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Who Can Say?
"Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?"
This question is found in the book of Proverbs, chapter 20, verse 9. I have thought on this many times throughout life and I am certain the answer is no one. There is none who have the ability or capability to say I have never committed an error or made a mistake and without that absolute, no one can say they are without sin which means error. That however brings us back to the former part of the question...."I have made my heart clean." I have learned that no one can say they have done that as well. Why, you might ask. It is because there is no person who has all knowledge that exists and so without all knowledge even if a person had the will to refrain from all error, he is still capable of error since it takes all knowledge to remove the threat of error as well as the will to ensure perfection which means without error. On another note, it is impossible to clean up one's own heart. How does corruption and error that is within the heart produce perfection? How does lack of knowledge and imperfection produce perfection or cleanliness? It is impossible! Corn produces corn and wheat produces wheat and so it is with all things. Nothing can produce anything except that thing which it is of itself and so it is in all things, even the heart. When a heart has errored it has sin and so it is no longer perfect and so it cannot produce perfection so as to clean itself and purge itself from sin or error. Sin produces error while perfection produces perfection and never do the twain produce each other. That brings us to a most subtle position. We are powerless to clean our own heart and make us right. It is here where we realize we need someone to clean our heart for us and that brings us to a higher power. It is God and God alone because there is none other who is perfect and thus can produce perfection that can and will purge and purify us. It is not possible for man to do this work for every man has sinned. It is only God for He has not sinned and so we must turn to Him and rely on Him to do the work that will clean our heart and purify each, any or all from his sin. There is none other who can do this work for there is none other who can see into the deep recesses of man's heart and know what is needed to perform the job of purification. And so it seems to me the writer of Proverbs knew what he was writing about. Do you agree? Again, who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? God help us! Do your work within us.