Is there anyone’s house you go to, and the first thing you do when you enter is take off your
shoes? Many of us have welcome mats at our front door, which basically means you’re
welcome to come in, as long as you wipe off your feet first. Sometimes I walk into the house
and I know immediately the grandchildren have been here, because there are muddy little foot
prints all over. We carry the dirt of the world on our feet; and unless we clean it, it leaves its
stains on us.
He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and to dry them with the towel He had wrapped around himself. Then He
came to Simon Peter. Peter said to Him, “Lord, are you going to wash my
feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not understand what I am doing now, but you
will understand after these things.” Peter said to Him, “You will never
wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with
me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, wash not only my feet, but also my
hands and my head!” Jesus replied,“The one who has bathed needs only to
wash his feet, but is completely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not
every one of you.”(For Jesus knew the one who was going to betray him.
For this reason He said, “Not every one of you is clean.”) John 13:511
There are many lessons to be learned form this, but I want to focus on just onethe
importance of continually cleansing ourselves from the sins in the world. We walk around in
the world all the time; and if we are not careful, we can start picking up some of the world’s
habits. Someone who is not in the habit of washing regularly is not aware of his own offensive
odor, even though others around him are. It is the same with our spiritual life. If we don’t
continually cleanse ourselves, we become offensive to God. “The one who has bathed needs
only to wash his feet.” As believers we are made clean in Christ Jesus; but in order to walk
with Him, we must continually cleanse ourselves of the world. We have all seen believers who
have become desensitized by the world around them. They start making offhanded and
inappropriate remarks. They hear worldly people do it all the time, and it creeps into their
language. They get absorbed in activities that distract them from serving God and hurt their
testimony. We are told that we are in the world, but not of the world .[John17:14] We are to be
as wise as serpents, but as innocent as doves. [Matt10:16] Please note it says innocent, NOT
naive.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw
off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us,” Hebrews 12:1NIV
We very easily become entangled in the world. If we don’t keep the path before us clear, we
must keep looking down so we don’t trip. If we are looking down, we can’t keep our eyes fixed
on Jesus.
“If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is
not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins
and cleansing us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a
liar and His word is not in us.” 1John 1:9NET
Confessing (cleaning our feet) keeps us from being offensive to God and each other. Notice
that Jesus said that we must wash each other’s feet. Sometimes we must go up to a brother or
sister in the Lord and tell them they have the stink of sin on them. We need to be accountable
to each other. Once we have taken the step of telling someone that they have the smell of the
world on them, we must continue with that person to help them remove it. Once that is done
and your brother/sister is restored, welcome him back into the fold.
It is a comfort to know that Jesus is faithful and righteous in forgiving our sins. When a
person has a particular bad habit that they keep falling into, it is difficult to keep asking for
forgiveness, BUT God is faithful. It is because of His righteousness that He can forgive us.
God longs for us to turn to Him when we have gone astray. He is anxious to forgive us.
I am NOT saying that we lose our salvation. That CANNOT happen. What I am talking
about is keeping our lives right with Him so we can be useful to Him and bring Glory to His
name. We are a new creation [2Cor5:16] in Jesus Christ even while we are in this life. That is
why we must keep the dirt of this world off us, so Christ can shine through.
To The Glory Of God