Dear Friends,

The Gospel of Jesus Christ - that is the Good News from Jesus Christ - can be summed up in four words in the story of Namaan, a general in the Syrian army, found in 2 Kings, chapter 5, in the Old Testament. The words are spoken by Naaman's servant at the end of verse 13 in this chapter, and are themselves a summary of the words of Elisha, the prophet in Israel, which he spoke to Naaman earlier.

The Good News is "wash and be cleansed".

The Gospel is all about being washed and made clean, not from dirt on the body, but filth within us, the moral dirt which defiles our souls, and makes us unfit to meet God. The Gospel is good news because at the end of the day we have to meet God and account for our lives which he has given us, and to be uncleansed at that time will cause us to be condemned to Hell.

Now the story, or rather history because it really happened, of Naaman, the Syrian general, is all about his leprosy, and the words "wash and the cleansed" which refers in the story to his leprosy. He was told that if he washed himself seven times in the river Jordon, his leprosy would be healed. He did wash and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. The story, however, illustrates very clearly the Bible theme about washing from sin. Leprosy is a very good picture of our moral sickness; and "wash and the cleansed" describes accurately how we can be cleansed from sin; and the result in Naaman's body illustrates vividly the result of the cleaning of our souls by Jesus. If we go to Jesus to be cleansed of our sin, and are washed in his blood, we are cleansed from all our sin. Let me try and show what I mean.

Firstly, leprosy is a very useful picture of the problem of sin in the human heart. As leprosy produces sores in the body, so sin produces sores and blemishes which disfigure our moral character. As leprosy effects every part of the body, so sin effects every part of our personality - our thoughts, feelings, will, and desires. Just as leprosy cuts people off from society, so sin cut us off from the society of God. Just as leprosy kills the body eventually, so sin eventually brings the soul to eternal death in hell.

Secondly, leprosy was then an incurable complaint. If you contracted it you had to be isolated and left to die. Even today, although we have means of controlling the disease, it is still awful and there is no means of putting back the destruction that it inflicts on the body. Sin is like this. We have no remedy for it. We have no way ourselves to cleanse the guilt of past sins, nor have we any remedy for the corruption of our nature which causes all human beings to go wrong. We simply seek to shrug off the problem by saying "well! I am only human."

Thirdly, just as the river Jordan cleansed Naaman, so Jesus cleanses those who go to him. Not only does Jesus wash away the stain and guilt of every sin we have committed and will commit; he resurrects within us a new nature which, being holy, gives us a desire to be good and fight the wrong desires in our minds and bodies. Jesus, by this cleansing, restores us to the society of heaven, and God becomes our friend and Father. This cleansing is so wonderful that it lasts for ever. This physical body has to die, but that is all joy, and a final release from the burden of this sinful flesh, as we go to God's heavenly realm and receive a new sinless body.

Fourthly, just as Naaman had to believe the words of the prophet Elisha that he would be cleansed if he went and washed in the River Jordan seven times, so we have two believe in the word of Jesus which says, "whoever believes on me, shall not perish, but have eternal life". Naaman's faith was seen in that he obey the word and washed in the river. Our faith in Jesus is seen when we obey the promise by putting our trust in Jesus and following him as Lord and Saviour, living our life for him. This is what it means to believe in Jesus.

Fifthly, just as Naaman came out of the river cleansed to start a new life with joy, so the one who commits their life to Jesus, will begin a new life with the joy of Christ in their hearts. Difficulties still come, but we face them with Jesus and rejoice in his love and power.