God's Servants Must be Clean

God is clean and holy. He expects His worshippers to remain clean spiritually, morally, mentally and physically (1 Peter 1:16). It takes real effort to stay clean in God’s eyes. We live in an unclean world. We also have a struggle against our own tendencies to do wrong. But we must not give up.

Spiritual Cleanness: If we want to serve God, we cannot hold on to any of the teachings or customs of false religion. We must get out of false religion and not support it in any way (2 Cor 6:14-18). Once we have learned the truth about God, we must be careful not to be misled by people who teach falsehood.

Moral Cleanness: God wants His worshippers to behave as true Christians at all times (1 Peter 2:12). He sees everything we do, even in secret (Heb 4:13). We should avoid sexual immorality and other unclean practices of this world.

Mental Cleanness: If we fill our minds with clean, pure thoughts, our conduct will also be clean (Phil 4:8), but if we dwell on unclean things it will result in wicked deeds (Matt 15:18-20). We should avoid forms of entertainment that could soil our minds. We can fill our minds with clean thoughts by studying God’s Word.

Physical Cleanness: Because they represent God, Christians should keep their bodies and clothing clean. Keeping physically clean contributes to good health. A Christian’s home should be neat and clean both inside and outside. It should stand out in the community as a good example.

Clean Speech: God’s servants must always speak the truth. Liars will not enter God’s Kingdom (Eph 4:25). Christians do not use bad language. They do not listen to or tell dirty jokes or unclean stories. Because of their clean speech they stand out as different at work or at school and in the neighbourhood (Eph 4:29, 31; 5:3).

Bro David Yelulani (Banket, Zimbabwe)