My
head was in the oven, but no, I wasn’t trying to do myself in! I was actually trying to clean it because it
had gotten disgusting looking over time (no, I’m not divulging how much time…) and had caught fire- just a little
of course (oops). Anyway, this was my
first attempt at cleaning an oven, and I quickly surmised that a scrubby with
soap did not do the job, neither did the ‘harsher’ scrubby, neither did letting
it soak. Looking at the baked on mess I
considered knives, paint scrapers, chisels, blowtorches, jackhammers, okay, not
the last two, but I realized the best thing to do is call someone who’d dealt
with the problem before.
Oven cleaner? Well, I’d never heard of the stuff before, but it really did
work despite my fears of blowing up the kitchen. The job was done and the stove didn’t catch
fire again… for a while anyway! The oven
looked shiny and clean for weeks and I wished I wouldn’t have tried for so long
to clean it with the scrubbies because it was a huge waste of time and energy
as it was not effective.
Kind of like
the Old Testament sacrifices. They were
not effective for cleaning man of sin; they were only good for covering it
up. The ‘dirt’ was still there, it just
couldn’t be ‘seen’. That’s why
sacrificing was a task that needed to be done repetitively.
For since the law has but a shadow of the good things
to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same
sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw
near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the
worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness
of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take
away sins. Hb. 10:1-4 ESV
There is no
forgiveness without shedding blood (Hb. 9:22)
but the sacrificed animals could never make a man perfect, or man wouldn’t have
needed to continue sacrificing. Like the
burnt on mess in the stove, our sins stick to us and no amount of scrubbing by
our own means can clean us up. Only the
blood of Jesus Christ, the sinless (Hb. 4:15;
1Pt. 2:22) Savior who died for our
sins (1Cr. 15:3), “For He has made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Cr. 5:21)
…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from
all sin. 1Jh. 1:7
…To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in
His own blood, Rv. 1:6
…But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the
end of the ages to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. Hb. 9:26 ESV
Thanks to
what Jesus did in His sacrificial death on the cross to pay the penalty for our
sins, we can have right standing with God!
Halleluiah! His blood didn’t just
cover up the sin in our lives, but washed it clean (shiny and clean) so the
Holy Spirit can dwell in us (1Cr. 6:19). We are blessed that Jesus’ sacrifice is
complete for it provided forgiveness for ALL our sin. Yes, we still need to confess and repent of
daily sins, but no other sacrifice is needed.
Jesus’ blood meets all the requirements of the law for the forgiveness
of our sin, and in Him alone we can be made clean. Thank You Jesus; we are forever grateful.
…Behold the
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Jh. 1:29