So let's come near God with pure hearts and a confidence that comes from having faith. Let's keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water.
Hebrews 10:22
There are lots of misunderstandings about the what the Bible really says. I suppose many of them have to do with "sins" that are recognized by groups of Christians, but are things about which the Bible is silent. One of the most common prohibitions when I was young was "dancing." It was widely accepted as a sin for a man to dance with a woman who was not his wife. The issue of course was lust not dancing, and the truth is you can dance without lusting and you can lust without dancing!
But the one that I always thought was a "made up" admonition from scripture was "cleanliness is next to Godliness." I always thought it was just a way to get a kid to take a bath when he didn't want to. But look again at Hebrews 10:22 which says "Let's keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water." There it is! Cleanliness does have something to do with Godliness.
You may have noticed that when a person with bad hygiene comes to know Jesus, his or her personal grooming will improve! Physical filth does go hand in hand with spiritual filth! This process is sometimes called "Redemption and lift." When you are redeemed your standards for living, including personal hygiene are lifted up as well.
Here though is the bottom line. Cleanliness is a result of Godliness, not the other way around. Just because you are neat and clean does not mean that you are living a Godly life. But if you do turn your heart to Jesus Christ, your life will be changed spiritually and physically.
"Thank You Jesus for washing me with Your Blood so that I may be clean in the eyes of the Father. And may You be praised forever. Amen."
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