THE REMOVAL OF SIN

THE REMOVAL OF SIN

Every believer knows something of the forgiveness of sins, but not many apprehend, in spiritual power, the great difference in Scripture between sin and sins. The latter is the fruit, the former the root. Every believer knows that his sins are forgiven through faith in the blood of Christ, but sin is not put away by being forgiven, but by being condemned.

^[p. 368] When Adam was set in the garden, he was without sin, and all the things in the earth were given to him to enjoy; when he fell, all that he had fell with him he became the servant of sin. “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin”, John 8: 34. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey”, Romans 6: 16. And thus “the creature was made subject to vanity”, Romans 8: 20. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin”, Romans 5: 12. And we find “death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”. “Death reigned from Adam to Moses”. All died, and death is the judgment upon man because of sin. “In Adam all die”. A child is born in sin; death is upon the child before he has committed any sins. It is important thus to keep the idea of sin and death together, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6: 23); sin is the sting of death.

Now, in the offerings of the Old Testament, we find that there was no sin-offering until the law came. Abel’s offering was acceptable to God; God testified of his gifts; it is more the burnt-offering; he obtained witness that he was righteous; death was necessarily connected with it, “without shedding of blood is no remission”. (Hebrews 9: 22)

It is important to see that souls learn the grace of God under the shelter of the blood, which His righteousness required as with Israel at the passover, and yet there was not the knowledge of sin put away. Now when we come to the offerings in Leviticus, we find that all those offerings which bring the offerer into present acceptance with God, are spoken of before the sin-offering is presented; and when the sin-offering is mentioned it is to be burned with fire; Leviticus 6: 30.

We find it more distinctly detailed in Leviticus 16: 27, where the carcase of the sin-offering, both that of the goat and of the bullock, is wholly burned without the camp. This is in type the absolute judicial condemnation ^[p. 369] of the state to which sin attached. It is interesting to note that while all the offerings for acceptance were connected with the death of the sacrifice (the fire of God consumed it on the altar, and it went up to God for a sweet savour), in the sin-offering alone there was the burning of the sacrifice without the camp. The apostle refers to this in Hebrews 13: 12, “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate”. Then it was that the veil was rent.

Now in the case of leprosy, which is a figure of innate sin, or sin in the flesh, the leper must be separated from his fellows (Leviticus 8); it was contaminating; and when he was healed (Leviticus 14) he was not only atoned for, but the bird, let loose in the open field, was the testimony that he was cleansed; he had to wash his flesh in water (Leviticus 14: 8,9) which implies that the leper was absolutely removed; he was no longer the leper, for the type sets forth figuratively the old man removed from the eye of God, not merely atoned for or improved, but the washing implies the entire removal of the leprous man. This is seen in pattern in the gospel (Luke 17), where one of the ten lepers who were healed by the Lord’s word returns to give glory to God, and fell down at His feet giving him thanks; he has left himself for the Lord. This greatly helps us to understand the removal of sin.

Again in Numbers 19, the ashes of the sacrifice of purification for sin were put in a vessel with running water, for a water of separation to be sprinkled on the unclean. This is a figure of the Spirit of God, calling to remembrance not only your sin, but the judgment of sin. So also in John 3 we read that not only must a man be born again to see the kingdom of God, but he must be born of water as well as of the Spirit. This shows that, connected with new birth, there is a divine separation from every taint of man. This is carried out practically in John 13, where the Lord washes His disciples’ feet, not merely for offences, but for separation from all the taint and distance of fallen man, as we see in Hebrews 10: 22; when we draw nigh to Him in the holiest, not only must the heart be sprinkled from an evil conscience, but also the body washed with pure water, that is purification by death.

And finally, we learn in 1 John 5: 8 that there are three witnesses to the knowledge of eternal life: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. There must be purification by death in order to enjoy eternal life. No one can enjoy eternal life who has not the testimony of the water, the divine way of separation from the old man, every taint of sin removed. All this depends on the one statement - “But now once ... hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”. (Hebrews 9: 26)

Every diligent student of the passages I have brought forward will see that the work of Christ is not only for the forgiveness of sins, but that He Himself bore the judgment of God for the sinner. He did not die, as has been said, the death of a hero; the three hours on the cross was the terrible moment when He bore the judgment of sin, and which our Lord designates as “your hour, and the power of darkness”, (Luke 22: 53) and the anticipation of this made His sweat, as it were, great drops of blood. When He had borne the judgment He gave up His life. In everything, even unto death, He was the perfect offering for sweet savour to God; but in death He bore the judgment on man, and took the distant place. There He bruised the serpent’s head, destroyed “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil”, Hebrews 2: 14. “In that he died, he died unto sin once” (Romans 6: 10); there He knew what it was to be forsaken of God, but He maintained what was due to God, and God’s righteousness was established by Him in bearing the judgment due to man, and there He glorified God. Thus the righteousness of God was declared (Romans 3: 26), so that God can “^[p. 371] be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus”.

Many christians are assured that their sins are forgiven, and even have the sense that they are justified by God’s grace, but if they do not see that God has removed in judgment the man that was under judgment, they are liable to be distressed when sin works in them. When they truly apprehend that the man is gone in judgment, they know that He is just and the Justifier, and that even though sin works in them, it is all gone from God’s eye in the judicial termination of the life to which sin attached. Thus far with regard to our acceptance.

Next, as we see in Romans 6, in order to have deliverance, we are to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus, of which baptism is the form. This was indicated at the deluge when God said, “The end of all flesh is come before me”, (Genesis 6: 13) and Noah and his house were saved by water. There can be no sense of deliverance, however assured you may be of your acceptance with God, unless you know by the Spirit in yourself, not only that you are forgiven your sins, but that you are delivered from sin, so that “if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness”, Romans 8: 10. In the paschal lamb Israel was sheltered by the blood, but in the Red Sea (in figure the death and resurrection of Christ), all their enemies were destroyed.

The soul is made conscious of having passed through His death on to new ground, a solemn moment for every soul! Jonah in the whale’s belly was a type of this; and Paul in the three days when he neither ate nor drank was in the experience of it. Thus you learn, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”. (Galatians 2: 20) Christ is formed in you; Isaac is in possession, and Ishmael is cast out. The distress of a believer (what makes a “wretched man”, Romans 7: 24) is when he finds sin working in him; and if sin is not removed, he cannot know deliverance from sin; but it has been removed, and “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts”. (Galatians 5: 24) Thus only can you understand that you cannot have part with Christ (John 13: 8), unless you are in this divine separation from all that which is at the root of alienation from God. And again, when you draw near to the Lord as one of the consecrated company, not only is your heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, that is, you have no sense of wrong-doing, but your body is washed with pure water; there is absolute purification by death.

Finally, you are in the enjoyment of eternal life; the Spirit of God is witness to you, not only of the blood which puts your sins away, but to your inexpressible satisfaction, the testimony of the water is purification by death, so that untold is the blessing one knows as one enters into the solid blessed fact, not only of sins forgiven through His blood, but of sin put away by the sacrifice of Himself. Thus we are morally separated from every taint or tinge of the life to which sin is attached. And we see the necessity and blessedness of being dead with Christ, and of knowing Him as Head in the sphere of life. Thence He directs us according to His pleasure, leading our hearts into the fulness of God’s purpose for us.