Hebrews 10:21-22 “Since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” While Scripture focuses primarily on internal holiness, the Old Testament did include ceremonial cleansing practices. Today, our culture has taken the meaning of clean to the extreme by manufacturing countless appliances to help us. But unlike unreliable machines, God offers a spiritual cleansing that never fails – and it lasts for eternity.

This truth hit home for me this week. Friday, I decided to do a load of laundry, only to be horrified half hour later when I discovered smoke coming out of the machine. After 15 years of service, this important appliance quit on me. On Saturday, Dad and I visited a local store where we purchased a new matching set.

While our laundry may be piling up, we don’t have to worry about the state of our souls. This is because we don’t rely on a temporary machine or our own shaky will power to cleanse us from sin. In fact, there is nothing anyone can ever do on their own to be pure enough to enter God’s presence because we all fall short of the glory of God.

God knows even our best efforts are like “filthy rags.” So, He made a covenant with His people to provide the answer. He pledged to write His laws on our hearts and to remember our sins or lawless deeds no more.

Through faith in Jesus, we are cleansed from our sins and allowed to confidently draw near to God’s throne. Because He is faithful, we need never worry about being unfit for His presence. He dresses us in a perfect robe of righteousness that lasts forever. And when we stumble, we can turn to Him, assured that if we confess our sins He will forgive us.

You might wonder how someone with sinful thoughts and actions could ever be called “clean.” The answer lies in who defines righteousness. As theologian Wayne Grudem puts it, righteousness means “God always acts in accordance with what is right, and He Himself is the final standard of what is right.” If God declares us righteous or clean because of Jesus’ sacrifice, then we are – by His authority, not ours. There is no stain so deep God can’t remove.

So, is cleanliness next to godliness? It depends on how you define it. Whether your washing machine is broken or your clothes are stained with life’s messes, your heart and conscience can be made clean forever. Through Jesus we are washed – pure, accepted, and eternally welcomed into God’s presence. That doesn’t come from the washing machine! All it takes is faith and asking.