The whole question of sin makes the Christian life a constant struggle with guilt, fear, condemnation, and insecurity.
“Jesus answered, ‘A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean…'” (John 13:10 NIV).
During the time I was growing up, my family attended a church that could be called “the guilt center.” The unconscious thinking seemed to be, “One strike and you’re out!” Every Sunday evening we had a ritual we secretly called “the charge.”
At the end of the service we would all “charge” down to the altar and confess all the sins we had committed that week. Our Christian walk was a precarious balance between trusting God for His keeping power and our efforts and struggles to keep from failing the Lord and grieving Him by falling into sin.
When it becomes a matter of losing your salvation, the whole question of sin makes the Christian life a constant struggle with guilt, fear, condemnation, and insecurity.
In this verse Jesus is compassionately showing the difference between initial conversion and walking through this polluted world to the other world.
In the original Greek version, two words are used in contrast. The word translated bath is louo (loo’-o), the word used to describe bathing the whole body. Wash, the word Jesus used when speaking of the feet, is nipto (nip’-to), which refers to washing some part of the body such as the face, hands, or feet.
After you have bathed and are heading home, you only need to have your feet washed to clean away the dust of the road. To all of us this foot washing is a reminder of our need for cleansing from daily pollution.
We do not need a new salvation (a new “bath”) every day, but we do need a cleansing (“washing”) to rid us of the dust of the road we have picked up in our travels. This is what the foot washing represents—a removal of road dust.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Dick Mills was ordained at The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in 1949. He and his wife Betty traveled as evangelists all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, and Australia. Dick and Betty are now home in heaven.
In 1966 Dick and Betty became a part of the then-emerging Charismatic Renewal. Passing through all denominational barriers, Dick has had the opportunity to speak in thousands of churches of varied backgrounds all over the world.
He ministered within several Christian organizations, including the Full Gospel Business Men, Women's Aglow, Inter-church Renewal Catholic Pentecostals, mainline Charismatic groups, CBN and TBN television networks, and many other independent Christian TV stations.
Dick appeared on numerous radio talk shows, written several magazine articles, and spoke at many Bible conferences and universities. He served as an adjunct professor at six Schools of the Bible and Seminaries.
In addition, Dick authored and co-authored several books and tapes. Dick's ministry was characterized by the unique gifts God has blessed him with. His services informed, enlightened, and motivated people to a higher level of commitment to God.