Conversion – from defilement to cleansing (8) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.
Ezekiel 36:25.26

Conversion - from defilement to cleansing (8)
Sin defiles; it affects us both mentally and physically. The Lord Jesus made this absolutely clear, when he instructed the Pharisees and scribes, who prided themselves on their assumed purity, in the essence of defilement, indicating many sins that cause it: "Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness" (Mark 7, 21.22).

These summarize the natural character of the human heart. What a relief is the experience that "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1, 7)! The Saviour's death is God's means of purifying mankind, but our cleanliness is an individual, not a general matter; it is obtained solely through repentance and faith.

The leper cleansed by the Lord Jesus in Luke 5, vv.12. & 13 is an apt illustration of this fact. He was a hopeless case, being "full of leprosy" and facing certain death. But he appealed to the Saviour's willingness to heal him and was cured instantly.

Although believers have been thoroughly cleansed, they can still be defiled through sin on their pathway. Their eternal life is sinless, but their earthly life is affected by their sinful flesh. The apostle Peter learned this lesson when the Lord told him, "He that is bathed needs only to wash his feet" (John 13, 10). We, too, need to confess sins committed after conversion (cf. 1 John 1, 9) and commend ourselves to the Lord's gracious preservation in order to cleanse ourselves "from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7, 1).

(to be concluded on Monday)