Not Just Forgiven, But Cleansed Also!

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 New King James Version, NKJV)

Having written these letters several years after the others had written the gospels, I tend to think that John believed people were in need of being reminded of the complete work of Christ on the Cross. Have you ever thought about what John may have envisioned when he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen these words on the parchment?

He may have been thinking about the time Jesus met the woman at the well in Samaria. Remember her? She was the one who was living with a man and had lived with others even before him. John may have remembered how that Jesus dealt with her.

Perhaps the time came to mind when Jesus was teaching in the temple and the religious guys brought in a woman caught in adultery and threw her down in front of Him; wanting to see if He would follow the Law and call for her to be stoned. Only to be surprised when He told them in a roundabout way they could be stoned for sins they had committed as well. Jesus then told her He forgave her and did not condemn her. Or it may have been what he remembered Jesus saying as He was dying on the Cross; “Forgive them Father, for they do not know what they are doing.”

I think you believe that Jesus will forgive sins; the sins of others. The hardest thing it seems for any of us to do is to believe in that forgiveness for ourselves. That is why I believe that John went a sentence further and added the words, “and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.” John wanted us to know that the work of redemption was not just for a moment in history. Forgiving and cleansing go hand in hand. There cannot be forgiveness if there is no absolution of sin by the High Priest of Heaven. Sin that is present in one’s life is not absolved. Jesus cleansed (absolved) us of sin with His Blood. Today when we stand or kneel and ask God to forgive us for our sins we are also agreeing to allow Him to cleanse us from it. As the song Jesus Paid It All says, “Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

The reason many feel they are beyond forgiveness is because of the residue left behind in their heart from sin and unrighteousness. With their minds they attempt to put the sin behind them but in their hearts the stains remain. That is why the Apostle Paul told us to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” If you have asked God to forgive you He has; and Christ has cleansed you. Your sin stains have been bleached out by the Blood of Jesus!