SIN: AND THE CLEANSING BLOOD

A Sermon By Edward Davies

These things write I unto you that ye sin not. -- I John 2:1

The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. -- I John 1:7

Sin is the only disturbing element in the universe, and it is perfectly wonderful how sin is interwoven into the very texture of both the soul and the body; of both the mind and the heart of man; and so deceitful is the human heart, that when you think you are free from all sin, sin will spring up in some unexpected, or in some unguarded place.

I. What is sin?

1. Sin is any want of conformity to the law of God, whether it be in omitting to do what God commands, or in doing what God forbids. "All unrighteousness is sin," whether it be in word, thought, deed, or desire. This includes all of those "little crooked ways, underhandedness, sly contrivances, hypocrisies, springing from the seed of deceit dropped into the soil of the human heart by the 'father of lies.' Deformities in character, blemishes of heart, spots on our purity -- be they ever so small -- all these are sins."

2. Sin consists also in any want of conformity to the likeness of God. God created man in his own image, not only in the image of his immortality, but also in the image of his righteousness and true holiness.

By sin we have forfeited this moral image of God, but the infinite love of God has provided for our full restoration to that blessed image, and while we remain without this, we sin by rejecting the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of God. Let us sing and pray-

"Adam's image now efface;

Stamp Thine image in its place.

Second Adam from above,

Reinstate us in Thy love."

3. "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." This is a Bible definition. "That which destroys my confidence in God, or hinders my trust; that which brings a doubt into my prayers, or clouds my spiritual joy, is not of faith, -- it is sin."

4. The unlawful use of lawful things, whether it pertain to the body or to the soul, is sin. As in excessive eating and drinking; as in the abusive use of the eye, as in looking upon a woman to lust after her. The Sweet Singer of Israel knew the bitterness of this. The patriarch Job found occasion to say-

"I have made a covenant with mine eyes."

It is lawful to love our friends; but if we love them more than God then they become our idols. It is lawful to attend to our business; but if we allow it to absorb our affections beyond measure, it becomes a sin. Men of great talents may make those talents their idols, and thus they may sin; or they may abuse their talents, by using them in the service of Satan, and so they sin. Frances Ridley Havergal would not use her great musical talents except for the glory of God. The tongue is a useful member, and its use is a great blessing; but it is often an unruly member, and its abuse is a great curse. "Therewith bless we God, .and therewith curse we men." "The tongue can no man tame." This is equally true with the other members of the body. It is verily true that the sins of the body often bring into condemnation those who profess entire sanctification. Beloved, beware! We want a fully sanctified soul in a fully sanctified body!

5. Solomon says, "The thought of foolishness is sin." Matthew Henry says on this text: "We contract guilt not only by the act of foolishness, but by the thought of it, though it go no further, The first risings of sin in the heart are sin, offensive to God, and must be repented of, or we are undone. Not only malicious, unclean, proud thoughts, but even foolish thoughts are sinful thoughts. if vain thoughts lodge in the heart they defile it."

We may have thoughts of evil without having evil thoughts. Still, if the thought be cherished it becomes a sin, for which we must repent; for "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

6. All uncharitableness in judging is sin. "Who art thou that judgeth another man's servant?" "Judge not, that ye be not judged; for with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged." "We are bound to place the highest estimate upon the conduct of others that reason and justice will permit. We ought in charity to pause before making an adverse remark about our friends or our enemies. Think on this important matter. We should by all means avoid a hasty spirit in judging. We are often disposed to judge the conduct of others before we have had time to find out the facts of the case; and this is sin in the sight of God, and this leads to a vast amount of mischief in the family, in the church, and in the world.

7. All want of that charity that suffereth long and is kind, is sin. The following is an example of long-suffering charity:-- While Francis Xavier was addressing a crowd in Japan, many deriding, one came up as if to speak to him privately, and when Xavier leaned over towards him to listen, the sinner spit full into the face of the noble missionary to publicly insult him. Xavier made no sign of anger or resentment, but simply wiped his face, and continued his discourse of Christ as if nothing had happened. This self-control was true heroism, and the derision of the audience was at once turned into admiration, and God gave him many souls as the seal of his heroic ministry.

In a heathen country a benighted priest abused the missionary, for which the priest was taken up and put in prison. The missionary, in the spirit of Christ, kindly lent the priest his blanket to wrap himself in as he lay in the prison. This Christian kindness so overcame the opposition, and demonstrated the divinity of his religion, that the hearts of the people were won to God.

8. "To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin." There are a thousand ways in which we may do good to the bodies or to the souls of men, and we must embrace those opportunities or we shall fall into sin; for, "as we have opportunity we should do good to all men, especially to those that are of the household of faith." This law has an almost infinite application.

9. We may sin unless we are more critical in self-examination; more unflinching in our determination to overcome; more distrustful of self; more confident in Christ; making no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

We often hear people ask, "Is there any harm in such and such a thing?" This question is beside the mark. Is it holy? Is it good? Is it God-honoring? Will it make or mar my character? These are the test questions.

10. To avoid sin we should closely scrutinize our pleasures.

Mrs. [Susannah] Wesley, the mother of Methodism, gives this good advice to her sons:-"Would you judge of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of pleasure; of the innocence or malignity of actions, take this rule: Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things -- in short -- whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself."

All these considerations show us the utter folly of all self-righteousness and our constant need of the atoning blood of the only begotten Son of God, to cleanse us from all sin.

It is my fervent prayer that the Holy Ghost may deeply convict the reader, of sin, and lay it heavily upon his heart; that he may feel the absolute need of the blood of Christ to cleanse him.

I have only specified a few sins, just enough to produce conviction and lead us to the blood that cleanseth us from all sin. You must confess your sins, and be sorry for your sins, and forsake them; then, and then only can you fly to the cleansing blood and have them all washed away.

II. Let us notice God's sovereign and gracious remedy for sin:

"The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

1. Notice the tense of the verb cleanseth. It is an ever-present cleansing, meeting an ever-present need of the human soul.

Miss Frances Ridley Havergal was a blessed example of this utter cleansing of the blood of Christ; and for seven years she lived in the clear light of entire sanctification. She testifies as follows:-

"It was that word 'cleanseth' which opened the door of a very glory of hope and joy to me. I had never seen the force of the tense before. A continual present, always present tense. Not a present tense that the next moment becomes a past; it goes on cleansing, and I have no words to tell how my heart rejoices in it. Not a coming to the fountain to be cleansed only, but a remaining in the fountain; so that it may and can go on cleansing."

So if we would be constantly clean, we must be constantly under the blood. Realizing with John Wesley:-

"Every moment, Lord,

I need The merit of Thy death."

We shall do well to sing constantly:-

"The cross now covers my sin;
The past is under the blood;
I am trusting in Jesus for all,--
My will is the will of my God."

2. Notice the extent of the cleansing "from all sin:" -- within or without, original or personal -- from sins of presumption, or of ignorance; yea, and from all secret sins. It will atone for and cleanse us from our mistakes, infirmities and impurities; and as we are always subject to these, we shall always need the cleansing blood.

Observe! The blood will not help us to cleanse ourselves from one sin, but it will cleanse us even from all sin.

It is not that the blood cleanseth us only from the desire to sin, as in conversion, but also from the imbuing of sin itself, as in entire sanctification. It is not the doctrines of Christ that cleanse us, or the example of Christ that cleanses us; but it is the blood that flowed from Immanuel's veins; the blood of the only begotten Son of God, applied to the penitent, believing heart. It is not that the blood is literally applied, but that the Holy Ghost applies the benefits of the
atonement to our entire cleansing. We sing our faith as follows:--

"The atonement of Thy blood apply,
Till faith to sight improve;
Till hope in full fruition die,
And all my soul be love."

Thanks be unto God, there is an all-sufficency in the merits of that blood.

For, "If the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" -- Heb. 9:13-14. We are justified by the merits of his blood. We are cleansed by the merits of his blood. We are sanctified through his blood, and this is "the blood of the everlasting Covenant." Let us sing:

"Lord, I believe thy precious blood,
Which, at the mercy seat of God,
Forever doth for sinners plead,
For me, even for my soul was shed."

"Thou dying Lamb! Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed church of God
Are saved to sin no more."

APPLICATION

Now, dear reader, will you closely examine your heart, and see if you are cleansed from all sin?

First. Are you saved from all want of conformity to the law of God? Are all your actual transgressions pardoned?

Second. Are you saved from all want of conformity to the likeness of God? Has He written His laws upon your nature, so that it is your delight to do his will? Remember! "As He is, so [ought you to be] in this world." -- I John 4:17

Third. Are you saved from all sinful tendencies?

Fourth. Are you saved from all malice, deceit, unbelief, pride, covetousness, envy?

Fifth. Alfred Cookman used to ask, "Are you cleansed from all doubtful indulgences?"

Sixth. Have you the charity that suffereth long and is kind; that vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up; seeketh not her own; and thinketh no evil?

Seventh. Are you saved from all neglecting of opportunities to do good, or to get good?

Eighth. Are you saved from the unlawful use of lawful things?

Ninth. Are you saved from idle or from foolish conversation?

Tenth. Have you the genuine mark of true perfection, as Charles Wesley expresses it?-

"What! never speak one evil word,
Or rash, or idle, or unkind?
O, how shall I, most-gracious Lord,
This mark of true perfection find?

All these considerations teach us that there is no possibility of being clean or of being kept clean, only [except] as we remain under the blood.

Thanks be unto God that we may constantly realize that "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Though sin is ingrained into the very fiber of our being, and is as inwrought as the spots in the skin of the leopard; yet the blood of Jesus Christ can make and keep us whiter than snow.

Though the virus of sin is felt in every part of the whole man, yet, we have a universal remedy in the all-atoning, the all-cleansing blood of God's only Son.

Dear reader -- Has that precious cleansing blood been applied to thine heart? Have you come in implicit faith, to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world?

And you, Christian Believer, have you brought your regenerate heart to this fountain of cleansing? Are you, just now, made whiter than snow? and do you purpose, henceforth to walk this world wearing the white robes of Heaven, that have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb? Do you? Why not?

This blood alone will enable us to have boldness in the Day of Judgment.

"Jesus, thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; 'Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed With joy shall I lift up my head."

Let us all plunge anew into this open fountain and instantly prove its cleansing power. Amen and Amen! Let us sing in faith the following blessed hymn-

1
"The blood! the blood is all my plea;
Nor should a sinner wonder:
For guilty stain and stinging pain
Had torn my heart asunder!

2
"I rest! I rest supremely blest,
Without a care to canker
No gloomy night, my path is light,
My hope holds like an anchor.

3
"The blood! the blood is all my song;
I have no bliss without it;
From every stain it makes me clean;
My life and lip shall shout it.

4
"My cup! my cup it runneth o'er,
With joy celestial brimming;
On wings of bye I soar above,
His hallelujahs hymning."

Chorus
But now I'm bending at the cross;
Washing in the crimson tide,
And cleansed, I tarry at the fountain
Opened at my Saviour's side.