The Blood of Forgiveness and Cleansing

“For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” Hebrews 9:22 NLT

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 NKJV

Jesus was crucified at the time of the Jewish Feast of Passover. This was not a coincidence. It was ordained of God. Jesus is called our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7) and also the Lamb of God (John 1:29).

The first Passover took place more than 3,000 years ago. It happened on the night when God sent the tenth plague upon Egypt. This plague would bring death to the first born in the land. To escape this judgement, the Jewish people were to follow God’s specific instructions for deliverance.

Each family was commanded to choose a lamb according to God’s specifications. The lamb was to be slain and its blood applied to the two side posts and the upper door post of each house. The slain lamb was then to be brought into the home, roasted, and eaten by everyone inside. It was in this context that God made this promise, “The blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:13 NLT

There was only one way the Jewish people could be delivered from the judgement of death. They did not think up this way. It was God’s way. It was the way of the blood. It was the only way! Through the substitutionary death of The Passover lamb, God was telling us that one day, in the fullness of time, He would send a Lamb into the world, His Lamb—Perfect! Sinless!—to be our Savior and Deliverer from sin.

The shed blood of God’s Lamb, has provided by His grace, so many life-changing things for us. Two of these include our forgiveness and cleansing.

One of life’s frustrations is when I buy a new shirt and then spill something on it the first time I wear it. What makes it even worse is when the item I spilled leaves a stain that I can’t remove. Sin is like a stain in us that wouldn’t come out, no matter how hard we try. To remove the stain of sin will take something far beyond anything we can do. God is the only One who has the solution. In Isaiah 1:18 God gives us this wonder working promise, “Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 NKJV

It is only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ that sin’s stain can be removed, and we can be forgiven and cleansed.

Forgiveness and cleansing are very different things. Suppose a boy got very angry at a classmate while at school, and during the lunch hour the boy wrote some hateful things on the chalkboard. Just as the boy was about to leave, the teacher walked in. When the teacher read what was written on the board he asked the boy if he had written it. The boy confessed and said that he was sorry. The teacher forgave the boy, and then took a cloth and wiped the chalkboard clean so it would never be seen or read again. When God forgives us He also cleanses us, and remembers our sins no more. “I, only I, am He who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25 AMP

Prayer

Jesus, thank You for leaving heaven and coming to earth to die on the cross for me. Thank You for shedding Your blood so I could begin each day in the joy of being cleansed and forgiven. Thank You for being the Lamb of God, my perfect Savior from sin!

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. Revelation 1:5 NKJV

This article is the first in a 4-part Easter devotional series entitled “The Precious Blood of Jesus” written by Roy Lessin, co-founder of DaySpring. To read more from Roy, you can follow his Facebook page Meeting in the Meadow. In Roy’s next posting, we will learn about the life-changing Blood of Redemption.

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