Christ's Cleansing Power: Washing Away Our Sins

The Bible teaches that Christ washes away our sins once and for all. In the Old Testament, God commanded people to purify themselves through sacrifices, ritualistic bathing, and wearing specific types of clothing. However, these methods were insufficient to truly cleanse people from their sins. Instead, the Bible teaches that it is only through faith in the blood of Christ that our sins are washed away. This is a central tenet of Christianity, as expressed in Hebrews 10:10-12: Our sins are washed away and we are made clean because Christ gave His own body as a gift to God. He did this once for all time.

The blood of Christ washes away sin

Hebrews 9:13-14 in the Bible says:

> "The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"

The blood of Christ washes away our sins and makes us clean in God's eyes. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can be cleansed of our sins. This is a gift from God, and it is not something that we can earn or achieve on our own. We are still sinners in practice, but through Christ, we are made righteous in God's sight.

The concept of sin being washed away is also seen in Psalm 51, where King David prays for forgiveness and cleansing after his sin with Bathsheba. In Psalm 51:7, David says, "Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." This psalm illustrates the importance of repentance and acknowledging our need for God's mercy.

Through the blood of Christ, we are forgiven, and our sins are washed away. This is a powerful reminder of God's grace and our need for a Saviour.

God forgives us and forgets our sins

God forgives and forgets our sins. This is evident in several Bible passages. Isaiah 43:25 says, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." Similarly, Hebrews 8:12 states, "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."

However, God's "forgetting" is not the same as human forgetfulness. God is omniscient and does not forget anything. Instead, when God chooses not to remember our sins, He removes them from us "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12). This means that God chooses not to hold our sins against us and treats us as if we had never sinned.

In the Old Testament, God commanded His people to purify themselves through sacrifices, ritualistic bathing, and specific clothing (Exodus 30:20; Numbers 19:21; Joel 1:13). These actions were physical illustrations to help people understand spiritual truths.

Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross was a once-and-for-all offering that completely washed away our sins (Hebrews 10:14). Unlike the Old Testament sacrificial system, Jesus' payment for sin was complete and perfect. Through faith in Jesus, we are forgiven and justified (declared righteous) before God (Romans 8:1).

While we are still sinners in practice, we are made righteous through Christ's sacrifice. God chooses to forget our sins and removes them from His sight (Psalm 103:12). We are no longer spiritually corrupt and stand justified in His presence.

God's forgiveness and forgetting of our sins do not mean that He clears the guilty. Instead, the punishment for our sins fell on Jesus, who became our representative. God's justice and mercy are harmonised through Christ's sacrifice, demonstrating His relentless justice and bountiful mercy.

We serve a God who forgives and forgets our sins, treating us as if we had never sinned.

We are still sinners in practice, but righteous in position

When the Bible speaks of our sins being washed away, it means we are forgiven. Our sins, which had defiled us, are gone. By the grace of God through Christ, we are no longer spiritually corrupt; we stand justified before God.

However, we are still sinners in practice, but righteous in position. We are like an adopted child who becomes a son or daughter the moment the judge declares them so, even though they may not know the parents well, understand their house rules, or be deserving of their love in any way. Over time, they grow to know and love their new family, and become in practice what they were already declared to be in position.

Similarly, our sins are washed away the moment we place our faith and trust in the saving work of Jesus on our behalf. Over time, we grow to know and love our Father, assimilate into our Christian family, and become in practice what we have already been declared to be in position.

The joy of the Christian life is that, even though we are not perfect, we can live every moment with the confidence that our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus and we have been pronounced “clean” by the final Judge.

Repentance is meaningless without acknowledging sin

The Bible verse Hebrews 9:22 emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and turning away from sins to receive forgiveness from God. It states, "Without repentance, there is no remission of sin." Remission refers to having our sins forgiven and removed from us. Sin separates us from God, and forgiveness is how we are reconciled with Him.

The concept of repentance is introduced in the Old Testament. In Numbers 8:7, God gives instructions for consecrating the Levites, saying, "Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves." David, after his sin with Bathsheba was exposed, repented with great sorrow. In his prayer, he says, "Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7).

Jesus refers to the need for repentance and being "born of water and the Spirit" to enter the kingdom of God: "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). Ananias told Paul, "Be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name" (Acts 22:16).

Repentance is not something we do to earn salvation. It is a gift from God and is only possible because of His grace. Biblical repentance is changing your mind about your sin and about Jesus Christ. It is recognizing that sin is something to be forsaken and that Jesus is the Savior to be worshipped and adored.

Christ's sacrifice was once for all time

In the Old Testament, the Law of Moses prescribed that there would be priests who would make regular, repeated sacrifices on behalf of the people and themselves. These sacrifices only temporarily covered up the sins of the people. In contrast, Jesus's sacrifice was "once for all" (Hebrews 7:27). As he was sinless, he didn't have to offer sacrifices for his own guilt. Instead, he offered himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for those who did owe God a debt for their sin.

Hebrews 10:12 states that "when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God". This sacrifice was offered "once for all when he offered himself" (Hebrews 7:27).

Jesus's sacrifice was sufficient to cover the sins of everyone. As John puts it, Jesus is the "propitiation" (or satisfaction) for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). This means that the price Jesus paid was enough to satisfy the debt owed.

Through Jesus's sacrifice, we can have peace with God and are no longer subject to His wrath; instead, we are children who are beloved by our heavenly Father.

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