Whether it is for a family birthday, a holiday, or a dear friend coming from out of town for a visit, I enjoy hosting. Before my family hosts, we clean. Hosting means dusting all surfaces, washing the windows, renting a carpet cleaner. Company is coming.
In today’s passage, Paul is exhorting a church that exists in a city known for its debauchery. Temptation awaits in every idol temple right around the corner. Paul exhorts them to be live apart from this filth. Verse 17 tells them to “be separate” and “touch no unclean thing.”
How difficult was it for the Corinthian church? How difficult is this for us? As prevalent as sin was for them, it is as available to us, if not more. All the defilement of the world is accessible in a computer we hold in the palm of our hand. We can bring whatever we desire into our homes without changing out of our pajamas.
These commands would seem hopeless if Paul didn’t explain the motivation behind them. Whenever he gives a hard teaching in his letters, Paul always brackets with promises. Don’t miss the second part of verse 16 and verse 18. Paul wants us to be separate because God, God Himself, wants to walk among us. He is adopting us as family.
The motivation for purifying ourselves is clear in 7:1. We perfect “holiness out of reverence for God.” Would I want to host a party in a beat-up rundown shack? Do I want my Lord and Savior inhabiting a life that is filthy and unkempt?
For those of us who have trusted Christ, He is already walking with us. He is already in our “homes.” There have been some rooms that I haven’t wanted to clean, places where the garbage is stacked floor to ceiling. The great promise of Scripture is that Jesus will clean my life. I just need to point to the room, acknowledge that it needs a scrub down, and let Him start taking boxes to the curb.
For reflection:
- Where are some areas in our lives where we need purification? Out of reverence, may we let Him have those areas?
by Kevin Kelly
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