I read with pleasure your article in a recent number on "The Meaning of the Cross." It certainly opens up the subject in a wonderfully clear light, and enables one to read the Gospel message for himself in all creation.
I should he very glad if you would write further with regard to the cleansing power of the blood of Christ as applied to the heart of man, and tell us what is meant by the "blotting out" of sin. Has it not a deeper meaning than the destroying of the record of the sin? Or rather, is not each individual in himself the record of his own past? Must not the "blotting out" therefore be a work wrought in the individual, and not something apart from or outside of him?
It is part of fallen human nature to make religion consist of forms and ceremonies, formulas and doctrines. Sacerdotalism is not peculiar to certain denominations; it is inherent in fallen human nature and just to the extent that one loses sight of God, that formalism will manifest itself even in those who are most sincere.
There are just as sincere souls among those whose religion consists of forms as among any people on earth. I have seen among Roman Catholics as much devout sincerity as among any people. Our danger lies in thinking that the truth consists of certain statements-of losing sight of the distinction between truth and the statement of truth. There is just as much difference between these two as there is between the law and the writing out of the law. The real law is living; the writing of it in the book is only a shadow. We are in danger of making a creed, and thinking that that is the truth. No human words can express the truth of God. "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for them that love Him. But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit." (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)
The fullness of the truth of God cannot be stated in human language; otherwise it could be heard by the ear. It cannot be framed in human thought; otherwise it could enter into the heart of man. Truth can be revealed to man only by the gift of the Spirit of truth. "This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7)
Just forget the division of this epistle into chapters, with which John had nothing to do. This was a letter, containing but few sentences, not so long as we ourselves have sometimes written. At the beginning of the letter he makes this statement of what his message is, and a little later he writes about the end of the world. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides for ever." (1 John 2:16-17)
This then is just the message for the last days, that which will make people stand when the world passes away. Then the Apostle speaks of "the anointing that you have received of Him [so that] you need not that any man teach you." (1 John 2:27)
No man can teach you the truth; the things which God has prepared are revealed only by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. "And even as it has taught you, you shall abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming." (1 John 2:27-28)
So this is the message that will give people boldness at the coming of the Lord, so, that they will look up and say, "Lo this is our God, we have waited for Him and He will save us." (Isaiah 25:9) "This then is the message, ... that God is light, ... [And] if we walk in the light, ... the blood of Jesus Christ ... cleanses us from all sin," (1 John 1:5,7) blots out all iniquity. The proof of whether or not we have the truth is in the effect that that which we have has upon our lives. Does it cleanse us from unrighteousness? "If we walk in the light,...then the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us." (1 John 1:7)
Light is the flowing forth of God's life, which cleanses, and blots out sin. We need to be on our guard against the idea that the blotting out of sin is merely as the passing of a sponge over a slate, or an entry in a ledger, to balance the account. This is not the blotting out of sin. An ignorant man who saw a thermometer for the first time thought to lessen the heat by breaking it. But how much effect did this have upon the weather? Just as much as the wiping out of the record of his sin has upon the sinner.
The tearing of a leaf out of a book, or even the burning of the book containing the record, does not blot out the sin. The sin is not blotted out by blotting out the account of it, any more than throwing my Bible into the fire abolishes the Word of God. There was a time when all the Bibles that could be found were destroyed; but the Word of God--the truth--remained just the same, because truth is God himself; it is His life.
Truth is implanted in the heavens and earth, it fills the stars, and keeps them in their spaces; it is that by which the plants grow, and the birds build their nests; it is that by which they know how to find their way across the sea. When Moses broke the tables of stone, the law was just as steadfast as it was before. Just so, though all the record of all our sin, even though written with the finger of God, were erased, the sin would remain, because the sin is in us. Though the record of our sin were graven in the rock, and the rock should be ground to powder--even this would not blot out our sin.
No More Consciousness of Sin
The blotting out of sin is the erasing of it from the nature, the being of man. "The blood of Jesus Christ ... cleanses from all sin." (1 John 1:7)
Our bodies are but the channel, the border, the sand upon the shore, of the cover of life. Impressions have been made upon us by sin.
At the sea-shore, when you see a smooth piece of sand, your first impulse is to make some mark on it, to write the characters upon it. Then the sea comes up, and each wave that passes over it helps to obliterate the impression until it is entirely blotted out. Even so the stream of life from the throne of God will wash away and blot out the impressions of sin upon us.
The erasing of sin is the blotting of it from our natures, so that we shall know it no more. "The worshipers once purged," (Hebrews 10:2) actually purged by the blood of Christ, "have no more conscience of sin," (Hebrews 10:2) because the way of sin is gone from them. Their iniquity may be sought for, but it will not be found. (Jeremiah 50:20) It is for ever gone from them,--it is foreign to their new natures, and even though they may be able to recall the fact that they have committed certain sins, they have forgotten the sin itself--they do not think of doing it any more.
This is the work of Christ in the true sanctuary, which the Lord pitched, and not man, the sanctuary not made with hands, but brought into existence by the thought of God.
Our Birthright Inheritance
The most discouraging and depressing thing that comes to our minds when we think of the possibility of overcoming sin is our heritage. We think, "I was born with these crooked, perverse tendencies; I was born in sin, and it is a part of myself; how then can I escape from it?"
We all know the effect of this thought. It works in two ways:
a) Sometimes it makes us careless and self-satisfied, and we say, "I was born thus, and the Lord knows it; therefore He will make allowance for it."
But this never really satisfied our conscience.
b) Then on the other hand we think, "Well, I cannot help it; there is no hope for me; I cannot overcome."
And so we settle down in despair.
But the Lord gives us abundance of hope. We are told to: "Abide in Him; that, when He appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming." (1 John 2:28,KJV & RV)
The Bible teaches us that our inheritance from our parents is only incidental; our inheritance goes back to God; our parents are only incidental links in the chain. They, with all that we receive from them, may pass away, but God, with all that we get from Him, abides for ever.
Our Genealogy
The 3rd chapter of Luke gives us the genealogy of Christ. You may have thought that this is only a long list of names, containing no help or strength for us, but it is really one of the most comforting chapters in the Bible, and we might do a great deal worse than to read it for morning worship, if we read it understandingly.
We trace through the list until we come to the familiar name of Noah, "which was the son of Lamech, Which was the son of Methuselah, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Mahalaleel, which was the son of Cainan, Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." (Luke 3:36-38)
Jesus, "the Son of man," traces His ancestry back to God through man. He is the Son of God because He was the son of Adam, "which was the son of God." We also are sons of Adam, for Eve was "the mother of all living." (Genesis 3:20)
Jesus, because He was the Son of Adam, is the Son of God; therefore we also, being sons of Adam, are sons of God, and may become all that Jesus was as the Son of man and Son of God. Every son of man--both father and son--are alike sons of God. We may leave out all the intervening links, and draw our strength, our life, our birthright inheritance, day by day direct from God. He wants us to know that we are the children of the Highest, that we may abide in Him, and study the working of His life, not only in the Bible, but in the book of creation.
In the Word we read that Jesus "went about doing good," (Acts 10:38) and that is a very necessary thing to study; but we see His life working in the same way just as clearly in all creation.
• The grass grows not for itself, but to give life;
• The corn does not flourish for itself, but to impart life;
• The trees put forth their blossoms, and bring fruit to perfection, not for themselves, but in order to give their life to others.
• The sun shines not for itself, but to give the light of life to the world.
This teaches us that no man is to live for himself, but for others. Jesus the Son of God went about doing good, because God was with Him. Man got out of touch with God's purpose and life, but in the book of creation we read that it is the nature of God to give His life for the salvation of His creatures.
We cannot waive our God-given rights and be guiltless. The sin of that is shown in the case of Esau, who sold his birthright. (Hebrews 12:16) We might think that he had the right to do what he would with his own; but when he held it lightly, and sold it for a mess of pottage--bartered it for a supposed present necessity--he was counted a "profane and wicked person." So the rights that God has given us we must maintain and keep, and value them as we do God himself. We cannot carelessly ignore them without showing that we despise God, even as "Esau despised his birthright." (Genesis 25:34)
The world has despised and forgotten its birthright,--sold it for a mess of pottage, for the gratification of appetite; but our mission is to let them know their high calling.--Present Truth, September 4, 1902--Reprinted: Advent Review, September 30, 1902.