An Epic Expiation...

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin..."

-1 John 1 v 7

I'm going to go out on a limb here. In my opinion, English is the most beautiful language in the world. Without delving into a massive linguistical debate, I completely understand that it has to be used in the correct way. That said, when used properly, it can create realms beyond our thoughts.

I was thinking about this chapter, and how to introduce two key words that this chapter revolves around. I also happened to be up in Dublin quite a bit this week. And something occurred to me as I was thinking about the English language... there are so many words that are so intriguing, and yet not used in daily life. I'm sure if you were to ask me when I have an open dictionary in front of me, I'd be able to list off such words.

But there's one that I can tell you; defilement. You don't here "defilement" a lot in today's world. I also started to think why that might be, and while its not exactly pleasing to the ear, its certainly an interesting word.

Defile, the stem from which defilement comes from, is defined as "to make foul, dirty, or unclean; pollute; taint; debase..." That's a pretty good definition. Its used to reference something unclean, something that has been made dirty. Like I said, not the most pleasing of words to hear, but I think there's another reason why its an uncommon word... 'cause the world doesn't want us to hear it.

Think about it, in today's world, the media is focusing on trying to make you something you're not. That may include not using the correct words to describe us. I believe, and once again I think I'm going out on a limb, that defiled is a perfect adjective to describe us.

You may be thinking that's pretty harsh, but actually, it describes us perfectly. See, if I've learned one thing from reading the book this set of blogs is based on, is that a lot of what Jesus did on the cross revolves around one thing...

Sin...

It may sound kinda odd. After all, I knew all along that "sin" was one of the main reasons why Jesus died on the cross...I just hadn't realised how many different aspects of sin He dealt with. This is the seventh in a 12 part series. I haven't looked ahead, but I won't be surprised if at least another 3 chapters deal with another aspect of sin.

The aspect here we're focusing on is how sin defiles us. We all know, or at least should know, that sin makes us dirty. It makes filthy in the sight of God. Its a scary thing, which is something I'm sure I'm going to repeat over the coming weeks.

According to Scripture, there are three types of defilement;

1. Places can be defiled by sin; "Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin..." -Leviticus 18 v 25.
2. Objects can be defiled by sin, the example given in the book being the marriage bed; "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral..." -Hebrews 13 v 4.
3. People can be defiled by sin.

I want to take a paragraph to explain to you the two main types of sins. Just as we talked last week about how God's wrath can be active or passive, in a sense, so can sin. Sin in which we choose to do something against God's will is called a sin of commission. However, there is another type. Sin in which we choose to not do something that we ought to do, or that is according to our duty is a sin of omission.

Just thought I'd clear that up because its something that I've learned over my reading of this book. I never thought of sin like that, and neither had I thought of it for a long time as something that makes me unclean. I knew it did, but I hadn't thought of it like that for quite a while.

What's more is that this defilement of our souls and our bodies causes something to stir up inside us; shame. I originally thought shame was a majorly bad thing, but actually, looking at it, shame can actually be a really good thing. Shame exists when we sin, and so when we feel ashamed because we sin, its healthy. Someone who doesn't feel shame when the sin has a broken connection with God.

Again, this blog is beginning to sound depressing so I shall get to the point.

See, while we all know sin defiles us, Jesus died on the cross for our sin. In doing so, He clearly showed the doctrine of expiation. There's another word that isn't commonly seen in today's culture...cleanse. We see "clean" quite a bit, but not cleanse. Jesus, through his death on the cross, makes us clean, wipes away the filth and the stain left by sin, so that we can be seen to be pure in the eyes of our Father;

"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool..."

-Isaiah 1 v 18

Jesus' demonstration of His expiating work is shown through the second lamb on the Day of Atonement. After the first lamb is sacrifice as a sin offering, revealing God's propitiation work, the second lamb is led outside. Here, the High priest would confess the sins of the nation while placing his hands on the lamb. The lamb is then sent out to wander the desert, showing God's expiating work, through a scapegoat. In our case, Jesus is our scapegoat;

"...because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins..."

-Leviticus 16 v 30

"On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity..."

-Zechariah 13 v 1

In order for Jesus' expiating work to be made known in our lives, we need to confess our sin. More than that, we need to confess all of it, no matter how depressing, horrific or gross it may be, because Jesus forgives all sin. If we do this, we can avail of two accomplishments Jesus has secured;

1. Our sins will be forgiven, not through our confession, but because of Jesus' work on the cross; "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world..." -1 John 2 v 1-2.
2. He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

How can Jesus' expiating power work in our lives?

Simple

Let Him be the Nexus in our lives...