nt
teaching on this point in 1 John i. 7, "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son
_cleanseth_ us from all sin;" and 1 John i. 9, "He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to _cleanse_ us from all unrighteousness." Is
the "cleansing" of verse 7 the same as the "cleansing" of verse 9? Most
certainly not. The "cleansing" of verse 7 has to do with the _guilt_ of
sin, with sin after it has been committed; this is the only sense in
which the Blood of Jesus "cleanses," it washes white as snow from the
guilt and stain of _actual_ transgression; that "cleansing" is
retrospective. Now, this "Cleansing" of verse 7 is the "forgiving" of
verse 9; both these words bear on a sinner's Justification. But the
"cleansing from all unrighteousness" of verse 9 is something different
from, something over and above the "forgiving" of verse 9, or the
"cleansing" of verse 7; else, if they mean one and the same thing, would
not the author be guilty of tautology? The "cleansing" of verse 9 is
prospective, and refers to holiness of life, to our being saved from sin,
from sinning. And you will notice that it is not the Blood of Jesus that
does this, but Jesus _Himself_ by the exercise of His Almighty power.
There is a great deal of confusion on this point in many minds, a
confusion fostered, if not begotten, by some of our hymns. Powers are
sometimes attributed to the Blood of Jesus, to the Death of Christ, which
belong to Jesus Himself, to the living Christ. We are saved from sin's
condemnation by the Blood, cleansed from the guilt of all sin, forgiven
on the ground of the Blood; and in this connection we cannot possibly
make too much of the Blood, too much of the Death of the Son of God--but
we are saved from sin's power by Jesus Himself. "Himself (lit.) shall
save His people from their sins" (Matt. i. 21). "We shall be saved _by His
life_" (Rom. v. 10). "_He_ is faithful and just to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness." The Blood "cleanses" in the sense of washing the sin
away after it has actually been committed; He "cleanses" in the sense of
preventing, restraining from sin. He keeps us back from _sinning_. He
"makes us more than conquerors" over sin; and in this so blessed sense
"prevention is better than cure." How often does a mother say to her
child when putting on a clean snow-white pinafore in the morning, "Now,
my darling, do keep it clean!" "Yes, mother," and she intends to do so;
but alas for her intentions! At dinner-time she come