A Vessel of Honour

"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." ²⁰ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. ²¹ Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work."

2 Timothy 2:19-21

It is faith in Jesus Christ which brings forgiveness of sins and cleansing through His shed blood on Calvary.  On their own no one can cleanse their hands or heart from sin.  Yet all who have been born again through the Gospel of Jesus Christ have been washed, justified, sanctified, and have been made righteous.  God knows all people in whom this divine transaction has taken place.  Though this cleansing is initiated by God, Christians are responsible and able to keep their "vessel in sanctification and honour." (1 Thessalonians 4:1-7)  As led by the Spirit according to God's Word, we are to take intentional steps in putting off sinful habits and corrupting influences from our lives.  Then we can be a vessel of honour and useful for the Master.

In the passage above, Paul explained to Timothy that in a great house or palace there were many kinds of vessels.  There were vessels for cooking, water storage, drinking vessels, and buckets to collect waste.  These vessels were made of materials like gold, silver, wood, and clay.  The wealth of the owner and the intended practical use of the vessel likely impacted the chosen material.  One point Paul made is all believers have the potential to be a vessel of honour, prepared for the use of the master.  A large clay vessel to hold drinking water and a golden goblet both have their practical use, but they are only useful when clean.  It would be silly for the clay pot to declare that if it was a golden goblet it would take its role more seriously.  A clay pot with a dead rat befouling the water is not fit for the master's use.  Even as a rat carcass must be removed before the clay pot could be sanitised for future use, so there can be sins, possessions, and pastimes which we must choose to put away from us permanently before we can realise our purpose.

The prophet exhorted God's people returning from captivity in Babylon in Isaiah 52:11-12, "Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the LORD. ¹² For you shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard."  There was a temptation for the Jews to bring idols or unclean things out of Babylon and carry them back to Jerusalem, even as they had brought idols of Egypt into Canaan.  Idols were often crafted of gold and silver and had great monetary value.  But God's people were to value personal holiness over money, and even be willing to suffer financial loss to remain pure before God as those called to bear His vessels.  Because God was going with them they could entrust their finances and future to Him.  If they defiled themselves with unclean things they would not be fit for the Master's use.  Why should we Christians continue to carry with us memoirs of our captivity because we value them?  Don't we value God's presence more than things which marked our old life of bondage?

Christians today do not bear silver bowls or golden candlesticks in the worship of God in a temple, for we are the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells among us!  Our heart has been made the "Holy of Holies" where the Spirit of God has taken up residence.  Since God is with us and inside us, we are to keep our vessels - our physical bodies and minds - clean from sins and free of worldly defilement.  God has cleansed us, and we also need to cleanse ourselves from fornication, lusts, pride, greed, idolatry, and all things which war against our souls (1 Peter 2:11).  Then we can be a vessel of honour.  Vessels of dishonour are put aside until they are willing to be washed and cleaned so they can be used.  It is a sad thing that a perfectly good pot or goblet could sit unused and not fulfill its intended purpose because it refuses to be clean.  Depart from the unclean thing, O Christian!  Put all that is wicked far from you so you can be the vessel of honour God created you to be.