Are You Washed Inside and Out?
Teenagers are getting plastic surgery. Baldness. People cover it with a rug, rub in Rogaine, spray
paint to cover the gaps. Dieting. Slim Fast, fad diets. People make millions on these attempts to
change or cover up appearances.
The things we worry about are probably the last thing on God’s mind. Naaman was frustrated
over his physical appearance. What he really needed was a total change from within.
Story of Naaman is about a proud person who wanted a healing. Naaman was a successful man,
he had a lot going for him, “...commander of the army... a great and honorable man... by him the
LORD gave victory.... but Naaman had a very serious problem, & so far only a few people knew
it. He had leprosy, a disease that attacks the nerve system of the body. Naaman was losing all
sense of feeling in his body. He could no longer feel his sword as he clutched it in his hand.
His men thought that he was courageous in battle because when an arrow hit his leg - he didn’t
react. They thought he was tough - but Naaman knew the truth. The truth that he couldn’t even
feel the arrow as it ripped into his leg.
So, naturally, Naaman wanted to find a way to get rid of his problem. And Naaman was not just
interested in getting rid of a minor inconvenience, he was desperate to be freed from a problem
which consumed him, day and night.
He tried everything - but nothing had worked. But one day, this servant-girl mentioned to
Naaman’s wife that there was a prophet in Israel who could heal Naaman of his leprosy.
Leprosy was a terrible disease in Biblical times. Once leprosy took hold of your body it began to
cause decay and deterioration, first in your extremities (hands and feet), and then working it’s
way up into your body. Leprosy was even more terrible because it attacked the nervous system
before it attacked the flesh. The leper lost all feeling in the effected parts of his body. You could
cut yourself without knowing it and bleed to death. The leper had to be very careful to prevent
terrible damage to his body. Leprosy was such a terrible disease that God often used it in
Scripture to illustrate the effects of sin in our lives. Sin, like leprosy, often works it’s way into us
without our knowledge.
So Naaman finds out about a new possibility of solving his problem. He didn’t pay attention. He
was supposed to see the prophet. His king sends a letter to the other king, who can’t do a thing to
help Naaman. In fact, Israel’s king thinks Naaman’s king is trying to pick a fight! But Elisha
hears about the situation and steps in. But Elisha doesn’t even bother coming out. He sends a
guy out to tell Naaman what he must do. The message was : Bathe seven times in Jordan River.
Naaman was told to go and wash SEVEN times
- Not 5 times,
- Not 6 3/4 times
- ...but 7 times
B. Naaman is pretty ticked about what he considers a lack of respect and courtesy. Here Elisha
sends for him, then doesn’t even bother to come out and perform some big, religious ritual of
curing him. Plus, Naaman was convinced that the water in the rivers back home were better than
the muddy water of the Jordan. He was right, except for one thing -- God said "Jordan." God
was apparently testing Naaman to see if he would obey even if it cost him his pride. Everyone
knows that the waters of Jordan cannot cure leprosy. If so, all lepers would have gone there. In
the spirit of Naaman, many question the water of baptism today. People reject it for exactly the
same reason that Naaman almost did. They can’t believe that water can save anyone. This is true.
It is not the water that saves, but God. Baptism is an outward and visible sign of an inward
belief.
But Naaman’s servants talk sense into him and he goes to the Jordan and immerses himself 7
times and “his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.” Naaman went
back to the house of Elisha & wanted to give him a present, but Elisha gave God the glory &
refused to take anything. He urged Elisha to accept his present. But Elisha still refused.
Now, Naaman was really impressed. The God Elisha served was not like the gods they
worshipped back in Syria. He possessed great powers, & His prophets did not expect bribes or
rich rewards for themselves.
Naaman could not save himself. He was a captain. Though he was a commander, “he was a
leper.” He needed salvation.
He was a great man. But, great men must be saved just like any other.
He was a good & honorable man. He was respected in his community. Yet good men and
respected men must be saved like any other.
He was a mighty man, brave, courageous, strong, noble, and yet; these people need to be saved
too. So often people of means think that salvation is good for the down and out, and for those
that need it.
The truth is the millionaires, banker, movie stars, athletes, politicians, all must be saved the
same way as the poor man - by faith in Jesus Christ.
Everyone has needs. Naaman was successful, but he had leprosy. In spite of his accomplishments
his disease left him frustrated, so he searched for a cure. We have much in our lives as well, but
we are also frustrated. Frustrated by sin. This frustration will eventually destroy us, so, like
Naaman, we must have the sense to become aware of our need and become frustrated enough to
look for an answer.
Trouble is people often get confused about where to look. Naaman heard of a cure in Israel.
Instead of going to the prophet the girl had mentioned, he went to his king, who sent him to the
king of Israel, who could do nothing for him. Most people have a vague notion of an answer
being out there somewhere. Then they waste time and effort chasing down false leads that get
them nowhere. Too many go to the wrong source for religious authority. They go to creed books,
famous men, parents, the church, church officials, etc. There is power there to help us. We must
go to Him for the answers we seek. We can find those answers in the Scriptures.
God speaks to us through His prophets. Just as Naaman had to go to the prophet Elisha to learn
how to be cured of leprosy, we must turn to God’s prophets to learn how we might be healed of
sin. Today God’s prophets speak to us through the records they have written. Through the Bible
we learn what they would say to us.
God’s prophets tell us a simple solution. When Naaman arrived at Elisha’s house, the prophet
sent out word for Naaman to go dip himself seven times in the Jordan river. That was it. Go get
dunked in water. God’s answers are often like that, short and simple.
Trouble is, we’re often dissatisfied with God’s solution. Naaman had big ideas about what would
happen when he finally met God’s prophet. He thought he would meet him and the prophet
would make an impressive display. He figured the prophet would ask for money. But instead, all
he got was this simple order to go dip in some muddy little river. So Naaman was dissatisfied.
The same thing happens with lots of people who hear the simple gospel message today. They
want direct contact. They don’t want to hear the message of God brought to them indirectly
through the Bible. They want to see some action. They want this great show, maybe some
miracles, speaking in tongues, maybe a little song and dance. What they want is to be impressed
before they will believe that the cure for their sin is real. It isn’t enough for someone to say, "go
get dunked in water and you will be made whole." That’s way too simple for people today.
When we do what God asks, God cures us. He washes us, on the outside AND the inside. That’s
the important lesson we learn from this story. When Naaman came up out of the water the
seventh time his leprosy was gone. There was no great display, Naaman never met the prophet
who told him what to do, and there was no apparent connection between the act of dipping in
water and being cleansed, and yet, Naaman was clean.
The basis of religion is the simple truth that we must submit ourselves to God. Religion is not
about meeting our expectations, or doing things the way we think they ought to be done. We are
not saved because the things God asks us to do make sense to us, or because we can see how
they make us worthy of God’s grace. God asks us to do something, we do it, God saves us. It’s
just that simple.
Each one of us is like Naaman, because we all suffer from the leprosy of sin, . If we are to be
saved we must become aware of our illness. When someone tells us there is a cure, we must act
upon it. . We must go to the one source of information that can give us the true answer, the word
of God revealed by His prophets. And when we hear what they say, we must do it.
And what do the prophets tell us to do to be cured of our sins? Jesus tells us to believe and be
baptized, Peter tells us to repent and be baptized. Like Naaman we are told to go dip in the
water. Also like Naaman, we hesitate to do this simple thing. It is not what we expect. It makes
no sense to us. Yet, it is what God has asked us to do. We know that the water itself does
nothing, just as the water of the Jordan did not cure Naaman’s leprosy. Just as God acted to cure
Naaman, it is God who takes away our sin when we submit to His command. What about you?
Have you been blessed by this simple deed? Are you washed inside and out?
