Think about the Passover. A bucket of blood is held in a father's hand. "Come on! Paint it on! Hurry up and paint it on, around the door and the windows. Don't miss anywhere." Who is speaking? That's right. It's little Kemuel's mother.She got excited about applying the blood, because she was aware of a terrible accuser just out of sight, standing over the life of her son. The blood took away some sort of legal right. The blood applied would negate the consequences of an accusation. It would save her son's life. If left in the bucket and unapplied, what was the use of that blood.
The blood of Christ when applied does something legally in the spiritual realm. It cleanses our history of sin and pain. Imagine being able to rewrite your history, all of those regrets gone, and the guilt and the mistakes. We can! Not physically, but spiritually it is possible. And the new revision is not read by the people around us. It is the one pored over by those dark accusers that wish to destroy us.
I was just on the Internet with my wife. We were trying to book a flight. We hesitated and then searched for it again and it was gone. It was so frustrating. The next best flight was much more expensive. What could we do? Absolutely nothing. It was there but now it is gone. That kind of frustration is what the accuser feels when we apply the blood. The opportunity is lost forever and all their best laid plans are void. The applied blood sends the accuser back to the drawing board.
The Blood of Jesus is precious. Over and over in the Bible we are told that it was the price of our redemption. That was a one-off transaction that brought us to God the Father. It is also a powerful cleansing agent. It cleanses us from our sins, day by day, in the here and now:
The blood of Christ when applied does something legally in the spiritual realm. It cleanses our history of sin and pain. Imagine being able to rewrite your history, all of those regrets gone, and the guilt and the mistakes. We can! Not physically, but spiritually it is possible. And the new revision is not read by the people around us. It is the one pored over by those dark accusers that wish to destroy us.
I was just on the Internet with my wife. We were trying to book a flight. We hesitated and then searched for it again and it was gone. It was so frustrating. The next best flight was much more expensive. What could we do? Absolutely nothing. It was there but now it is gone. That kind of frustration is what the accuser feels when we apply the blood. The opportunity is lost forever and all their best laid plans are void. The applied blood sends the accuser back to the drawing board.
The Blood of Jesus is precious. Over and over in the Bible we are told that it was the price of our redemption. That was a one-off transaction that brought us to God the Father. It is also a powerful cleansing agent. It cleanses us from our sins, day by day, in the here and now:
but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7
What does that mean? Is it just that his blood was shed for us back at the cross and God remembers that and cleans our slate? No, two verses later we learn that we confess and then it is applied . . .
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
Putting the two together we might summarise it like this: If we confess our sins, the Father will forgive our sins and cleanse them with the blood of his son. That is not just remembering or looking at some kind of abstract ledger of our sins. He picks up some of the blood of Christ and applies it to our person. Our sins have stained our bodies and souls, and that stain is removed with a wonderful, heavenly detergent – the only agent that can remove such a stain!
That obnoxious “if” there bothers us. If we take action, then we will be cleansed and forgiven. What if we forget to confess one sin? Will that be enough to keep us out of heaven? Actually, it’s not about salvation or our eternal destiny. That is all secure through the work of that same blood when it was used to purchase us. The stain of sin and its eradication is about living well. Chapter 1 and verse 7 calls it walking in the light. We are real about our sin, the blood is applied and everything is great. We can also see it as living in victory:
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
Revelation 12:10-12(ESV)
We sin and our accuser comes. He is conquered by the blood of the lamb. He has nothing to accuse us of, if we confess our sins, and they are subsequently washed with the powerful blood of Christ. At the end the blood of Christ will be the means of victory over the accuser. We in part, day by day, live out this victory when we live in the light. We will conquer him by the blood of the lamb. When we do this, we realise in part that awesome statement:
“. . . Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. . .”
Revelation 12:10(ESV)
Essentially, we are talking about the process of continual and vigilant cleansing, so that we can walk in victory. Here the blood is seen as being applied by people rather than the Father:
. . . they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7:14
Still the question lingers, “What if I am forgetful or lazy and don’t confess something?”
It follows that the accuser has something in our life to work with. If we hide it or deny our sin, the pressure of sin, its consequences, or the guilt associated with it can overcome us.
If left too long, we may need someone who is living in the light to come alongside and facilitate our healing. The poison must be washed out of the wound. We must bring that moment into the light. Then the blood will be applied and the legal right of accusation silenced. The accuser will be overcome, guilt and fear will fade away and healing can begin.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
James 5:15-17
The blood of Christ is powerful to break our chains and heal our wounds. Living under its cleansing influence is victory. Through it the kingdom of God comes into our life. Through it we live in the power and authority of Christ, who of course needed no such regular remedy for sin. Jesus said:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 10:10
The application of his blood makes the difference between these two lifestyles – defeated and sick with grief and consequences, or living abundantly in victory.
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