The Sinner's Dross
May 13, 2025 by Addison Crissone
I have recently been given various pieces of silver by various family members. They are all beautiful, vintage pieces that I love dearly.
Except for one thing.
They are black with dross and heavy oxidation.
I cannot see the silver plate beneath the dross.
Silver begins to oxidize when it is surrounded by sulfur gases in the air around it, resulting in the dark black tarnish that covers the silver plate. While silver does not generally oxidize with plain oxygen alone, it is when these contaminants in the air begin to come into contact with it that it begins the oxidation process, leaving it dirty and often useless.
For instance, I have a silver teapot so dark and tainted by dross that I would never wish to touch it to my lips, let alone drink the contents from within it. I do not want to use it until it is clean.
It will remain idly on the shelf until the outside- and the inside- the pot.
So, what did I do? I bought silver cleaner and set to work, polishing and cleaning each piece with patience until the silver shone brilliantly through the oxidation, revealing its true self.
This reminds me of Proverbs 25:4-
The silver must be cleaned and purified before it can be found worthy of being made into a vessel or instrument of use. It cannot and will not be used for anything if it remains dirty and impure.
So it is with you and me.
We are dirty, covered in dross. But our dross is not the same as a tarnished silver. We are tarnished with the biblical dross of Impurity, sin, and immoral natures. This makes us dirty and unfit for use, so we sit back idly on our shelves waiting for the day when we are found worthy of being made into a vessel of use.
This thought reminds me of the prophet Isaiah-
Except for one thing.
They are black with dross and heavy oxidation.
I cannot see the silver plate beneath the dross.
Silver begins to oxidize when it is surrounded by sulfur gases in the air around it, resulting in the dark black tarnish that covers the silver plate. While silver does not generally oxidize with plain oxygen alone, it is when these contaminants in the air begin to come into contact with it that it begins the oxidation process, leaving it dirty and often useless.
For instance, I have a silver teapot so dark and tainted by dross that I would never wish to touch it to my lips, let alone drink the contents from within it. I do not want to use it until it is clean.
It will remain idly on the shelf until the outside- and the inside- the pot.
So, what did I do? I bought silver cleaner and set to work, polishing and cleaning each piece with patience until the silver shone brilliantly through the oxidation, revealing its true self.
This reminds me of Proverbs 25:4-
Take away the dross from the silver,
And the smith has a material for a vessel.
And the smith has a material for a vessel.
The silver must be cleaned and purified before it can be found worthy of being made into a vessel or instrument of use. It cannot and will not be used for anything if it remains dirty and impure.
So it is with you and me.
We are dirty, covered in dross. But our dross is not the same as a tarnished silver. We are tarnished with the biblical dross of Impurity, sin, and immoral natures. This makes us dirty and unfit for use, so we sit back idly on our shelves waiting for the day when we are found worthy of being made into a vessel of use.
This thought reminds me of the prophet Isaiah-
And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost: for I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts!" Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken
with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold,
this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall we send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me!"
-Isaiah 6:5-8
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts!" Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken
with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold,
this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall we send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me!"
-Isaiah 6:5-8
Isaiah admitted that he was dirty- he was lost. Let's just say that the people of unclean lips in which he dwelt were the sulfur-contaminated air that I mentioned earlier. He knew that the influence of the people surrounding was not helping his already dirty state.
He also knew that before he could be used and called according to God's purposes, he needed to be purified. He needed to be cleansed.
It is important to note that God did not commission Isaiah as his prophet until after the fact that he had realized that he himself was dirty and miserably idle.
Isaiah needed to be cleansed of his spiritual dross before god could use him for the work he had planned for him since creation. And it is the same for us.
Think of our dross as the sin that taints our lives from the moment we are born to the moment we meet God.
We must be cleansed and purified of this sin before we can be made into a vessel worthy of harboring the work of Christ- our dross must be washed away by the blood of the lamb before we can be used.
This is not to say that God will not used you to orchesrate his power until you perfectly, 100% clean and free of tarnish and dross; because that is a standard that we will never achieve, never reach. God does not expect us to be perfect- why?
Because Jesus already is perfect. And he already took our place in the eyes of God.
So Christ's perfectness extends to us through grace, which is all we need to realize that we are dirty and unfit for service.
And that is precisely where God will find us.
And He will tell us-
"Your guilt has been taken away, and your sin atoned for."
He also knew that before he could be used and called according to God's purposes, he needed to be purified. He needed to be cleansed.
It is important to note that God did not commission Isaiah as his prophet until after the fact that he had realized that he himself was dirty and miserably idle.
Isaiah needed to be cleansed of his spiritual dross before god could use him for the work he had planned for him since creation. And it is the same for us.
Think of our dross as the sin that taints our lives from the moment we are born to the moment we meet God.
We must be cleansed and purified of this sin before we can be made into a vessel worthy of harboring the work of Christ- our dross must be washed away by the blood of the lamb before we can be used.
This is not to say that God will not used you to orchesrate his power until you perfectly, 100% clean and free of tarnish and dross; because that is a standard that we will never achieve, never reach. God does not expect us to be perfect- why?
Because Jesus already is perfect. And he already took our place in the eyes of God.
So Christ's perfectness extends to us through grace, which is all we need to realize that we are dirty and unfit for service.
And that is precisely where God will find us.
And He will tell us-
"Your guilt has been taken away, and your sin atoned for."
