ARE WE LOOKING FOR JESUS IN THE WRONG PLACES?

 

Part 9 – Can the Law Cleanse the Heart?

"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20 (ESV)

After showing Christian the portrait of a faithful servant of Christ, the Interpreter immediately leads him into another room. Once again, Bunyan does not explain what Christian is about to see. Instead, he simply presents the scene and allows both Christian and the reader to consider it.

There is a room that has never been swept. Dust lies thick upon the floor until a man enters with a broom and begins to sweep. Yet instead of making the room clean, the dust rises into the air so violently that it becomes almost impossible to remain inside. Then another person enters and sprinkles water upon the floor. Only then can the room be swept, and it is left clean.

Why would Bunyan place this lesson before Christian?

At first glance, it appears to be little more than an illustration of housekeeping, yet Bunyan is unfolding one of the most important truths in the whole of Scripture. The broom was not the problem. Neither was the dust. The problem was expecting the broom to accomplish something it was never intended to do.

Bunyan tells us that the dusty room represents the heart of man, while the broom represents the Law of God. The dust was already there before the broom touched the floor. Sweeping did not create the dust; it simply exposed what had remained hidden. The more vigorously the room was swept, the more the dust filled the air.

The Apostle Paul teaches exactly the same truth.

"...through the law comes knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20 (ESV)

The Law was never given to remove sin. Its purpose is to reveal it. It exposes the true condition of the human heart by setting before us God's perfect holiness. What may once have appeared respectable is suddenly seen for what it truly is. The Law shines into every corner of our lives, exposing not only our actions but also the thoughts, desires and motives from which they spring.

Paul develops this further in Romans 7. He explains that he would not have known what it was to covet had the Law not said, "You shall not covet." The commandment did not create sin within him; it exposed what had always been there. The more clearly God's holy standard was understood, the more sinful sin appeared.

This explains why the broom filled the room with dust. The Law awakens the conscience, exposes guilt and strips away every false confidence, but it cannot cleanse the heart. This is not because the Law is deficient, for Paul declares, "So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Romans 7:12). The problem has never been the Law, but the sinner.

Bunyan then introduces a second person who sprinkles water upon the room before sweeping it again. This time the dust settles, and the room is cleansed. Why does Bunyan choose water?

Bunyan then introduces a second person who sprinkles water upon the room before sweeping it again. This time the dust settles, and the room is cleansed. Why does Bunyan choose water?

For anyone familiar with the Scriptures, water immediately recalls the ceremonial washings found throughout the Law of Moses. Under the Levitical system, those who became ceremonially unclean were repeatedly washed. The priests washed before entering the service of the tabernacle. Those healed from leprosy underwent ceremonial cleansing. Garments, vessels and even the people themselves were washed according to God's commandments.

On the Day of Atonement, the high priest himself was commanded,

"He shall bathe his body in water in a holy place..."

Leviticus 16:24 (ESV)

These repeated washings reminded Israel that sinful men and women could not approach a holy God without cleansing.

Yet every one of those ceremonies pointed beyond itself. However often the water was applied, it could never cleanse the conscience or remove sin. The worshipper returned again and again because the cleansing was ceremonial rather than complete.

The writer to the Hebrews draws our attention to this very truth.

"For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ... cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

Hebrews 9:13–14 (ESV)

The contrast could not be clearer. The Law reveals our uncleanness, and its ceremonies remind us that cleansing is necessary, but neither the Law nor its washings can accomplish what only Christ can do. They were shadows pointing forward to the One whose blood would truly cleanse the sinner.

Perhaps this is why the Interpreter places this lesson before Christian reaches the Cross. Unless we first understand what the Law can accomplish, and what it cannot, we shall never fully appreciate why Christ had to die. The Cross is not God's answer to a lack of effort. It is God's answer to a problem the Law could expose but could never remove.

As we continue through the Interpreter's House, Bunyan is carefully preparing both Christian and the reader for the great truth that lies ahead. Every lesson brings us one step closer to the Cross, where the shadows of the Law give way to their fulfilment in Jesus Christ.

Signing off

Tyrone

Scripture References: Romans 3:20; Romans 7:7–13; Leviticus 14:1–9; Leviticus 15; Leviticus 16:23–28; Exodus 30:17–21; Hebrews 9:13–14; Hebrews 10:1–4.