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Is foot-washing scriptural?


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Not to argue the point but this appeared in the Philadelphia Baptist Association minutes of 1771:

5. To. a query from Dividing Creek, relative to washing the saints' feet, the following reply was made This query being founded on John 13:1-17, can no otherwise be determined than by fixing the genuine sense of that Scripture, which to do is earnestly recommended.

Edited by Old Regular
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"Spiritual" footwashing is scriptural, and I believe it could be closely tied with the principle in this verse.........

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Galatians 6:1

Our inner man is completely clean, but our "feet" get dirty walking in this filthy world. Sometimes we need a little help from our brethren to get clean again, who in doing so, are to do it "in the spirit of meekness" while being mindful of themselves. In other words, instead of condemning browbeating, shaming, gossipping or just being plain prideful and condescending to that brother with the fault, we are to be mindful of our OWN faults and weaknesses while lovingly and humbly helping and encouraging him back to "cleanliness". Sometimes, all that would take is giving him some of your TIME....just plain old clean Godly Christian fellowship works wonders, But if folk want to physically scrub someone else's cloddhoppers, I don't see a thing wrong with it; I guess that does show meekness or humility and subservience to our brother. I would advise going for the hand sanitizer when you're done because those foot fungi can be REALLY nasty.

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"Spiritual" footwashing is scriptural, and I believe it could be closely tied with the principle in this verse.........

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Galatians 6:1

Our inner man is completely clean, but our "feet" get dirty walking in this filthy world. Sometimes we need a little help from our brethren to get clean again, who in doing so, are to do it "in the spirit of meekness" while being mindful of themselves. In other words, instead of condemning browbeating, shaming, gossipping or just being plain prideful and condescending to that brother with the fault, we are to be mindful of our OWN faults and weaknesses while lovingly and humbly helping and encouraging him back to "cleanliness". Sometimes, all that would take is giving him some of your TIME....just plain old clean Godly Christian fellowship works wonders, But if folk want to physically scrub someone else's cloddhoppers, I don't see a thing wrong with it; I guess that does show meekness or humility and subservience to our brother. I would advise going for the hand sanitizer when you're done because those foot fungi can be REALLY nasty.

Christ said others will know we are His because we love one another. We are to share one anothers burdens, to humbly accept help when we need it, to kindly and humbly give help to those in need. We are to do this for our brothers in Christ just as we would for Christ Himself. True, Christlike brotherly love should be our goal with one another.
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But you still cannot get away from clear command:


John 13
[13] Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
[14] If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
[15] For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
[16] Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
[17] If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

We are either going to obey clear commands, or not. If we pick and chose, then we are creating a new kind of "faith" where the bible is NOT the final authority. We do not obey because we see the relevance, we obey out of love.

John 14
[15] If ye love me, keep my commandments.

This is why in our 21st century "Christendom" we have a hard time with (archaic) things like foot -washing, head covering, and the holy kiss. We think it needs to be relevant. When we fall into that trap are we not doing the same thing the guys did when they developed the "critical" text? The Received Text wasn't good enough, scholarship, (surely) could out do the archaic KJV.

Perhaps the coldness of the age has caused us to feel "a bit" uncomfortable with holy things. The holy kiss is just that, holy. If you look at it with the jaded mindset of a worldly Christianity, it seems, unnatural. But, we embrace a supernatural God and a supernatural faith.

It would do us good to go outside our "box."

Just some thoughts,
Bro. Ben

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Some things are spiritual aren't they? Jesus also told some folks they had to drink his blood and eat his flesh for salvation. If you want to foot wash, that's perfectly fine. I see no problem with it. If I was in your church I'd help out, I was working on a (used) toilet at my church the other day, crawled in there beside it close and personal and fixed the supply line so i ain't skeered. :) . I believe the KJB from cover to cover too, I just don't believe Physical footwashing is an ordinance of the church. Jesus was making a spiritual illustration, like He did with alot of things.

Edited by heartstrings
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Some things are spiritual aren't they? Jesus also told some folks they had to drink his blood and eat his flesh for salvation.


Yes, but no one ate his flesh or drank his blood, but he and those in the early church DID wash feet.

I believe the KJB from cover to cover too,


Good, what did Jesus say?

John 13
[15] For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

He did not say, "Do some spiritual thing that is pictured in what I did." No, he said, ". . . do AS I have done. . ." It does not take a Greek scholar to figure that one out. Read it to someone in the third grade Sunday School class and ask them, they'll tell you.

I just don't believe Physical footwashing is an ordinance of the church.


No one said it was.

Jesus was making a spiritual illustration, like He did with alot of things.


Basic hermeneutics would show that he wasn't giving an illustration. They usually looked like this:

Luke 21
[29] And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

John 10
[6] This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

This was not a parable, he got down on his knees, washed their feet, and told them to DO likewise.

It's that simple.
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I am Primitive Baptist. Although our church doesn't do things like the oldline primitive baptists do, such as we do have musical instruments and we do have Sunday school. We do practice foot washing because Jesus said to do it. We do it 2 times a year with communion. We do communion first then foot washing. The women wash the women's feet and the men wash the men's.

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I have been up for a while and I was actually looking up foot washing and communion services combined (will tell you why in a minute). 

I grew up in a small independent Baptist church and in the rules it stated that we should all take part in Communion but it was recommended that you do foot washing. Now I'm going to be honest, I avoided it as much as I could as a young saved person. Funny story, I went with my girlfriend when I was 19 or 20 to my uncles church (small independent Baptist also) and when I walked in and saw the table I knew I was in trouble because they did footwashing. I told her we were going to sit in the back (tried to sneak out before service but ran slap into my uncle) and get out of their quick. Lol. As soon as he started preaching he CALLED MY NAME and said come up their and he washed my feet. Fast forward when I first called my preacher calling and I went to my uncles new church and the same dang thing happened again!! This time I couldn't sit in the back. Lol. I had the privilege to wash my grandpas (he was a deacon for about 50 years) feet a few times before he went to home  I dreaded each time but I would give anything to bow at his feet one more time and thank God for him and show him how much I love him

Fast forward several years and I am now a pastor and the Lord has shown me that I am to implement footwashing into communion service this year. I didn't know how the church would react but nobody screamed or threw things at me when I told them that the Lord showed me to do this. I did however let them know that this was not an ordinance it was a suggestion in he scripture. Everyone has their own beliefs but let me tell you other than salvation there is nothing more spiritual than bowing down at a brothers feet and praying for him and thanking God for him and his family. If the spirit is in it then how can you say it's not supposed to be done?  Don't knock it unless you try it.  There are a lot of things different beliefs believe that are just tradition and that's just how mom and dad did it so we will do it as well. 

For instance, this whole thing about a pastor being married only once. I know this is going to rattle cages but I truly believe that he was talking about being married to one person at a time. I know that's off subject but I know a man that's Pastoring a church that's non denominational (used to pastor Baptist church's) after he remarried because the Baptist church's told him he was no longer worthy to Pastor there type of church. They just had a revival and had 14 saved. That's a HUGE number for a church that only has 40-45 for church every Sunday. I saw shouting and praising God all over the place. You think if the Pastor wasn't suppose to be there that would happen? Sorry for such a long response. God Bless you all. We might not agree with everything but as long as the blood is applied we are going to the same place. 

Steven

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Foot washing, as I understand it, was really just a picture of something like Galatians 6:1-3. You can do it if you want to, and I see nothing wrong with it except smell, toe fungus and athlete's foot but it's not an ordinance like Baptism and Lord's Supper are.

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