Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the Gospel according to John,
chapter 15, reading from our text, verse 3. verse 3. Now ye are clean through
the word which I have spoken unto you. John chapter 15 and
verse 3. The words of our text come in
the middle or towards the beginning of the parable of the tree, of
the vine, Our Lord is using this illustration of the union between
himself and his people and that all of the strength, the sap,
the life that his people have, that it comes forth from himself. The same as the branch, the sap
comes from the plant to each branch. If that branch is cut
off, it is no longer receiving the nutrients, it's no longer
receiving strength from the root. It will wither, it will die. Also, the illustration is of
where the plant needs to be pruned. There are some branches that
don't bear fruit. There are some branches that
are already dead. And we know that where a plant
is good, if that dead wood, if that unfruitful wood is not cut
away and taken away, then the plant will not flourish, that
those other good branches won't bring forth good fruit, it needs
to be pruned. And so this is the illustration
that is before us. But lest our minds just go to
the literal picture of the vine and of the work on that vine
by the husbandman. And may we remember the teaching
here that the Lord is the husbandman. He is dressing it. He is caring
for it. He is looking after the fruitfulness
of it. unless we just look at this illustration
and fail to apply it, fail to think, well, how does the Lord
do this in our case and in the Church of God? How is that union
brought about? How is that abiding in Christ? How is that maintained? So the
Lord is very clear, and this runs through many places in John. We think of in John chapter 6,
the Lord is using the illustration of eating his flesh, drinking
his blood, except you eat my flesh, except you drink my blood,
you have no life in you. Many they stumbled at it, they
went back, they walked no more with them, they said this isn't
hard saying. But then later on the Lord clarifies
it and makes it clear how that is so for His people. And He
says, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and
they are life. And so it is here. in this passage
as well. We are brought from the illustration,
not here of eating his flesh, drinking his blood, but from
the illustration of the vine and the branches, and we are
brought back to the Word of God. We have later on in verse 11,
these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain
in you and that your joy might be full. in other words he's
given them his word he's spoken to them his word and we have
then in the words of our text now you are clean through the
word which i have spoken unto you and it might seem strange
as we read this the first two verses they speak of the vine
and the branches and then suddenly the lord introduces this text
this verse and it doesn't seem to to quite fit it seems to be
a misfit in the in the vine and in the teaching here but it's
not because it's directing that the husbandman is using the word
he's using the preaching he's using his written word the word
that he's spoken where our commission is preach the word and the lord
says Now ye are clean through the word that I have spoken unto
you." So all the teaching, the application of this parable,
we may bring it to what the Lord is doing through His word. He will say to His church, if
you abide in Me, you'll abide in My doctrine, in My teaching,
in My instruction. You'll abide in the faith of
Jesus Christ. You won't go away from that.
You won't do what the Jews did and add to the Word of God traditions
and make the Word of God of none effect by your traditions, or
like the Roman Catholic Church that added to the Word of God
their traditions, put them on equal standing. No, if we abide
in the Lord, We abide in His doctrine, in His teaching, in
His word, in His way, that we are not led astray. How easy
it is today to be led astray, and sometimes it is tragic where
the leading astray is in a religious way. Someone will say, well we
have greater light upon the Word than has been before us, we know
more than the Reformers, we know more than the Confessions, the
1689 and all of the creeds of the early church, we know more
than them. It's great pride and arrogancy
to say that and yet in every generation there's been those
that raise up and they have many followers after them they and
today with with the internet you have access to all sorts
of countries and there are poor pastors trying to pastor their
flocks and they have their own people come to them and they
say oh you you're not preaching right and you're not saying the
right things and they said well why not where's the word of god
or not no it's this preacher over in america he's telling
us this and this and this and he has great light upon the word
and and the poor pastor he His efforts at trying to come to
the word has been combated all the time because his hearers
have got their ear open, not to their pastor, not to the word
of God, but to some wolf in sheep's clothing the other side of the
world that's leading them astray. And that is the solemn thing,
it's a tragic thing. But we've had it, we've had it
over in our land for years with those that will come and have
greater light and who testify that they have understanding,
and people, they're held in admiration. because of the Word. They say
that we've got greater knowledge, greater understanding, or we've
got a degree in theology, and they lead souls away. Well, it's
a blessed thing to be a simple soul, a soul that cleaves to
the Word of God, a soul that tests everything by the Word
of God, also a soul that is not led to extremes, to radical,
to different things. really in many things, not only
in theology, but you can think if I'm going away from a mainstream
thinking, then it's invariably something dressed up of the adversary
to separate between brethren, between families, and to alienate. And you say, well, isn't the
true faith of God very narrow? Yes, it is. And we find it more
and more that those that truly fear the Lord are in the minority
in the land but we praise God that though we are in the minority
we can look back to the reformers, the confessions, the early church,
and we know that we are in alignment with them in the Word of God,
and we come into the Word of God not picking and choosing
what we shall hear and what we shall follow. The whole religion
of today is really a social religion that just picks some words of
the Lord and follows them. know we've had over here in England
the most solemn bills the last week passed the ability for a
woman to legally have an abortion right up to term and not be held
criminally responsible, and parliamentarians have voted in favour of that.
And then on the other side, the assisted dying suicide bill,
that again passed, very close, 23 votes, but that's still got
to go to House of Lords. But again, those with supposedly
just six months to live, and whatever age they are, just to
be able to take their own life, while others assisted. And we mourn that there's been
so little said in our parliaments of the Word of God. One of the
Northern Ireland MPs did clearly say, the House, you know my faith,
you know what I believe, you know I cannot support this bill,
but I'll argue it on the way of the House. And yet, the other
day it came to my attention, there's 170 so-called Christians
in our Parliament, and they hold a yearly prayer breakfast, and
they have the speakers there, and they have members of their
churches from their constituents come in, and you think, how can
this be? One of the speakers, and a lot
of the things that they say seems very upright, but one of the
speakers said, of course, we don't want to go down the fundamentalist
line of the Northern Ireland, and I thought, yeah. You have
just picked socially acceptable teaching, and that's what you
follow, and you do not bring the Word of God to address those
very points that have been challenged. And so that is where we need
to stand, upon the Word of God, and that is where the Lord will
deal with His people in cleansing them from that sort of thought
and teaching, and bring them to the word. The Lord has said
in this passage that we read, if they have persecuted me, they
will persecute you. And in chapter 17, he says, I
have given them thy word and the world hath hated them. The
only thing that needs to make the world hate us is to bring
faithfully the word of God before them. And so the Lord is a faithful
husbandman, he is a faithful instructor and teacher of his
people, and he'll use his word as a sharp two-edged sword, he'll
use it as a pruning knife, and he'll use it to cleanse his church
and to purge his church so it brings forth more fruit. Well,
this word that we have as our text, now ye are clean through
the word which I have spoken unto you. I want to look at it
in three ways and thinking of it first as applying to the disciples
here that he is speaking to. Here's 12 or 11 here and look
at firstly how it is and goes back to Leviticus, a
teaching in Leviticus. And then we have, secondly, concerning
the purging amongst their own number, and thinking specifically
of Judas. And then lastly, apply in our
Gospel day, apply it to us as today. But firstly, In Leviticus,
our text says, now ye are clean through the word which I have
spoken unto you. In Leviticus chapter 19, the
Lord gives direction to the children of Israel when they come into
Canaan, when they plant trees, fruitful trees, that what they
should do with those trees. In Leviticus 19 verse 23 and
24, When ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted
all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit
thereof as uncircumcised. Three years shall it be as uncircumcised
unto you, it shall not be eaten. That is, it is unclean fruit.
But in the fourth year, all the fruit thereof shall be holy to
praise the Lord with all. And so we think of the disciples
here as applying to them. The Lord is coming to the time
when He is to be crucified and slain. They have been with Him
for three years. They have been hearing His Word
for three years. So when the Lord says, Now ye
are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you, and then
it's in the middle of this parable of a fruitful tree, We cannot
but think of the law given there in Leviticus, that as thy being
brought to be a follower of the Lord. that they have been learning,
they've been seeing Him, they've been listening to His Word, He's
been instructing them many things that they've thought wrong. When
the Samaritans wouldn't receive Him, shall we call down fire
from heaven? Ye know not what spirit ye are
of. The Son of Man came not to destroy
men's lives, but to save them. And they've been instructing
in this way. We read concerning the ministry,
those for the ministry, not a novice lest he be lifted up in pride. And there is a proving, lay hand
suddenly on no man. And the Lord, when He calls His
people, He instructs them and teaches them. And we ought to
always remember this. When a soul is first quickened
and called by grace, there are many things in their lives that
even though they believe, they're seeking they want to
know the things of the Lord there's many things that are still not
right there's many idols there's many practices there's things
they still like to do and and and cleave on to they don't really
want to leave them, they might feel, well, I really should stop
doing this, it's not good, and then part of them says, yeah,
but I like it, I enjoy it, and it's not inherently sinful, but
it is wearing away my faith, it really is part of the world,
and there's a real battle going on in that way and sometimes
those that are old in the way they forget this they think that
the Lord when he calls that they'll automatically be doing everything
right they can make a man a woman offender for a word or be over
critical when really given time under the word of God And the
Lord will teach, line upon line, here a little, there a little,
they shall all be taught of God. They shan't be forced into a
mould, as if they've got to conform in every way, and that that will
then, when they look right, speak right, that then they're a Christian.
No! It's when the Lord is working
their hearts, and teaching them why, instructing them through
the Word of God. And this is what the disciples
had been through. Three years of it. And there's other scriptures
that support this as well. With our ministers over here,
they preach for three years when they're sent out, before they're
then put on the gospel standard list. It's a scriptural principle. Leave it three years. Things
that need to be addressed, things that need to be proved and tried,
then the three years. It's a good principle. And this
is what is set forth here. Now, now after these three years
of teaching and instruction, now you're clean. How are you
clean? Through the Word. which I have spoken unto you,
right from the beginning to now." So that's the first application
of that, and may we really value ourselves when we're brought
to be a follower like the disciples here, a follower of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and realize that it is the Lord that is cleansing
us, shaping us, making us to be what he'd have us to be, to
bring forth fruit through the word that he is speaking. And
think of this three years. Secondly then, applying to the
disciples here, they'd had in their midst, in those twelve
disciples, they'd had one that was Judas Iscariot. the one that should betray the
Lord one that was not one of the Lord's people and we go back
a couple of chapters go back to John chapter 13 Then we have the Lord speaking
of this. This is before the Feast of the
Passover. This is when he washed their
feet. But we read in John 13 verse
10 and 11 when Peter, he didn't want to be washed. Thou shalt never wash my feet.
And the Lord has said, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with
me. Then Peter says, Not my feet only, but also my hands and my
head. But then Jesus saith to him,
He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is
clean every whit. And ye are clean, but not all. Ye are clean, but not all then
we read this for he knew who should betray him therefore said
he ye are not all clean so he is viewing the twelve and he's
viewing one of them judas as unclean as not one of his people
has not truly saved, has not sanctified, and he views them,
views him as unclean in their midst, or going back to the parable
of the vine, a branch in that vine was not a living one. It was one that needed to be
cut out. And later in John 13, if we go
to verse 27 and 30, After the sop, Satan entered into him,
that is, into Judas Iscariot, then said Jesus unto him, That
thou doest do quickly. Jesus had charged him and sent
him out as it were and we read in verse 30 he then having received
the sob went immediately out and it was night So in the words
of our text, where the Lord says, Now ye are clean through the
word that I have spoken unto you, He had expelled Judas from
their midst. Those that were left, they were
clean. And we have this as well, warnings
in Jude, we have warnings in the letters, the seven letters
to the churches in Asia, where they had amongst their membership
those that held error, those that taught error, those that
were not clean. And part of the purging, part
of the purging was that the Lord would purge them out. Now do
remember that how the Lord does it here and how he sets forth,
he does it through the Word of God. Where the Word of God is
lifted up in any church, in any assembly, then it will soon find
out those who truly are the Lord shall humble themselves before
the Word, and those that are not. It is the Word that is the
standard. Remember when Satan himself came
to the Lord, tempting Him? The Lord reproved him through
the word. It is written, Man shall not
live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God. Then Satan started to use the
word as well. Brought the Lord to the top of
the temple, cast thyself down. It is written that his angels
shall bear thee up in their arms, lest thou dash thy foot against
a stone. But then the Lord compared it
with Scripture. It is written again, Thou shalt
not tempt the Lord thy God. So there's a comparing Scripture
with Scripture. And this is what I said about
the solemn case of those in our parliaments. It's an easy thing
to take words of Scripture and to really use it as a reason
for doing anything. As long as you pick and choose,
you can just change it to suit what you want. But if you compare
scripture with scripture, if you get the meaning of the scripture,
We read that the Scriptures are of no private interpretation. We're not just to take, and sometimes
we can make this mistake in the ministry, we can take a text
that seems a nice text and we can build the whole sermon upon
it, but if you look at it in the context, you say, God never
meant that in that passage. It doesn't stand up to that interpretation
at all. sometimes we might give that
literal interpretation and then bring as it applies in another
situation but not to ignore what is actually in it if we sent
a letter to someone and they received that letter and instead
of reading it from beginning to end and working out what we
were actually saying in it what we were conveying to them they
chose to take out one paragraph one sentence in the middle And
then they'd completely distort what was actually being said.
And we need to be very careful with that, with the Word of God.
And so it is, if there's to be a purging out and a separating
where there is error, it will always be done through the Word
of God. there's one very interesting
text that says there must needs be heresies among you that is
not just things that are not a difference of no real consequence
but absolute vital truths which are twisted that's an error that
there are fatal errors really the errors that concern our Lord's
sacred humanity, the Trinity, they are vital things to believe
and understand concerning our Lord. The Holy Spirit does not
lead one to understand wrongly concerning himself. But the Scripture says there
must needs be You say, why? Why should the Lord put those
among us that should bring in heresies, that they that are
approved among you might be made manifest? And how many times
it might be an error comes into a church, maybe the pastor, maybe
the deacon even. They're silent. They don't recognize
it. They don't realize it. But someone
who's been perhaps despised, overlooked, they come and they
speak the Word. They cannot keep silence. They're
like Elihu, perhaps, who's listened to all of Job's friends, and
they're arguing, and they're arguing wrongly. And he thinks,
they're older than me, I'll hold my peace. He holds his peace,
and then at last he speaks, and he brings the Word of God. And
that's why there's errors. We should never think, it's not
that you should despise pastors or treat with no respect deacons,
but if they don't see a thing, and it may be you came to humbly
set forth from the Word, not quoting some other philosopher
or preacher on the internet or somewhere else, but what the
Lord has shown you, what the Lord has made precious to you,
and where that is so vital for your soul, and you set those
things before the people. No, Alice Robinson was one of
those simple souls. She knew the truth and she could,
when need be, she could set it forth so simply as many instances
and I used to bless God for her. Simple souls is a hymn writer
of sharpest eyes learn to walk the best. They're cleaving to
the Word. Mary, who sat at the feet of
the Lord Jesus Christ, I believe she understood the coming sacrifice,
the coming sufferings of our Lord, much better than even the
disciples. She sat at His feet, heard His
Word. And so, there is to be a purging
in the Church of God. And this Word, now ye are clean
through the Word which I have spoken unto you, you picture
these 12 disciples, one has been removed, one whom the Lord says,
ye are not all clean. And now he says, ye are clean,
because that one has been removed. So in this pruning in the vine,
it will also play out in the actual church of God, that there'll
be members and those amongst them that are not really one
of them. And that through the word, being faithfully set forth,
but then they separate. Like those in John 6, it isn't
hard saying who can hear it, they went back, they walk no
more. Our charge is to be faithful, whether we're ministers or whether
we're a humble believer. It will be well done thou good
and faithful servant, not popular or one that has filled the church
with souls. And not to make divisions where
there shouldn't be divisions, but where in the essential things,
then we are to be with brethren and to walk with them as much
as we can. I want to apply this in our third
point to a Gospel Dame. In Isaiah 64, we read of what
we actually are. And I believe many of us, we
know and we feel this. We read in the sixth verse, but
we are all as an unclean thing. And all our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags. We all do fade as a leaf and
our iniquities like the wind. have taken us away. There is none that calleth upon
thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee. Thou hast
hid thy face from us, thou hast consumed us because of our iniquities."
A sense of that sinnership. Unclean, unclean. That's what
the leper had to cry out. Then the people of God, one thing
that the Lord shows them, reveals to them, is that they have need
of cleansing. They have need of purging. Every
son whom he receiveth, he chasteneth, he correcteth. Every one shall
be taught of the Lord. But every one of God's people
feel very much in their hearts as the Spirit shines there and
shows the dark recesses of the mind, the thoughts, the intents
of the heart, affections, wiles as the hymn writer by sin defiled
oft carry me away. They feel to be unclean. the need to be washed, the need
to be sanctified. God is a holy, holy, holy God. You know, if we were suddenly
called to come and stand before an earthly king, I think one
thing that we'd look to, are we clean? Are our clothes clean?
Are we clean? If we'd come out of the field,
what condition are we in? You know, one of our dear brethren,
several years ago, told me how that he'd been waiting and waiting
for a doctor's appointment, and he's working on his tractor,
he's a farmer, he's all dirty with dirty clothes, and he's
on his tractor, he got a phone call, we've got a vacancy, we've
got, you can come to the doctors now. And he said, but I'm on
my tractor, I'm all dirty, I'm all in my unclean clothes and
the doctor he said just come as you are and his brother he
said what an illustration just come as you are don't go back
home get a shower get dressed you'll miss your appointment
you just come with all your filthiness but though we may come in that
way And may it be so, however much sinful we feel, we still
venture, we still come, we still would come, but come with the
desire, Lord, Thou canst make me clean. Don't let the thought
be, well, let me make myself clean first. Let me do the work,
and then I'll come. No, we come as we are, and it
is the Lord that makes His people clean. And may we remember that
looking upon others as well when they come. Pray that the Lord
would do that work and the Lord through the word will make them
clean. But may be an encouragement to
you that And you might say, well, we've been in the way many years,
but I still feel my wicked heart. I still feel my evil affections. I still feel what I am by nature,
a wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? Well, here is the word, the Lord
speaking of how he cleanses his people. He brings them to the
Word. He opens their ear. He teaches
them. He instructs them. So be encouraged,
those of you who feel your need of cleansing. All this Word and
all the Lord exalted in cleansing will mean nothing unless we really
feel the need of Him. But then secondly, under this
head, We are to understand that cleansing through the doctrine
of the Lord, what the Lord has done at Calvary. Now ye are clean
through the word which I have spoken unto you. have set forth
the Lord Jesus Christ suffering in our place that he has put
away our sin those defiling sins those black sins those evil sins
he's as far as the east is from the west so far hath he removed
our transgressions from us those transgressions that make us unclean
those that make us to to tremble remember not against me the sins
of my youth. Past offences, says the hemrider,
pain my eyes, but we understand through the word of God, that
a believer, one that trusts in the Lord, one whom he has quickened,
that upon Calvary's tree the Lord hath blotted out our transgressions,
that he has cleansed us and washed us. Now in the Old Testament
it's very easy to become unclean, And there are ceremonial ways
of being made clean. And we know then that we can
have knowledge by the Lord of teaching us what He has done.
It is faith that believes though the malady we feel, feel it's
still there. But in God's sight, we are clean.
It's like the Song of Solomon. It says, I am black, but comely. I am black in myself, but comely. God has taken away my sin. He's taken away my own righteousness. He's given me his righteousness,
which is spotless, which is white. which enables me to stand faultless
before his throne. So that is another way that we
are clean through the word when the Lord gives us faith to view
what he has done for us at Calvary. But then there is the cleansing
through being called, through regeneration, We read of this
when Paul writes to Titus in Titus chapter 3 and verse 5. He says there of the washing
of regeneration. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, But according to His mercy He saved us by the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being
justified by His grace we should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life. The new birth is that cleansing,
that washing, is what the Lord does for his dear people, separating
them from the world, uniting them to the living vine, causing
them to hear his word. And it is in that way you are
clean through the word, brought to pure, true doctrine, true
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, in his righteousness alone. Then there is the sanctifying
and there's a beautiful word in Ephesians 5 and it is using
the type of marriage and the great mystery of Christ and the
church and we read there in Ephesians 5 that the Lord should take the
church like as husbands love your wives even as Christ also
loved the church gave himself for it that's what he has done
at Calvary but then there's the sanctifying that he might present
it to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish this
is what the Lord should do sanctifying cleansing washing And it is through
the Word of God that that is done, that he might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. And this then is exactly what
the Lord has said, now you are clean through the Word. It's
one reason for the ministry, is to be sanctified, set apart,
cleansed by the Word of God. We think of what the Lord has
said, also in the 17th chapter of John, in verse 17, He says
there, Again, it's the same teaching. The Word of God is what is washing,
cleansing, renewing us. Peter, in his first epistle,
he comes with the same teaching as well. The first chapter of
the first epistle, seeing you have purified your souls in obeying
the truth, through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren,
see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth
and abideth for ever." And he says, "...the Word of the Lord
endureth for ever, and this is the Word which by the Gospel
is preached unto you." Made very, very clear. When the Lord is
saying, Hear, now ye are clean through the Word which I have
spoken unto you, His Speaking of what is to be the gospel,
the preached word of God, this is the word which is preached
unto you. And Paul takes it up in Romans
10 as well. The word is nigh unto thee, even
the word that we preach. Bless the Lord for the ministry,
for His Word, for what He does with it, how He uses it. Those
times that we might hear the Word and we go away and we stop
doing what we have been doing because we see it's wrong, or
we start doing what we should do because we see it's right,
and sometimes we may not even perceive the effect that the
Word of God is having upon us, washing of water, just gradually,
gradually washing, cleansing, sanctifying, setting apart. This is why we're not to forsake
the assembling of ourselves together. This is the meaning of cleaving
to the Lord, abiding in Him, abiding in His Word, and that
Word is the living word, the eternal word. Our Lord Jesus
Christ, he came as that word made flesh and dwelling among
us to shed his precious blood, to redeem his people and then
send forth his word, go ye into all the world, preach the gospel
to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised
shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned. And it is
the preaching of the cross, the preaching of what the Lord Jesus
Christ has done and really what he is doing and will do with
his people as the living vine, through his word he is cleansing
his church. He's teaching them, instructing
them, purging them, blessing them. This is the Lord's work. It's His church. He is the husbandman. It's His word. And it's His word
that we bring. That is manner to ourselves,
food, but also in the context here is that which cleanses us
and washes us. May the Lord grant us to know
these effects through the word of God. and be encouragement
and help to us as we pray before the services, as we seek the
application and blessing upon the Word, that we might know
that it has had that effect upon us as well. Now ye are clean
through the Word which I have spoken unto you. Amen.