by Tad Lindley
Sexy advertising sells stuff. When I was small, there really wasn’t a whole lot of variety in soaps for men. Then Irish Springs and Old Spice hit the market. They were powerfully scented soaps designed for men. There advertisements suggested that a brother’s chance of getting a woman would be substantially enhanced by using them.
At that time there was no such thing as a “body wash” for men. Of course all of that has changed. If you haven’t made it into Anchorage, it would be well worth the trip to explore the wide variety of men’s body washes available. One even makes the guarantee that it “won’t wash away testosterone”, as if the wrong soap could render the user a perpetual sissy. As with any new product, the manufacturer tries to make people feel as if they need something that they have gotten along without just fine for 1000’s of years.
The dirt that Axe can’t clean
Unfortunately, there are a lot of types of dirt that Axe® cannot touch. When a person has lived in shame or humiliation, there is no bath, shower, or steam bath that can wash it away. There is no scent that is powerful enough to cover up the stench of bitterness and depression. No wash cloth known to man will ever be able to scrub away alcoholism, drug addiction, or abortion. All of these issues leave us dirty on the inside. Their stain is untouchable by any man made cleansing agent.
Enter the Acts body wash
Acts body wash is baptism. In the New Testament, men and women who wanted to be free from the stain and stink of sin repented and were put under water in Jesus’ name. Peter said unto them, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”. (Acts 2:38) Notice the purpose of baptism is for the remission or the removal of sin. Many translations read, for the forgiveness of sin. This is the awesome truth in obeying the Gospel. When we are buried with Jesus Christ in baptism (see Romans 6:4), our sins are forgiven in God’s sight!
The Corinthian Hall of Stains
Here is a list of some of the stains that Acts body wash can get rid of. It is found in I Corinthians 6:9-10.
•sexual immorality (that is people having sex before they are married)
•idolatry (loving of things, for example when something non-sinful like sports, becomes more important than God)
•adultery
•male prostitution
•homosexual offences
•stealing
•greed
•drunkenness
•gossip
•swindling
The Bible tells us that some of the first church in Corinth was made up of people who had lived these types of lives, but they were washed…in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (6:11) when they were baptized, and their sins were forgiven!
Don’t settle for cheap imitations
Reader, you may have been scrubbing away at bad memories with drugs and alcohol as long as you can remember. You may be trying to cover up shame in your life burying yourself in entertainment, but the stink still comes out. You may have been from partner to partner looking for a love that would overcome the dirtiness on the inside and in the end felt emptier than ever. It is time to try the real thing.
Try Acts body wash today. It is free. Jesus makes it available to all of us through his beating and crucifixion. (This is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:28). All that we need to do is to repent of our sins. Then the stain is washed away in baptism. If God’s word is true, you will thereafter receive the promised gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 3:29), which is the power (Acts 1:8) to rise up and walk in newness of life!
In the famous words of Ananias, “What are you waiting for? Wash up!” (Acts 22:16)
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
