A Clean Heart Part 1

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

All of us pick up a lot of dust in the race of life, dust that clogs the pores of our souls. We need to come to Christ for cleansing every day. Today from the upper room, we'll begin to learn what that process is all about and why for a believer it's not optional. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, you're taking us into John's Gospel for 12 lessons on what happens when Jesus has your heart.

So what's our focus today? Dave, you know, one of the remarkable things about Jesus is that he surprises us. And perhaps as I emphasized last time, when the disciples were gathered together, it is he who takes the towel and the basin and washes their feet. And after that, of course, he has some wonderful words for them, words of warning, but also words of encouragement and comfort. It's one of the most tender passages in all the Bible. Now at the end of this broadcast, I'm going to be giving you information as to how you can get a copy of a book I've written entitled The Church in Babylon, because indeed today it is difficult for us to have a clean heart in a very dirty world. But what should we be doing about it?

For now, stay tuned. I want you to begin today by taking a deep look into your heart and you tell me, in silence, of course, what it is that you really see. No doubt you see some good, but you also see, if you're honest, a lot of ugly things.

That's why not a one of us would like to have our thoughts made public, running them across a screen for everyone to see. The fact is that because we are sinners and the more holy we understand God to be, sometimes the more overwhelmed even we are with the small sins in our life in comparison to the holiness of God. Way back in 1986, there was a fire in this church and we discovered something about soot and about smudge. It goes everywhere where the air goes. And we found it in the most unlikely places. Even to this day in my study there are some books, if they haven't been opened for about 15 years and many of them haven't been, you would find within them sometimes or along the cover some smudge from that fire so many years ago. I want you to know that when Adam and Eve sinned, the smudge of sin settled on every human heart and we've all experienced that sense of guilt, that sense of recognition that we are alienated from God, that sense of conviction that we have broken his laws. The sin resides there in places where no detergent is able to reach it.

As a matter of fact, we live in a time when there are many people who believe in New Age religion. Strictly speaking, New Age religion says that there is no sin. Therefore, because there is no personal God, you do not need forgiveness.

You can sort of forgive yourself, but that's all you need. The problem is that the smudge of sin goes down so deeply that we desperately want to hear a word from God because we know intuitively we have violated his laws. Remember the words of Nietzsche regarding God, we have killed him but now who will wipe the blood from our hands?

We want someone to wipe the blood from our hands but if God is dead, if God is impersonal, there is no one to look us in the eye and say to us with authority, you are forgiven. Remember Macbeth? Was it not Lady Macbeth who said a little water rids us of this deed after she had killed the King Duncan and the blood was on her hands?

A little water and her hand shall be clean. But as she begins in that soliloquy, and I'm only paraphrasing it, recall that she ends up saying rather than the oceans being able to clean my hand, my hand will make the oceans bloody and there is no detergent to make those hands clean. Today if the truth were known as you sit out here in the congregation or you listen by radio, the fact is I'm speaking to some people at least who've done some very terrible things and you were afraid that if what you did ever became known or if the truth ever leaked out, it would be a very sad day for you. Perhaps even criminal things, things that cannot be repaired, things that are so serious that other lives have been affected and they have been messed up.

And if the truth were known, you would find this great heaviness upon you because you've done some things that are very, very awful. Well today I'm here to give you a message of hope and the message is that he who washed the disciples' feet is the one who can also wash our hearts. And that's the message of John chapter 13 and I encourage you to turn to it as we've begun this exposition of what is sometimes called the upper room discourse. Last time we talked about the humility of Christ in being able to wash the disciples' feet and in doing so, and today we get to the real meat of the idea of what was involved in the washing.

John 13, I'm picking it up at verse 5. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel with which he was girded. And so he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, what I do, you do not realize now, but you'll understand later. Peter said to him, never will you wash my feet.

Aren't you so glad that Jesus didn't agree with Peter and corrected him? If I do not wash you, you have no part with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. And Jesus said to him, he who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but it's completely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you.

Ouch, not all of you. Could I pause here and say that I speak to a group of people, a congregation here at the Moody Church, and it can be said there of us as it was said in the disciples, and you are clean, but not all of you. There are some of you here who have never trusted Christ as Savior, you've never believed on him, and you're not clean. Now let's look at this text and find out what's going on. What's happening here in this story?

Obviously there's some symbolism. What I'm doing now, you will not understand now, but you'll do afterwards. If I don't wash your feet, you have no part with me. How do we interpret the text? Well, we're going to interpret it today by answering the five questions, and the text will answer, the story will answer the five questions that we're going to ask it today about cleansing and the cleansing of our hearts. The first question is simply this, who needs to be cleansed? Who needs to be cleansed?

And the answer, of course, is everyone. Those of you who have never trusted Christ, you need to be cleansed, as well as those of us who have trusted him, and we have had, as we shall see, the bath of regeneration. We too need to be cleansed because the world is a very dirty place, spiritually speaking, and our hearts are dirty, and we constantly need to make sure that our hearts are cleansed by God, as we shall see. Who needs to be cleansed?

Everyone. Now when Jesus said, he who has been bathed does not need except to wash his feet, what's the symbolism that Jesus is speaking about here? He's talking about two different kinds of baths. There is the bath of regeneration. That's when you become a Christian.

That's when you accept Christ as savior, and you have the assurance that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. That is the bath that all of us need in order to get into heaven. But then Jesus speaks of another kind of washing. It is the washing of the feet. He says that after you've had a bath, if you're walking along the dusty path, if you had a bath before you leave home and you arrive, now all that you need is to have your feet washed. And Jesus said that if you have your feet washed, then you are in full fellowship with me because even though you've had the bath of regeneration, you sin, and that sin has to continually be confessed so that we are reconciled.

I need to put in a parenthesis here. You don't become a Christian by having your feet washed by confessing your sins. You become a Christian by having that bath of regeneration. All of us have met people who do not have baths, but they do keep their hands washed.

And after we meet them, we remember them very well and we remember that we have met them. Do you remember Martin Luther? He used to confess his sins up to six hours a day. Every small insignificant sin was confessed, and he was still not born again of the Spirit.

He still did not have the bath of regeneration. So what Jesus is saying is all of us need his cleansing. Some of you listening need that bath.

That is to say, you need to accept Christ as Savior. Many of you who know Christ as Savior, the smudge of the world and the smudge of your heart has built up, and you need to be cleansed so that you might be back in fellowship with him. First question, who needs to be cleansed?

The answer is everyone. Second question, how are we cleansed? How are we cleansed? Well, how was Peter cleansed? At first he says, you shall never wash my feet. And Jesus said, if I do not wash you, you have no part with me.

And Peter responds by saying, not only my feet, but my hands and my head. In other words, he's saying, give me a whole bath, because Peter loved Jesus very, very dearly. So how did he receive cleansing? Well, the answer is that he agreed with Christ.

He came to agreement, and that's what cleansing is all about, the cleansing of the heart. When it says in 1 John 1.9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from every single individual unrighteousness. That word confess means when we speak the same thing as God, homologeo, to say the same thing as God. So when we confess our sins, what do we do? We agree with God that we have sinned. Gone are all the rationalizations. Gone are all the excuses. Gone is all the secrecy as to what we are doing, where we hide sin like a morsel under our tongues, it says in the book of Proverbs. We cease doing that, and we open and expose our lives to God, and we say, I have sinned. I agree with you.

I speak the same word as God. That's the first thing we have to agree with. But there's a second thing that we have to agree with, and that is that Jesus Christ is capable of cleansing us from every individual inequity. You know, you have many people, particularly if they have sinned greatly, they've committed some sins that pollute their consciences, sins that hurt other people, possibly because of addictions or whatever, and they come to the point where they say, yes, I have sinned and I realize my sin, but there is no relief from the nagging guilt and from the harangue of conscience and from the siren that is within their soul constantly reminding them of their failures and their sins, and they can get no relief.

Why? Because they're willing to admit their sin, but they do not see the wonder and the completeness of Jesus Christ's death on the cross, and that, yes, it does include that sin, my friend. Yes, that one. You remember, I told you before how when Billy Graham was being interviewed in Toronto by Pierre Bertin, a well-known Canadian atheist, Pierre said to him, are you telling me that if Hitler accepted Christ on his deathbed, he could go to heaven, whereas good, sane taxpayers who don't accept Christ go to hell? And you remember what the answer is, regardless of how Billy answered it, here's the answer. The answer is yes. I know that that's hard to say, particularly when you think of the crimes that were committed, but I'll tell you why the answer is yes.

Listen to me very, very carefully. God says I think so much of what Jesus Christ did when he died on the cross that I can even forgive a murderer if he trusts in me, but I cannot forgive a good, decent citizen who refuses to trust in me. So I say to you today that the answer to your dilemma, if you cannot find forgiveness and if you say I've sinned greatly but there is no relief from this nagging conscience, is to see the wonder and the beauty of what Jesus did and its completeness, my friend, for you, for that sin.

Yes, that one. Isn't it wonderful that we have such a gospel to preach? Now, if you don't know that and if you don't know how to handle the devil, I taught a Sunday school class a few Sundays ago and I discovered that there were people in that Sunday school class who did not know these verses.

Let me quote them to you and then I'll tell you what I told them. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemns?

It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again and is even now on the right hand of the throne of God who also maketh intercession for us. And so you can say begone Satan for it is written. I discovered that there were some Christians who had been saved for years who didn't know those verses and I told them quite candidly if you don't memorize verses like that, the devil will have you for lunch. He'll have you for lunch and you will not know how to handle his accusations. Long after you've been forgiven, the memories will be able to destroy you.

They will overwhelm you. The sense of regret will wash over your soul again and again and you'll be caught in a trap not knowing how to respond and probably you'll respond simply by confessing your sin again and again and again and again and there will be no relief because the accuser of the brethren accuses us during the day and during the night. You must, you must know the word and stand on it. Who needs to be cleansed?

Everyone. How are we cleansed? By agreeing with God that we've sinned and that Jesus is adequate. You say well where's that verse that you quoted? Those verses. Is that what you want to know? There are some of you here who don't know those verses.

That's overwhelming to me. They're found in the eighth chapter of Romans. Don't look now but memorize them when you get home.

Would you do that please? Number three, third question. What is the purpose of cleansing? Let's look at the text again, the story as it is here. Jesus said in verse 8, if I do not wash you, you have no part with me. Ouch. You are not going to be a part of me. You're not going to be joined to me. If Jesus doesn't do the washing, you will die with that polluted conscience.

What does that mean? It means first of all that an inheritance. Jesus is saying if I don't wash you, you don't have an inheritance with me. You're not going to be a part of my kingdom. You're not going to sit with me on my throne as I overcame and sat with my father on his throne.

You do not receive the blessings and the promises that are given to the people of God. That's the first answer to the question of what is the purpose of cleansing. The second obviously is fellowship. Fellowship.

You see even though we have had the bath, even though we belong to Jesus Christ and have been regenerated, we need to be in agreement with God morally and spiritually so that we can enjoy the Lord. Remember he says I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and we're going to dine together. We're going to eat together. We're going to have fellowship together.

And notice this, we will dine together, he with me and I with him. Jesus enjoys the fellowship too. And sin marrs that.

Sin puts us in a position where the fellowship and the radiance of Jesus Christ in our lives is cut off. I received a letter this week from someone who wrote to me about the doctrine of assurance. He cannot find assurance of salvation. I mean that's remarkable to me and I say this facetiously of course. Even after reading my book on assurance he still doesn't have assurance of salvation.

Exactly how that's possible is a little puzzling to me but nevertheless. So I read the first part of the letter and thought well what he needs is another exposition of the great doctrine of assurance. I read the last part of the letter and he said that he is in love with a divorced woman whom he feels he cannot marry because Jesus is opposed to divorce. So rather than being married, they are living together in fornication. Well that's an interesting, that's an interesting juxtaposition of stories. He lacks assurance. I wonder why. Hello, how are you doing there friend?

Can you put it together? The simple fact is what sin does is even if we are believers, and I don't know whether he is or not, I don't know whether or not he had the bath of regeneration, but as sinners who come to God and have received his forgiveness and we belong to God and we are saved as the New Testament speaks about, if we live in sin, fellowship with God is cut off, a cloud develops, and we can't come to the table of fellowship with dirty hands or dirty feet. And so the purpose of cleansing is that we might be in fellowship, that we might enjoy God because the scripture says we have that remarkable opportunity to be filled to the fullness of God. Well this is Pastor Lutzer. How do we experience the fullness of God in a culture that is contaminated? This is the last week we are making a resource available to you, titled The Church in Babylon. For example, one of the chapters has to do with finding God in enemy territory, keeping the faith in a hostile work environment. It speaks to the issues that people are facing today. As we look around us, there's so much to discourage us, and God says we must be faithful.

We must experience his fullness when everything seems to be working against us. Now for a gift of any amount, this book can be yours. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com, and I'm going to be giving you that info again, or if you prefer, you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. Thanks in advance for helping us, because together we are making a difference for the glory of God.

Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Ask for the book The Church in Babylon. How do we navigate the cultural waters in such a way that Jesus is glorified in the midst of all that is taking place around us? It's time again for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Sometimes we get questions about what clothing styles are appropriate, but today the question is about wearing no clothing at all.

Cindy from New York asks, I need some direction for a matter with my nephew. He does not think social nudism is a sin. He claims Genesis 2.25 confirms his reasoning. I think this social nudism hobby makes him feel more accepted. He has commented on how well the people in this group treat him compared to other people in his life.

What do you think? Well, it is true, of course, that before sin entered into the Garden of Eden, you know that Adam and Eve, the Bible says, were naked and they were not ashamed. But when sin entered into the world, it is interesting that then Adam and Eve, the Bible says, they clothed themselves. They had fig leaves. Indeed, God gave them fig leaves.

God sewed fig leaves. Because now there's going to be a certain amount of shame when clothes are taken off and as a result, they wanted to cover themselves. This is the most normal response that we have in society to want to be covered when we are in the presence of others, of course, in marriage, because they become one flesh. That is something entirely different.

Now, here's the point. Those who engage in social nudism, they want to go back to Eden, but you can't go back to Eden. As a matter of fact, God didn't even allow Adam and Eve to go back to Eden because paradise has been lost.

And what they want to recreate is that paradise. And as long as everyone in a certain colony wears no clothes, somehow they are able then to set aside their shame. But the bottom line is this, that in the rest of the Bible, there are warnings about those who have absolutely no shame. So your nephew is wrong. He is seeking acceptance in the wrong way and in the wrong place. And I might say, from the wrong people.

You can try to convince him of that, and if you can't, you simply have to let him go on his way and hope that someday his eyes will be opened and he'll know that this is not the place to find what he's looking for. Some wise counsel from Dr. Erwin Lutzer. Thank you, Pastor Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60614. No Christian can get through a single day without the need to confess sins.

That's why Jesus washed the disciples' dusty feet to show us that we need daily cleansing. Next time on Running to Win, we'll cover some practical issues on keeping short accounts with God. Running to Win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. For Dr. Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.