Clean from the Unclean
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one. Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass, look away from him and leave him alone, that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.
Job 14:4-6
+
Clean from the Unclean
We are told in the Psalms, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). From the very beginning of our existence, we are sinful, we are unclean. So how can we ever expect to be clean before God. The devil, the world, and our own unclean, sinful selves tell us, that we just need to work harder, cleanse ourselves with good deeds and right living. Yet no matter what we do we can never cleanse ourselves from our original sin, not to mention the multitude of actual sins we commit daily. Job would have that God “look away from him and leave him alone.” In other words, leave me in my filth, leave me in this wretched condition. Thankfully for Job, and for us, God does not take that advice. He does not leave us in an unclean state. He cleanses us through His Means of Grace. Through the purifying waters of Holy Baptism our soiled garments are made pure. In Holy Absolution the stain of sin is removed from us, and at His holy altar, the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, washes us thoroughly. Because of what Christ has done for us on the cross, our formerly filthy unclean rages are radiant white, washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.
Job 14:4-6
+
Clean from the Unclean
We are told in the Psalms, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). From the very beginning of our existence, we are sinful, we are unclean. So how can we ever expect to be clean before God. The devil, the world, and our own unclean, sinful selves tell us, that we just need to work harder, cleanse ourselves with good deeds and right living. Yet no matter what we do we can never cleanse ourselves from our original sin, not to mention the multitude of actual sins we commit daily. Job would have that God “look away from him and leave him alone.” In other words, leave me in my filth, leave me in this wretched condition. Thankfully for Job, and for us, God does not take that advice. He does not leave us in an unclean state. He cleanses us through His Means of Grace. Through the purifying waters of Holy Baptism our soiled garments are made pure. In Holy Absolution the stain of sin is removed from us, and at His holy altar, the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, washes us thoroughly. Because of what Christ has done for us on the cross, our formerly filthy unclean rages are radiant white, washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.
Recent
Archive
2026
January
In The GardenBy Your Own LawA Kingdom Not From HereThe King Who Bears Witness to the TruthWhich Jesus Will You Have?Behold the King We MockedBehold the Man, Lifted for YouAuthority from Above, Glory from the CrossBehold Your King, Lifted Up to JudgeThe Place of the SkullIt Is WrittenEvery Promise KeptStabat MaterIt Is FinishedThese Three TestifyA True TestimonyA Quiet Courage at the CrossThe Empty Tomb and the Wounded SaviorSeeing, Believing, and the Linen Left BehindCalled by Name in the GardenDo Not Cling, Go and TellPeace in Wounded HandsThe Wounds That Speak PeaceYou May Have LifeMy Lord and My GodFishingIt Is the LordThey KnewFeed My LambsFollow HimFollowing Jesus, Not Comparing Paths
February
The Testimony That Is EnoughBefore Kings, Before the CrossBefore You Were Born, the Word Was GivenSet Like FlintRemembering First LoveForsaking the FountainBroken Cisterns and the Living CrossAshamed of Our False RescuesForgottenWe Have SinnedLift Up Your EyesLike SisterReturn to the LordThe Gift of ShepherdsOur Only HopeShame That Leads to SalvationCircumcised HeartsBlow the Trumpet in the LandWhen Wisdom FailsThe Storm We Have SummonedThe Sound of the TrumpetWhen Wisdom Becomes FollyThe Earth Shall MournCan You Find One?There Is No DifferenceThe Lord Must InterveneSpeak TruthEnduring Nation
March
A RemnantA Deaf People, a Faithful GodFlee to the StrongholdCut Down to Be HealedNo Superficial PeaceStand at the CrossroadsRefined by Fire, Redeemed by the CrossTrust in the Lord, Not in Your HandsHe Flipped TablesPoured Out on JesusYou Are His PeopleTruth Has RisenSilence in the CitiesWhat Have I Done?Not a Bone Shall Be BrokenWhen Wisdom Becomes FoolishnessBitter MedicineThe Hiss of Judgment, the Promise of the CrossThe Wound of Sin and the Healing of ChristIs There No Balm?Truth at the CrossRefined by the LordScatteredRuinedDeath Has ComeBoast In The LordLike ScarecrowsNone Like Our GodGods That PerishWounded, Yet Not ForsakenDisciplined, Not Destroyed