Leviticus 22:4-9 Cleanliness is next to Godliness?

  4If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen, 5or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be— 6the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.

7When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food. 8He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD. 9The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness?

John Wesley wrote, “Slovenliness is no part of religion. Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness." John Wesley used it in a sermon but he didn’t say it was in the Bible.

The descendants of Aaron, the priests “cleanliness“ outside and inside is because of holiness, eating sacred offerings.

But look what Jesus said:

Matthew 23: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

They weren’t clean on the inside!

We can say we need to be clean on the inside because Jesus looks at the heart ❤️.

Some churches have the motto, come as you are. I recall one stormy winter day I wore a military jacket to church and a lady whom I did not know judged me for wearing it to church. My reply was, if you knew where I lived you’d understand why I wore it. 

I suspect she doesn’t understand the “come as you are” concept and didn’t care for my outward appearance.

The Lord gave us our body and He wants us to take care of it but He is more concerned with our heart ❤️condition (our cleanliness on the inside).

What is your ❤️ condition?

Blessings, David