James 4:8

Subject Yourselves To God

⁷ So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]. ⁹ Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom.

Draw Near to God

Purify Your Hearts

O God

2 Chronicles 15:2

and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him, as your soul’s first necessity], He will let you find Him; but if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will abandon (turn away from) you.

Malachi 3:7

“Yet from the days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

Zechariah 1:3

Therefore say to the Jews, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts (armies), “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and I shall return to you.

Psalm 145:18

The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him in truth (without guile).

Isaiah 55:6-7

Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near.

1 Peter 1:22

Since by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves for a sincere love of the believers, [see that you] love one another from the heart [always unselfishly seeking the best for one another],

James 1:8

being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides].

1 John 3:3

And everyone who has this hope [confidently placed] in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (holy, undefiled, guiltless).

Genesis 18:23

Abraham approached [the Lord] and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous (those who do right) with the wicked (those who do evil)?

1 Chronicles 28:9

“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and minds, and understands every intent and inclination of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] He will let you find Him; but if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will reject you forever.

Job 17:9

“Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his ways,
And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

Psalm 18:20

The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity);
According to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.

Psalm 24:4

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to what is false,
Nor has sworn [oaths] deceitfully.

Psalm 26:6

I will wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go about Your altar, O Lord,

Psalm 51:6-7

Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right and steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 73:13

Surely then in vain I have cleansed my heart
And washed my hands in innocence.

Psalm 73:28

But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him,
That I may tell of all Your works.

Isaiah 1:15-16

“So when you spread out your hands [in prayer, pleading for My help],
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you offer many prayers,
I will not be listening.
Your hands are full of blood!

Isaiah 13:15

Anyone who is found will be pierced through,
And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.

Isaiah 29:13

Then the Lord said,

“Because this nation approaches [Me only] with their words
And honors Me [only] with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me is a tradition that is learned by rote [without any regard for its meaning],

Jeremiah 4:11

In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the wilderness [comes at My command] against the daughter of My people—not [a wind] to winnow and not to cleanse [from chaff, as when threshing, but]

Jeremiah 4:14

O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long will your wicked and immoral thoughts
Lodge within you?

Ezekiel 18:31

Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed [against Me], and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel 36:25-27

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols.

Hosea 6:1-2

“Come and let us return [in repentance] to the Lord,
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

Matthew 12:33

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is recognized and judged by its fruit.

Matthew 15:2

“Why do Your disciples violate the tradition (religious laws) handed down by the [Jewish] elders? For Your disciples do not [ceremonially] wash their hands before they eat.”

Matthew 23:25-26

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed).

Matthew 27:24

So when Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but rather that a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands [to ceremonially cleanse himself of guilt] in the presence of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this [righteous] Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”

Luke 11:39-40

But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and plate [as required by tradition]; but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Acts 15:9

and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith [in Jesus].

2 Corinthians 7:1

Therefore, since we have these [great and wonderful] promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness [living a consecrated life—a life set apart for God’s purpose] in the fear of God.

1 Timothy 2:8

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger and disputing or quarreling or doubt [in their mind].

Hebrews 7:19

(for the Law never made anything perfect); while on the other hand a better hope is introduced through which we now continually draw near to God.

Hebrews 10:22

let us approach [God] with a true and sincere heart in unqualified assurance of faith, having had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

1 Peter 3:21

Corresponding to that [rescue through the flood], baptism [which is an expression of a believer’s new life in Christ] now saves you, not by removing dirt from the body, but by an appeal to God for a good (clear) conscience, [demonstrating what you believe to be yours] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Job 9:30

“If I were to wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,

Job 16:17

Although there is no violence or wrongdoing in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.