Most Christians spend an ample lot of their precious time--prodded of course by the evil one---whipping themselves for their past sins; forgetting that Christ died on the cross to forgive us of all of them – past, present or future. Time spent ‘massaging’ as it were, our weaknesses and failures of the past only brings to the fore our present shortcomings and clouds our view; for we have been ‘washed by the blood’ and cleansed of our sins. “The Lord is compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.... He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:8-12)
God has elevated us from sin-consciousness. Sin-consciousness denies someone of the impact the liberating power of Christ‘s finished work on the cross should have in our lives. Actually, God has given us a clean bill of health. In fact, He no longer counts our sins against us; instead He has put it all on Jesus, our sin-bearer.
With the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus a whole new process has been set in motion and we need to make the move if we are to benefit from its rewards. It is only when we come to realise that we have been set free from the shackles of sin and that nothing could keep us bound, would we rejoice over our newly-found salvation. Blood-covenanted Christians therefore, must seek to glory in what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross, rather than focus on the setbacks of sin and our inadequacies.
For long, sin has been a barrier to our relationship with our God. “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But our iniquities (sins) have separated [us] from [our] God.” (Isaiah 59:1-2) Jesus, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world,” bore all of our sins at the cross.
Jesus was sent by the Father to destroy the works of the devil. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8b) And on the cross of Calvary, He made a public spectacle of him. Little did Satan and his cohorts realise that Christ was born to die this shameful death for humanity to be ransomed. There is therefore no pleasure in recounting, examining and analysing our sins; rather let us begin to give credit to the One who came to set humanity free. (John 8:32) God, through the sacrifice of His Son, has liberated humanity as a whole from what has kept it bound. In Old Testament times, once every year the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies – the most sacred place in the temple -- to offer the sacrifice of a lamb to atone for the sins of the people. He risked his life in that depending on whether God was pleased or displeased with him as the representative of God’s people, he could come out of this meeting with God, alive or dead. Jesus is our “great High Priest.” (Hebrews 4:14) His priesthood is superior to that of the priests.
Sin-consciousness is the devil’s ploy to take away our consciousness from our wrongdoings and focus on His righteousness. We had been made righteous (clean and pure) not because of what any of us has done. NO! God in His mercy has declared us righteous because of what Jesus has done. He alone was able to pay the price for sin on our behalf. He died in our stead. Therefore, anyone who recognises the sonship of Jesus and his finished work on the cross will inherit everlasting life – the God-kind of life.
Now the more time we spend glorifying God for this splendid work He has done on our behalf, the less we would focus on our weaknesses and failures; and the more we will appreciate what Jesus has accomplished for us. He has become the atoning sacrifice for our sins -- the “Lamb without blemish or defect” required for sacrifice to God. (1 Peter 1:19)
Jesus’ accomplishment has a magnetic appeal for humanity that had been fighting a losing battle with sin ever since the fall at the Garden of Eden. Humankind has been and is still wearied by sin and would have given up if Jesus had not reversed the situation. He has snatched us from the hands of the devil, thus making captivity captive. All who come to Him have been washed clean of all their sins.
Come just as you are, with your sin-baggage and all your shortcomings. Adequate provision has been made to receive each and everyone. It is pointless trying to impress God with our self- righteous efforts which cannot save us. Observing the law will never give one access to heaven, for God has demonstrated that no one can keep all His laws. In fact, they were given to underline our need for God. Christ, our Saviour, has redeemed us from the curse, making it simple for us to fall into God’s arms and enjoy His perfect love.
“Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)
