go through the hard work to be rid of all of that? Why even try?’ Your God answers: ‘I am your God. I am here to guarantee that you succeed in your efforts to get rid of your sin. I will make it happen.’

Second promise from chapter 6: ‘I will dwell in them’. What is this about? This is about the Spirit and His ministry among us. After the resurrection, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father. Then, as He promised, He sent the Spirit to His church. Pentecost. Our God isn’t committed to us from a distance. He doesn’t cheer His team from some skybox. He is right there with us. In fact, He is in each one of us. Now, remember how the Spirit is described. ‘God gave us a Spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’ The Spirit is within His people and by His power and love He is changing lives with the goal of making each one into a disciplined follower of Jesus. Can any sin thwart Him in this? Is there some filthiness that can resist His cleansing? Is there any doubt of success? You work at ridding yourself of sin because of the Spirit who lives within you.

Now the third promise of chapter six. While the first two promises dealt with God’s commitment, presence and power, this promise deals with His affection. ‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ For some, ‘commitment’ is a cold word, something like signing a contract. There are husbands who would never think of divorcing their wives because of this notion of commitment. And yet, there is no warmth, no real affection. The commitment of your God to you is nothing like that. He is a Father to His sons and daughters. Some of you have not experienced what it means to have a father who is affectionate to you. And so, this way of understanding God doesn’t really click. But consider this. The God who busies Himself overseeing every little thing in this universe, the God who can be so terrifying, the God who hates sin – this God has a soft spot in His heart for you. So, why get rid of your sin? Your Father wants to see you thrive. He has set His heart on it. So, He will gently encourage you to that goal and assuredly get you there.

The promises of your God – Father, Son, and Spirit – lie behind your efforts at ridding yourself of your sin.

There is one last answer to our question. We work to rid ourselves of our sin because of the fear of God. We’re back again to this persistent Scripture theme of ‘the fear of the Lord’. How does that theme fit here? Let me take just one slice of it. The fear of the Lord is the acknowledgement that your God will one day evaluate your life. One day, your God will take a good, long look at your life and decide how you’ve done. And then He will say, ‘Well done! You did a good job. Welcome home.’ As you work at ridding yourself of sin’s filth, your goal is not to try to satisfy anyone other than your God. No one else will be your judge. No one else will evaluate how you’ve done. And that’s because no one else could possibly understand how hard it has been for you to deal with your particular sins in your particular situation. But your God knows. So, as you work to purge yourself of your sin, your eye is not to be on others and what they might think. Your eye should be on your God who will wisely evaluate you on that Last Day. And you already know what He will say. ‘Good job!’

Now, I know that some of you have a hard time believing what I just said. You’re thinking. ‘Surely, He will respond differently, at least with some people. Surely, He will be a bit unsatisfied with some and tell them that they did only so-so. Surely.’ What you’re really getting at is this. ‘You can’t be right. You can’t be talking about me. I know that I should be worried about how I fare on that Last Day.’ Is that the Gospel? Is that being saved by grace alone? Or let me put it another way. Do you really think that some will hear, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ because they have impressed Jesus with the quality of their lives, because they have impressed Jesus with how well they have done? Are you thinking that some will actually earn His approval when it comes time for evaluation? Again, where is the grace in that? So, remember, when it’s your turn to be examined by your God, this is what you will hear: ‘You did well. I’m proud of you.’ Your labors at getting rid of your sin will be worth it. How can that not be so?

One last thought. I should follow all of this up with a new question, ‘What do I do to get rid of my sin? There must be things that I am to do.’ This must wait for another time – except to say this. If you would deal with your sin you must pray. Let me urge you to focus on two requests. First, ask the Spirit to open your eyes more and more to the utter filthiness of your sin. You need to see your sin more like God does. Second, ask that as the Spirit grants that first request He would also enable you to believe the Gospel more and more. Without greater belief in the Gospel, a clearer view of the filth of your sin will only crush you. But with a growing belief in the Gospel your life will shine and that to the glory of Jesus.