What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. – Acts 10:15b
Of all the disciples, I think I relate most to Peter. He followed Jesus, was willing to defend Him in the garden of Gethsemane. But Peter messed up.
And so did I.
I’ve often heard people testify that Satan likes to bring up what they were like before they got saved. But I was saved young, and I don’t remember much of my life before Christ. Instead, Satan likes to wallop me with the mistakes I’ve made since I got saved. He especially likes to remind me that I committed spiritual adultery.
In my post, Jesus Isn’t Surprised By Your Sin, I talked about how Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins. But sometimes we need to be reminded of that. Because when we mess up, and we inevitably will, Satan will come along and try to convince us we’re dirty. Convince us that Jesus couldn’t still love us. That we’ve gone too far.
But that’s not true.
1 John 1:9 doesn’t say that God will cleanse some sin or half our sins but all unrighteousness. And John 10:28-29 assures us that once we’re saved, we’re always saved. I think perhaps the most powerful picture, however, comes from Peter’s vision in Acts 10:9-16, specifically in verse 15.
And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. – Acts 10:15
Did you catch that? What God has cleansed, we should not call common.
If you look up the original Greek word, it means “unclean.” So though Satan tries to tell you you’re dirty, remind him of who cleansed you from your sins.
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:11
You’re not who you used to be. You’re sanctified and justified. And nothing you ever do can change that.
If you’re like me and love songs that remind you of truths like this, check out the song “It’s Under the Blood.”
