Wash Me, Savior, or I Die
An excerpt from Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
Matthew 5:6
Have you ever seen the finish to a marathon? Many of the athletes collapse across the finish line because they are exhausted—every ounce of their energy is spent. As we say, they have nothing left in the tank.
That is precisely how we feel when we understand God’s law. It requires us to do something we cannot do (Romans 7:18–20). It places demands upon us that we cannot fulfill. The burden exhausts us. As we begin to feel our spiritual poverty, we look away from ourselves to Christ, longing for him and his merit. We hunger and thirst after a righteousness that is not our own—the righteousness of God “apart from the law” (Romans 3:21).
As we make our way through the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1–11), we see that our relationship with God is rooted in a proper self-assessment. We see our sin as God sees it, and we understand that it springs from our hearts’ departure from him. Sin is arrogance against God’s sovereignty, rebellion against his power, unrighteousness against his justice, ignorance against his wisdom, stubbornness against his will, and ingratitude against his kindness. Sin is hatred against God’s love and murder against God’s being.
When we see our sin in this way, we are compelled to cry with David, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). Thankfully, our awareness of our sinfulness does not paralyze us. Remembering that forgiveness is God’s nature, we turn to him.
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast
love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.
Exodus 34:6–7
Because forgiveness is God’s nature, we do not need to coax him or convince him to forgive. When Christ shed his blood on the cross, he paid the penalty for our sin. God’s offended justice was fully satisfied by Christ’s sacrifice under divine judgment righteously due to us. That is all the motivation we need to sing:
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling.
Naked, come to thee for dress,
Helpless, look to thee for grace.
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die!
—Augustus Toplady, “Rock of Ages”
Meet the author:
J. Stephen Yuille
Dr. Stephen Yuille is a Content Director and Editor at Reformation Heritage Books and a Professor of Church History and Spiritual Formation at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has over thirty years of ministry experience and is currently the preaching pastor at Fairview Covenant Church in Granbury, Texas. He has published an extensive list of academic articles and books in Puritan studies. He has also published several popular works in biblical studies.
