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 In
his popular little book Flesh And Spirit, William Barclay
recounts an interesting history of the Greek word akatharsia.
He reveals that when transferring ownership of a house in
ancient Greece, the sales contract would often require the
outgoing tenant to leave the house clean of all akatharsia
(dirt). Later, in medical parlance, this same term was used to
denote impure substances in sores and wounds. In the Septuagint,
ritual and ceremonial impurities were referred to as akatharsia.
Such uncleanness could cause one to he cut off from Jehovah (Jer.
22:5).
In
the New Testament. akatharsia appears as “uncleanness”
and is found in company with such words as fornication,
lasciviousness and covetousness. Such uncleanness is listed as a
work of the flesh (Gal. 5:19), to he repented of (2 Cor. 12:21),
not to be named among saints (Eph. 5:5), and can keep one from
heaven (Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5). Thayer defines akatharsia
as “the impurity of lustful, luxurious, profligate living”.
Considering all evidence, it becomes apparent that in this word
is conveyed the idea of a general moral uncleanness such as to
be avoided by the people of God.
From
other New Testament teaching we learn that defiled lives are hut
the products of defiled hearts. “For out of the heart cometh
forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,
false witness, railings: these are the things which defile the
man...” (Matt. 15:19,20). As the seat of man’s moral nature,
the heart—house is to be kept clean from all akatharsia.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the
issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). Heeding the admonition to “keep thyself pure” begins
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with the
heart — it requires good heart- keeping.
Man’s
heart—house has many doors through which uncleanness may enter
and defile; such as those of seeing, hearing and thinking (note
1 Cor. 2:9). Leaving these doors open to all sorts of
indiscriminate traffic degrades the heart to little more than a
moral trash dump. Through the open eye —door is tracked in the
smut of salacious literature, immodesty, and even the “respectable”
pornography of television to defile the purest of hearts. Other
pollution enters through the ear —door left open to obscene,
vile, and evil language. In addition, there passes through the
unguarded heart— door the re-runs of this seen and heard
filth, plus such soil—soiling guests as lust, greed,
hate, envy, and jealousy. No heart- house can host such company
without flavoring one’s conduct accordingly — a lesson that
many have not yet learned. It is useless to think of attaining a
clean heart without first controlling these sources of
defilement.
Accordingly,
good heart— keeping demands diligence; the continual exercise
of will power and self-control . Satan and his polluting devices
only need resisting (Jas. 4:7); with God’s help we
endure (1 Cor. 10:15).
As
man repents and obeys in faith, God cleanses the heart-house
with His forgive- ness, thus making it fit for the King who
seeks a dwelling place there (Eph. 3: 1 7). Dan S. Shipley.
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