The “Bath” That Makes You Clean
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.
Titus 2:11–12
Do you know what the Bible says produces character, godliness, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life? Contrary to what some preachers of the law are saying, today’s scripture clearly tells us that it is the unadulterated gospel of the grace of God that will produce all these good fruit.
Let me say once more that grace is a person—not a doctrine or biblical topic—and His name is Jesus. The “grace of God . . . has appeared to all men,” teaching us the secret to godliness, character, and holiness.
Jesus showed us that the life we want to live is all found in Him and His work on the cross. When you have Jesus, you are godly. When you have Him, you are made righteous. When you have Him, good character will manifest. When you have Him, you are made holy!
Does this really work? Listen to a praise report I received from James in Kentucky, who was raised in a Christian home and knew about Jesus since his earliest memories. By the time he was ten years old, he was in bondage to a sexual sin.
Over the years, the consequences of this secret sin became very public. By the time he was forty-eight, he had lost two professional jobs, had been asked to leave three different churches, and was even shamed publicly in his community because of his sexual addiction.
James consulted many Christian counselors and ministers for help. However, the secret sexual thoughts and actions did not stop. He went for secular counseling and bought into the lie that he would always be addicted.
Finally, when James listened to my teachings on the gospel of grace, he found the freedom he was longing for. He said:
I realized that my heart was broken and wounded. I learned that Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted, and I also professed with my mouth that His precious blood covers my heart.
I discovered that freedom from this addiction is His will for me and became completely set free. The Lord healed my heart and my emotions, cleansed my will, and gave me a deep revelation of His righteousness.
I truly love Him with all my heart . . . I am so different now from the person I had been for forty-eight years. Now, I see the fruit of His righteousness manifested in my life without my relying on willpower or recovery programs.
Jesus has healed my marriage and my wife actually trusts me now. I am an overcomer, highly blessed and greatly favored. Praise Jesus!
James was restored to wholeness by the Lord and able to see fruits in his life. The lie that is told to so many believers, such as James, is that before you come to Jesus you need to straighten things out first, or clean yourself first.
If that is what you believe, the sad truth is that you will never come to Jesus, because you will never come to a place where you can make your life right.
Come on, Jesus is the “bath” that makes you clean! He is the solution, and He will help you to straighten out what you will never be able to straighten out on your own.
Come just as you are with all your weaknesses and imperfections, and Jesus will wash you clean of all guilt and condemnation and set you free to reign in life through His righteousness.
This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs. Joseph Prince