“Clean hands and a pure heart come from knowing when we have failed our God’s standards and repenting. Repentance brings a pure heart.”
Jill Eileen Smith
Today’s Passage
6Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:6–10 (NASB95)
Background
Quotes are summarized from Wikipedia. Passage summaries are from Biblehub.com by Jay Smith, with permission. Scripture comes from LOGOS software under license.
Quote-Jill Eileen Smith is the bestselling and award-winning author of many biblical novels, including her first series The Wives of King David.
After twenty years of closed doors, she has published 24 books, fiction and nonfiction. She loves Jesus and His Word and all things related to learning more about the women whom God has immortalized there.
While she loves writing and researching, she is willingly interrupted by her west-coast children and adorable grandchildren. Traveling to Israel was a highlight of her life, but traveling west is her new favorite place to visit. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading stories that take her away, playing too many games and puzzles on her phone (call it down time), or snuggling her lovable, mischievous cats Kody and Kaelee.
Her favorite verse is Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Jill has been married to the love of her life for 48 years and counting and lives in a quiet neighborhood in southeast Michigan.
Passage-The genre of Psalms is Songs and Poetry of all kinds. It is written by multiple authors; David wrote 73, Asaph wrote 12, the sons of Korah wrote 9, Solomon wrote 3, Ethan, and Moses each wrote one (Ps. 90), and 51 of the Psalms are anonymous. They were written over the span of approximately 900 years (Beginning at the time of Moses 1440 B.C. and through the captivity in 586 B.C.).
The Psalms include praises of joy, laments, blessings, and thanksgivings. They are directed at God and they help us to express and communicate ourselves to Him. We read about the Psalmist’s emotions from one extreme to another, from praising, delighting in and worshiping God with fervor, to repentance and crying out to Him in despair.
Opening Statement
Clean hands and a pure heart are wonderful things to ask for, but the path to obtain them is often long and hard. Wouldn’t it be good to have a companion along that journey?
Ask: People generally consider themselves to be “good people”, but does that make us right with God?
Point: Being a “good person” does not make us “right with God.” Please read the following:
10as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
11There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;
12All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
Romans 3:10–12 (NASB95)
1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.
2The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.
3They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.
Psalm 14:1–3 (NASB95)
1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,” They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; There is no one who does good.
2God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God.
3Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.
Psalm 53:1–3 (NASB95)
Ask: The Romans passage quotes the Psalms. Was it necessary to put all three passages of scripture in the lesson?
Point: Yes. It is important to understand that Paul is only repeating what Jewish Rabbis have taught for centuries.
Ask: But we do good works like serving at the local food pantry, serving our local church, and untold numbers of smaller, daily acts so why aren’t those “doing good?” Aren’t they good works?
Point: Yes, those are good works, bearing fruit, etc but that is not what sets us right with God. Those works are not what make us “righteous.” Please read the following:
21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
Matthew 7:21–23 (NASB95)
Ask: Why is it important to understand the works themselves aren’t what make us clean, righteous in the eyes of God?
Point: Because we might begin to think the number of tasks and size of the results are the point, and they are not. Please read the following:
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8–10 (NASB95)
Ask: But that says we are created through faith in Jesus to do good works, so how is that not contradictory?
Point: Because the “in Christ Jesus” part is the important part, not the “for good works” part.
Ask: How does “in Christ Jesus” change “for good works”?
Point: Please re-read Today’s Passage:
6Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:6–10 (NASB95)
Ask: Where is the answer to how “in Christ Jesus” changes “For good works” in the above scripture?
Point: God desires truth in us, He wants us pure and clean, He offers us joy and gladness, He wants us to turn from sin as He does, and He wants our motivations (heart) to be clean as He is.
Ask: So, how do we get all those things God wants from us into the fruits we produce for Him?
Point: We keep our focus on Jesus and how He would do things. Please read the following:
1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
Hebrews 12:1–4 (NASB95)
Ask: How do we keep our focus on Jesus if it is that important for our motivations?
Point: Prayer. Please read the following:
14We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
15See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
16Rejoice always;
17pray without ceasing;
18in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:14–18 (NASB95)
Ask: How does prayer create a clean heart in us so we keep centered on Jesus in all the things we do?
Point: As the quote suggests, through prayer we voice our understanding of our shortcomings and needs to God which shows our readiness to turn from them and step closer to Him. Please read the following:
19Do not quench the Spirit;
20do not despise prophetic utterances.
21But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
22abstain from every form of evil.
23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:19–23 (NASB95)
Closing Statement
The good soil of our hearts are prepared to receive the seed of Christ Jesus through the hoe of repentance. We demonstrate our readiness to be obedient to God’s next step for us by acknowledging in prayer we recognize what the Spirit says. In that acknowledgement we open up our hearts, ready to have Jesus lead us where God wants us to go instead of where we want us to go.