How do we know that God cleanses us from idols?

The assurance of God's cleansing from idols is rooted in His faithfulness and the covenant promises found in Scripture. In Ezekiel 36:25, He declares, 'From all your idols will I cleanse you.' This promise recognizes our tendency to stray and the fact that only God can free us from the grip of idolatry. His cleansing work is not merely external; it involves a deep, internal transformation where He reshapes our affections and desires through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, this cleansing is experienced in the lives of believers as trials and exercises are often utilized by God to reveal our idols and draw us back to Him. When believers acknowledge their propensity to idolize, they are placed in a theological position to cry out for mercy, seeking Christ’s atonement. This means that our experience of sanctification includes being actively engaged in the cooperative work of seeking God, understanding the weight of sin, and ultimately experiencing the cleansing that His sacrifice affords us.