Clean But Not Washed — E.A. Johnston

The Church's Superficiality and Spiritual Vacuum

I've been trying for the life of me, friends, to put my finger on why there's so much superficiality and so little reality in the church today. Why are your young people leaving our churches and droves?

What is driving them away? Isn't Jesus wonderful? Is Christ not precious? Then what's wrong? And then I figured it out. It's not the kids' fault, but what they see in the parents. Oh, their parents are nice enough people.

They'll go out of their way for you and be kind to you and you'll enjoy church fellowship with them. And they're faithfully in church every Sunday. But there's a vacuum there. Oh, they're good people doing the best they can with what they got.

And what they've got is enough religion to pass muster at church on Sunday. But the kids recognize a spiritual vacuum in their lives of the parents throughout the week. I believe that's it, friends. I believe that throws a net over the whole lot today who are clean but not washed.

Clean in Their Own Eyes but Not Washed

And that's the title of my message this evening. Clean but not washed. My Bible speaks of this in Proverbs 30, 12. If you'll forgive me, I'm going to use the English Standard Version for this because it hits the nail on the head.

There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. Now, we must ask why they would think they are clean when they are not. I believe there's two reasons for this. First, they are blind to their condition.

They don't have the eyes to see the stain of sin in their lives. They feel they are right in their sight. Secondly, they mistook something for something else. And that is they mistook reformation for repentance.

They got cleaned up the best way they knew how when they made their profession of faith but they missed repentance. They are clean but not washed. Not washed in the blood of the Lamb. And if you're not washed in His blood, friend, then you're still outside of Christ even though you are inside the church.

In Revelation 1, 5, we read, Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. That's why our young people today see no reason to stay in the church. They don't see any reality of God in the life of the members there.

A Story of Reformation, Repentance, and Salvation

Now, if you'll stay with me, friends, I have a story to tell you and I make a promise to you. If you pay attention to it, you will be richly rewarded because at the heart of this story is a man who found out the difference between reformation and repentance and he ended up getting saved.

He went from being clean in his own eyes to getting his sins washed in the blood. Oh, what a world of difference that is. This story may clear up in your mind, friends, your own confusion of mistaken reformation for repentance.

Because if you miss repentance, then you miss faith. And if you miss faith, you miss Christ. And if you miss Christ, you miss heaven and land in a region you had no intention of ever going and that's a burning pit of hell.

The Smuggler Captain's Testimony

Listen up. As we take a ride out on the sea in a smuggler ship, we're going to get out on the open waters. Are you ready? Put on your life jacket. His name is Jesus. Here now is the testimony of that captain.

I was the captain of a smuggling boat. At dawn, we discovered a Coast Guard boat in the distance. The Coast Guard was still a long way off and we soon saw her turning toward us. We couldn't possibly get away.

We all knew what would happen if we were caught. Not only would the boat and cargo be confiscated, but we'd all be sent to prison. There was dead silence while we stared at each other in dismay. The Coast Guard was coming up fast behind us.

Suddenly, I thought of a way out. Hastily, we rigged a screen at the stern to hide our deck. Then I set the man in a line to hand up the cargo and pitch it overboard. We worked fast. Nothing was heard but the splash of the cargo dropping into the sea.

The hold was empty and fast. We'd soon be finished. I saw the ship's buoy was exhausted, so I sent him to see if the Coast Guard was very far off. In a minute, he came rushing back gasping, it won't sink.

I ran to the stern of the ship. The sun was just rising behind us and there, in that long line of light, were the packages of cargo bobbing up and down in our wake. The first package in the line had just reached the oncoming Coast Guard boat.

Helplessly, we stood and stared. The proof of our guilt was there for all to see. In our ears rang, it won't sink. In prison, from time to time I would resolve to correct my ways. But resolving is one thing, doing is another.

Resolutions Cannot Remove Past Sin

As soon as we were free, I went back to smuggling. A few years later, I went out in a boat at night. It was New Year's Eve and, in spite of myself, I began to review my life. I saw myself as a child, saying my prayers.

I heard my mother tell me of one who came down from heaven to bring life to the world. The more I thought, the more horrified I was. God had created me and I had lived and was still living as though there was no God at all.

The Captain's Attempt at Self-Reformation

I got on my knees and prayed that God would help me. I would be another man. I wouldn't touch a drop of liquor. I made many more resolutions about what I would do and what I wouldn't. And I began to feel very good about myself.

On further reflection, I saw that there were a lot more things I ought to clean up. I must throw overboard everything that didn't belong. My life was to be completely changed. My resolutions were getting more serious.

My heart grew lighter. And I was happy in the thought that I had become a new man. Having made this decision, it seemed as if everything was in perfect order. I was ready to go back to land when suddenly the moon broke through the clouds and shone across the water to my boat.

The Cargo of Guilt Cannot Be Drowned

The memory of that morning when chased by the Coast Guard. I had to cast the cargo into the sea. It came over me with overwhelming power. I heard the cry, it won't sink. How blind I was. I had tried to lighten the ship by casting the cargo overboard.

And there it was, all floating behind me like an accusing line, stretching up to the throne of God. All that I had done, said, or thought was there before God. And it wouldn't sink, a fool that I was.

I thought I could drown all my wickedness without a thought of holiness of God. If I'd been able from that moment on to do only good, it wouldn't have changed the evil done in the past. What good was it to be forming good resolutions for the future when the past couldn't be hidden?

Christ's Blood and the Forgiveness of Sin

Tears filled my eyes. I was hopelessly lost. Then I remembered something. Hadn't I been told about Jesus, the savior of sinners? Hadn't he died on the cross for me? And if I turned to him now, wouldn't his precious blood wash away my many sins?

Wasn't there grace and mercy even for me? All at once, everything was clear. Yes, the Lord Jesus had died for me. He had borne the punishment of all my sins. And if I accepted that, they would all be cast into the depths of the sea.

Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more came to my mind. I was filled with joy, entirely relieved of my burden. I turned my boat toward shore, a new man. I had gone out a lost sinner, but I was coming back redeemed by the Lord.

Cleansed by the Blood of Jesus Christ

New now, the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin.