January 21, 2019
The Source of Our Cleansing: The Blood of Jesus Christ
 
Below you will find an audio of the devotion being read for you, followed by the written devotion. Listen on the go, listen as you read along, or enjoy reading it without the audio. God bless!
 
 
“And now we also have liberty to enter through the Blood. Sin took away our liberty of approach to God, the Blood perfectly restores to us this liberty.” – Andrew Murray
 
1. Access by His Blood
We have boldness and confidence as we approach God with our prayers and our worship, because we are no longer far away from God, “Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).
 
It is because of the blood of Jesus Christ that we have the great privilege of pouring our hearts out to God (Psalm 62:8) casting our cares on him (1 Peter 5:7) and praying any time and any place in the power of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). Does your prayer life reflect the kind of relationship you have with God through the blood of Christ?
 
2. Forgiveness of Sin
Ephesians 1:7 says that, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Because of Christ’s shed blood, God is able to forgive us for our sins and give the punishment that we deserved to Christ.
 
Christ had a special way of explaining this to his disciples during the Last Supper, which also happened to be the Passover meal celebration. He said, “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
 
He was telling his disciples that just as the blood of lambs delivered the Hebrews from the death of the firstborn in Egypt, so Christ’s blood, the blood of the spotless Lamb, would deliver the people who were covered by it from the judgment of God on the last day. Those who are covered by the blood of Jesus do not succumb to death. The passing of this life is not death for those in Christ. It is a graduation to our eternal reward. We are victorious by the blood of the lamb!
 
This truth is expressed beautifully in the hymn, “Nothing But the Blood”:
 
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
 
Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus…
 
Take joy today that Christ has cleansed you from your sin with his blood! And if there are sins that you have not given to Jesus, don’t delay! Come to Jesus and be cleansed!
 
3. Conscience Cleansed
Through the blood of Christ, Christians receive the cleansing of their conscience. Hebrews 9:14 says, “…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
 
This is an amazing promise! Christ cleansing our consciences from acts that lead to death! How does He do it? By the blood of Christ. He offered Himself—His unblemished, perfect life—as a sacrifice for us on account of our sins. Therefore, He alone is able to cleanse our consciences through His blood.
 
Even though our minds have been corrupted by sin and seared as with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2), Christ can cleanse our consciences. We are able to live right lives, and think right thoughts, once again in Christ. This is the hope we have to overcome our burdens from a sinful past and corrupted consciences. God will cleanse our conscience as we surrender to Him. He will renew and transform our minds.
 
4. We are Progressively Cleansed from Sin
Not only are we forgiven from sin, but we are also sanctified through the blood of Christ. Hebrews 13:12 tells us that “Jesus also suffered…in order to sanctify the people through his own blood” (Hebrews 13:12). God is calling his people be holy as he is, which is one of the reasons Jesus suffered. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
 
The blood of Jesus does not just initially cleanse us of our sins at conversion, but we are sanctified by His blood day by day. Sanctification is the process by which we come before Him daily and surrender in His presence. As we surrender daily, we are washed clean and made new. His blood serves to separate us further and further from the strongholds of sin as we follow Him and mature in Him and become more like Him.
 
Not where you want to be in Christ? No problem. You can draw closer today. That is a promise we have through the blood of Christ.
 
5. We Are Able To Conquer the Accuser of the Brethren
Because of Christ’s sacrifice and the pouring out of His blood on our behalf, we can trust in the righteousness of Christ and not our own righteousness when we are accused by our enemy. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they have conquered him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” As believers, we know that we cannot stand on our own merit or because of our own deeds. We know that our good deeds are as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6) and that Christ’s righteousness attributed to us is how we are able to stand up against accusations.
 
Once, when a person was struggling with believing God could forgive them, Bishop GT Haywood locked himself in his office for seven days. During those seven days he prayed and fasted, and he emerged with this song (I See A Crimson Stream of Blood):
 
When gloom and sadness whisper,
You’ve sinned—no use to pray,
I look away to Jesus,
And He tells me to say:
 
I see a crimson stream of blood,
It flows from Calvary,
Its waves which reach the throne of God,
Are sweeping over me.
 
Today no condemnation
Abides to turn away
My soul from His salvation,
He’s in my heart to stay.
 
Thank God for the Blood
I hope you are encouraged today as you meditate on the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. He loves us and desires to apply His blood to our lives. He wants us to have access through His blood, to cleanse us from all of our sin, to clean our conscience and renew our minds, to sanctify us further and make us more like Him, and He desires that we confidently declare our victory to the accuser of the brethren – “It is under the blood of Jesus!”
 
Because of the blood of Jesus, there is no more condemnation to those who are in Christ. Thank God for the blood that washes white as snow!
 
Source:
https://unlockingthebible.org/2016/03/the-power-in-the-blood-of-jesus-christ/
 
Author:
Kevin Halloran is a blogger and coffee aficionado. He serves with Leadership Resources International, training pastors to preach God’s Word with God’s heart. Follow Kevin on Twitter or visit his blog.