“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119: 9 KJV).
A person initially becomes spiritually clean when all their sin, guilt, condemnation, and wickedness is washed away the moment they hear the gospel story and put their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. This cleansing, that justifies us and makes us accepted before God, happens only once. But though we are clean “every wit” we still get our feet dirty while walking in this sinful world and must come clean through confession of sin (Jn. 13: 10; 1 Cor. 6: 11).
A “wherewithal” is the means or resources with which to do something.
A “wherewithal” could be a multipurpose tool that one might carry to fix any mechanical problem in an emergency. A “wherewithal” could be a multipurpose cleaner that works on every surface and on every kind of stain.
The only “wherewithal” for spiritual cleansing is the Word of God. Only the Word of God can cleanse the inner man and make him pure and whole and cause him to walk in righteousness. This cleansing by the Word is called sanctification, whereby the Christian is separated unto God and is peculiar to the world. Jesus prayed “Sanctify them (disciples, Christians) through thy truth: thy word is truth” (Jn. 17: 17).
Soap left in a bottle or in a soap dish will not clean anything. It must be squeezed out of the bottle or taken out of the dish and applied to make anything clean. Likewise, the Word will not cleanse us if all we do is read it. We must, with the hand of the heart and faith, grasp it and take it into our hearts and then apply it to our lives if we are to become clean, holy, and spiritually pure. We must address every sin in light of the Word of God and submit to its authority if we are to be made clean. We must be doers of the Word and not hearers only.
As soap, when it is applied, changes something that is dirty into something that is clean, so the Word, when it is applied, changes someone dirty into someone that is clean. It is by “taking heed” or obeying God’s Word that we are delivered from sin and have the victory over sin.
Just as we wash daily with soap because we understand the importance of physical hygiene, we should wash daily in the Word because we understand the importance of spiritual hygiene (Eph. 5: 26, 27).
