In 1 John 1:7, we read, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” It has true cleansing power. The Greek word for “cleanse” is “Katharidzo.” I always thought this Greek word would make a great name for a laundry detergent. My wife’s name is “Kathy.” All forms of that name usually refer to the idea of “the pure one” or the “clean one.” It’s the word that’s used in the Gospels for “cleansing” lepers as well as external washing. The Pharisees, for example, “cleansed” the outside but left the inside rotting like a corpse in a tomb. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Under the law, everything was ‘cleansed’ with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.” It’s also the word from which we take the medical term for “catheter.” It’s the tube that is attached to our urinary system to help cleanse the poisons from our system. The blood of Jesus can cleanse us from our sins and guilt. When we cauterize something, we purify it. When we speak of a catharsis, we’re talking about a cleansing.
One of the key identifying characteristics of a Christian cult is the blurring of the divine nature of Jesus. Whereas the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus’ conception and birth were miraculous, resulting in a divine presence of God “with us” and a unique physical composition of all man and all God at the same time. It was this miraculous birth and the nature of His being that made the shedding of His unique blood capable of cleansing us all of all our sins. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement, said, “The material blood of Jesus was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when it was shed upon ‘the accursed tree,’ than when it was flowing in his veins as he went daily about his Father’s business.” As with most cults, the true supernatural nature of Christ is denied or ignored, yet it’s that divine nature that provides the cleansing power for our sins. Just as Jesus calls the lepers, he calls all sinners to come to him for cleansing. He will wash away our sin and guilt! He will make us whole again. He can because of who He was and is!
The late James Boice wrote, “The gospel of the crucified Christ has been preached in palaces and halls of state, and the mighty of this world have come to him. It has been preached in the dirtiest and most dangerous of the back alleys of our cities, and the weak and outcasts of this world have come to him. It has been preached to Americans, and Americans have come. It has been preached in the nations of Africa and Asia and South America, and citizens of those nations have come. It has been preached to children, and children have come. It has been preached to the aged, and the aged have come. It has been preached to the intelligent and the not-so-intelligent, to the socially favored and to the socially disadvantaged, to blacks and whites, to Jews and Moslems and Buddhists and total pagans, and men and women from each of these groups have turned to Jesus as the One who is able to cleanse from sin and lead them in the way everlasting.” One of my favorite old hymns of the faith is “Are You Washed In The Blood Of The Lamb.” You won’t hear this song in churches very often today, unfortunately. The idea of “blood” is too offensive to some.
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?