Healing From Forgiveness - Pt 4

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV). Yesterday we saw that the first step to achieving healing through forgiveness was to acknowledge that we have been chosen by grace. The second thing I am reminded of is that we have been cleansed of sin. In the passage from Zechariah, which we read a few days ago, Joshua stood before the Lord with filthy clothes that represented sin. We need to get the full impact of the picture here. The word "filthy" literally means "excrement." Joshua’s sin was like dung in the presence of God. Notice that the Lord didn’t let Joshua off the hook by diminishing his sin. And, when the Devil accuses us, our defense is not to explain away sin because all sin is a nasty, stinking mess before a holy and pure God. Even when Jesus, the righteous Branch came, He didn’t just wink at our sin. He didn’t ignore it or pretend that it wasn’t as bad as it was. Jesus dealt with our ugly sin by dying an ugly death. At the cross, our sin wasn’t excused. But it WAS erased. Baptism, no matter which form you may practice, is a beautiful picture of the cleansing of God’s grace. As the candidate completes the baptismal act, with water flowing off him, it pictures the washing of the soul by the grace of God. No wonder the scripture teaches us that God’s forgiveness is so complete that our sin is separated from us “as far as the east is from the west.” I know you’ve heard it said before of this verse, but it bears repeating for emphasis. While the distance from the north to the south may be measure, since both have a beginning point, the distance “from east to west” has no such measurement. God takes our sin forever away from us. Under the old covenant people were forced to sacrifice animals for their forgiveness of sin. However, it left them feeling guilty because the sacrifice was always incomplete. When Christ came, he took away sins once and for all. We are encouraged to draw near to the presence of God, not under accusation, but with the full assurance of faith that our hearts have been cleansed from a guilty conscience. The great hymn of faith says it so well: What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! Oh! Precious is the flow That makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus! So, when the Devil begins His assault, sing those words with confidence. You have been cleansed of your sin.