Without Spot: Forgiveness and Cleansing

Forgiveness and Cleansing

What is the difference between forgiveness and cleansing?  We know that initially our sins are forgiven on that wonderful day when we have heard the gospel, when we believed the truth that we are sinners, separated from God and bound for a lost eternity.  But we have repented, and believed the gospel, that the Lord Jesus Christ shed his precious blood, and taken upon himself the penalty for sin. That he became the perfect sacrifice for us..  We trust in Him as our Saviour, and by this trusting, we are saved by faith, "not by works that any man should boast." 

But what after this?  Romans 6 and 7 tell us that we are no longer slaves to sin, in bondage to sin, and because of the Spirit within, we have the power to overcome sin.  Yet, because we are still in this body, Paul says in Romans 7 "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which would not, that I do...  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin"..   not that we willfully sin as we did before we were saved, but because we are not yet in our resurrection bodies, and perfected we still do sin.

So then cleansing comes in..  though we are forgiven and heaven bound,  we still need cleansing..  not for salvation, but for close fellowship with the Lord.  David is our example..  and Psalm 51 was written after his sin with Bathsheba. 

The Lamb of God - Old Testament

The Lamb of God - Old Testament

Genesis 22: 8 "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:....

Exodus 12: And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood,, I will pass over you..."


I used to like to watch a show called Lonely Planet.  The guide went to different countries around the world where the culture is much different than it is in North America.  Quite often there were lambs sacrificed, and one thing I noticed is that they never make a sound..they went to their death without struggle.  Often it moved the guide to tears to see this innocent animal killed.  This post is about the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ as he was foreshadowed in the Old Testament.

There are many references to lambs in our bible.  The first one is in Gen.3:21 "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." Adam and his wife had tried to cover themselves with fig leaves after their disobedience to the command of God not to eat the fruit of the tree of life, but this covering was by their own works.  God covered them with the skins of animals, requiring the shedding of blood.   Nothing could cover the sins of Adam and Eve but that which God gave them, just as our sins are covered by the precious blood of Christ, Romans 4:6-8 "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."  1 Peter 1:18-19 "Foreasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things.........but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." Hebrews 8:12 "Neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."