Clean and Full

It is the second week in this series focusing on a spiritual tune up for our souls. Those of us who won cars and depend on them to run well for us to have reliable transportation know the value of doing some routine maintenance to keep them running smoothly. Last week I started with a story about replacing a tension belt on the Subaru I have for my kids to drive. Let me tell you about how it is I got that car in the first place.

I bought it used from a friend who knows cars and buys cars that are broken down and need work to get them running again. This particular Subaru is actually in really great shape. It was never in an accident, the exterior body is well maintained and has little evidence of rust or deterioration—which is remarkable for an older car that drives around here in Michigan winters. The inside is clean with no rips or stains in the seat fabrics. But the reason my friend got the car was because the engine needed to be replaced, so he put a whole new engine in this Subaru and sold it to me as a great car for my kids to use.

The reason this car needed a new engine is because the previous owner never had the oil changed, ever. All of us who own cars know how this goes. After so many miles or so many months, you either stop at a dealer service department or go to quick oil-change place. Or maybe some of you do that work yourself at home—changing engine oil is not all-that-hard to do yourself with the right tools. Many cars these days have reminder codes that appear on the dash telling you when it is time to get the oil changed. But apparently, the previous owner of this Subaru never paid attention to these kinds of things. So, the car ran longer and longer with engine oil that got dirtier and dirtier. She kept the car washed and waxed and vacuumed and looking really clean and well maintained on the outside, but the engine oil on the inside only got dirtier and filled with sludge. Eventually the oil level dropped to the point where no oil pressure was left in the engine, and the friction of the pistons cracked engine block. And just like that, the entire engine was shot. There was no fix except to get an entirely new engine put in, which is how my friend got the car and is what he had to do before selling it to me.

This car had some very careful attention to keeping the outside washed and waxed, and the interior vacuumed and cleaned. But there was no attention given to keeping the engine clean. And that ended up ruining the car to the point of needing a whole new engine. What’s the point of having a car that looks good on the outside if the engine doesn’t even run because the engine is so dirty? If the engine no longer runs, then what good is the car at all?

There were no cars during the time when Jesus lived in Israel and the gospels were written. But Jesus does tell a very similar story directed towards the pharisees and Jewish religious leaders.

Matthew 23:23–28 (NIV)

Matthew 23:23–28 NIV

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

This is a section of teaching from Jesus in Matthew’s gospel in which Jesus appears to be rather harsh and condemning. It maybe seems a little uncharacteristic for Jesus to speak this way because we so often think of Jesus as loving and gracious and merciful—and Jesus is truly all of those things. And so often we see Jesus approaching and embracing and accepting those who Jewish society branded as impure sinners who did not deserve to be accepted by God—and Jesus truly does accept and embrace sinners who do not deserve forgiveness. However, have you noticed how Jesus often seems to have harsh words for the people who considered themselves to be religiously pure. The sin that Jesus always seems to call out with the strongest words is the sin of hypocrisy—in particular, the hypocrisy of religious people.

calling attention to people who look one way on the outside and are another way on the inside

That is what is happening in this passage from Matthew. Jesus is calling attention to people who look one way on the outside and are another way on the inside. It is not to say that everyone who is a highly religious person is awful, but religious hypocrisy seems to be a particularly ensnaring trap for those who—we presume—are trying to follow God and obey his commands. What makes this particular behavior a subject of such harsh criticism from Jesus? Maybe God wants us to see that any effort we give towards a spiritual tune up ought to pay pretty close attention to what Jesus is saying here. To have a spiritual life that is clean and full might not always be what it appears.

to be righteous before God is to be clean, pure, and free from the blemishes and defects of sin

We don’t use the word ‘clean’ to describe our spiritual lives that often. I think in the English language, the church has preferred to use the word ‘pure’ to mean the same thing. Purity is a word religious people use to talk about things like sexual ethics. But we use that word in reference to any type of behavior we might want to categorize as untainted or unblemished, behaviors that meet the standard of obedience we understand from God. It has connections back the Old Testament. The entire system of sacrifice that the Israelites followed used animals that were clean, pure, free from blemishes or defects. The symbolic nature of Old Testament sacrifices approached God to seek forgiveness. And in receiving forgiveness from God, the Israelites would be considered righteous before God. To be righteous before God is to be clean, pure, and free from the blemishes and defects of sin. Cleanliness and purity were at the heart of Jewish religious life. It is where we get the phrase ‘cleanliness is next to godliness.’

purity itself is a problem — it is the focus of purity that matters

Maybe then, on the one hand, we should not consider the efforts by the religious elite in the time of Jesus to be a bad thing by seeking spiritual cleanliness. Jesus is not criticizing them for their efforts as though purity is a bad thing. After all, we see in today’s passage that Jesus tells them in his judgement concerning their tithes that they should practice both inward and outward generosity. It is not that purity itself is a problem; it is the focus of that purity which seems to be completely ruining them and perhaps completely ruining us.

we know how to make our spiritual lives look perfectly clean and pure on the outside

It is not all that hard here in this little West Michigan community to know all the right things to say and all the right behaviors to model in order to appear like a good moral Christian. And again, it is not that good morality is wrong; that’s not what Jesus is criticizing. We certainly know how to dress it up on the outside just like washing waxing and buffing a nice car. We can put all the same effort and careful attention into modeling the outside of our spiritual lives so that our religiousness sparkles and glows. I know what it takes for my spiritual life to have the look of a sleek dash board and polished chrome; no crumbs or wrappers or stains. Let’s be honest, we all live in the kind of community in which we know how to make our spiritual lives look perfectly clean and pure and full.

inside cleanliness of your spiritual engine is absolutely necessary and cannot be ignored

The reminder from Jesus today is to focus on the inside. It is a reminder to pay attention the purity and cleanliness of the engine to our spiritual lives. The wash and the wax and the vacuuming and the polishing are not bad things. The habits and behaviors and prayers and devotions are not bad things. But just as important is the oil change and radiator flush and coolant level and brake pads. The inside cleanliness of your spiritual engine is absolutely necessary and cannot be ignored if you want a soul that is tuned up and healthy.

what does my spiritual life look like on the inside?

So, what does your spiritual life look like on the inside? We have a great place to start with that question right here in the words of Jesus.

Matthew 23:23 (NIV)

Matthew 23:23 NIV

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

giving that bears the fruit of justice, mercy, and faithfulness; that’s the internal ‘engine’ of our generosity which needs to be clean and full for our souls to be healthy

Justice, mercy, faithfulness. The spiritually healthy person is not just generous because the Bible says we ought to give, and so I give my offering and click the box on my spiritual checklist for being generous. The spiritually healthy person sees injustice and takes action to give where necessary so that justice can be promoted and obtained. The spiritually healthy person sees oppression and takes action to give where necessary so that mercy can be promoted and obtained. The spiritually healthy person sees corruption and takes action to give where necessary so that faithfulness can be promoted and obtained. It is not giving for the sake of giving and appearing to a holy and righteous person who checks off the right spiritual boxes. It is giving in order to bear spiritual fruit in the lives of others. Giving that bears the fruit of justice, mercy, and faithfulness; that’s the internal ‘engine’ of our generosity which needs to be clean and full for our souls to be healthy. And that is only using the example of generosity and giving. What about all the other matters of righteousness that make up a life of holiness?

how to be clean on the inside

So, how do we get there; to this point of being clean and full on the inside, not just on the outside? Where does that start for us today? My favorite beverage mug is a 10-ounce thermal cup with a lid that keeps my hot beverages—like coffee and tea—hot for hours, and my cold beverages—like lemonade or punch, cold for hours. But I cannot go back and forth between these different beverages without cleaning it out well. Coffee especially leaves a stained buildup that gives off a bitter flavor into other drinks. And so, I often clean out the stainless steel inside of my mug by wiping it with a special cleaner for getting all that residue out. And that’s the reason why I use a smaller 10-ounce mug, because it is shallow enough for me to easily fit my hand inside and wipe all the way down to the bottom. I stay away from the bigger 20-ounce tumbler mugs that see many other people have only because I cannot easily fit my hand inside to clean it out all the way to the bottom. I would need someone with a smaller hand to clean it for me or get some of those scrubbers with a longer handle to reach down to the bottom, but I couldn’t reach it on my own.

I am unable to clean and purify the inside of my soul on our own

only Jesus can purify my soul from the inside out

That’s where I think we find ourselves today. I can wash and wax and polish the outside of my spiritual life to sparkle and shine with the best of them. But when it comes to cleaning out deep down to the inside of my soul, there is dirty residue of the sinful nature we are all born into that I just cannot reach on my own. And no amount of trying on my own will ever get it. I think that is exactly the point Jesus wants us to see here. We are unable to clean and purify the inside of our souls on our own. And that is why the gospel is so amazing for us! That is why we have been given such a remarkable gift from God that ought to change everything about who we are and how we live. You don’t have to be the one who cleans your own soul on the inside; God does that for you. Only Jesus can wipe away all the dirt and filth of sin that breaks and ruins the engine of your spiritual life; only God can do that.

If you have never let Jesus into your heart, do that today. Embrace the grace of God today so that your soul can be cleaned and purified on the inside by the righteousness of Jesus given for you at the cross. Invite Jesus into your heart and let the purity of God be the thing that cleanses you from the inside all the way to the outside. Only then can our lives be a testimony to the incredible grace of God.