Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
To be washed and made clean is to put away evil actions from before God's sight and to stop doing evil in heart and conduct. It was spoken to rebellious rulers and people whose sacrifices, assemblies and many prayers were rejected because their hands were full of blood and wrongdoing. No outward worship, profession of faith, or religious activity can make a person clean while evil continues, for confession without sincere repentance, reformation, and restitution where others have been wronged is not accepted. Ceasing from evil is only the beginning, for those who are cleansed must learn to do good in just and merciful action toward the oppressed, the fatherless and the widow. Cleansing is provided through Christ and His blood and is received by repentance, surrender, faith and cooperation with God, with the promise that though sins are as scarlet and red like crimson they shall become as white as snow and as wool to the willing and obedient, while continued rebellion leaves guilt recorded unto judgment.
Words and Original Setting
To wash and make clean is to put evil deeds away from before God's eyes and to stop doing evil, a moral cleansing of life and conduct. That turning requires more than admission or profession, for confession without sincere repentance and reformation is not acceptable, and the cleansing is joined to repentance and real change of character leading onward into learning to do good. Even those deeply stained by sin can be transformed, and the promise that follows is cleansing and forgiveness to the willing and obedient, with warning of judgment to those who refuse and rebel. The command is God's instruction to His people and applies to institutional managers, ministers, workers and everyone connected with His cause, bringing His sanctifying and cleansing work, blessing and prosperity when heeded, and it opens a field for exercising the mind toward practical, righteous service in just treatment of the oppressed, the fatherless and the widow.
It was spoken to rebellious Israel, to its rulers and people, whose sacrifices, assemblies and many prayers are rejected because their hands are full of blood and stained with wrongdoing. Outward worship, multiplied animal sacrifices and religious activity cannot make clean or be accepted while evil actions continue, for animal sacrifices offered as a heartless substitute cannot replace humble repentance and obedience. To be clean is to put away evil deeds from God's sight and stop doing evil, and that change is made practical in learning to do right, seeking justice, relieving the oppressed, and defending the fatherless and widow.
Even then God still holds out His hand to rebels to take hold and be led in the narrow path of self-denial and self-sacrifice unto heirship as sons of God, entreating them to discern their only hope in putting away the evil of their doings and ceasing to do evil. The past should teach His people not to repeat their errors, so that the future need not bring regret.
It is God's present voice to His people calling them to repent because the kingdom of heaven is near, urgent for those who lack evidence of His acceptance and have not lived by the truth's holy principles. They are to become clean in practice and not merely profess faith, putting away wrongdoing, condemning sinful life-practices, abandoning wrong and practicing right in the hard work of sanctification, seeking the Lord to receive help and grace to overcome defects of character. The command presses whether they will heed plain testimony and separate from all that has dishonored Him and from every practice grievous in His sight, with obedience joined to doing justice and judgment bringing great blessing. This humbling and ceasing from evil is the way to be converted and to live conformed to the teachings of the Word, rightly appreciating truth through fasting and prayer, showing it in character, for there is salvation in no other way. The call is pressed in light of the approaching judgment when every case will be decided for eternity, in this perilous time when Satan is ripening evil through human agencies, accountability rests heavily for words spoken, time is short and eternity is before us.
Repentance Requires Changed Conduct
Washing and becoming clean means turning from evil conduct by putting wrongdoing away out of God's sight and ceasing to do it, and prayer, multiplied sacrifices, and religious activity cannot substitute for that change or make a person accepted while evil deeds continue. Confession without sincere repentance and reformation is not acceptable, for genuine sorrow for sin produces decisive changes of life. True worship therefore includes humble obedience rather than heartless service, with the change made practical in seeking justice, relieving the oppressed, and defending the fatherless and widow.
Turning to God requires more than admitting sinfulness, professing faith, appearing to seek the Lord, or maintaining outward respectability, since open and secret sins are not hidden from God and profession alone does not reflect His character. Cleansing requires forsaking sin in practice in heart and conduct, putting evil away, stopping wrongdoing, learning to do right, acting justly toward others, following the Light, and bearing fruit to God's glory. Stopping evil is only the beginning and not enough by itself, for secret faults must also be repented and confessed before God and the life must go on to learn good. The call is urgent for those who lack evidence of acceptance and have not lived by holy principles, in view of the approaching judgment when every case will be decided for eternity.
Where another has been wronged or defrauded, repentance includes confessing the wrong, making restitution, righting what is wrong, and then doing good and cooperating with God for a changed character. Even those deeply stained by sin can be transformed and set free from sin's burden and penalty, with every stain washed away and scarlet sins made white. Yet Christ's righteousness does not cover continued iniquity, and continuing in sin leaves a person morally weak with no right to claim pardon or wear His robe, so those who come to Christ must leave sin and become loyal to God.
Receiving truth requires condemning sinful life-practices, abandoning wrongdoing, practicing rightdoing, and doing the hard work of sanctification, because truth is disbelieved when it exposes conduct that people hate to reform. Ceasing evil is a lesson learned day by day through training and disciplining self, bringing hereditary and cultivated tendencies, passions, and tendencies to wrong under God's control and under the plain moral and religious principles of His Word. It means walking wisely in the way of the commandments according to the mind and will of God, living with strict integrity that continually educates others, firmly resisting temptation even in small wrongs that weaken conscience and lead to greater wrongdoing, resisting both small and great temptations, seeking to do one's best every day, being true to virtue and to God, and reaching upward.
Even after grave sin God calls for decisive cleansing before it is too late, demanding that a person stop adding sin to sin, stop rebelling, humble the soul, fall on the Rock and be broken, and live blamelessly in obedience to His commandments and ordinances. That humbling includes repenting and confessing open and secret sins so that selfishness, uncharitableness, covetousness, envy, evil-surmising, falsehood, theft, robbery, sensuality, licentiousness, adultery, and every other evil doing are put away and cleansed out, for evils not put away remain charged in the books of record to be opened with the thoughts of the heart at the judgment unto wrath. Such conversion requires laying down warfare against truth and righteousness, surrendering to God, receiving truth into the character, and rightly appreciating Scripture through fasting and prayer, since salvation is in Christ alone and time is short with eternity before us. The same call rebukes one who knows the theory of truth yet transgresses the law, pursues worldly pleasure, causes suffering to wife and children, urges unbelief, and lays plans to destroy their faith and love for truth, commanding him to stop leading them toward loss of eternal life, stop spoiling faith, humble himself, be converted, and learn to do well.
Ceasing Evil Learning Good
Stopping wrong is only the start and is never enough by itself, for cleansing requires putting evil practices away and then going on to follow the Light and keep learning to do good. A changed habit of merely avoiding wrong can remain fruitless unless it is joined to active, purposeful good, with righteous principles becoming part of the nature and God's law written on the heart. Outward respectability does not hide open or secret sin from God, so repentance and confession before Him are necessary for sins to be forgiven and blotted out. A changed life then bears fruit to God's glory as the positive result and evidence of that change.
Learning to do well means seeking judgment, relieving the oppressed, judging the fatherless, and pleading for the widow in just and merciful action that reflects God's character. Prayer, religious activity, and multiplied animal sacrifices cannot make up for continuing evil deeds or replace humble repentance and obedience, for genuine repentance shows itself in changed conduct. This repentance is a field for exercising the mind and changing one's work toward practical, righteous service. The call to turn is joined to God's offer to reason together and make even scarlet sins white as snow, with cleansing and forgiveness promised to the willing and obedient and judgment warned to those who refuse and rebel. It is applied even to liquor-dealers, whose trade contributes to oppression and bloodshed, commanding them to turn, become clean, stop wrong, and learn justice and mercy toward the oppressed, fatherless, and widow.
Compassion for the afflicted and suffering is the first outflowing of love from a renewed heart. Cleansing therefore calls for a changed life and not merely a profession of faith, with Christian conduct reflecting God's character. Ceasing to do evil requires humbling the soul, falling on the Rock and being broken, so that selfishness, uncharitableness, covetousness, envy, evil-surmising, falsehood, theft, robbery, sensuality, licentiousness, adultery, and every other evil doing are put away and cleansed out of the camp. Unless this is done, sins remain charged in the books of record and will be opened with the thoughts of the heart at the judgment unto wrath.
The widow and the fatherless are objects of the Lord's special care. Those who in any way rob them of what they should have, and those who look on their needs with indifference, will be dealt with by the Judge of all the earth, and no one can receive God's favor while unfeeling and selfish. The Lord tests His people as individuals and will not allow His heritage to be oppressed, but will avenge His own elect who cry day and night to Him, and will avenge them speedily. He holds the church accountable for its members' wrongs, including selfishness and neglect or exploitation of the afflicted, until it has done what it can to correct them, and does not hear its prayers while the orphan, widow, blind, lame, or sick are neglected.
How Cleansing Is Received
Cleansing is commanded to everyone, with a fountain prepared for all to wash in and be made clean from all sin in the blood of the Lamb. It is received by faith in God and by prayer and watchful prayer, trusting His mercy and compassion toward the ignorant and erring and making Him all confidence and trust. That cleansing does not come from human power, for God has provided salvation at infinite cost through Christ. The command is personal, so each person must receive that salvation for themselves, since seeing others blessed cannot cleanse or nourish them.
People are cleansed as they repent and humble themselves before God, lay down warfare against truth and righteousness, are converted and surrender to God, and stop adding sin to sin and rebelling. Turning requires more than confessing sin, for people must put away evil, stop doing wrong, learn to do right, and act justly toward others, and when another has been wronged or defrauded repentance includes confessing the wrong and making restitution. God receives the repentant sinner who forsakes sin and cooperates with Him in seeking a changed character, with cleansing accompanying humility before God, trust in Him, and conversion to the Lord's way. Cleansing from impurity and defilement is possible through Christ's blood, and repentance includes changing conduct for the sake of the family and learning to do what is right. This change belongs to genuine conversion, in which the repentant sinner relying on Christ and exercising faith turns from unrighteousness to righteousness, receives pardon through faith in Christ, rejects sins once loved, leaves former sins behind, and follows a path of holiness while growing in grace.
Genuine conversion is shown when Christ is formed within the believer, giving earnest effort to obey God's commandments after the person receiving pardon renounces evil and ceases to do it. The vigor of obedience shows the sincerity of conversion, because one who has found the Lord renounces evil and learns to do what is good. Stopping evil comes from putting on Christ and being saved by His blood, and then love is made perfect and harassing self-condemnation ends, low selfish motives are expelled from the soul, and the heart seeks how best to glorify Christ. Gratitude, love and loyalty become the ruling motives, and these attributes must dwell richly in every soul who will be a final overcomer. Yielding to Christ brings this restoration, for His grace can restore a person's moral and mental powers to turn around and cease doing evil.
Stopping evil and learning good happens because the sinner becomes a student in the school of Christ, enters upon His life and practices His virtues, with the model of Jesus Christ before him, so the taint of worldly maxims no longer corrupts the thoughts or is woven into the character. Becoming a partaker of the divine nature enables following the great Example to neither fail nor be discouraged. It means bearing unappreciated kindness with meekness and doing everything for others as for Christ, who died for them. Learning to do well brings the blessing of the Lord, for a heart not right with God is cold and loveless, and learning to do well begins with home missionary work by one's own fireside to the members of one's own household.
Promise of Forgiveness and Warning
The command to wash and be clean is joined to the offer to reason together, with cleansing and forgiveness held out to the willing, and with the promise that sins though as scarlet and red like crimson shall become as white as snow and as wool. That promise means release from the burden and penalty of sin for those who put evil away, stop doing wrong, and live differently. For one who knows the theory of truth yet turns from it to break the law, chase worldly pleasure, bring suffering upon wife and children, draw them into unbelief and plot to destroy faith and love for truth, the washing means to stop adding sin to sin, to stop rebellion and leading the family on the unbelieving path toward loss of eternal life, to humble the heart, lay down warfare against truth and righteousness, be converted and surrender to God, and learn to do well.
Heeding the call brings sanctifying and cleansing work with blessing and prosperity, and to the willing and obedient the good of the land. That good is conditional on willingness and obedience, and it comes with divine help to correct the course, walk in obedience to the commandments, and do justice to the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widow. Repentance that only appears to seek the Lord does not receive this help, but repentance that reforms and obeys does.
Refusal and rebellion bring judgment, and the warning is plain that the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land while those who refuse and rebel shall be devoured with the sword. Those who do not put away evil works face shame and sorrow, and the call is urgent because every case is to be decided for eternity in the approaching judgment. Evils not humbly confessed and put away, whether open or secret, remain charged in the books of record and will be opened with the thoughts of the heart at the judgment unto wrath. Continuing in sin leaves the sinner morally weak, with no right to claim pardon or to wear the robe of righteousness.
Application to Daily Life
The command to wash and be clean reaches managers of institutions, ministers, workers, and everyone connected with God's cause, calling them to cleanse the soul from iniquity, turn from evil, be converted to the Lord's way, humble themselves before Him and trust Him, put on Christ's righteousness, and make better use of the time that remains. Heeding it brings God's sanctifying and cleansing work with blessing and prosperity to the workers. Repentance for past failures is part of that cleansing, joined to learning and practicing what is good, including seeking justice and helping the oppressed, the fatherless, and widows.
In family life it means changing conduct for the sake of the household, turning from a course of sin, accepting Christ by living faith, and learning to do what is right. Conforming life to truth's holy principles and ceasing to do evil leads toward sanctification and a happier family, and learning to do well begins with home missionary work by one's own fireside to members of one's own household. It begins with training and disciplining of self day by day, bringing hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong under control, walking wisely in the way of God's commandments in accordance with the mind and will of God, and living with strict integrity under the moral and religious principles plainly laid down in God's Word. Such a life of integrity becomes a continual education to others, since none need go astray except by yielding to inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrong. Becoming a partaker of the divine nature enables following the great Example without failing or being discouraged, bearing unappreciated kindness with meekness and doing everything for others as for Christ who died for them.
For youth and daily choices it means ceasing to do evil by learning to do well, fighting against hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, resisting both small and great temptations, and choosing what is right. It means seeking to do one's best every day, uniting with others in being true to virtue and true to God, being studious and reaching upward for the highest attainments. Earnest, determined effort to gain the knowledge that will enable a place in the higher grades in the courts above is commended, and watchful, diligent students receive approval. Children are called to cease doing evil as they accept Christ as Redeemer by living faith, to abandon disobedience and harmful habits, then to keep learning, growing in Christ, and using God-given intellect and abilities in faithful service rather than wasting them, because continued disobedience risks loss of eternal life.
In prayer for the sick and restoration of health, receiving God's blessing requires turning from evil, laying aside unhealthful practices, and living in harmony with God's natural and spiritual laws. Ceasing to do evil means stopping deliberate violations of God's law and putting away all violation of the laws of heaven that bring disease and suffering upon oneself, since God does not bless continued willful disobedience. Health is preserved or regained through self-control and abstinence from wrongdoing, not through medicines that promise benefits while habits remain unchanged. As the sick do all that is possible on their part and cooperate with Christ, Christ through the Holy Spirit brings healing power to those who stop doing evil and learn to do good. That healing is not permission to continue harmful habits or indulge appetite without restraint.
The call exposes specific wrongs such as the liquor trade's oppression and bloodshed, calling dealers to become clean, stop doing wrong, learn to do good, seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and defend the fatherless and the widow. It reaches pride, self-sufficiency, dishonest acts, loss of a clear sense of justice and righteousness, and influencing others to act wrongly, requiring an honest view of conduct, recognition of sin, sorrow for its effects, reliance on Christ's grace, seeking pardon and His righteousness, and real reformation of ingrained habits. Faithful labor in doing good leads to a harvest of blessing through grace. When one gently reproves wrongdoing and the erring persist, the reprover has still done what was right, is no longer responsible for that person's sin, and the blessing sought returns to the faithful helper.
It calls one who knows the theory of truth yet turns from it to transgress God's law, pursue worldly pleasure, cause suffering to his wife, urge her to unite in unbelief, lay plans to destroy her hold upon God and her love for truth, and add the blood of wife and children to his sins, to repent, humble himself before God, lay down warfare against truth and righteousness, be converted and surrender to God. To wash, be clean, put away evil doings, and cease to do evil means to stop adding sin to sin, stop rebelling against God and leading wife and children in the unbelieving path to loss of eternal life, stop spoiling his wife's faith, and learn to do well. The call promises that though sins be as scarlet and red like crimson they shall be as white as snow and as wool, and warns that if willing and obedient he shall eat the good of the land, but if he refuses and rebels he shall be devoured with the sword.
To be washed and made clean is to put away evil actions from before God's sight and to stop doing evil in heart and conduct. It was spoken to rebellious rulers and people whose sacrifices, assemblies and many prayers were rejected because their hands were full of blood and wrongdoing. No outward worship, profession of faith, or religious activity can make a person clean while evil continues, for confession without sincere repentance, reformation, and restitution where others have been wronged is not accepted. Ceasing from evil is only the beginning, for those who are cleansed must learn to do good in just and merciful action toward the oppressed, the fatherless and the widow. Cleansing is provided through Christ and His blood and is received by repentance, surrender, faith and cooperation with God, with the promise that though sins are as scarlet and red like crimson they shall become as white as snow and as wool to the willing and obedient, while continued rebellion leaves guilt recorded unto judgment.
Words and Original Setting
To wash and make clean is to put evil deeds away from before God's eyes and to stop doing evil, a moral cleansing of life and conduct. That turning requires more than admission or profession, for confession without sincere repentance and reformation is not acceptable, and the cleansing is joined to repentance and real change of character leading onward into learning to do good. Even those deeply stained by sin can be transformed, and the promise that follows is cleansing and forgiveness to the willing and obedient, with warning of judgment to those who refuse and rebel. The command is God's instruction to His people and applies to institutional managers, ministers, workers and everyone connected with His cause, bringing His sanctifying and cleansing work, blessing and prosperity when heeded, and it opens a field for exercising the mind toward practical, righteous service in just treatment of the oppressed, the fatherless and the widow.
It was spoken to rebellious Israel, to its rulers and people, whose sacrifices, assemblies and many prayers are rejected because their hands are full of blood and stained with wrongdoing. Outward worship, multiplied animal sacrifices and religious activity cannot make clean or be accepted while evil actions continue, for animal sacrifices offered as a heartless substitute cannot replace humble repentance and obedience. To be clean is to put away evil deeds from God's sight and stop doing evil, and that change is made practical in learning to do right, seeking justice, relieving the oppressed, and defending the fatherless and widow.
Even then God still holds out His hand to rebels to take hold and be led in the narrow path of self-denial and self-sacrifice unto heirship as sons of God, entreating them to discern their only hope in putting away the evil of their doings and ceasing to do evil. The past should teach His people not to repeat their errors, so that the future need not bring regret.
It is God's present voice to His people calling them to repent because the kingdom of heaven is near, urgent for those who lack evidence of His acceptance and have not lived by the truth's holy principles. They are to become clean in practice and not merely profess faith, putting away wrongdoing, condemning sinful life-practices, abandoning wrong and practicing right in the hard work of sanctification, seeking the Lord to receive help and grace to overcome defects of character. The command presses whether they will heed plain testimony and separate from all that has dishonored Him and from every practice grievous in His sight, with obedience joined to doing justice and judgment bringing great blessing. This humbling and ceasing from evil is the way to be converted and to live conformed to the teachings of the Word, rightly appreciating truth through fasting and prayer, showing it in character, for there is salvation in no other way. The call is pressed in light of the approaching judgment when every case will be decided for eternity, in this perilous time when Satan is ripening evil through human agencies, accountability rests heavily for words spoken, time is short and eternity is before us.
Repentance Requires Changed Conduct
Washing and becoming clean means turning from evil conduct by putting wrongdoing away out of God's sight and ceasing to do it, and prayer, multiplied sacrifices, and religious activity cannot substitute for that change or make a person accepted while evil deeds continue. Confession without sincere repentance and reformation is not acceptable, for genuine sorrow for sin produces decisive changes of life. True worship therefore includes humble obedience rather than heartless service, with the change made practical in seeking justice, relieving the oppressed, and defending the fatherless and widow.
Turning to God requires more than admitting sinfulness, professing faith, appearing to seek the Lord, or maintaining outward respectability, since open and secret sins are not hidden from God and profession alone does not reflect His character. Cleansing requires forsaking sin in practice in heart and conduct, putting evil away, stopping wrongdoing, learning to do right, acting justly toward others, following the Light, and bearing fruit to God's glory. Stopping evil is only the beginning and not enough by itself, for secret faults must also be repented and confessed before God and the life must go on to learn good. The call is urgent for those who lack evidence of acceptance and have not lived by holy principles, in view of the approaching judgment when every case will be decided for eternity.
Where another has been wronged or defrauded, repentance includes confessing the wrong, making restitution, righting what is wrong, and then doing good and cooperating with God for a changed character. Even those deeply stained by sin can be transformed and set free from sin's burden and penalty, with every stain washed away and scarlet sins made white. Yet Christ's righteousness does not cover continued iniquity, and continuing in sin leaves a person morally weak with no right to claim pardon or wear His robe, so those who come to Christ must leave sin and become loyal to God.
Receiving truth requires condemning sinful life-practices, abandoning wrongdoing, practicing rightdoing, and doing the hard work of sanctification, because truth is disbelieved when it exposes conduct that people hate to reform. Ceasing evil is a lesson learned day by day through training and disciplining self, bringing hereditary and cultivated tendencies, passions, and tendencies to wrong under God's control and under the plain moral and religious principles of His Word. It means walking wisely in the way of the commandments according to the mind and will of God, living with strict integrity that continually educates others, firmly resisting temptation even in small wrongs that weaken conscience and lead to greater wrongdoing, resisting both small and great temptations, seeking to do one's best every day, being true to virtue and to God, and reaching upward.
Even after grave sin God calls for decisive cleansing before it is too late, demanding that a person stop adding sin to sin, stop rebelling, humble the soul, fall on the Rock and be broken, and live blamelessly in obedience to His commandments and ordinances. That humbling includes repenting and confessing open and secret sins so that selfishness, uncharitableness, covetousness, envy, evil-surmising, falsehood, theft, robbery, sensuality, licentiousness, adultery, and every other evil doing are put away and cleansed out, for evils not put away remain charged in the books of record to be opened with the thoughts of the heart at the judgment unto wrath. Such conversion requires laying down warfare against truth and righteousness, surrendering to God, receiving truth into the character, and rightly appreciating Scripture through fasting and prayer, since salvation is in Christ alone and time is short with eternity before us. The same call rebukes one who knows the theory of truth yet transgresses the law, pursues worldly pleasure, causes suffering to wife and children, urges unbelief, and lays plans to destroy their faith and love for truth, commanding him to stop leading them toward loss of eternal life, stop spoiling faith, humble himself, be converted, and learn to do well.
Ceasing Evil Learning Good
Stopping wrong is only the start and is never enough by itself, for cleansing requires putting evil practices away and then going on to follow the Light and keep learning to do good. A changed habit of merely avoiding wrong can remain fruitless unless it is joined to active, purposeful good, with righteous principles becoming part of the nature and God's law written on the heart. Outward respectability does not hide open or secret sin from God, so repentance and confession before Him are necessary for sins to be forgiven and blotted out. A changed life then bears fruit to God's glory as the positive result and evidence of that change.
Learning to do well means seeking judgment, relieving the oppressed, judging the fatherless, and pleading for the widow in just and merciful action that reflects God's character. Prayer, religious activity, and multiplied animal sacrifices cannot make up for continuing evil deeds or replace humble repentance and obedience, for genuine repentance shows itself in changed conduct. This repentance is a field for exercising the mind and changing one's work toward practical, righteous service. The call to turn is joined to God's offer to reason together and make even scarlet sins white as snow, with cleansing and forgiveness promised to the willing and obedient and judgment warned to those who refuse and rebel. It is applied even to liquor-dealers, whose trade contributes to oppression and bloodshed, commanding them to turn, become clean, stop wrong, and learn justice and mercy toward the oppressed, fatherless, and widow.
Compassion for the afflicted and suffering is the first outflowing of love from a renewed heart. Cleansing therefore calls for a changed life and not merely a profession of faith, with Christian conduct reflecting God's character. Ceasing to do evil requires humbling the soul, falling on the Rock and being broken, so that selfishness, uncharitableness, covetousness, envy, evil-surmising, falsehood, theft, robbery, sensuality, licentiousness, adultery, and every other evil doing are put away and cleansed out of the camp. Unless this is done, sins remain charged in the books of record and will be opened with the thoughts of the heart at the judgment unto wrath.
The widow and the fatherless are objects of the Lord's special care. Those who in any way rob them of what they should have, and those who look on their needs with indifference, will be dealt with by the Judge of all the earth, and no one can receive God's favor while unfeeling and selfish. The Lord tests His people as individuals and will not allow His heritage to be oppressed, but will avenge His own elect who cry day and night to Him, and will avenge them speedily. He holds the church accountable for its members' wrongs, including selfishness and neglect or exploitation of the afflicted, until it has done what it can to correct them, and does not hear its prayers while the orphan, widow, blind, lame, or sick are neglected.
How Cleansing Is Received
Cleansing is commanded to everyone, with a fountain prepared for all to wash in and be made clean from all sin in the blood of the Lamb. It is received by faith in God and by prayer and watchful prayer, trusting His mercy and compassion toward the ignorant and erring and making Him all confidence and trust. That cleansing does not come from human power, for God has provided salvation at infinite cost through Christ. The command is personal, so each person must receive that salvation for themselves, since seeing others blessed cannot cleanse or nourish them.
People are cleansed as they repent and humble themselves before God, lay down warfare against truth and righteousness, are converted and surrender to God, and stop adding sin to sin and rebelling. Turning requires more than confessing sin, for people must put away evil, stop doing wrong, learn to do right, and act justly toward others, and when another has been wronged or defrauded repentance includes confessing the wrong and making restitution. God receives the repentant sinner who forsakes sin and cooperates with Him in seeking a changed character, with cleansing accompanying humility before God, trust in Him, and conversion to the Lord's way. Cleansing from impurity and defilement is possible through Christ's blood, and repentance includes changing conduct for the sake of the family and learning to do what is right. This change belongs to genuine conversion, in which the repentant sinner relying on Christ and exercising faith turns from unrighteousness to righteousness, receives pardon through faith in Christ, rejects sins once loved, leaves former sins behind, and follows a path of holiness while growing in grace.
Genuine conversion is shown when Christ is formed within the believer, giving earnest effort to obey God's commandments after the person receiving pardon renounces evil and ceases to do it. The vigor of obedience shows the sincerity of conversion, because one who has found the Lord renounces evil and learns to do what is good. Stopping evil comes from putting on Christ and being saved by His blood, and then love is made perfect and harassing self-condemnation ends, low selfish motives are expelled from the soul, and the heart seeks how best to glorify Christ. Gratitude, love and loyalty become the ruling motives, and these attributes must dwell richly in every soul who will be a final overcomer. Yielding to Christ brings this restoration, for His grace can restore a person's moral and mental powers to turn around and cease doing evil.
Stopping evil and learning good happens because the sinner becomes a student in the school of Christ, enters upon His life and practices His virtues, with the model of Jesus Christ before him, so the taint of worldly maxims no longer corrupts the thoughts or is woven into the character. Becoming a partaker of the divine nature enables following the great Example to neither fail nor be discouraged. It means bearing unappreciated kindness with meekness and doing everything for others as for Christ, who died for them. Learning to do well brings the blessing of the Lord, for a heart not right with God is cold and loveless, and learning to do well begins with home missionary work by one's own fireside to the members of one's own household.
Promise of Forgiveness and Warning
The command to wash and be clean is joined to the offer to reason together, with cleansing and forgiveness held out to the willing, and with the promise that sins though as scarlet and red like crimson shall become as white as snow and as wool. That promise means release from the burden and penalty of sin for those who put evil away, stop doing wrong, and live differently. For one who knows the theory of truth yet turns from it to break the law, chase worldly pleasure, bring suffering upon wife and children, draw them into unbelief and plot to destroy faith and love for truth, the washing means to stop adding sin to sin, to stop rebellion and leading the family on the unbelieving path toward loss of eternal life, to humble the heart, lay down warfare against truth and righteousness, be converted and surrender to God, and learn to do well.
Heeding the call brings sanctifying and cleansing work with blessing and prosperity, and to the willing and obedient the good of the land. That good is conditional on willingness and obedience, and it comes with divine help to correct the course, walk in obedience to the commandments, and do justice to the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widow. Repentance that only appears to seek the Lord does not receive this help, but repentance that reforms and obeys does.
Refusal and rebellion bring judgment, and the warning is plain that the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land while those who refuse and rebel shall be devoured with the sword. Those who do not put away evil works face shame and sorrow, and the call is urgent because every case is to be decided for eternity in the approaching judgment. Evils not humbly confessed and put away, whether open or secret, remain charged in the books of record and will be opened with the thoughts of the heart at the judgment unto wrath. Continuing in sin leaves the sinner morally weak, with no right to claim pardon or to wear the robe of righteousness.
Application to Daily Life
The command to wash and be clean reaches managers of institutions, ministers, workers, and everyone connected with God's cause, calling them to cleanse the soul from iniquity, turn from evil, be converted to the Lord's way, humble themselves before Him and trust Him, put on Christ's righteousness, and make better use of the time that remains. Heeding it brings God's sanctifying and cleansing work with blessing and prosperity to the workers. Repentance for past failures is part of that cleansing, joined to learning and practicing what is good, including seeking justice and helping the oppressed, the fatherless, and widows.
In family life it means changing conduct for the sake of the household, turning from a course of sin, accepting Christ by living faith, and learning to do what is right. Conforming life to truth's holy principles and ceasing to do evil leads toward sanctification and a happier family, and learning to do well begins with home missionary work by one's own fireside to members of one's own household. It begins with training and disciplining of self day by day, bringing hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong under control, walking wisely in the way of God's commandments in accordance with the mind and will of God, and living with strict integrity under the moral and religious principles plainly laid down in God's Word. Such a life of integrity becomes a continual education to others, since none need go astray except by yielding to inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrong. Becoming a partaker of the divine nature enables following the great Example without failing or being discouraged, bearing unappreciated kindness with meekness and doing everything for others as for Christ who died for them.
For youth and daily choices it means ceasing to do evil by learning to do well, fighting against hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, resisting both small and great temptations, and choosing what is right. It means seeking to do one's best every day, uniting with others in being true to virtue and true to God, being studious and reaching upward for the highest attainments. Earnest, determined effort to gain the knowledge that will enable a place in the higher grades in the courts above is commended, and watchful, diligent students receive approval. Children are called to cease doing evil as they accept Christ as Redeemer by living faith, to abandon disobedience and harmful habits, then to keep learning, growing in Christ, and using God-given intellect and abilities in faithful service rather than wasting them, because continued disobedience risks loss of eternal life.
In prayer for the sick and restoration of health, receiving God's blessing requires turning from evil, laying aside unhealthful practices, and living in harmony with God's natural and spiritual laws. Ceasing to do evil means stopping deliberate violations of God's law and putting away all violation of the laws of heaven that bring disease and suffering upon oneself, since God does not bless continued willful disobedience. Health is preserved or regained through self-control and abstinence from wrongdoing, not through medicines that promise benefits while habits remain unchanged. As the sick do all that is possible on their part and cooperate with Christ, Christ through the Holy Spirit brings healing power to those who stop doing evil and learn to do good. That healing is not permission to continue harmful habits or indulge appetite without restraint.
The call exposes specific wrongs such as the liquor trade's oppression and bloodshed, calling dealers to become clean, stop doing wrong, learn to do good, seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and defend the fatherless and the widow. It reaches pride, self-sufficiency, dishonest acts, loss of a clear sense of justice and righteousness, and influencing others to act wrongly, requiring an honest view of conduct, recognition of sin, sorrow for its effects, reliance on Christ's grace, seeking pardon and His righteousness, and real reformation of ingrained habits. Faithful labor in doing good leads to a harvest of blessing through grace. When one gently reproves wrongdoing and the erring persist, the reprover has still done what was right, is no longer responsible for that person's sin, and the blessing sought returns to the faithful helper.
It calls one who knows the theory of truth yet turns from it to transgress God's law, pursue worldly pleasure, cause suffering to his wife, urge her to unite in unbelief, lay plans to destroy her hold upon God and her love for truth, and add the blood of wife and children to his sins, to repent, humble himself before God, lay down warfare against truth and righteousness, be converted and surrender to God. To wash, be clean, put away evil doings, and cease to do evil means to stop adding sin to sin, stop rebelling against God and leading wife and children in the unbelieving path to loss of eternal life, stop spoiling his wife's faith, and learn to do well. The call promises that though sins be as scarlet and red like crimson they shall be as white as snow and as wool, and warns that if willing and obedient he shall eat the good of the land, but if he refuses and rebels he shall be devoured with the sword.