I Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Used By God

In 2 Timothy 2:21 I read, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work." (ESV)

If I want to be used by God, I don’t have to be a perfect person, but I do need to purify my heart.

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:21, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (ESV).

God uses all kinds of people. He uses shy people and outgoing people. He uses people of different races, ages, stages of life, and backgrounds. He uses men and women. God will use plain vessels, and he’ll use ornate vessels. He’ll use big vessels and small vessels.

But there is one thing that God will not use: He will not use a dirty vessel. I have to be clean on the inside. But here’s the good news: No matter who I am or what I’ve done, I can be made clean.

How do I do that? How do I become pure? I do it through a simple word: confession. Augustine, a Christian leader who lived a few hundred years after Jesus, said, “The confession of bad works is the beginning of good works.” The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing” (GNT).

The word “confess” in Greek is the word homologeo. Homo means “same,” and logeo means “to speak.” So homologeo literally means “to speak the same” as God does about my sin. It means I agree with him: “God, you’re right. It wasn’t a mistake. It was a sin. It was wrong.” It doesn’t mean I bargain with God (“I’ll never do it again”). It doesn’t mean I bribe God (“I promise to read my Bible every day if you’ll forgive me”).

I just admit my sin.

That may seem too simple, but “All I’ve got to do is admit it, and God will forgive me?” Yes! It’s called grace.

Here’s what I can do if I really want to be used by God: Take time this week to sit down with a notebook or journal and ask God, “What’s wrong in my life? Show me. I’m going to write it down, and I’m going to admit it. I’m going to confess it to you.” Then, when God gives me an idea, write it down.

The first time I did this, I thought I was going to write a book! And I’ve done this many times since. Make a list, and then write 1 John 1:9 over the list and say, “God, I admit these sins to you. These are wrong. I don’t want them in my life.” Ask God to cleanse my life. God will forgive me!

This is the starting point to being used by God. I must purify my heart.

In summary, if I cleanse myself from what is dishonorable, I can be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful to the master, and ready for every good work. If I want to be used by God, I don’t have to be perfect, but I do need to purify my heart. God uses all kinds of people. God will use plain vessels, and ornate vessels. He’ll use big vessels and small vessels. But there is one thing that God will not use: He will not use a dirty vessel. No matter who I am or what I’ve done, I can be made clean. How do I do that? I do it through: confession. The confession of bad works is the beginning of good works. If I confess my sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive me from sins and purify me from all our wrongdoing. “Confess” in Greek is the word homologeo. Homo means “same,” and logeo means “to speak.” So homologeo literally means “to speak the same” as God does about my sin. It means I agree with him: So I just admit my sin. That may seem too simple, but God provides grace. If I really want to be used by God: ask God, “What’s wrong in my life? Show me. Then admit it and confess it. “God, I admit these sins to you. These are wrong. I don’t want them in my life.” Ask God to cleanse my life. God will forgive me! This is the starting point to being used by God. I must purify my heart.

Paul urged Timothy to be the kind of person Christ could use for his noblest purposes. Don't settle for less than God's highest and best. Allow him to use me as an instrument of his will. I do this by staying close to him and keeping myself pure so that sin and its consequences do not get in the way of what God could do in my life. While God can redeem any situation, how much better it is to stay close to Christ and ready to be used by him at a moment's notice.