Spreading the love of Jesus...the Cowboy Way!

CLEAN OR UNCLEAN

By Lahry Sibley

1 Cor 10:21 You cannot drink the Lord's cup and the demons' cup. You cannot partake of the Lord's table and the demons' table.

This verse is taken from a simple and straightforward text on idolatry and meats offered to idols. But the principle in the verse is universal Bible logic. In ELOHIM’s kingdom, there is nothing impure. The slightest impurity invokes His Wrath. ELOHIM (GOD) created the world and all that is in it pure. Man defiled ELOHIM’s morally pure perfection by disobeying ELOHIM. The death sentence was invoked, and man was helpless to find any resource where he may be made pure again.

It has often been said that the horrible disease of leprosy does to the body what sin does to the spirit. Lepers are hopeless people. There is no known cure. Once a person became “unclean”, they were doomed to die that way. You could not be a partial leper. You could not “clean” if you were yet a leper.

The lepers recorded in the Bible, hopeless as they were, that were cured or delivered from their disease completely and entirely, were touched by HAYAH (I AM).

Mat 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

It was an unthinkable and detestably defiling thing for a jew to touch a leper. If a jew touched a leper, he himself became defiled, and would have to go through a ritual process of cleansing before being allowed back in the temple and back in fellowship with ceremonially undefiled jews.

No doubt the leper knew this. Asking the LORD to have mercy on him was asking the LORD to defile Himself. “LORD, if thou will, thou can make me clean”. And what was YESHUA'S (JESUS) response?

Mat 8:3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

“I will”, and HE touched Him. At that very moment, what was “unclean” became clean. What was “impure” became pure. What was cast out became welcomed in. What was separate, became unified with society again. Just one touch.

To an ordinary Jew, Jesus defiled Himself (not sin) before the crowds. But then, YESHUA was no ordinary man. By touching the leper, instead of the Lord becoming defiled, the leper was made whole, clean, pure. Glory to ELOHIM. The helplessly defiled became clean.

What a lovely type of the CROSS and the Resurrection. Friend, you can’t be partially crucified any more than you can drink from the LORD’s cup and drink from the cup of devils. YESHUA said that we could not server two masters. There is no “in between”, no “gray area”, no “compromise”. Once a person has drank from the cup of the LORD, tasted His mercy afforded him by the blood of YESHUA shed for his “uncleanness”, sin becomes an unthinkable defilement to partake in, much the same as a leper, once cleansed, would no longer hang out with the lepers. He would become separate from that which he once found comfort in, such as it was.

For there is little comfort in sin. Comfort with sinners in whatever sin is so temporary. For the disease of sin keeps coming to the surface. It’s treated with alcohol, drugs, sexual perversion, medicines, wealth, fame, psychology, self help therapy, entertainment, amusement, food, clothes, houses, cars, things, stuff, you name it. But the sinner is still a sinner. It’s treated with religious activity, ministry, public service, personal sacrifice, fasting, prayer, charity, and the list goes on. But none of those things can deliver a person from the nature of sin that identifies and qualifies who the person really is. None of these things can deliver a sinner any more than putting a “Tuxedo” on a leper can make him clean. They are nothing more than an inadequate disguise, for the sin and the sin nature remains.

Thanks be to ELOHIM, we have a choice. Just like that leper had a choice. He could have sat there and watched YESHUA go by. He could have taken a mental inventory of how he himself had tried to help other lepers lead a “good life” and tried to find personal worth and value that would tempt the Lord to heal him. But tragically, it’s difficult to find personal value in society when you are a leper. You are an outcast in man’s world, much like a sinner is an outcast in the kingdom of HAYAH. “UNCLEAN”.

He could have quietly prayed, “oh LORD, have mercy on me, stop and heal me”. No, he recognized he only had one chance of becoming clean, and there was only ONE who could make him clean. That ONE was passing him by and he would not be denied. “LORD, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean", he cried. And the mercy of ELOHIM looked his way. YESHUA had pity on him, while he was yet a leper. YESHUA recognized his faith, while he was yet a leper. YESHUA “chose” to stop and heal him. It was and is, YESHUA’S plan of salvation from such a curse as leprosy. The man could do nothing but receive it. His faith to cry out to YESHUA alone, was answered by ELOHIM’s merciful provision alone. And the man was made clean.

What a crystal clear type of salvation. What a liberating joy to be simply touched, and made clean. What an indescribable elation must have flooded his heart. FREE, CLEAN!!!! He was restored to the kingdom of health.

I have no doubt that he never had a desire to be a leper again. And yet people today, claim they are clean, but cannot stay away from being in sin. They offer pious disguises. But they will even admit, I’m still a “sinner”. Why? Because they still sin. Worse, yet, they are told from the pulpit, that saints still look like and act like sinners and that’s ok. It’s like telling a leper “you are clean”, when the leper knows he/she is simply not clean. For the leprosy remains. And everyone can see it. You can’t be clean and still have leprosy. You can’t be a saint, and still have willful sin in your life. You are either delivered, or you are not.

1 Corinthians 10:22 Shall we thus provoke the Lord to jealousy and anger and indignation? Are we stronger than He [that we should defy Him]?

Once set free, by being crucified with the MESSIAH and filled with the HOLY SPIRIT, shall we give any occasion for defilement to our now clean and holy temple? Will ELOHIM allow HIS children whom HE has mercifully and graciously made clean to go back to uncleaness and yet welcome them to remain in HIS kingdom? HAYAH is not mocked. If you return to your sin and sinful lifestyle, there is no more sacrifice for sin.

Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

What absolute heresy, the doctrine of “saved sinner”, and yet so called preachers preach to untold millions of people in so called churches and have brainwashed their minds into thinking they are clean when they are not. It’s the “power of positive thinking” dressed up in a filthy rag called “faith”. People have faith in their faith. They have faith in repeating scripture verses. They have faith in “positive confession” , “I’m saved, I’m clean, I’m holy, I’m pure”. They have faith in imitation angels of light. They have faith in numbers (of people). They have faith in titles and positions. But none of these things can cleanse the soul from sin, anymore than they can make a leper clean.

How CRUEL to tell a leper, “just keep confessing, ‘I’m not unclean, I’m not a leper’”. Is that not so very sad and grievous?

ELOHIM can only honor one kind of faith. And that is the faith that the leper had when he cried out, “LORD, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”. Only ELOHIM can cleanse a leper. Only YEHOVAH can forgive sins and only the blood of YESHUA can cleanse the temple of it’s sinful nature and replace it with a heart whose will and desire is doing the good pleasure of the ONE WHO cleansed him. Glory to ELOHIM. You’re not clean unless you’re clean. You can’t make yourself clean. Only ELOHIM can cleanse you. And once HE cleanses you, you better NEVER go back to ANYTHING that will defile you once again. NEVER! …..EVER!

Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

What about those yet “unclean”. Well, you can do like the leper likely did. You can stand at a distance and tell them there is hope, and HIS name is YESHUA. But you don’t go back to the leper colony and live. No, they become dead to that old life, and are so wonderfully and joyfully alive in the new life. Clean, whole, restored to the FATHER, welcomed.

Only real SAINTS drink at the LORD’s table. Period. No if’s, no ands, and no buts. Halleluyah. Glory to ELOHIM. Selah (pause, and carefully think about that) - Lahry