Staying Clean in a Filthy World
Doing Hard Things • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Living a holy life is something we see throughout Scripture.
Back in Lev. 11:44; Lev. 19:2; Lev. 20:7 we see the Lord commanding the nation of Israel to be holy in the land they were about to enter.
They were to be holy like He is amongst the unholy nations.
Each of these sections in Leviticus we see surrounded by specific commands.
In 11:44 this command is surrounded by the laws about eating: what they could and couldn’t eat.
In 19:2 it is surrounded by the law of honoring parents, not worshipping idols, not making wrong sacrifices, and about keeping sabbaths and then a reiteration of the 10 commandments.
In 20:7 it is surrounded by the command to not turn to false teachings of the witchcraft (Wicca today), not to worship false gods, and again to honor your parents.
We today live in a culture that is just as bad as that of the pagan kingdoms Israel was living around then.
We have sacrifices to false gods every day when abortions happen.
We have people seeking the help of mediums and psychics.
We have leaders telling kids to do what they want and they will help hide that from the parents.
We have people who worship false gods of work, play, sports, money, among many other gods.
We live in the same world that Israel was facing way back then.
And I am sure many of you may be thinking about the issues you face.
I want to tell you we all face Issues.
Let me examine some of the issues we all face before I get to the Scripture we will examine and the method of Staying Clean in a Filthy World.
We All Face Issues
How can I live holy when these women show more skin than if they had nothing on at all?
How can I stay holy when this man knows how to talk to me and does things my husband can’t or won’t?
How can I be holy when my friends are all drinking and partying and living wild and free even though I know drunkenness is sin?
How can I be holy when all my friends gossip and slander and besides I don’t like that person anyway?
How can I be holy when everything around me is pointing to be unholy?
How can I be holy when being holy is considered to be awful and people think I am evil for acting in a holy manner?
Maybe you are thinking that life would be so much easier and that your clean living would be so much better without these challenges.
I am not so sure about that. I think this little piece I read lately helps us with that thinking.
The author William Batten, wrote:
When I hear my friends say they hope their children don't have to experience the hardships they went through--I don't agree. Those hardships made us what we are. You can be disadvantaged in many ways, and one way may be not having had to struggle.
Facing these struggles and making it through without failing is a powerful witness for the savior we serve.
He is worthy and worth the struggle, it all just comes back to you and if you will allow another to control you.
As I have said many times before, only you are capable of controlling your emotions, actions, and thoughts.
If you say another caused you to fall, you are 1) making an excuse which is no reason at all, 2) saying you allowed another to control you admitting you are too weak to control yourself because you were trying to control yourself without the help of the Spirit.
Either one shows you are not letting God lead you as you should.
In 1 Pet. 1:13-25 shows the way, the why, and the how to stay clean in a filthy world.
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
The first part of staying clean is finding a way to do so.
In verses 13-16 we see Peter telling us...
A Way to Stay Clean
A Way to Stay Clean
In these 4 verses Peter lays out a way to stay clean in a filthy world.
1. The first way is to Be Prepared, this is preparing your mind.
He says to prepare your mind for action. We must know that we will be assaulted. We must be ready for attacks.
We must be ready to have our senses overwhelmed.
Simply, if you do not think you will be assaulted you are a fool because we all will be assaulted by this wicked evil world.
Being prepared means we are ready when temptations come.
2. To be prepared we must do the second way, be sober-minded.
Being Sober minded means we are clear in thinking. We must have a mind set on the Lord.
We have self-control of our selves. We are in control of what enters our minds.
This also indicates that we are not to become drunk or high in any way because when you do you lose control of your mind.
If It is not under control uncleanness can crawl in and plant itself and become a massive tree in your mind.
3. One way to do this is the third way which is to be focused on grace.
This grace we focus on is the grace of salvation and the near second coming of our savior.
When we have His love for us in His first and second coming always before us, we will live differently.
We have received grace upon grace from Him and when He, as I firmly believe will happen to all believers before the tribulation time comes, raptures us, snatches us up and out and then after those 7 years returns to reign for 1,000 pure and perfect years with us ruling and reigning with Him, we will know what powerful motivation grace is to live pure.
Keep grace always before you. Know He saved you from the misery of those who “are having fun” in the world which are really miserable.
4. This points to the fourth way which is to be unconformed to the world.
This means we stand alone if necessary. we stand out.
We become the oddball of those around us.
It is worth it. The sacrifices you make here are nothing compared to the glories awaiting you in heaven.
As Charles Swindoll said, “Your faith ought to get you in trouble at times. If everybody thinks you are nuts, you may be. It’s OK if some think you are. You’re probably in trouble if no one thinks you are.” (Illustrations, 195).
Be different. It is cooler to be different anyway.
Why do you want to do the same thing all those fools are doing?
Life is so much more than chasing women or men, drinking and partying, lying and gossiping, or being all around unholy.
5. Which points to the fifth way, be holy.
This means be set apart. Be sacred to God. Be dedicated to service to God.
If we dedicate ourselves to serving God alone, then we will avoid the filth of the world.
The Israelites did not do this. They were commanded to not be like the world around them and they were commanded to kill all the people in the land.
They failed on both accounts and have suffered in the world ever since.
We will suffer to if we do not set ourselves apart and dedicate ourselves to the Lord.
These are the ways of staying clean now we will look at the...
Why We Stay Clean
Why We Stay Clean
We will look at the why before the how because I believe knowing the way and the why before knowing the how will help us apply the how better.
In the why we stay clean we see it is because 1 Pet. 1:18-19
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Jesus gave His life for you and me.
He came and purchased our souls by His precious blood.
He gave everything for you.
And when I say He gave everything for you I mean everything.
Think if you will, Jesus left the glories of heaven and came to this pain filled hardscrabble world.
He left perfection took on the flesh of humanity and was a carpenters son who worked hard all His life only to be nailed to a cross after being beaten into a pulp.
He died there and was buried in a borrowed tomb hastily because the Sabbath was coming on.
He was treated as a common criminal and not who He was and is.
He was treated as lower than you and me so He could save you and me.
He gave everything for you and me.
He then rose again to be rejected still by many and many more have since rejected Him.
Now, He sits beside the Father interceding for us daily. He is still working for you and me.
He truly gave everything to save you and me.
This is the why we stay clean in a filthy world.
By this He sealed and has us sealed in Him so our faith must be in Him.
As verse 21 says 1 Pet. 1:21
21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
It is through Him alone that we have salvation and faith to live.
You stay clean because of Him and you stay clean by Him.
He is your reason for cleanness and He is the way to stay clean.
He is the way to be holy as the Lord God is holy.
He is the only way to remain pure.
In Matthew 5:8 we read
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
It is only through Him we have this. He is the why and the way.
But He is also the How we stay clean.
How We Stay Clean
How We Stay Clean
We do not, cannot, stay clean in this filthy world alone.
I want to relieve you from thinking you were about to have to do a bunch of law keeping like exercises to remain pure.
No, praise the Lord for His grace in our lives and His work to keep us clean in a filthy world.
Now, don’t think this will be easy because if it was it would not have made it into this series.
All those issues we examined at the beginning are still things we contend with daily.
Remember in Romans 7 when Paul said he still does the things he does not want to do and doesn’t do the things he wants to do?
Well, we have that battle daily.
We struggle through but we have a how to remain clean in a filthy world.
In verse 22 we read 1 Pet. 1:22
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
He has purified us.
He has made us clean.
He has washed us through and through by our obedience to the truth.
What is our obedience to the truth? Believing in Christ alone for your forever salvation.
When we do this we have Him in us through the Spirit and we have the power to live pure.
Another How we live pure is by proper brotherly love.
When you love your neighbor as yourself, you will not lust after another regardless how they look, you will not lie and gossip, you will not withhold funds needed to serve others.
You have been born again or as Paul says it become a new creation. In verse 23 we read 1 Pet. 1:23
23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
We are new in Christ and we have His Word to affirm this.
Not only this but the Word was proclaimed through the proclamation of the gospel.
That means that the Gospel is the truth because it is the imperishable word of God.
His Word tells us that when we believe in Jesus we have, present possession, everlasting life.
We are His and that is an eternal truth.
His Word is enduring as is our salvation.
The How we live clean in a filthy world is by faithfully following the everlasting truth of the Word of God which we have in our hands today.
Verses 24-25 tells us that everything else here will perish and fade away but the word of the Lord will remain forever.
It will not go away and it does not change.
What it says is what it means regardless what some new fangled mumbo jumbo teaching has come on the scene.
I am telling you if you want to know what God thinks about drinking to drunkenness, lust, gossip, and unholy living, look in His word it is there and what it says is what it means.
These authors did not just write about what they thought or about what they understood then where we now have come to a better understanding of things.
No, this word is imperishable and will remain forever when those false teachers and teachings have died.
How we Stay Clean in a Filthy World is by knowing God’s Word and knowing what it cost Jesus to give us everlasting life.
When we grasp that and apply His teaching throughout His word, we will stay clean.
Is it hard?
Yes, it is.
But it is also simple.
It is simple to do.
Carve out time to learn what Christ has done and is still doing for you by setting aside specific time everyday to read and not only read but study His word.
And I mean more than just on Sunday morning. Do this everyday and I promise you will see a difference in your life and walk.
Also, when you do this you will lessen the time you have to be in the way of temptation.
When you do this you will
Prepare your Mind
Become Sober-minded
Be Grace Focused
Be Unconformed
Be Holy/Set Apart
But when doing this also start each day by saying in prayer to God “Today I set apart my mind for you, I set apart my passions, my eyes, my ears, my lips, my motivations, my attitudes, my disciplines, I set these all apart to you Lord.”
Do this and anytime during the day you drift reorient yourself by refocusing on Christ and what He gave for you.
Then when this is how you are living, living for the Lord, you will Matthew 5:16
Matthew 5:16 (ESV)
16 let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
When we live like this we will be doing the hard thing because we are not allowing the world to control us but allowing the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Jesus Christ, control our lives and when we do this we will live clean in a filthy world.
Also, we will allow others to see His amazing glory and grace by how we live and react to situations.
Conclusion
As D.L. Moody said “A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine.”
Living in a holy manner in this crazy world will be tough but man will it make an impression.
Live holy and stay clean because when you do people see this and when they see they question and questions can be answered and when answered those questions may lead to more and more then ultimately to that person believing in Jesus.
Your living clean in a filthy world may be the reason another person gets laundered and becomes pure white beside you.
Stay faithful and stay clean and watch what the Lord will do.
I want to end with this story about the man I just quoted above,
President Woodrow Wilson once had an encounter that he never forgot. He said,
I remember once that I was in a very [common place]. I was in a barber shop, lying in a chair, and I was presently aware that a personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself, to have his hair cut, and sat in the chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal and vital interest in the man who was serving him. Before I got through with what was being done to me, I was aware that I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. Moody was in the next chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular effect that his visit had upon the barbers in that shop. They talked in undertones. They did not know his name. They did not know who had been there, but they knew that something had elevated their thought. I felt that I left that place as I should have left a place of worship. (Ron Prosise, Preaching Illustrations from Church History, 111).
This is what living clean in a filthy world looks like.
It is not making large splashes but it is making an impact everywhere you go.
And you too can live like this because you too have the same Spirit in you that Moody had in him: The Holy Spirit and He is your guide and strength.
Live in that power and fall back to that power regularly and you will Stay Clean in a Filthy World, and make an impact that only heaven will reveal to you.