What does it mean to have “unclean lips?”

“Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” – Isa. 6:5

This is an extraordinary moment when Isaiah saw the Lord. He was a man of great virtue and considered by his contemporaries as a model of righteousness. In a single moment, all of this was shattered as he was totally exposed to God’s glaring light of perfect holiness. Up to this point, he was able to compare himself with others, but in a holy instant he was measured by the ultimate standard.

What does it mean to have “unclean lips?” One of the meanings has to do with the use of profanity and other questionable terms. I am saddened when I hear so much cursing, but in particular, the use of the Lord’s name in vain. I am very convinced people that use these terms do so without thinking.

The idea of “unclean lips” also carries a much broader interpretation. Jesus said in Matt. 15:18, “those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.” James is even stronger and tells us the tongue is a restless evil. All of this raises an important question: how do you worship God and use poor language and or worship God and say and do sinful things?

One of my personal pet peeves and turn-offs are those who declare how Spirit-filled they are and yet say hurtful, prideful, and even ungodly things to others which cause pain. The Bible has a term for that kind of behavior: hypocrisy.

In an instant, Isaiah saw who he really was…fallen down…looking for a place to hide from the glare of God’s holiness. There was no place to hide and he was guilty before God. It is important for us to understand God is a God of great grace and refused to allow His servant to grovel on the floor in a state of hopelessness. God took steps to restore and cleanse him.

We have inherited an impoverished culture that does not understand neither law nor grace. It is a culture where absolutes are debunked as antiquated thinking. Arnold N. Toynbee, English historian and author studied the 26 civilizations and determined there failure was a matter of a lack of a moral compass.

Why are there restrictions in the Christian community? As our society becomes more and more inflicted with sensuality, the pressure to conform to the mood of the day is powerful. It needs to be pointed out that rules and lists of sinful activities are rarely useful. In fact, it is possible we might be lowering our standards rather than elevating them.

There is no substitute for the radical change and purity in the human heart that Christ demands. Only Jesus can give to us the power to live as He intended for us. I am deeply concerned about those who are constantly desiring to find the minimums that are required of us—just enough to be accepted and pay God his dues.

That is the kind of attitude that should be considered the ultimate of worldliness. Instead, when you are hungering and thirsting after righteousness you don’t have to be told about a set of rules, because you will know what is right and you will do it.

God does not want us to live in the past and He does not want us to live with past guilt. The purpose of the Cross was to repair the irreparable. One of the great lessons of the Bible is that it is never too late to begin again.

All of us make mistakes through ignorance or disobedience or both, but God never runs out of plans. God is never caught off guard.

God is doing something extraordinary in our church. It is important for us to look at the big picture of what God is doing. We must not focus on trivia and personal preferences. It will be important for us to pull together, pray together, worship and love God together and be totally willing to accept one another. The Acts 2:42-47 crowd had an unbreakable bond of love for Jesus and one another that simply because irresistible…that is our desire for our church!

That’s how I see it…