The Filthy Will Be Filthy Still

Sin is filth. It is soul pollution. It makes us vile in the eyes of God, and no matter how much pride we take in our sin now, we will one day even be offensive in our own eyes. As sinners, we may do everything we can to maintain our delusion that we are honorable, but every one of us has fallen short of God’s glory. We cannot roll in the mire without eventually being repulsed by our condition.

Other people tend to recognize it in us before we do because we have myriad ways of deceiving ourselves. We find ways to justify our sins by calling them more virtuous titles. Some sins we overlook merely as part of our personalities. Other sins we play off because they are common in our culture. Some even attempt to cover their sin with pretenses of godliness. Yet, in all these things, we defile ourselves, and God is not mocked. His word remains true. The time will come for every living person when they will not be able to ignore their impurity.

For some, it will happen in this life. We will come to a point where we begin to see our condition for what it is. Like the prodigal, we come to our senses and awake to realize we are sleeping with the swine. The sad part is that many never venture to go home. They live in despair, masking their guilt with drugs and other life-numbing vices, which only increases their filth. Some see no other remedy than to take their own lives.

Others, though, hear the call of their Heavenly Father. They turn to him, covered in the grime of their sinfulness, and begin to run home. At that moment, they see their Father running to them, and he falls on their neck and kisses them. Through Christ Jesus, they are washed clean. He gives them a robe and a signet ring that says they are part of the family of God. Though their sins were as scarlet, they are now white as snow. Do not neglect so great a salvation.

Still, others will remain filthy dreamers until the day they die, but no further. They remain proud in their sin for as long as possible, but their delusion will end when death comes. At that moment, they will face the wrath of God. They will go to a place of eternal punishment where they will weep and gnash their teeth.

In scripture, the idea of gnashing teeth does not only mean anguish but also hatred. They will continue to hate God for all eternity, but because they are separated from their creator, they will hate themselves too. Their self-deception will have come to an end. To paraphrase Albert Barnes, nothing more awful can be imagined. Their polluted soul will be fixed as nothing more can be done. At that point, their corrupt heart will always be corrupt, as they will be beyond the possibility of being cleansed from sin for all eternity.

Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, – Revelation 22:11