Why do believers need daily cleansing if they are already saved?
Although believers have been washed and forgiven, they still live in a sin-filled world where their daily walk becomes defiled. Scripture pictures this as dirty feet needing constant washing, and Paul describes a daily cleansing through the Word rather than water.
Les explains that foot washing pictures this need. In John's Gospel, Jesus washed the disciples' feet, and Peter objected. The Lord told Peter that if He did not wash his feet, Peter had no part with Him. Peter then asked for a bath, but the Lord said Peter and the other ten, all but Judas, had been washed and had their salvation. Yet because they were in a sin-filled earth, their daily walk was being defiled and their feet were getting dirty. That was the lesson in foot washing. Les then points to Ephesians, where Paul speaks of a daily cleansing, not with a tub of water or a washcloth, but with the cleansing of the Word. All through Scripture there remains an apparent need of cleansing even for the believer, because believers are left in this old world to be defiled. This was especially true for the Jew of Jesus' day, who usually bathed at a central bath; after walking home in open-toed sandals, their feet would be filthy even though the rest of the body was clean. So even though believers have been cleansed and forgiven, they still need that daily cleansing.