“He [Jesus] came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going
to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do
not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘No,’ said
Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you
have no part with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but
my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need
only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though
not every one of you.’ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was
why he said not everyone was clean.” – John 13:6-11
During my series on forgiveness I mentioned that although a Christian sins, they do not lose their salvation. It does however affect them spiritually. They are not on speaking terms with the Lord. There are denominations built on the premise that someone, once born again by the Spirit, can be essentially “un-born again”.
I am not a “school-trained” theologian so my thoughts on this should be tested by you. See for yourself be studying the Word and listening to the Spirit of God.
When I read John 13, the image in my mind was one of the disciples feet being dirty, in the spiritual context, because they were walking in the world and had picked up sins along the way. When we are born again by faith, our whole body is washed. As we live our lives, day by day, our “spiritual feet” get dirty and they must be washed.
“If we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us of our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9
That is a picture of having our feet washed. If we refuse – and continue to live with our sin – we are not properly connected to the Lord. (You can have no part with Me.) But we do not need to have our whole body washed again.
Back to Forgiveness – can you see that if someone refuses to be restored when they sin against you, they are also refusing to be restored to the Lord? It is not just about you. The thing is, many Christians think they can walk into church with dirty feet and praise the Lord. They deceive themselves, and those around them for that matter. But God sees the heart. Their actions are no different than the Jews offering blemished sacrifices to the Lord in the Temple. Not much has changed has it?
During my series on forgiveness I mentioned that although a Christian sins, they do not lose their salvation. It does however affect them spiritually. They are not on speaking terms with the Lord. There are denominations built on the premise that someone, once born again by the Spirit, can be essentially “un-born again”.
I am not a “school-trained” theologian so my thoughts on this should be tested by you. See for yourself be studying the Word and listening to the Spirit of God.
When I read John 13, the image in my mind was one of the disciples feet being dirty, in the spiritual context, because they were walking in the world and had picked up sins along the way. When we are born again by faith, our whole body is washed. As we live our lives, day by day, our “spiritual feet” get dirty and they must be washed.
“If we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us of our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9
That is a picture of having our feet washed. If we refuse – and continue to live with our sin – we are not properly connected to the Lord. (You can have no part with Me.) But we do not need to have our whole body washed again.
Back to Forgiveness – can you see that if someone refuses to be restored when they sin against you, they are also refusing to be restored to the Lord? It is not just about you. The thing is, many Christians think they can walk into church with dirty feet and praise the Lord. They deceive themselves, and those around them for that matter. But God sees the heart. Their actions are no different than the Jews offering blemished sacrifices to the Lord in the Temple. Not much has changed has it?
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