Give up your evil ways

Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good.
Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. (Isaiah 1:16-18)

If it were possible to have our sins washed away in our own power, we'd probably do everything we could to accomplish that task. In fact, a good many still believe they have to clean up their lives BEFORE they can come to Jesus. The opposite is quite true - Jesus came for the unclean, unholy, impure, unrighteous, and downright messed up lives. When God tells Isaiah that the Kingdom of Judah needed to wash themselves and be clean, getting their sins out of his sight, he was pointing out that they had embraced all manner of idolatry and cultural corruption. Their sins were an abomination - a thing he hated because he saw what it did to his people. In much the same way, God tells us to get OUR sins out of his sight - confess them, be done with them, forsake all pursuit of them, for they will only corrupt and destroy us if we hold onto them.

Give up your evil ways. This suggests a willing 'laying down', 'putting aside', no longer returning to those 'former ways' of living. Learn to do good. Good doesn't always just 'happen' in our lives - it is something we must work toward, learning to incorporate good things in place of the unholy or unrighteous things we once pursued with such vigor. Seek justice - because sin allows all manner of injustice to prevail. Where sin has a foothold, there is little to no concern for the welfare of others. Sin makes the sinner very myopic (nearsighted). What benefits the sinner becomes the focus, not what it does to those around us. The more we desire to be clean or free from our sinful habits and hangups, the more we will see how our sin has affected a great many more than just us!

Though your sins be like scarlet... These are probably some of the most remembered words from the Bible. Songs have incorporated them into their lyrics. Preachers have used them as context for messages that beckon sinners to repent and be made new in Christ Jesus. Homes display them on plaques as reminders of how much God has done for those who reside within those walls. The main thing to see within these words is the willingness of God to forgive. When one is willing to repent (turn away from) the pursuit of sin, God stands willing to restore. The real 'clean up' happens when we say 'yes' to Jesus. Just sayin!