Proverbs 30:12. There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth.
Over the course of four verses, Agur is giving us four descriptions of the wicked generation. Yesterday, he said that the wicked refuse to honor their parents. They curse their fathers and won’t bless their mothers. In today’s proverb, he says that the wicked think they are clean when they are actually filthy.
This wicked generation is self-deceived. We think we are fine when we’re not. We think we are righteous when we are actually quite unrighteous. Make no mistake, we are living in an extremely moral age. Everything is black and white, with no shades of grey. This is why we are so divided, especially in America. Everyone is righteous (self-righteous that is). Those who disagree with me don’t just have a different idea, they have a wrong idea. The marketplace of ideas has become a battle ground. I’m right, you’re wrong. This is a generation that is hiding behind a false piety and sanctity that conceals our pride and self-justification. Like Adam and Eve we are all wearing aprons of leaves to cover over our guilt and shame.
Jesus characterized such people as clean on the outside but filthy on the inside.
Matthew 23:25-2825“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. 27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Does any of this sound familiar? Usually this deception that we are clean when we are actually dirty comes from comparing ourselves to others and not to God. It is motivated by a desire to appear godly in front of others without practicing the godliness of confession and repentance. This person cannot take any kind of rebuke or correction. Criticism is rejected as cruelty. This is the worst kind of foolishness. Sin is bad. But the sin of never confronting your own sin is far worse. The covering up, mask wearing, and play acting that many of us are stuck in is truly not our calling in Christ.
Christ in you simply will not allow you to stay filthy in your spiritual pride. True worshipers of God cannot stay self-deceived, the exposure to absolute Truth won’t allow it. Before God, everything is exposed. Perfect light reveals all our guilt, shame, insecurity, and pride. To avoid the worship of God is to choose to sit in your own filth. But the Spirit in us simply won’t tolerate it.
When we have Christ dwelling in our hearts, he lives inside of us, constantly changing us from the inside out. He is transforming us into what and who he wants us to be. And make no mistake, this requires the painful removal of fleshly desires and devices that remain deep in our souls. The Holy Spirit isn’t letting us coast into glory. He isn’t biding his time until Jesus comes back. No. He is scraping away the filth of all self-righteousness and self-glorification.
Filthy cups come clean in hot water. Soap helps too. The Spirit doesn’t scrape and chisel away at dry cups. He soaks them in the soapy warm water of God’s unconditional love and imputed righteousness until the dirt and stains are dissolved. Why not stop your self-deception and let yourself go down into the sink of his heart-softening grace today, trusting in his cleansing power through your union with Christ?
You: Can you see self-deception concerning your sin at work in you at all? Yes, it’s there.
You in Christ: How does knowing we are fully cleansed in Christ allow us to receive ongoing cleansing?
Christ in you: What hidden sin can you allow the Spirit to confront today with the mercy and love of God for you in Christ?
Pray: Jesus, you washed me clean by your blood. Keep cleansing me day by day. Amen.
To Live is Christ 