This Sunday we will look at another popular phrase that isn’t in the Bible.
Or as one author put it, silly things that Christians say.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
This phrase is attributed to John Wesley in a sermon over two centuries ago, and yet it is still being espoused today as a virtue worth possessing.
Is cleanliness really next to godliness?
In 1605, nearly 200 years before John Wesley made this statement in a sermon, Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God.”
Maybe this concept came from the Israelites, who were particularly concerned with the concepts of “clean” and “unclean.”
According to Mosaic Law, God’s people are to avoid “unclean” things. However, the scripture does not cite dust, dirt and an unkempt appearance as things that are dirty. Rather, it refers to dead bodies and carcasses, certain types of meat, bodily discharges and leprosy. If a person were to come into contact with an item or substance considered “dirty,” that individual could make themselves clean again through elaborate washing rituals. For the Hebrew people, these rituals were essential to reentering the community and sanctuary of the Lord, and they are considered necessary before one can approach God.
So, what do you think?
Does this phrase hold any merit even though it isn’t in the Bible?
What do you think Jesus would say about this statement of… cleanliness is next to Godliness?
Can you think of any of Jesus’ teachings that might hint at his thoughts regarding this statement?
I’m starting with Matthew 15:1-20…
Let’s talk about it on Sunday.
~ Pastor Dustin
