by Trent - originally posted 9/5/05 & 5/5/08
I have enough sin in me to damn a million souls.
As a GraceHead, I am not worried that I'll be damned ... so I don't mind admitting it.
My illustration of this is blood. We have enough toxins in our body to kill 10 people, but we don't die. Blood cleans out the toxins ... non-stop. So, if I grasp my wrist and choke off the blood ... first it tingles, then it starts to burn, and before long ... it turns black and starts to decay. Soon, without the constant flow of blood ... my hand is lifeless. The toxins will do such harm that it cannot be repaired. Right now, my blood cleanses my physical body, just like the Blood of Christ is cleansing my spiritual identity. It is ongoing. It is by the blood, and there is little that I can do to stop it, though I never asked that it begin.
Remember when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples? He just did it. Nobody asked Him to ... in fact, Peter asked Jesus to stop! What is interesting is what Jesus said to Peter when Peter asked Him to stop. "If you do not let me wash your feet, then I can have nothing to do with you." Peter then, asked Jesus to wash him all over ... head to toe. Jesus explained, "You don't need a bath again, you just need your feet washed."
Notes of interest:
The bath was voluntary, but the foot washing was completely the initiative of Jesus over and against the objections of those He was washing. Nobody asked Jesus for it, yet nobody was allowed to avoid it. (IMPORTANT)
We need ongoing forgiveness as we sin. It is done by Jesus. We don't have to ask (in fact none of us were around when it was provided,) but we can't do without it.
It really is automatic, flowing unhindered, and continually sufficient no matter how much we sin, or bad the sin, or how willing we are to allow ourselves to be cleansed.
In all of this, I am not taking sin lightly ... I just am giving the blood of Christ, its due credit!
Let all forgiven be rewarded equally to their forgiveness which is equal. Let all evil, that remains evil unrepented, be punished equally to evil's deeds. ~ God [Letters from God and His Christ - Volume 2 ~ God is Sovereign]