Human defilement, restoration, and holy living
Text 2 Cor 7:1; Matt 15:16-20.
Defilement corrupts, damages, and violates human purity and dignity. Thus, when someone is defiled, this could lead to sicknesses, damage, uncleanliness, and less of what God made the person to be.
Scripture has a lot to teach about human defilements, sadly we neglect to pay attention to this.
Holy living is a lifestyle of you separating yourself from anything that will contaminate you.
God wants you to be aware of defilement and of what to do if you become defiled.
Types of defilement: food (Lev 11), sexual perversion (Lev 18), bad friends (1 Cor 15: 33), worshipping idols (1 Kings 17:15), evil spirits (Mark 5:1-20), what comes out from the heart (Matt. 15:16-20); the occult (Deut. 18:9-13), ungratefulness to God (Rom 1:21-22), … N.B. Defilement makes you obnoxious to people; you don’t become attractive. People may pity you, but not embrace you; you won’t even admire yourself. Defilement, like leprosy, is infectious.
What to do if you are defiled? Don’t stay in that desolate situation, expecting people to pity you. Rise up, do the right thing, and get your life back on track. How? Restoration by God’s grace.
Examples of defilement and restoration
Miriam and Aaron were defiled by what they said against Moses (Numb. 12:1-16; Matt 15:16-20) but were restored.
Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38) were defiled sexually because Judah was Tamar’s father-in-law ( Lev. 18:15), but were restored; their twins Perez and Zerah became descendants of Jesus (see Matt 1:3)
David and Bathsheeba defiled themselves but were restored (2 Sam 12)
The prodigal son squandered his blessings on wild living, but was restored when he came to his senses and returned to his father (Luke 15:11-32; Ezekiel 36).
Sadly, when Tamar was raped by his brother Amnon, both defiled themselves sexually and were not restored, and so Amnon was murdered, and Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman (2 Sam 13:1-22). Why? Because they did not seek restoration.