Taking Out the Garbage: How God Cleanses Us from Sin
- Richard Selke
- Sep 16
- 5 min read
September 17, 2025
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Every week, Susan and I haul bags of garbage to the curb. We generate a lot of garbage. How about you? Thankfully, twice a week, garbage trucks roll through our neighborhood, removing the garbage accumulated over the past few days. Without them, the piles would grow, the smell would spread and our home would quickly become unlivable.
In the same way, our lives also collect garbage – not physical, but spiritual. The Bible calls it “sin”. Left unchecked, it piles up, festers and poisons our hearts and relationships. We all know what that feels like.
It’s frightening to think about what might happen if no one came to take away our physical garbage. I imagine some folks would act immediately, find a place to take their garbage and deliver it there themselves. Others might just let it pile up in their homes, on their lawns and in their neighborhoods until it draws flies and vermin and starts to stink. Sin is the spiritual garbage of our lives and it works the same way. It may start out small, but it accumulates quickly.
We are all sinners and therefore, we all sin. So we all need to deal with our sin, both individually and collectively.
What is sin? Many have tried to describe this reality:
Jim Jackson says sin is “anything that separates us from God, other people, or the true self that God created us to be.”
C. S. Lewis reminds us that sin is rebellion against God: “We are not merely imperfect creatures who must be improved: we are … rebels who must lay down our arms.”
John Piper calls it “suicidal abandonment of joy.”
Put simply, sin is anything that interferes with our relationship with God.
Susan and I try to be good citizens and do our part to help the world clean up its mess by cleaning up our mess. We try to separate our trash into “garbage” and “recyclables.” Sometimes I get confused about what’s what, and sometimes the recycling rules change. But God makes it easy for us – sin is sin. And His rules have not, do not and will not change – unless He decides to change them.
Every morning I wake up, and it’s not too long before I’ve committed my first sin, and then another, and another, and on, and on, and on until the day is done and I’ve accumulated one more day of sin for my spiritual garbage can – inconsiderate, uncaring, uncompassionate thoughts, words and deeds, none of which are pleasing to God and which, I would like to think, do not describe who I am as His child.
How do we continually deal with the garbage of sin? The good news is that God provides a way: Pray daily. Confess honestly. Repent sincerely. Ask God to forgive us. Trust His forgiveness through Jesus Christ. And be thankful!
We don’t have to carry yesterday’s trash into today. God is faithful to cleanse us, again and again.
The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9, NIV
We don’t need to wait to go to church to talk to God. We don’t need anyone to stand between us and the Lord. We can go directly to Him anytime, anywhere. The apostle Paul reminds us that through Jesus Christ we have full access to God: “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Ephesians 3:12, NIV
The sins we need to be forgiven for and cleansed from our lives are not just our individual, personal sins but also our societal sins. David Lowes Watson wrote, “Only a fraction of our sins are personal. By far the greater part are sins of neglect, sins of default, our social sin, our systemic sin, our economic sin. For these sins Christ died, and continues to die. For these sins Christ atoned, and continues to atone … The sanctifying grace of God in Jesus Christ is meant not just for the sinner but also for a society beset by structural sin.”
The Bible calls us not only to personal repentance but also to seek healing for the world: “… if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV
John Baker, in Life’s Healing Choices, talks about putting our sin in a trash can and taking it to the curb. A garbage truck pulls up with a sign on the door that reads:
GOD & SON
Doing business with people like you
for over 2,000 years
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, let's take our spiritual garbage to Him daily and live in His freedom!
QUESTION
What spiritual garbage are you holding onto today that you need to take to the Lord?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we confess that we need you. We accept Your death on the cross as payment for our sins, and we entrust our lives to You. Please help us to grow in our understanding of You, Your love and Your power so that our lives will bring glory to You. Teach us to love You, to honor You and to serve You always. Thank You for forgiving us and for giving us eternal life in You.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24, ESV
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
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