Dare 2 Share - One evening, a member of the Dare 2 Share board had the privilege of leading his 7-year-old son to Christ. The next morning the little boy came down the stairs and said: “Daddy, I feel like I just went through the car wash!”
Remember the fantastic day when you placed your trust in Christ as your only hope of forgiveness? Our souls were like vehicles that just drove 6000 miles through the swill and sewage of desecrated days, then we were proclaimed clean through the blood of our Lord. Any and all past present and future sins were cast into the deepest sea, and we were declared righteous before our Creator.
But wait; do we ever need to go through the car wash again?
The answer is no, and yes.
No: in the sense that “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1). The highest court in the universe has declared us ‘not guilty’. God sees us as righteous as Jesus Himself, and we never need worry again about the judgment of God…However:
Yes: in the sense that we are still driving around in a world that wallows in wickedness like a swine in sloshy slop (just turn on the T.V. sometime). We are clean before God, but we need a daily disinfectant to divulge ourselves of our daily desecrations.
Here’s the way David put it: Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51:2)
Satan would have us believe one of two things:
a) Since I have been forgiven of all my sins, there is no need for me to seek God’s cleansing and restoration of fellowship with Him.
b) I am still guilty before my Lord, therefore I must ask for salvation again and again and again.
Both are equally dangerous, and neither is true. So let’s set the record straight so we can walk in grace and holiness at the same time. To do so, we’ll observe the example of Peter at the Last Supper:
Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.
When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, "Lord, why are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You don't understand now why I am doing it; someday you will."
"No," Peter protested, "you will never wash my feet!"
Jesus replied, "But if I don't wash you, you won't belong to me."
Simon Peter exclaimed, "Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!"
Jesus replied, "A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean.” (John 13:3-10)
See what is happening here? Jesus is setting an example of servanthood, and in doing so He teaches us a key theological lesson. As Christians, we have been forgiven of all our iniquities in a legal sense (we’ve ‘bathed’ all over). In other words, the record against us in heaven has been wiped clean forever. Yet at the same time, everyday we sin against a holy God in word, action, and attitude, therefore we still require cleansing in a practical sense (our ‘feet are dirty). Peter was ‘clean’ all over, but because he walked through the sloppy streets, he needed his feet washed by the Savior. Jesus used the physical situation to teach a spiritual truth.
Take some time each day to take your soul through the ‘car wash’, because Jesus hates to ride around in a dirty car!
Questions:
1) When was the last time you spent time in confession and repentance?
2) Is your soul ‘dirty’ or ‘clean’?
3) What streets do you need to avoid so you don’t get quite as begrimed?
