#Clean hands and pure hearts how to#
#Clean hands and pure hearts series#

Jesus spoke about 'unclean hands' in Matt 15:1-20 where he addressed the accusations made against his disciples that they didn't wash their hands before they ate. This is someone who is in a right relationship with God and can fellowship with him, and this means one whose sins are not counted against them a forgiven Christian. Al Mark The one who has 'clean hands and a pure heart' is spoken of in Psalm 24 as one who is able to ascend the mountain of the Lord and enter into his holy place.

#Clean hands and pure hearts series#

Let us then have the mind of the Son and follow his example in obedience to the Father through the work of the Spirit in us.Įditor’s Note: This article is eighth in a series journeying through the psalms. He makes them his brothers and sisters, and he brings them with him to God’s holy mountain. He washes the hands of his people and gives them new hearts. This King of Glory has, not only fully satisfied the law of God by having perfectly clean hands and a pure heart, but we will also find that he is a perfect Savior who is faithful to forgive all of those who repent and believe in him. We have had wicked hearts and blood on our hands. We need to follow his example in having both clean hands and a pure heart, but we must recognize that we have not been (and cannot be) perfect in our obedience to God. He is the King of Glory and our Savior Jesus Christ.

While we seek to please God by having clean hands and a pure heart, we must realize that only one person has ever fully accomplished that task. Who is He, this King of glory? The LORD of Hosts, He is the King of glory. Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle. If we serve without love, that service is worthless in God’s eyes.įinally, the psalm concludes with the revelation of the anointed one of God who is the rightful ruler of all the earth. It is a stunning realization to see that we could sell all our possessions and become sacrificial foreign missionaries, all for no spiritual gain. Yet those who do things out of love and pure hearts are commended. Good deeds, or even what may be considered the best of deeds-sacrificing all your possessions and your life for others-cannot gain any spiritual benefit when it is done with wrong motives. The apostle Paul reminded the believers in Corinth that doing good deeds with the wrong motive gains no spiritual benefit.Īnd if I donate all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. One the other hand, have you ever seen someone do the right thing for the wrong reasons? At best, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth, and at its worst it is offensive and degrading. We need to have good intentions and to do the right thing. We must be careful in what we do and how we do it.

Half of the point is that good intentions alone aren’t helpful. We can read in the books of Kings and Chronicles to see repeated attempts to worship the One True God in the wrong way. Then Samuel said: Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.

#Clean hands and pure hearts how to#

He made sacrifices to God (with an arguably good intention) but did them the wrong way in direct contradiction to the Biblical prescriptions of how to make sacrifices. What does it mean to have both clean hands and a pure heart?Ī negative biblical example would be King Saul’s decision to make sacrifices in a disobedient way.