Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4). “Clean hands and purified heart simply imply holiness within and holiness without, that is, holiness in its entirety,and this is the climax of the call of God on all flesh. God will not compromise the demand for holiness under any condition. Holiness is preferred by the holy God above every other thing in the life of man. “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:7). The importance of clean hands and pure heart above other things cannot be overemphasized. To walk with God and work for Him creditably here on earth, to be in favor with Him at all times, and to live with Him in eternity all depend on holiness of heart and life. Holiness encompasses all other Christian virtues such as Humility, Obedience, Love, Integrity, Newness, Empathy, Separation and Submission.
There are some people who demonstrate clean hands, manifesting a kind of outward holiness in their public life, but whose hearts are full of bitterness,evil thoughts,hatred, envy, hatred,selfish motives, to mention a few. This is nothing but hypocrisy (Matthew 23:23). Whereas on the other hand, there are some who claim that their hearts are pure even when their visible lives are devoid of godly virtues of love,meekness, kindness, gentleness, longsuffering, temperance, peace, joy and faith. Whatever reason they may present, this is self-deception and delusion. Since the fall, no man is born with clean hands and purified hearts. The Bible says, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me…For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Psalm 51:5; Psalm 3:23).
No man can attain God’s divine nature by himself or confer it on another man. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one” (Job 14:4). God in His infinite mercy and love has given great and exceeding precious promises for the systematic accomplishment of this His nature in man,having made appropriate, adequate and perfect provision through the substitutionary suffering and death of His only begotten Son.Right from the beginning of God’s dealing with man, up to date and till eternity,cleanliness and purity of heart stands out preferred and pre-eminent among all others demands of God from men of all races. This is not to condemn or relegate other demands of god from man such as worship, offerings, service, and the likes; but it to say that cleanliness and purity of heart comes first before others before others can be acceptable to God. The absence of cleanliness and purity of heart led to the flooding away of the antediluvian age, despite the fact that men began to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26). Only Noah and his household in whom this greatness virtue was found escape the flood. “And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1).God also called out Abraham from the filthiness and idolatry (Genesis 12:1) and the higher calling unto perfection. “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Genesis 17:1). All through God’s dealing with the descendants of Abraham – the Israelites,the paramount thing He was passionately seeking is cleanliness and purity as clearly depicted in the commandments He gave them through Moses their leader (Exodus 20:1-7), Cleanliness and purity of heart was the qualification and mandate of the prophets and kings (Isaiah 52:11; 2 Chronicles 25:2,14-15).Cleanliness and purity of heart formed the conclusion of every message in the New Testament, either those of Christ or of the Apostles (Matthew 5:48; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Revelation 21:27 etc.).The implication of the foregoing is that, you may be prayerful, pious, and generous; you may even be known in the Church and be involved in the service and work of God. You may be expert in worship and even be eloquent in preaching, among many other religious activities. If you lack cleanliness and purity of heart, you would be lost forever in the lake of fire (Matthew 7:21-23). What then shall it profit you? Do you want to waste this only one life? Obviously no!
The fallen man completely lost his bearing and was totally incapacitated by the tyrant of the sinful nature. The more he tries, the more increasingly difficult it is for him to fit into God’s expected image. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8). As a matter of fact, man’s effort at its best is described as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). But God in His infinite love and mercy, not willing that any should perish has made adequate and full provision for the cleansing of man from the filth of sin, and for purging of the heart for purity.Then see what God has for you: “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12; Read Hebrews 9:14, 22).
The Blood - of Jesus Christ which was shed at Calvary for our sins and purging, and the Bible that reveals man’s nature and the need to him with the promises of God. Whatever God has promised, He’s both able and faithful to do. Yet, man is not left without a role to play in the process of purification.A process is involved in turning sinners to saints, vanquished to victors, and carnal men to Christ-like models. It is spiritual process which God undertakes to renew, regenerate, and recondition the heart so as to eject and repel every sinful and carnal inclination, and become God-centered issuing out the fruits of righteousness. But this not every sinful and carnal inclinations, and become God-centered issuing out the fruits of righteousness. But this is not without such a heart coming to God in the due cooperation and submission to Him as the process Maker. When the heart has thus been purified, it manifests in clean hands – obvious holiness and righteousness in all life’s dealings and endeavors.