What Was Unclean is Made Clean

Read: Acts 10

“What God has made clean, do not call common.” - The Lord (Acts 10:14)

God is in the business of making what was once unclean clean. He is turning the “common” into something “uncommon”. This is a defining attribute of God. Where once saw God as primarily concerned with declaring a list of things as “bad” or “ unclean” needs now to be replaced with a vision of God that can make those very things “clean” and free in Christ. The infant believer mistakes God as being defined by his restrictions… and in turn faith becomes defined by what one does not do… following Christ becomes a matter of what you abstain from. There is truth in this, and yet - the mature follower of Christ grows into realizing that God is more concerned with transformation, growth, and the REDEMPTION of things than he is purely the abstaining from things. Life in Christ is actually defined more by FREEDOM in Christ than it is a rigid list of do’s and don’ts. (*see below) This is never more true than when we think about other people. At first, what Peter may have thought of was the issue of food; but what he quickly discovers is God has been working in the life of Cornelius.

“What God has made clean, do not call common.” This stands for people as well. The work of Christ is extending to those people that we thought it was impossible to reach. God is working way beyond our own boundaries and ideas of “who is in and who is out”. God is actively drawing people to himself. This means that we need to calibrate our minds and hearts when it comes to what we consider “common” and what we see as “uncommon” and worthy of pursuit. God is breaking down the barriers and “dividing walls of hostility” that once existed between one another. (cf. Eph. 2:14) We see this in Peter’s description: “And as Peter talked with Cornelius, he went in and found many persons gathered (at his home). And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.” (v.28) This was a new idea for Peter… it was not immediately obvious to him what God was doing… noticed how Peter “was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean” until it became clear to him in meeting Cornelius and his family / friends. The real work of God will become clear to us when we venture out in obedience and engage those around us that God is calling to himself. This only happens when we shift our thinking from old ways of “keeping distance” and “not associating with or visiting” to believing that God is making unclean people clean and “common” people into “uncommon” sons and daughters of God! It was shocking to Peter that God would be working in the lives of a bunch of Romans… especially Roman centurions. Peter needed to adjust his expectations.

Do you realize that, in Christ, there is FREEDOM? This does not mean that you can do whatever you want to do… no one has that sort of freedom except God himself… and even God has self imposed limitations given in his nature. But what if God is actually more concerned with the list of things he has given you to be free in than he is the list of things he has asked you to abstain from? What if there is actually more that you CAN do now than you CAN’T do? With the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God, you have been made “uncommon”… “clean”… you have been given the “mind of Christ”… the very Spirit of God. (cf. 1 Cor. 2:10-16) You have been entrusted with spiritual gifts. You have gained way more FREEDOMS than you have “restrictions” in Christ. The enemy wants the people of God to become fixated on what we “can’t do”… to become consumed and focused on our sin. Christ has taken our sin from us… he has set us free… he is defined more by his ability to make clean and restore than he is as the one who “restricts”. Do you believe that God has made you “clean” ? Do you believe that, in Christ, you are “uncommon”? Deeply loved. A new creation? ““What God has made clean, do not call common.” This goes for how you speak about yourself as well! I want you to imagine those whom you think are unreachable by God. Now could you… would you… believe that God is working to make even those people clean? Can you make room in your hearts and minds for the true work of Christ? Enjoy the FREEDOM and life you have in him today. Ask the Lord to show you the ways you are still treating things as “common” that he has actually made clean! More to come. Love you guys. - JDP

* cf. Rom. 14:2, 14, 20; 1 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:15; [Matt. 15:11; Mark 7:15, 19; 1 Cor. 10:25] - verses on how Christ has declared and made clean those things that used to be unclean…this includes US!