Bring your dirty feet to Jesus (Pt.2)

(Part 2)

“In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.”-2 Peter 1:5-9

When we put our faith in Jesus, we were cleansed from the sins that we had committed. Not by our own works, but by the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:4-5). It is clear from Scripture that God made provision for our cleansing through the shed blood of Jesus Christ: 

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”-Hebrews 9:14

That is why we can say that it is only by the grace of God that we have been saved. We could not cleanse ourselves, but we can come to Him, repent of our sins, and allow ourselves to be washed by the blood of Jesus. 

Nevertheless, how many know that no matter how hard we try, sometimes we still step in it? We find ourselves in sin. Have we, then, forfeited that cleansing, or has God in His wisdom, made a way for us to wash our feet?

According to 1 John 1:9:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Although it is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin; once we have been made clean we are to continue to live in fellowship with God and stop living in spiritual darkness. Why?  Because according to vs. 8:

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Although we have already been forgiven and cleansed there is still the possibility that along the way home, we may step in something that is reminiscent of our old sinful life. The good news is that when that happens we have an advocate that pleads our case: 

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”- 1 John 2:1-2

God desires for us to live a life free from sin. However, if we sin, we need to bring Jesus our dirty feet? How do we do that? By confessing our sins to Him. Because if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Some of you may think, no my feet are too dirty to be cleansed. If you believe that you have failed to understand the cleansing power of Jesus blood. His blood is the ultimate stain remover. God’s desire for us is to live righteously before Him. His cleansing is not a license to sin. Rather, we are to stop living in spiritual darkness and walk in the light of Christ. Nonetheless, if along the way we soil our feet with things of this world, we need not start the process of salvation all over again, but simply repent of our sins and let Jesus was our feet. 

Scott Burr