[0:00] Now while we wait up on God in worship, may I direct your thoughts to two passages of Scripture, one from the New Testament and the other from the Old.
[0:14] The Gospel according to John chapter 13 and particularly at verse 8, it was the occasion of the last Passover that our Lord partook with his disciples.
[0:38] After that he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel for which he was girded.
[0:53] Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
[1:06] These words, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. The Old Testament passage you will find in the book of the Song of Solomon, chapter 5, verses 2 and 3.
[1:24] The bride or the church speaks, I sleep but my heart waketh. It is a voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled, For my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.
[1:52] I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how can I defile them? These words, I have washed my feet, how can I defile them?
[2:08] And I want to speak to you tonight, God helping me, On cleansing false and true. And I want to speak, if I can, very simply, For I feel that there are few experiences in the Christian life That we are more prone to err in, than in this, our cleansing.
[2:37] We are poor judges of our own sanctification. It is an old, and indeed a wise, tradition of the Keswick Convention, That the second day of Convention Week Should be devoted to this particular subject.
[2:56] In the first passage, the passage in John 13, We have illustrated and enforced the meaning of true cleansing.
[3:10] At this Passover, the last he ate with his disciples, Christ turned the customary feet washing Into a sacrament of his grace.
[3:24] The visible sign of a spiritual reality. He was to leave them. They were to be without his physical presence, But he was to come back to them In the nearer presence of the Holy Spirit.
[3:45] Henceforward, they were to walk with him in the Spirit. And if they are to hold this nearer communion with him, Their walk must be clean.
[3:59] They cannot walk with him with uncleansed feet. So on that solemn night, Supper having been served, The Savior girded himself with a towel, And undertook the menial task Of washing his disciples' feet.
[4:22] Simon's sense of the fitness of things, Simon's sense of the fitness of things, Was shocked. That the master should undertake a task Commonly relegated to the slave in the household, A task which, indeed, they are many to do for him, Or for one another, As they entered the Passover chamber, The very thought, Made Simon recoil.
[4:53] And he protested, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Then came the completely unexpected rebuke, In these solemn words, If I wash thee not, Thou hast no part with me.
[5:12] This is an inexpressibly solemn sight, The Savior of the world, On bended knee, Washing his disciples' feet.
[5:26] We are accustomed to speak, Often and much, Of the cross-bearing Savior. We are not at all accustomed to speak, Of the towel-girt Savior.
[5:38] And yet the one is as indispensable to our salvation, As the other. Note then, That true sanctification, Is a Christ cleansing.
[5:54] Simon did not understand this. He has had gracious dealings with his Savior, Before this day. He had been washed, In the labor of regeneration.
[6:09] All of them, Except when, Had this initial cleansing. And therefore the master could say, Ye are clean, But not all.
[6:24] Judas had missed it. He had come, Into discipleship, Somewhere along the road, But not by the way of the cleansing fountain.
[6:40] Is there anyone here, Tonight, Or within reach of my voice, Anywhere, Who came into the following of Jesus, In some other way, Than by, The cleansing of regeneration.
[6:57] Perhaps you are, Stepped in, Somewhere, Halfway, Along the road of discipleship. Clean, The Lord said, But not all.
[7:10] Not you, The master says. You cannot deceive him. You may be, In the company of discipleship, But if you have taken religion, Halfway along the road, If you have not had your, Transaction with him, To begin with, Clean, But not all.
[7:35] But this, Once for all cleansing, This, Overall bathing, As the word puts it, Didn't mean, That no further, Cleansing, Was now necessary.
[7:49] True, It was to be of a, Different order. It was not a, Cleaned standing, A justified, Position, They now needed.
[8:02] It was a, Cleaned walk, They must receive. He that is clean, Needeth not to wash, Save his feet, But is clean, Every foot.
[8:16] He that is bathed, He who has had sinned, Once for all death with, In his guilt, And condemnation, Is now, And forever, More in the sight of God, Clean every foot, Accepted, Justified, Justified, From all things, Freely, And completely forgiven, That work will not need, To be done again, It is a once for all, Transaction, Eternity, Is written upon it, But the justified, The justified when, Still needs, His feet cleansed, That is his walk, His character, His life, And it must be done, If his condition, Is to be in harmony, With his position, If his life, Is to become worthy, Of his standing,
[9:17] In Christ Jesus, I know, That God is not, Answerable, To his creatures, For his actions, But I feel sure, That his justification, Of his people, Will be justified, At the bar, Of a moral universe, Because, They will all be righteous, They will be like God, When they are received, Into his presence, And only the one, Who has redeemed us, Can cleanse us, If I, Wash thee not, He alone, Must undertake, This very, Intimate, And personal, Transaction, For you, And for me, We read, That our Lord, Performed this task, In full consciousness, Of his deity, Verse 3, Jesus knowing, That the father, Had given all things,
[10:18] Into his hands, And that he was, Come from God, And went to God, Riseth from supper, He was fully, Conscious, Of his infinite, Resources, Fully aware, Of his divine, Origin, And his divine, Destiny, Yet he humbled himself, To do a task, Which only, A divine hand, Could do, A task, For which, He had to humble himself, Into kinship, With us, Into sacrifice, For us, In order that he, Might touch, Our sin, Buried, In his own, Consciousness, On the tree, And thereby, Cleanse us, And when our Lord, Washes our feet, Cleanses our walk, Sanctifies our nature, He gives us, A deep, Deep, Consciousness, Of his deity, We know,
[11:19] That it came from God, For he flashed, Divine light, Upon our hearts, And lives, To reveal, And to condemn, We know then, As will I, Exposed, And convicted, At his blessed feet, We know, That he is, Come from God, None other, But the son of God, Could so expose, And so cleanse, With such faithfulness, And tenderness, With such purity, And grace, And love, Let us learn then, Tonight, That true sanctification, Is a Christ cleansing, Only a divine hand, The hand that was wounded, For our transgressions, Can separate us, From sin, Can cleanse, Our life, And our walk, In him, Is a fountain,
[12:20] Opened, Both for sin, In his guilt, And for sin, In his uncleanness, It must, Be Christ cleansing, It may, He may, And generally does, Use means, Means that will search us, And hurt us, But whatever they are, There must be, In his hands, And under his control, He loves us too dearly, To leave our cleansing, To another, He will drag us, Into the searchlight, Of his own presence, He will uncover, Our pollution, And lay bare, Our sin, He will pass nothing by, He will excuse nothing, He will condone nothing, For it is his will, That lose sin, Should find a hiding place,
[13:22] In your nature, Or mine, Every time he forgives, And he multiplies, Pardon, Every time he forgives, He says, Go, Send them all, And blessed be his name, His word is with power, His biddings are enablings, Sin is lain, In his presence, Sin goes out, At his command, Learn then, That there is no substitute, For his cleansing, Do not trust to any, Emotional, Upheaval, Whether it be at Keswick here, Or elsewhere, That alone will not cleanse, Do not trust to any experience, However, Exalting, Or humbling, To cleanse you from sin, Even when you have at the last, Come out of great tribulation,
[14:23] You have washed your robes, And made them white, Not in the tribulation, But in the blood of the Lamb, Christ is a man, Who of God is made unto us, Sanctification, But you must note, That the Christ cleansing, Is Christ sharing, Peter had a true, Vision of the dignity, And glory of his master, The master he loved, He thought, He thought this act, Inconsistent, With Christ's dignity, Too menial, Too lowly, Lord, He cried, Not me, Thou wilt never wash my feet, And he drew from the master, The rebuke, Gentle, But firm, And disturbing, If I wash thee not, There was no part with me, If you do not submit, To my washing, You have no share, In me,
[15:25] And Simon capitulated at once, Not my feet, But my hands, And my head, The thought of having no part, With the master, Was too dreadful, To contemplate, He could refuse to be washed, He could resist, The gracious operation, But the alternative, Was too dreadful, No part, In Christ, And so, He yielded completely, So must we, We must submit, To the cleansing process, Willingly, And with all of hearts, Our wills, Must be holy, And completely, On the side, Of the towel, Gert Savior, We must never, Never, Excuse any sin, Cling to it,
[16:26] Or refuse to let it go, If we are not willing, We must pray, That we be made willing, To part with it, For his people, Shall be willing, In a day of his power, Sin may cling to us, Sin may be interwoven, With every fiber, Of our being, May stay in the warp, And woof, Of our natures, But we must be willing, To let it go, Willing, To be made whole, No spurious reverence, No sanctimonious, Sentiment, No false loyalty, We can stand in the way, Of our wholehearted, Cooperation, And submission, To the cleansing Lord, And when the will yields submission, Our whole natures, Will be invaded, By this, Cleansing power, It will affect,
[17:27] Our nature, Our entire beings, Just as sin affected, Our entire beings, We believe that, Total sanctification, Is the counterpart, Of total depravity, That as sin, Affected us, Totally, In the totality, Of all our parts, So sanctification, Must affect us, Totally, And in the totality, Of all our parts, Blessed be God, His cleansing, Will go as deep, As sin has gone, It will wipe out, Eradicate forever, The stain, He will make an end, Of our sin, And so, The cleansing of Christ, Affects us, Totally, It will give light, To our understanding, Sensitiveness, To our conscience, Purity to our hearts, Joy, And peace, To our spirits, There is not a corner, Of our being, But must be entered,
[18:29] And pervaded, And dominated, By the cleansing, Influence, Of the Lord Jesus Christ, And his spirit, It may hurt, It may wound, Like plucking out a knife, Or like cutting off a limb, But faithful, Are the wounds of a friend, He wounds, Only that he may heal, He afflicts, That he may comfort, He breaks a heart, That he may make it whole, The alternative, To this cleansing, Is too dreadful, No part with me, Think of it, Disowned, Cut off, Disinherited, From the Lord, No part in my fellowship, You may linger, In the company, Of the disciples, But you will not walk, With the master, Can two to walk together, Except they be agreed, He will never keep company,
[19:31] With sin, Unconfessed, And unforsaken, No part with me, No recognition, He cannot give you, His recognition, How his benediction, In anything you do, You may plead, That you have had many, Choice privileges, In his church, You may say, With others, We have eaten, And drank in thy presence, And there was thought, In our streets, Only to hear the master say, Depart from me, All ye workers, Of iniquity, You may plead your success, That you did many, Spectacular things, In his name, Lord, Lord, Have we not prophesied, In thy name, And in thy name, Have cast out devils, And in thy name, Doth many wonderful works, That successful evangelism, Surely, And then the master, Will profess to you,
[20:33] I never knew you, Depart from me, All ye that work iniquity, There's no substitute, For a holy life, And no substitute, Will ever pass, Muster with the master, That we profess to serve, No part with him, No fellowship, No recognition, No reception, An unholy character, He will not receive, Into his father's kingdom, Be not deceived, Do not shelter, Under a past experience, Call it conversion, Call it justification, Call it anything you like, If it has not, Separated you from sin, It is a spiritual illusion, A mirage of the desert, Unprofitable, And unreal, He will disown you, At the last, Why you say, Don't you believe, Don't you believe, In the perseverance, Of the saints, Yes I come from Scotland,
[21:35] But I believe, More, I believe, In the perseverance, Of the holy spirit, In my sanctification, And Christ, Christ redeems, Are made holy, And without holiness, No man shall see the Lord, Be not deceived, No past experience, No past privilege, No past success, Can ever pass, Master with the Lord, In place of a holy character, And a cleansed life, You are meeting the judge of all, Only a cleansed character, Will pass in that day, Is there a false cleansing then, Yes, Here it is, I have washed my feet, How can I defile them, This is self cleansing, It bears the marks of falsity, On its very face, What are they, First broken communion,
[22:37] Her beloved was without, Where, Behind a locked door, How foolish, How foolish, To pray, About her self cleansing, Too clean to rise, And let him in, It would have been a solemn entrance, Had he come, It's always a solemn moment, When Christ enters, Any heart or any home, You remember, When he entered the home of Zacchaeus, There was an immediate, Immediate dismantling, And when Christ enters, Your heart or your home, Many things, That were right before, Are wrong now, And like Zacchaeus, You are to pull them down, In mercy, Before they are dragged, Down in judgment, Broken communion, Self pleasing, Hear the accents, Of complacent satisfaction,
[23:39] I have washed, My feet, How can I, Defile them, The moment, You admire, Your own sanctification, You have stepped, Outside the current, Of his cleansing blood, You are not in the line, Of blessing at all, Ah you say, Shouldn't I be able, To see my own sanctification, Never, Never, Never, Never to admire it, Never to rest satisfied with it, Seldom, Even to be conscious of it, Moses, Wist not, That the skin of his face shone, Neither shall you see, The radiance of your own character, For you are looking, At the surpassing glory, Of your Lord's character, And what are you, Standing, Beside him, Broken communion, Self-pleasing,
[24:41] Disobedience, She could not open the door, She could not admit her beloved, She could not respond, To his call, Why? I have washed, My feet, How can I defile them?
[24:55] What? Too holy, To answer your Lord's call, To do his bidding, To run his errands, Oh, What a spurious holiness, You are afraid, To catch defilement, When you are doing, The Lord's will, Or giving him service, As if he could not keep you, Anywhere, Anywhere, He sent you, He had a church of God, In the filth of Corinth, He had saints, In most unlikely places, It was a triumph, Of his grace, That they were kept, Clean, And unspotted, From the world, And if he sends you, Anywhere, On his service, Be sure of it, He can keep you there, He can keep you clean, In the most false surroundings, This is a false cleansing, Indeed, A cleansing, That means broken communion, A cleansing,
[25:56] That means complacency, And self-satisfaction, A cleansing, That leads to disobedience, To your Lord's will, And to your Lord's bidding, Brethren, We have a holy master, We have a holy calling, We have a holy, Indwelling spirit, We shall meet, A holy God, Meet him now, He is a consuming fire, He will cleanse, He will purify, He will make holy, And without holiness, Nor man, Nor woman, Whatever their experiences, And privileges, And successes, As may have been, No man shall see the Lord.
[26:45] Amen.