Shadow Hills Conference: 1989, Restoration (1:9)
Address—C. Hendricks
First Epistle of John. Chapter 1. Verse 9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Chapter 2. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man's sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only. But also for the whole world. He says in the first verse of that second chapter, by little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. What things was it? Were it? What things did he write to them? Well, in that first chapter he talks about. That which was from the beginning which we have heard is referring to Christ, Christ as He was down here as a man in this scene which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, and which we have looked upon, contemplated, which our hands have handled, of the word of life. For the life was manifested, he says, and we have seen it. And bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life that was with the Father. And was manifested unto us. It's referring to the person of the son. Come down in flesh. That which was from the beginning in the Gospel of John, it begins with an expression. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. In the beginning, refers to the dateless past. There he was. When anything that has a beginning began, the Word was in the beginning was the Word. It's the eternity of His being that's before us in John's gospel. And then in the 14th verse of that same gospel, we read, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glorious of an only begotten, with a Father full of grace and truth. The Word became flesh, and that's where John's epistle begins. The expression that which was from the beginning refers to him become flesh, a man down here. How do we know that? Because it says which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon in our hands, have handled of the word of life. Wonderful to realize that the life which has been communicated to you and to me as believers in Christ. Was manifested that eternal life that was with the Father from all eternity. Was manifested in a man down here the word become flesh. Manifested to what end? That it might be also communicated to us? He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath not life. And he says in that 5th chapter of this epistle, These things I write unto you, who believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. The knowledge of it, the possession of it. And the manifestation of it in the person of Christ is what he brings before us. And then he goes on to say. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us. With the apostles and truly our fellowship is with the Father. And with his Son, Jesus Christ, so we're brought into that same fellowship, fellowship with the Father and the Son by community of life and nature. That same life that was manifested in that blessed man, the eternal Son down here in flesh, has now been communicated to you and me, that we might have fellowship with the Father and the Son. That we we might have thoughts in common with the Father about the Son. And thoughts in common with the Son concerning the Father. And he says these things rightly unto you, that your joy may be full. Fullness of joy consists in fellowship with the Father and the Son. And in order to being brought into that, we must receive the same life in nature, that same life which was manifested in all its perfection and fullness.
In him. As a man in this scene. And I believe that's why he says in the second chapter. Little children. These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. That is, that there be no break in that communion, in that fellowship. It's the most precious. The thing that we have fellowship with the father and with the son, communion, the enjoyment of himself. He's taken us into his confidence. He's brought us near. We saw that when we were considering the subject. Large day, afternoon of reconciliation. He's brought us even as near as his own son. Brought us into favor. Taken us into favor in the beloved. Graced us in the beloved, made us the objects of his favor in the beloved, brought us that near and. He writes this that we sin not. That there be no interruption to that sweet fellowship with himself and us. That's why he's reconciled this to himself. He says, Come near unto me, and he's brought us near. He's removed all that distance. We were occupied with that and that wonderful subject of reconciliation. And I'd like to take up tonight the subject of restoring grace. Saving grace Most wonderful to think about. How He's brought us to Himself. It's all grace. Whether it's saving grace or restoring grace, it's all grace from beginning to end of the Christian pathway. If any man sin. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Notice it doesn't say if we sin we have an advocate with the Father. Why doesn't it say it that way? Because. That would give rise to the thought that the Christian must inevitably sin. We all sin. But it doesn't put it that way. It says if any man sinned, the exceptional case. And it doesn't say if any man's sin, he has an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. That would give rise to the thought that the advocacy of Christ begins to function and to operate for the one who sins when he sins. That isn't the thought of scripture either. The Lord told Peter that he would deny him. Peter said he wouldn't. He would die with it for him, but not deny him. And the Lord also said to Peter, But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. You're going to fail, you're going to deny me, but your faith won't fail. So he prayed for Peter before he failed. Before he sinned, before he denied him. And so the wonderful truth that we gather here in first John 2 is, if any man sin the exceptional case, not looking at upon it as though it's necessary for the Christian to fail, that we all must fail, because after all, we're just sinners. And therefore we all must fail. We all have the flesh, we all have the old nature. And that's true. But to say that the Christian must sin is a denial of Christianity. To say that none of us say that we have attained to a point of perfection where we. Don't ever sin would be a denial of our true state. In our true condition, we know that we do fail, but it's put here. So that we can't. Have a scripture to justify sinning if any man sinned. The exceptional case we the whole Christian community has an advocate with the Father at all times. Whether one is sinning or whether 1 is going on in communion. He's there in the Father's presence as our advocate, as our high priest, and as our advocate. He's there ever living to intercede for us. We saw in that verse in Romans 5. God has reconciled us to himself by the death of his Son. Much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. That is, we shall be brought through all this wilderness, seen through which we're passing by the power of that life of intercession.
At the right hand of God, and we can view him living there as our High priest with God. Bringing us through the difficulties of the way, suckering us, sympathizing with us. And then if anyone's sin is there with the Father, is our advocate, John 13 there to wash our feet, to remove the defilements of the way, the defilements that we may pick up. As we go through this world. And so communion may be interrupted. But he writes these things that we do not sin. And then he says the exceptional case, if anyone's sin, we have an advocate. We the whole Christian company. He's there right now at this moment as our advocate with the Father. He's been there ever since he entered the glory as our advocate with the Father. You remember in John 13 it says he rises from supper and he girded himself. And. Took a basin and began to wash the disciples feet with the towel, wherewith he was girded. A girded Savior is a serving Savior. So having finished the work of redemption on the cross, he enters the glory, and He now enters upon a new work, the work of interceding for His redeemed people, the work of priesthood, and the work of advocacy to bring us through all the difficulties of the way, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Well, that's a wonderful truth. We shall be saved by his life. He lives there in the presence of God for us. And so the truth is, if anyone sinned, we. Have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Here was one who never sinned. Here was one who never failed. He was the righteous one. If anyone sin, we have allowed the flesh. We have allowed indulge that which is displeasing to Him. Communion has been interrupted and we need to be restored. How does He restore us? Well, He uses the Word. God and it says in that first chapter. If we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And to cleanse us. From all unrighteousness. If we confess our sins, it doesn't say. I don't believe you'll ever find this supported in Scripture that we're told to ask for forgiveness. We're told to confess our sins, to name it before God, to judge ourselves. You can't really confess evil that we've done if we don't name it before the Lord. I've had my boy come to me and say, Daddy, I'm sorry for what I did. Please forgive me. Well, what did you do, son? Well, I'm sorry that I did it. Well, what did you do? And it's very hard to get him to name it, very hard to get him to confess the sin. And so it is with us. But that's the way of cleansing. And confession is good for the soul. I believe that's one of the reasons that we are so weak collectively. Is because this confession is not practiced according to scripture. James says confess your false one to another that she may be healed. And here, if we confess our sins, if we acknowledge that we have failed, I have failed, I have sinned, I have done thus and so. And it had to be named. It had to be named. Remember when Aiken took of the accursed thing, Joshua asked him what did he do, and he named it. He named it. Well, judgment fell upon him then. But here there's something else. If we confess our sins, we have the promise. It doesn't say He's merciful and gracious to forgive us our sins, but He's faithful and just. Faithful to whom? To the Lord Jesus, who is the propitiation for our sins. Faithful to the one who has borne our sins. Faithful and just to forgive. It's based upon the work that Christ did. God is faithful. God is just in the act of forgiving the soul that comes to Him in confession.
But something else happens. A marvelous thing happens to the soul that confesses. He doesn't just get forgiveness, but he also receives cleansing. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, the very state that we fell into that led to the sin gets cleansed. And so we come out. We come out. In in a suited state of soul to enjoy fellowship with himself once again. We have that beautifully brought before us in Numbers Chapter 19. Please turn back. To numbers 19. The ordinance of the red heifer. We have details in this. Chapter in numbers that you don't get in the New Testament. Wonderful instruction. For the restoration of a soul. The Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord had commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring the red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke. That, of course, presents to us the Lord Jesus, a type of Christ. We don't find the red heifer in the Levitical offerings. Here we have a sacrifice. We have an offering, a sin offering. It was the red heifer that appears in the book that deals with the wilderness journeyings of the children of Israel. This is the Wilderness book. In every one of the first four books of Moses, you have the sent. You have a central chapter. That deals with the death of Christ in Genesis. It's the 22nd chapter Abraham offered Isaac. And there you get the love of the father for the son, and giving his son. As a sacrifice in Exodus, the central chapter theme is Exodus 12, the Passover lamb, the shedding of blood. Again, a picture of Christ in death. When I see the blood, I will Passover you, the blood of Christ, screening us from the judgment of God, executed upon the land of Egypt. In Leviticus, it's the 16th chapter, the great Day of Atonement, when the high priest once a year entered into the holy of Holies and sprinkled before and on the throne that precious blood to sustain Israel, to keep them in relationship with himself, to maintain them in that position. Of being his children. His people. And here now in numbers, we have the central chapter, Chapter 19. Where you have the red heifer, the picture of the death of Christ. To maintain and restore communion once it has been broken. Children of Israel, as they pass through the wilderness, were in danger of contacting death in one form or another and to touch a dead body. Wages of sin is death. Death is a picture of sins. Wages of sin in its activity and in its result. And to touch death, to touch a dead body, was to become defiled. And what happened to the defiled soul? Well, if you turn back to Numbers 5 just for a verse or two. Numbers Chapter 5 before we read on. It says the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp. Every leper, and everyone that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead. Well, the leper is dealt with in Leviticus 13 and 14, the one with the running issue is dealt with in Leviticus 15, and the one that is defiled by the dead is dealt with in Numbers 19 that we're reading tonight. Both male and female shall be put out without the camp. Should he put them that they defile, not their camps in the midst whereof I dwell. And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp. As the Lord spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel. And so the one who touched death was put outside the camp for seven days with the lepers and with the ones with the running issue. They were not suited, They were not suited for being in the camp. They were defiled and said that they were put outside. And here you have this red heifer, this sin offering, and it's spoken of in verse two of our chapter 19. Without spot, wherein is no blemish never came yoke. The Lord was that spotless, that unblemished sacrifice, that perfect one, that holy one, that sinless 1.
No sin upon him, no sin in him. And it says Upon which never came yoke. He never knew the yoke of sin. He never knew what it was to serve sin. He said He that committeth sin is the servant of sin. But he never had that yoke. We've all had it. We've all been delivered from it, every one of us who was saved by His matchless grace. But here was one, this red heifer, this sin offering that was offered, and it had to be perfect to represent Him. And ye shall give her unto Eliezer the priest, that he may bring her forth. Without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face. An illies of the priest shall take of her blood with his finger. And sprinkle of her blood directly before the Tabernacle of the congregation 7 times. Notice in verse 4 you have the blood shed and sprinkled in a specific place different from the the sprinkling of the blood in Leviticus where it was connected usually with the altar and connected with the mercy seat. Here it's sprinkled in the place that speaks of communion turn. Exodus 29, please. Exodus 29. Verse 40. 42. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak there unto thee and there. I will meet with the children of Israel, and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. And that's exactly where this blood of the red heifer was sprinkled. Verse 4 again of our chapter. Iliasa, the priest shall take of her blood with his finger and sprinkle of her blood directly before the Tabernacle of the congregation 7 times. That was the place of communion. It was the place where God was to meet with the people and to speak with them. And it was sprinkled 7 times as a testimony to the perfect title that Israel had to have communion with the Lord. In the place of communion. So here we have the title for Communion, the title and the basis for fellowship. With the Lord is the sevenfold sprinkling of the blood of the red heifer. Then in verse 5 it says, And one shall burn the heifer in his sight. Her skin and her flesh and her blood. With her dung shall he burn. What does that speak of? Well, the sin offering was charged with the sins of the people. The priest laid his hand upon the sin offering and transferred figuratively the sins of the people to the sin offering and. The Israelites viewed the consuming of the heifer in the fire. They could see their sins consumed in the death of Christ. A wonderful truth. The place of communion. Before the Tabernacle of the congregation, they could look at that, they could see the sevenfold sprinkling of the blood. They had title. They had title to communion with God based upon that shed blood and that sprinkled blood at the very place of communion. And as they saw the flames consuming that heifer. They could see their sins, which had been transferred figuratively to the sin offering, consumed. Beautiful picture of our sins. Gone as far as the East is from the West, so far as He removed our transgressions from us. Cast all our sins behind his back and into the depth of the sea, consumed in the death of Christ. But there's more than that in verse 6. And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. If you'll turn over to 1St Kings chapter 4. We'll have a passage that shows, I believe, the meaning of the cedar wood. And the hyssop. We know that the scarlet very well known figure of the glory of this world. They robed the Lord in scarlet. The Roman Empire is represented as a scarlet coloured beast.
Picture of worldly glory. And they mocked him, the King of kings and Lord of Lords, with a scarlet robe, the glory of this world, cast into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Verse 29. First Kings four. And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding, exceeding much and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled, the wisdom of all the children of the E country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan, the Ezra Height, and Haman, and Calcol and Dart are the sons of Mahal. And his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake 3000 Proverbs, and his songs were 1005. And he spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall. He spake also of beasts, and a fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. So what is the cedar wood says in verse 33? He spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon. Even under the hyssop that springeth out of the wall, from the greatest, the most majestic tree in nature, God's creation to the lowly hyssop that springs out of the wall, from the greatest to the least, Solomons wisdom encompassed all subjects in nature. And it speaks of the wisdom of this world, and that was thrown into the midst of the burning of the heifer. So as I see that heifer consumed by the flames of divine judgment against sin, I see my sins gone. I also see the glory of this world represented by the scarlet. And I see the wisdom of this world represented by the cedar wood in the hyssop, all consumed in the death of Christ. And so it says in in Galatians 6 the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. He gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world and how important that is and significant in connection with the red heifer, because there we have Christ made sin for us, the sin offering bearing our sins and consumed and the the sins gone before God. But in his death the world judged as well the world and all its grandeur, the world and all its glory, the world in all its. And splendor, the world and all its wisdom, and all its learning, and all its philosophy and psychology and all the wisdom. Of this world gone in the death of Christ, and the apostle Paul treats that. In the 1St chapter of First Corinthians we might read a few verses there. First Corinthians chapter 1. He's giving the effects of the death of Christ and the work of Christ. Verse 18. Preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom, by its own wisdom, knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of the preaching, Not preaching as a means, but the thing preached Christ crucified to the world. That was foolishness. It pleased God by the foolishness of the preaching. To save them that believe, for the Jews require a sign in the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified under the Jews stumbling block, and under the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks Christ. Power of God. And the wisdom of God. So the wisdom of this world has been reduced to ashes in the death of Christ. And what folly it is for us. To go to this world for our wisdom, to seek our counsel from the world and from worldly sources. When we have in this blessed book all that we need for our Christian pathway. Beloved, we have all that we need right here. We have the wisdom of God in this book. We do not have to go outside of it for our counseling and for our wisdom. He is our counselor and He is our wisdom. And here we have the wisdom of God.
Recorded for us. And if they speak not according to this word, it is because there's no light in them. The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. Let us not go to it. For help when we have problems, we have all that we need. With the Lord, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified through faith. That is in me. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect. Thoroughly furnished unto every good work. We don't have to go outside of this book. God has given us all that we need here. What we need is to get into the book, to read it, to ponder it, to have its. Blessed precepts and true saturate our souls, and we'll have light for the pathway. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light into my pathway. So let us be delivered as we look at that cross and we see in the consuming of the red heifer. We see the judgment of God falling upon all our sins, upon Him, and the removing of our sins, the consuming of our sins, but also the consuming of all this world splendor and glory and wisdom. In the death of Christ, what? What a deliverance. Well, it's that very world through which we're passing that is so defiling. We're going through a scene filled with death and as you can picture, an Israelite walking through the wilderness. There were dead bodies lying around, sometimes just the bone of a man. Sometimes death came into an Israelites tent, his very home, and it was defiling the presence of death, which is the wages of sin, whether it was touched or in the case of a grave, just walked over. Soul was defiled by it. We're going to look at those things shortly. But death, it is the touching of death, the proximity to death, the being in a scene where death is all around us. Young people, you are in a world that has the stamp of death upon it, and in whatever measure, we partake of the things that the world has to offer. We are in danger of defilement. And we need the water of separation. God has made provision. And that's the beauty of this chapter. The blood was sprinkled at the place of communion are titled to fellowship is the precious blood of Christ. But when a soul fails and needs to be restored, a fresh application of the blood is never what is what is used. The blood doesn't have to be reapplied because our title to fellowship always remains the same. It never changes. Failure doesn't change it. But there is something that has to be applied, and that's the water. The running water mixed with the ashes of the heifer. And those ashes contained not only the residue of the heifer, but the residue of the cedar wood. The Hyssop and the Scarlet. That's all that's applied by the power of the Spirit of God. The running water in Scripture is a picture of the Holy Ghost. And Stillwater is a picture of the word of God. But here you have, and we haven't come to it yet, but we'll read it shortly. The running water. Let's go on verse 7. Then the priest shall wash his clothes and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. And the priest shall be unclean until the even that is the one that had to do with these things. There was a measure of defilement even for him and you see this is this chapter brings out the holiness of God, that association with evil even having to do with it sometimes we have to do with. Restoring a brother. Those which are spiritual restore such in What if a man be overtaken in a fault? Paul says to the Galatians. Ye which are spiritual, restore such in one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Well, in order to do that, the Word of God has to be applied. Has to be used. In order to restore a soul can only be done by the Word of God. And the soul that handles that situation comes in contact with the one who's defiled. Also gets a measure, gets into a measure of defilement himself because we have a nature that that responds to that. And so association with evil is defiling, is it not? Verse 9. A man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, shall lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation. It is a purification for sin. Now that may seem strikingly strange, because it speaks of the water separation, and nothing has been mentioned about water.
Well, it says in verse 17, For an unclean person, they shall take the ashes of the heifer, the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put there to in a vessel. And there you have now the running water typical of the Holy Spirit mixed with the ashes of the heifer. And what do those ashes contain? The residue of the of the heifer, cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet. Our sins consumed in the death of Christ. The world's glory consumed in the death of Christ. The world's wisdom consumed in the death of Christ and. The Spirit of God applies that to the soul that has indulged the flesh, going out after something that's in this world. Listen to the tempter's voice. We have three enemies, the world of flesh and the devil and. The enemy, either the Flash or Satan himself, will use the world and the defilements in this scene. To get us attracted to it and to partake of it and to touch it. And to become. Defiled, and then communion is interrupted, and then there's this wonderful provision of how that communion can be restored. Verse 10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. Everyone that has to do with any aspect of this. This matter of purification becomes unclean until the even and it should be under the children of Israel, and under the stranger that sojourneth among them for a statute forever. Now he tells how defilement was contracted. Verse 11. He that toucheth. The dead body of any man shall be unclean not until the even, but seven days, seven days, a complete period of time represented here. I don't believe where to take it to mean literally 7 days, but a complete period of time. And it's it's a time that speaks of. God dealing with the soul that has sinned that has. Partaken of some of the defilements that are in this world and. Contacted Death. And has his lost communion and in this seven day period of time, whatever that period of time may take, we don't know how long it will take today, but it's called here 7 days. There will be two applications of the water of separation on the third day. And on the 7th day, verse 12. There will be two applications of the water of separation on the third day and on the 7th day, verse 12. He shall purify himself with it on the third day. And on the 7th day he shall be clean. But if he pure not find not himself the third day, then the 7th day he shall not be clean. Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the Tabernacle of the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him. He shall be unclean. Is uncleanness is yet upon him. It's a most solemn thing when God had made provision. For the Israelite in the wilderness that came in contact with death in one form or another to neglect the prescribed method of cleansing. And it's a very solemn thing for us, for you or me who gets defiled. By contact with the dead. Things in this world. The scene of death. And we neglect the resource which God has given to us. Of. Having that communion restored. Remember a father, this was years back when I was quite a young man. He said to his sons, he said sons, you're going to sin, you're going to fail. I know that we all do, but keep short accounts with God. Own it right away. Confess your sins. We have that blessed verse. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And to do far more than just forgive us, but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
From the very state that led to that fall that led to that sin. So he said, keep short accounts with God, own it, and avail yourself of the cleansing provision which God has made in His precious word. So it was the most serious thing for Israel to neglect it. It says He shall be unclean. His uncleanness is yet upon him. Now let's just Passover those 3 verses 14 through 16, and start with verse 17. We'll come back to them. And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel. And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water. And sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone. Or one slain, or one dead, or a grave. And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day. And on the 7th day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean. And even again the solemn warning. But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself. That is, he doesn't avail himself of the provision that God has given. To become clean, to be brought back into the camp. Back into fellowship, back into communion. That soul shall be cut off from among the congregation because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of separation had not been sprinkled upon him. He is unclean. Now what is the third day sprinkling mean? Well, I believe it refers to self judgment. I've sinned against the grace that has saved me. I've been reconciled to God and brought into his favor and brought into nearness and communion and sweet fellowship with himself, and the grace of God has done all that brought me near. Forgiven me all my sins, set me at perfect peace with himself. And now I have indulged the flesh. I've listened to the tempter's voice. I've gone out after one of the. Sinful, defiling things of this world. And I have lost communion. And then I abide under a sense of that. For three days. And after three days? Testimony of not just competent, not just adequate, but sufficient and complete witness. My sin, I own it before God. Self judgment, I judge myself, I ablhore myself. I have sinned against the grace. That has put my sin away. And the Spirit of God, the running water, takes the memory of the sufferings of Christ. And brings to my remembrance that I have indulged the flesh. In the very thing that cost Christ those infinite sufferings on the cross. The ashes I have partaken of this cedar wood, the hyssop or the scarlet I have partaken of something of this world which has the stamp of death upon it. I have sinned, I have done that which cost him the infinite sufferings. Of the cross to put that sin away. And the Spirit brings that home in power to my soul, I think. You see a beautiful picture of that with Peter. The Lord told Peter that he would deny him, and Peter denied him three times. You remember the account very well, and it says the Lord turned and he looked at Peter. And that look. That look of compassion, that look of love, that look which brought to Peter's remembrance. His self confident assertion that he wouldn't deny the Lord though all denied him, yet not I, he said. And now he had denied him with oaths and curses, it says. When he thought thereon, he went out, and he wept bitterly. I believe that look from the blessed Lord was the third day sprinkling. It brought home the Peters conscience that he had sinned against the love that had made him Christ's. He had sinned against the one that he loved so much. That look brought it home, but then we read that when Christ rose from the dead. We read of a secret encounter that the Lord Jesus had with Peter Simon. The Lord hath appeared to Simon all alone, private, and then he, I can just picture that conversation, the Lord says to Peter.
Peter, you've dwelt long enough upon your sin. You've applied yourself. You've judged yourself. You did the very thing you said you wouldn't do, and I told you you would. But I don't want you to dwell anymore upon your sin. I want you to dwell upon the love and the grace that's put it away now. You're forgiven. You've judged yourself. Then you have the 7th day sprinkling. You have now. Grace in the presence of sin. The third day sprinkling is Sin in the presence of grace. I have sinned against the grace that has saved me and made me his child. But the 7th day sprinkling is. No more occupation with how bad you are, Peter. No more occupation with your sinfulness. You've thoroughly judged yourself and I want you to be occupied with my love. My Grace that has brought you into blessing. That's the 7th day sprinkling, but it says that if the third day sprinkling hasn't taken place. The 7th day sprinkling cannot take place. And that ought to guard us. When we're dealing with one who is under discipline, whether it be in our family. Whether it be in the assembly that until the soul has thoroughly judged himself or herself. The third day sprinkling self judgment, abhorrence. I abhor myself. And until that third day, sprinkling has really taken place. The 7th day sprinkling cannot take place. And if we undertake to do that? And to restore the soul into communion when they haven't thoroughly judged themselves before God, and seeing the evil that they've committed as against grace. They're really not restored. And to assure them of our love. Throw our arms around them too soon. Might be very damaging. And harmful and hinder the work of God in the soul in the way of. Full and complete restoration but once that third day sprinkling and what answers to it real self judgment has taken place. Then the apostle Paul says in two Corinthians 2, You ought rather such a he said, you should show your love to him, lest such in one should be overcome with excessive sorrow and grief. You should confirm your love to him and forgive him. And restore him. That's the 7th day sprinkling. Well, what is it that defiles us? Before I ask that question, I might just comment that it's much easier to get out of communion than to get back in. And here we see in the 3rd and the 7th day sprinkling. You might see a process, it isn't literally to be taken as three and seven days, but it represents the number 3 represents the number of complete testimony. That the man has come into the realization of his sin, and the 7th day is the perfect. Time when the soul can be brought into favor and the enjoyment of favor. I remember talking to a soul once who wouldn't take his place at the Lord's Table, young man, and I asked him why. Why haven't you that you'd come to meeting was always there and he was so dwelling upon how bad he was and how unworthy he was and how unfit he was. It's something like a soul in in the process of being restored, getting to the third day and never getting to the 7th day. It's good to judge ourselves when we failed, but it's not good to be constantly occupied with how bad we are. I think of what Mr. Darby said once he said, when we've come to see that, I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, and we've come to judge ourselves in that light. We thought enough about ourselves now. We should be occupied with His love and His goodness and His grace, and that's where we come into full restoration as long as we are occupied with ourselves, even in the judgment of the flesh. We haven't been fully delivered, we're not fully restored, we're not at liberty in His presence in the sense of His grace. And that's the 7th day sprinkling. So He brings us into that. It may take a time, but He brings us into that and then we can enjoy himself again.
And I want to make a comment on verse 19 it says. The clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day and on the 7th day, and on the 7th day he shall purify himself and wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and shall be cleaned it even. That's very similar to the consecration of the priests recorded in Exodus 28 and 29, and it says when the priest was consecrated in what is symbolical of the new birth. Is he shall be bathed in water, he should be washed all over. Now this is the very same thing that is done for the restored soul. And I take it to be significant of the truth that when a soul soul is restored to the Lord, he's back in the same place of favor and nearness and fellowship and communion that he enjoyed when he was just saved. The restoring grace of God is as marvelous and as wondrous as the saving grace of God and all how He delights to have us in His presence and to have us enjoy Himself. And so He's made provision for that. Now let's look at verse 14. How do we get defiled? Verse 11 was very general. He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean 7 days. But now in verses 1415 and 16 we have more detail. This is the law. When a man dieth in a tent, all that come into the tent and all that is in the tent shall be unclean 7 days. Death in the tent. What is the tent? It's our it's our homes. It was the place where Israel. They lived in tents, they were in the wilderness, they didn't live in houses. That was in Canaan when they entered the land, but they dwelt in tents. And now death takes place in a tent and it says all that is in the tent. And all that come into the tent shall be unclean. 7 days. Now verse 15 adds a detail. And every open vessel which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean. Why is it necessary? Why did the Spirit of God put it this way? Add that detail. You already covered everything in verse 14. All that come into the tent and all that is in the tent shall be unclean 7 days. And every open vessel. Which hath no covering bound upon it is unclean. That singled out of everything that's in the tent, the open vessel is especially vulnerable to defilement. And that open vessel, I believe, is a picture of our children in the tent, in the home. They are very vulnerable to death in the tent. The tent is our home. It's our residence. It's where we live and death. Are those things that come in from the world into the tent which are defiling? Death in the tents? Is there death in your tent? Is there death in my tent? The literature. The things we hear, the things we look upon. Are these the things of the world, or are these the things of God? Well, if we bring into the. That which has the stamp of death upon it. Everything in that tent is defiled. Everything in the tent and everyone that enters the tent is defiled. And especially the open vessel. The open vessel takes in everything that happens in that tent. And there's nothing in that in the tent, nothing in our homes that take in that are so impressionable as our children. Everything that Daddy allows or Mommy allows must be good for me, otherwise they wouldn't allow it. They wouldn't bring it into the tent if it wasn't for my good and my profit and my blessing. That's the way they think. That's the way they reason. And so the open vessel is singled out. Oh, solemn, isn't it? And then it says in verse. 16 Whosoever toucheth one that is slain with the sword in the open fields, the open fields. That's not the tent now, that's the world. The world, and the field is the world, the open field. So here's one walking out in the open field, and he comes across one that was slain with the sword. That speaks of violence. One that was put to death by a sword. That's violence. Or a dead body, one who has just died out there in the open field. He just fell sick and died or whatever.
And that speaks of corruption. Violence and corruption. Out in the open field, that's what we see in the world. It's out there. Now, if we bring those things into the tent, if we bring violence and corruption into the tent, everything that's in the tent is defiled. Death in the tent. But here, out in the open field, you can't help but get defiled by those things because sooner or later you're going to you're going to run into it. And as we get out in the world. In school, in business, we are dealing with, we are in a world which is defiling. Filing World. Filled with death everywhere. We can control what we bring into the tent though. Now there might be someone that walks into a tent and all of a sudden someone just dies there. Well the person that just walked in is defiled unclean. 7 days. He hasn't touched anything, but he's in that place. He's in that sphere where there's death in the tent. So how important? We can't, we can't keep from having to do with the defilement that's out in the world. Sometimes we just come across it and we may inadvertently come in contact with it. Someone may we in our hearing, utter a filthy joke. Or something like that, or a dirty picture or something that is defiling suggestive or whatever it is and it comes to our attention and it has to be judged immediately. It's a principle of death. But if we indulge in those things, if our will gets active in those things, if we go out after those things and we've touched death, then we're unclean. We've lost communion outside the camp 7 days and we need the water separation applied that third day, self judgment for what we've allowed, what we've entertained, what we have had fellowship with in the world. And then the 7th day, full restoration to communion. But there's two other things mentioned. The bone of a man. I've pondered that. And I want to give a suggestion on that in job 20. Job 20 There is a verse. And this is only a suggestion. I'm not pressing it, but I'm making this suggestion. Verse 11. His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust. Now, in the margin of Mr. Darby's new translation, it reads this way. His bones are full of his secret sins. Which shall lie down with him in the dust. His bones are full of his secret sins. And I would like to suggest that the bone which is not seen, you don't see any of my bones. You know, they're there, I can feel them. They're inside. They're covered with tissue, they're covered with flesh and muscle and so on. But they're there. And they're not exposed, but they're there. And it might represent our secret sins. We sometimes think that as long as we don't indulge in sin, we're not defiled. But if we in our wills entertain sin. If we think upon it, as the Lord Jesus said, he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. If I entertain that kind of thing in my will, I am defiled. That may be what is suggested by the bone of a man. As you. As the Israelite walked out in the field, the bone looked absolutely harmless. All the flesh is gone. It's been eaten off by birds or animals. But just a touch. The bone of a man. Death. Outside the camp for seven days and then he says. Or a grave. A grave, if you'll turn with me to Luke 11. Luke 11 We have the grave mentioned. Verse 42. Woe unto you Pharisees. For you tithe, mint and rue in all manner of herbs and Passover judgment and the love of God. These Archie to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees, for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. So here's one walking out in the open field, and he walks over a grave. He walks over a grave where a body has been buried.
He doesn't touch death, he just walks on the ground, but underneath that ground. Is a dead body and he walks over a grave. And it's the hypocritical, self-righteous religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees that the Lord likens to graves. Religious defilement, religious defilement, the way of Cain. I think we were talking about that in our reading Lord's Day morning. The way of Cain, religious defilement, bloodless religion. Man approaching God as a worshipper. Without the precious blood of Christ, religious defilement. There's many things that we can be defiled by in connection with religion. I don't believe there's any there's ever a time when we are so little on our guard as when we have to do with religious people. And we ought to be very much on our guard. And the man out there in the field, he could walk over a grave. You're as graves which appear not they didn't even know it and they were defiled. By that religious defilement, so you have violence, man slain with the sword. Corruption, A man dead in the field. The bone may be our secret sins. And the graves which appear not as religious defilement, all these things, all these elements in the world. Can defile us and render us unfit for communion and fellowship. Sometimes I'm very alarmed at seeing some of the books that certain of the Saints have in their homes. Some of them, I was talking to a young man and he was complaining about our reading meetings in that assembly. He says they're so dry and they don't, they don't stir him up. They don't, they don't challenge him and so on. He says, there's a man on the radio that really challenges me and really fires me up. And I say, would you mind telling me his name? And he told me his name and I said, do you know that man denies the eternal sonship of Christ? Do you know that that man says that the Lord Jesus could have sinned and he's the one that you're taking your spiritual food from. No, young man. I warned him against that. I warned him against that. That's defiling to hear ministry from one that puts out that kind of thing. We have to be on our guard lest we walk over a grave and get defiled and don't even know it. Well, God has made provision for us. Sorry for going over. He's made provision for us to be cleansed when there's either death in the tent. Or we're out there in the world and we become defiled by contact with death, with some element of the world. And he's made provision. Water separation, Spirit of God brings to our memory the sufferings of Christ and what He has undergone to put that sin away, that we have indulged in our wills and become unclean thereby. And He applies that to our conscience, and we judge ourselves. And then we have the third day sprinkling, and then we come into the full liberty of grace, the 7th day sprinkling, and we enjoy His fellowship once again. My little children. These things I write unto you, that you sin not, and if anyone sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only, but also for the whole world. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And to cleanse us. From all unrighteousness. And so the restored soul was.