by David Chadwick

"Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from sin'?" Proverbs 20:9

A pure heart. Clean hands. A renewed and righteous spirit. These were the cries of King David's heart in Psalm 51:10.

Solomon had a similar anguish in Proverbs 20:9 when he said, "Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from sin'?" He knew the value and importance of holiness. But he also knew that apart from God's grace we are inherently filthy.

Remember, this is written in the Old Testament. The Messiah had not yet arrived. Solomon and his people were living with an awareness of a holy God but great anticipation for salvation that had not yet come. So they had a deep awareness that the atonement for their sins could only come through the shedding of blood through animal sacrifice.

Solomon knew the answer to his own question. No one! No one can say, "I have made my heart pure. No one can say, "I am clean from sin."

This proverb paves the way for a Gospel proclamation. This is the simple Gospel. Let's remind ourselves of it today.

Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." All means all! Or as the psalmist in Psalm 14:1 said, no one is righteous, not even one. The wages of sin is death. We cannot, by our human efforts, be forgiven. There is no way out apart from the free gift of salvation through Jesus (Romans 6:23). These are all clear statements in God's Word.

Our hearts can only become pure, and we can only become clean through the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus was beaten, bloodied, and tortured. He was persecuted and killed as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. He took all of our unrighteousness upon himself. The One who was perfectly righteous in every possible way and knew no sin became sin so that in him we might become righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21).

THIS is the great exchange. Jesus took our sin. We receive his righteousness.

We are now forgiven and made pure and clean by the grace and mercy of Jesus. Salvation is a gift from God by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What a deal! Who wouldn't receive this? For this forgiveness is what gives us the entrance into heaven and a reason to live on this side of eternity.

But first we must realize that we are sinners, like Solomon, and need a Savior.