Jesus isn't just a crutch to help with some of your guilt, rather He cleanses you from ALL of your sins.
Read / Listen
Read 1 John 1:5-7
Listen to passage & devotional:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 30
Q. Do those who look for
their salvation and security
in saints, in themselves, or elsewhere
really believe in the only savior Jesus?
A. No.
Although they boast of being his,
by their deeds they deny
the only savior and deliverer, Jesus.
Either Jesus is not a perfect savior,
or those who in true faith accept this savior
have in him all they need for their salvation.
Summary
Details matter, take for example how a comma ended up costing the U.S. government millions of dollars. Back when the 1872 tariffs act was passed, tariffs made up a considerable amount of the government’s income. In this act, congress specified items that were exempt from these tariffs. Included in this list of exemptions was fruit-plants…..at least that was the intention. Instead of listing “fruit-plants” as an exemption, what was mistakenly put into the final draft was “fruit, plants”. That mistaken swap of punctuation was costly as various fruits had previously carried 10-20% tariffs. It is estimated that the government lost around $2 million dollars from this mistake, which when you consider inflation would equate to around $40 million today.
Details matter, not just in official government matters but also when we read the Word of God. The presence or absence of a single word can have a significant effect on the meaning of a passage. We see that with 1 John 1:5-7. Amongst this well-known description of God as light and how we are to walk in the light, there is also the phrase “the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin."
The word “all” matters a great deal. It is one thing to say that Jesus cleanses us from sin, and another entirely to proclaim that Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
Dig Deeper
You may have heard the idiom, “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes”. There is at least one more thing that you can add to this list: people sin. To say that you are without sin is to deceive yourself. Your debt of sin grows each day.
In the face of this mounting debt of sin, Jesus is the only source of relief. The catechism reminds us that if you have faith in Jesus, you have all you need for salvation. Not only is the blood of Christ enough to wash you clean of sin, it is enough to cleanse you from all sin.
There is no distinction between sins, as if some sins are unpardonable while others are not even worthy of forgiveness. Jesus cleanses you from all sins; not just the sins of your past, but even the sins you have yet to commit! When you sin, you do not need to wonder if that sin was one too far, as if that might be the sin that is too much for Jesus to forgive.
The word all from today’s passage is significant for it encapsulates the totality of the grace of Jesus. Jesus did not face the cross so that you could be partially forgiven, but so that you could be fully forgiven and washed clean from sin. Guilt is real and can be debilitating when allowed to take root, but in Jesus you do not need to be enslaved to the guilt of your past.
Accept the grace of Jesus, forgive yourself in the same way that Christ has forgiven you, and do your best to live a life full of gratitude for what Jesus has done for you.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Father God, you are light, and in you there is no darkness at all.
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength and courage to walk in the light as He is in the light.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Hebrews 10
