John 13:8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
The statement Jesus made to Peter about washing his feet is a life lesson we need to submit to and personalize, as if Jesus had made it to us face-to-face. John 13:8b If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. If Jesus does not wash our whole being, we have no part in His eternal life. If I do not wash my sin-stained life and eternal being in the blood of the Lord, and I do not become born again, then I have no part in Him or any part in the Godhead. The message could not be any clearer. If we are not washed by the sacrificial blood of Jesus and repent of our sins, we will not have eternal life. Acts 4:12 Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
There is no self-righteous act anyone can perform to become righteously saved and accepted as flawless by God the Father. The gift of salvation that God freely gives humanity is only found in His Son, Jesus. No amount of self-righteous sacrificial giving or earning can guarantee that your eternal being will be given a place to stand before God, or even be near His presence. If Jesus does not wash me, I have no place in God’s eternity. John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If I do not wash in the sacrificial blood that Jesus spilled upon the cross, I cannot stand nor have the right to stand before our Heavenly Father. My right to stand before God can only come through the righteousness that Jesus (who sits at the right hand of God) acquired for me through His sacrificial death on the cross.
If in nature, I do not wash, in most cases, I will be excluded from everyday life on the premise that I stink and have become repulsive to society. Even if I live a life of a hermit and am located way off grid, where even the breeze holds its nose to avoid my stink, I will not be appreciated among the people if I return to social living. It will be expected of me to wash and become as presentable as possible. There is a basic social code that asks that we behave to the best version of ourselves when we are in public, so that we can all get along. Rom. 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. If there is a basic law of social etiquette, to walk among the people, it stands to reason that there might be a righteous law that is much more enforceable to be able to stand before God. We might not care what people think, but we should care what God thinks of us. Luke 12:5 But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear!
God, our Heavenly Father, has a righteous standard that must be honoured, and that acceptance standard can only come through the acceptance of Christ as Saviour. Suppose I religiously celebrate all the holy calendar dates of Christendom and do not confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, or reject the gift of His blood that washes my sins away. In that case, I will be a repulsive stench to heaven. Amos 5:21 I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. I am not saying that God does not love me, as the love of God is never in doubt towards anyone whom He created. I’m saying I will not be allowed to walk in His presence because I have not accepted God’s gift of redemption by being washed in the blood of God the Son.
A human committee did not create the Lord’s salvation plan (and thank God for that), but rather, it was all God’s perfect idea and plan to save mankind from eternal death. Our God is not interested in cover-up culture in the way that humanity covers the sins of corrupt politicians, fallen ministers, or criminal leadership. We tend to hide or spin the sins of mankind into acceptable definitions like misdeeds, scandals and lapses in judgment when finally being exposed to public view and accusatory feedback. Mankind can label sin and iniquity with pleasant words of denial, but no matter what, it is still sin that needs to be repented of. We need to understand that God sent His Son to the cross to bring salvation to mankind, and also to destroy the power of sin and to give mankind a way to overcome the relentless temptations of sin. Rom. 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the Law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the Law of sin and death.
Some Christians wrestle and fight certain temptations to the point of stressful pressure, and they often feel that they have no authority over the power of certain sins. If a person is in Christ, they have been given the authority over sin, but the temptations of those sins need to be resisted with the help of the Holy Spirit. I agree that we can be particularly weak in some areas of sinful activity. Yet, in other areas of temptation, we seem to be able to exercise full authority and power over sins that others fall so easily into. Whether one is strong or weak in the battle of conquering sin within our hearts, we need to be washed daily in the forgiving blood of Jesus so that we can walk in Christ’s righteousness.
The writer to the Hebrews said it best. Remain faithful by coming to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins until the day of our death. Heb. 12:1b Let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Nowhere does it say that this battle is easy. If we do not wash in Christ’s cleansing blood, we will lose the whole war that Jesus has already won for us. That would be a terrible loss to our eternal beings. We are hidden in Christ, who has won the war over sin and death. We need to be washed in His life-giving gift every day of our lives, and that is how we overcome.
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