| Christian Writings: Written by or Recommended by Christian Friends |
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| Some excerpts from Carl Olof Rosenius, A Faithful Guide to Peace with God received from Pastor Don Baron |
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Page 298 passim
We ought carefully to consider the words of the Lord: “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but
is clean every whit; and ye are clean, but not all” (John 13:10). The Lord distinguishes between the cleanness of
their feet, that is, their daily life, which needs to be purified constantly, and the cleanness which was their by
another washing, by which they were altogether clean.
If we only understand the greatest fact of all in heaven and earth, that God gave His only-begotten Son as the
atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world, we should not be in doubt as to the meaning of His words to the
disciples, “Ye are clean.” If we only would recall to our mind that God during a period of four thousand years by
means of numberless bloody sacrifices, purifications and cleansings, portrayed to His people the coming
Sacrifice of Atonement for the sin of the world, we should not for a moment suppose that Jesus now spoke of any
other cleanness to His disciples than the cleanness resulting from the washing away of their sins by His blood.
If we were in heaven and realized that the one great topic of the glory-song of the white-robed choir of the
redeemed is: “Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation; and has made us unto our God kings and priests” (Revelation 5:9-10); if we could realize that
the only-begotten Son of God has shed His blood on Calvary for the remission of the sin of the world, we would
not ask what the Savior meant when, as he was going to the shedding of His blood, He said: ‘He that is washed
is clean,” wholly, perfectly clean…we would understand that nothing else is great in heaven.
His words clearly show that He distinguishes between two kinds of cleanness. He first speaks of an imperfect
cleanness and a continuous cleansing. Then He speaks of a perfect cleanness: “Ye are clean,” a cleanness
which needs no improvement.
Finally, we note that Jesus never praises our indwelling cleanness or purification. He rather warns against
glorying about our special gifts and graces…Again we see this same deprecation of indwelling gifts and graces
when the disciples returned and boasted of the fact that “even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name.”
He corrected their personal glorification thus: “In this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather
rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10;20). Nothing but their unmerited salvation, the
universal grace common to all sinners, was to be the subject of their rejoicing.
We realize from (this example) that he who rejoices more in God’s gifts and graces in us than he does in the
atonement for sin by the blood of the Son of God, is farther from the mind of Christ than is he who feels nothing
but infirmity in himself and finds all comfort in Christ alone. He would be all our cleanness and comfort who has
purchased us to God by His precious blood.
We ought carefully to consider the words of the Lord: “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but
is clean every whit; and ye are clean, but not all” (John 13:10). The Lord distinguishes between the cleanness of
their feet, that is, their daily life, which needs to be purified constantly, and the cleanness which was their by
another washing, by which they were altogether clean.
If we only understand the greatest fact of all in heaven and earth, that God gave His only-begotten Son as the
atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world, we should not be in doubt as to the meaning of His words to the
disciples, “Ye are clean.” If we only would recall to our mind that God during a period of four thousand years by
means of numberless bloody sacrifices, purifications and cleansings, portrayed to His people the coming
Sacrifice of Atonement for the sin of the world, we should not for a moment suppose that Jesus now spoke of any
other cleanness to His disciples than the cleanness resulting from the washing away of their sins by His blood.
If we were in heaven and realized that the one great topic of the glory-song of the white-robed choir of the
redeemed is: “Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation; and has made us unto our God kings and priests” (Revelation 5:9-10); if we could realize that
the only-begotten Son of God has shed His blood on Calvary for the remission of the sin of the world, we would
not ask what the Savior meant when, as he was going to the shedding of His blood, He said: ‘He that is washed
is clean,” wholly, perfectly clean…we would understand that nothing else is great in heaven.
His words clearly show that He distinguishes between two kinds of cleanness. He first speaks of an imperfect
cleanness and a continuous cleansing. Then He speaks of a perfect cleanness: “Ye are clean,” a cleanness
which needs no improvement.
Finally, we note that Jesus never praises our indwelling cleanness or purification. He rather warns against
glorying about our special gifts and graces…Again we see this same deprecation of indwelling gifts and graces
when the disciples returned and boasted of the fact that “even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name.”
He corrected their personal glorification thus: “In this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather
rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10;20). Nothing but their unmerited salvation, the
universal grace common to all sinners, was to be the subject of their rejoicing.
We realize from (this example) that he who rejoices more in God’s gifts and graces in us than he does in the
atonement for sin by the blood of the Son of God, is farther from the mind of Christ than is he who feels nothing
but infirmity in himself and finds all comfort in Christ alone. He would be all our cleanness and comfort who has
purchased us to God by His precious blood.
We understand, then, what Jesus meant when He said: ‘Ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken to you.” The meaning is the same as that expressed in the
words of our Lord on the sending out of His apostles: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” It is the same Lord of whom His apostle said: “That He might
sanctify and cleanse the Church with the washing of water by the Word” (Ephesians 5:26). Here, then, we have the two Means of Grace – Baptism and the Word – by which
we are cleansed in the blood of the Son of God.
See how Christ confirms the great chief doctrine of the Scriptures – justification by faith alone. Saint Paul says: “Faith cometh by hearing,” that is, the preaching of the
Word. Jesus says: “And ye are clean by the Word which I have spoken unto you,” You have done nothing more than that you have heard me preach the Gospel of
salvation. Through my preaching faith has been created in your hearts. As a consequence you are clean. God regards you in Christ as though you never had committed
any sin. “Ye are clean.” These are the Words of Christ, who shall judge all men on the Last Day. Every sinner ought to rejoice in his inmost soul that Christ has said: “Ye
are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.” He says never a word about works and gifts and graces and fine character and our excellencies as cause for
boasting. He speaks only of His Word as the means by which the disciples are made clean before God. By the Word of God are they made clean, because the Word has
created faith in their hearts, and faith in the Crucified Son of God brings cleanness and righteousness before God. Nothing else avails…Rely upon His Word, no matter how
defective your life is, no matter how unregenerate your heart is. If only you take God at His Word and believe what He says of His Son, Christ becomes your Savior with all
the blessedness that act of faith implies….In this manner are we saved by faith. God speaks a Word to you. You accept that Word, and you are in possession of that which
the Word contains…We are to remember that in heaven all is well with us through our faith in the Word of God. The soul is clean and well. Even though we must walk in
darkness of soul, if only we hold fast to the Word, we shall on the morning of eternity behold with our eyes that the words and promises of God were fulfilled every one…It is
well-nigh incomprehensible what an amount of anguish it costs many a soul to get away from feelings and emotions to a sturdy faith in God’s Word.
Jesus uses the term, “through my Word.” He does not even mention faith. He speaks only of His Word. He wants to fix our undivided attention upon the Word. We are to
understand that we are not saved by a faith which grows out of our own thoughts. We are saved only by that faith which is created in the heart by God’s Word. When you are
worried about your sins, your evil heart, your spiritual indifference, callousness, and conformity to the world; when you are ashamed of your own defective life, and then hear
the Word about the love of Christ, captivating your heart, intellect and affections, giving you peace, comfort and hope, it is faith that has saved you…But at the side of this
“clean heart,” we see their corrupt nature asserting itself in many weaknesses of life. On that very evening when Jesus designated them as “clean,” He told them
beforehand: “All ye shall be offended because of me this night” (Matthew 26:31), and Peter denied him thrice…And yet: “Now are ye clean!”
If you have reached the stage of spiritual development when nothing matters if only you may be His, then your infirmities will not stand in the way of His pardoning grace…In
a word, if you are daily dissatisfied with yourself, your own slow progress in sanctification, your lapses and shortcomings, but yet believe in Him, and trust His Word, then are
you clean, “altogether clean.”
“But,” you say, “I feel so much impurity in my soul. All kinds of sin are present with me continually. And that which is the worst of all, I cherish love for a certain sin which
seems to hold me in its grip. I have no deep hatred of the sin, nor have I any real desire to be rid of it.” Answer: (Granted) that does not sound well. (But) the very fact that
you realize the impurity in you is testimony that the Spirit of God is castigating the evil in you. You confess at least with the Apostle Paul: “In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth
no good thing” (Romans 7:18). The circumstance that you love a certain sin or certain sins is not strange…But if you are a Christian, you will realize that you also hate these
same sins…The flesh and the spirit are in conflict with each other, and you cannot do that which you would do (Galatians 5). The fact that you possess not even the will to
be rid of a sin, demonstrates that you have both hatred and love for that sin – the first, after the Spirit, the second after the flesh. A Christian is not altogether spirit. He is
also flesh. The life of a Christian is a divided and torn life in daily conflict with itself. For this reason he not only feels the presence of the clean heart and the holy will, but
also the wretched mixture of flesh and spirit…Hear the moanings of the Apostle Paul and his sighs for redemption from “the body of this death”; hear him complain of the
“law of sin” in his “members” warring against the “law of the Spirit,” and you shall realize that it is precisely this soul-conflict which bears testimony to the “clean heart.” The
fact that you hate most the sins which you most love is the surest sign of the clean mind….At one moment Peter asserted, “I know not the man”; at another, he went out and
“wept bitterly.”
If, then, you realize that there are times in your Christian life when the inner corruption of the heart silences the voice of Christ, then remember that the disciples had the
same experience, in spite of the fact that He spoke to them as being “clean.”…He designates them as “clean” at the moment when He foretells their defection and disloyalty.
Oh, let me never forget this blessed fact! Here I see the very heart of the Gospel, its great central doctrine – justification by faith alone…It runs counter to all reason, that
unclean and sinful creatures such as we all are should nevertheless be clean before God. In the presence of this stupendous fact, I begin to realize that the blood of Jesus
means more to God than it does to us, more to the angels of heaven than to us sinners on earth. We have not the eyes to see its overwhelming power.
Oh, if we were in heaven and could see in the light of eternal truth the glory of the Son of God, we should also see that we are but atoms as compared with the great Lord of
heaven and earth, who gave Himself a ransom for our sins. We would say: All our infirmities, in reality great sins, are yet but as nothing compared with Him and the power
of His blood. Therefore He could say in righteousness: “He that is washed is altogether clean.” God be praised! So God declares. He that is washed is altogether clean,
while at the same time he mourns his uncleanness and regards himself as utterly unclean. Praise to be God eternal! In the midst of our infirmities we are pure, innocent
and glorious in the eyes of God.
Christ Himself has said it. Though I, with my finite mind, do not comprehend the reasons and the ways of this purification in all directions, I yet see that He has made this
pronouncement regarding such as walked in the weakness of the flesh: “Now ye are altogether clean.”…Hence I will continue to study and meditate upon this mystery all
the days of my life, and I will never forget that the Lord Jesus, who is the only one whom I need to ask, has said, “Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken
unto you.” Amen.
words of our Lord on the sending out of His apostles: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” It is the same Lord of whom His apostle said: “That He might
sanctify and cleanse the Church with the washing of water by the Word” (Ephesians 5:26). Here, then, we have the two Means of Grace – Baptism and the Word – by which
we are cleansed in the blood of the Son of God.
See how Christ confirms the great chief doctrine of the Scriptures – justification by faith alone. Saint Paul says: “Faith cometh by hearing,” that is, the preaching of the
Word. Jesus says: “And ye are clean by the Word which I have spoken unto you,” You have done nothing more than that you have heard me preach the Gospel of
salvation. Through my preaching faith has been created in your hearts. As a consequence you are clean. God regards you in Christ as though you never had committed
any sin. “Ye are clean.” These are the Words of Christ, who shall judge all men on the Last Day. Every sinner ought to rejoice in his inmost soul that Christ has said: “Ye
are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.” He says never a word about works and gifts and graces and fine character and our excellencies as cause for
boasting. He speaks only of His Word as the means by which the disciples are made clean before God. By the Word of God are they made clean, because the Word has
created faith in their hearts, and faith in the Crucified Son of God brings cleanness and righteousness before God. Nothing else avails…Rely upon His Word, no matter how
defective your life is, no matter how unregenerate your heart is. If only you take God at His Word and believe what He says of His Son, Christ becomes your Savior with all
the blessedness that act of faith implies….In this manner are we saved by faith. God speaks a Word to you. You accept that Word, and you are in possession of that which
the Word contains…We are to remember that in heaven all is well with us through our faith in the Word of God. The soul is clean and well. Even though we must walk in
darkness of soul, if only we hold fast to the Word, we shall on the morning of eternity behold with our eyes that the words and promises of God were fulfilled every one…It is
well-nigh incomprehensible what an amount of anguish it costs many a soul to get away from feelings and emotions to a sturdy faith in God’s Word.
Jesus uses the term, “through my Word.” He does not even mention faith. He speaks only of His Word. He wants to fix our undivided attention upon the Word. We are to
understand that we are not saved by a faith which grows out of our own thoughts. We are saved only by that faith which is created in the heart by God’s Word. When you are
worried about your sins, your evil heart, your spiritual indifference, callousness, and conformity to the world; when you are ashamed of your own defective life, and then hear
the Word about the love of Christ, captivating your heart, intellect and affections, giving you peace, comfort and hope, it is faith that has saved you…But at the side of this
“clean heart,” we see their corrupt nature asserting itself in many weaknesses of life. On that very evening when Jesus designated them as “clean,” He told them
beforehand: “All ye shall be offended because of me this night” (Matthew 26:31), and Peter denied him thrice…And yet: “Now are ye clean!”
If you have reached the stage of spiritual development when nothing matters if only you may be His, then your infirmities will not stand in the way of His pardoning grace…In
a word, if you are daily dissatisfied with yourself, your own slow progress in sanctification, your lapses and shortcomings, but yet believe in Him, and trust His Word, then are
you clean, “altogether clean.”
“But,” you say, “I feel so much impurity in my soul. All kinds of sin are present with me continually. And that which is the worst of all, I cherish love for a certain sin which
seems to hold me in its grip. I have no deep hatred of the sin, nor have I any real desire to be rid of it.” Answer: (Granted) that does not sound well. (But) the very fact that
you realize the impurity in you is testimony that the Spirit of God is castigating the evil in you. You confess at least with the Apostle Paul: “In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth
no good thing” (Romans 7:18). The circumstance that you love a certain sin or certain sins is not strange…But if you are a Christian, you will realize that you also hate these
same sins…The flesh and the spirit are in conflict with each other, and you cannot do that which you would do (Galatians 5). The fact that you possess not even the will to
be rid of a sin, demonstrates that you have both hatred and love for that sin – the first, after the Spirit, the second after the flesh. A Christian is not altogether spirit. He is
also flesh. The life of a Christian is a divided and torn life in daily conflict with itself. For this reason he not only feels the presence of the clean heart and the holy will, but
also the wretched mixture of flesh and spirit…Hear the moanings of the Apostle Paul and his sighs for redemption from “the body of this death”; hear him complain of the
“law of sin” in his “members” warring against the “law of the Spirit,” and you shall realize that it is precisely this soul-conflict which bears testimony to the “clean heart.” The
fact that you hate most the sins which you most love is the surest sign of the clean mind….At one moment Peter asserted, “I know not the man”; at another, he went out and
“wept bitterly.”
If, then, you realize that there are times in your Christian life when the inner corruption of the heart silences the voice of Christ, then remember that the disciples had the
same experience, in spite of the fact that He spoke to them as being “clean.”…He designates them as “clean” at the moment when He foretells their defection and disloyalty.
Oh, let me never forget this blessed fact! Here I see the very heart of the Gospel, its great central doctrine – justification by faith alone…It runs counter to all reason, that
unclean and sinful creatures such as we all are should nevertheless be clean before God. In the presence of this stupendous fact, I begin to realize that the blood of Jesus
means more to God than it does to us, more to the angels of heaven than to us sinners on earth. We have not the eyes to see its overwhelming power.
Oh, if we were in heaven and could see in the light of eternal truth the glory of the Son of God, we should also see that we are but atoms as compared with the great Lord of
heaven and earth, who gave Himself a ransom for our sins. We would say: All our infirmities, in reality great sins, are yet but as nothing compared with Him and the power
of His blood. Therefore He could say in righteousness: “He that is washed is altogether clean.” God be praised! So God declares. He that is washed is altogether clean,
while at the same time he mourns his uncleanness and regards himself as utterly unclean. Praise to be God eternal! In the midst of our infirmities we are pure, innocent
and glorious in the eyes of God.
Christ Himself has said it. Though I, with my finite mind, do not comprehend the reasons and the ways of this purification in all directions, I yet see that He has made this
pronouncement regarding such as walked in the weakness of the flesh: “Now ye are altogether clean.”…Hence I will continue to study and meditate upon this mystery all
the days of my life, and I will never forget that the Lord Jesus, who is the only one whom I need to ask, has said, “Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken
unto you.” Amen.
| Some Excerpts from Carl Olof Rosenius, A Faithful Guide to Peace with God received from Pastor Don Baron |