This Easter just gone went too quickly for me. I look forward to Easter each year as a time of deep worship, meditation and reflection. But this year the personal experience of it went far too quickly for me. I felt, at times, as if I was trying to slow it all down so that I could sit in it for a bit longer. I don’t know why I seemed to be experiencing this … but, that’s how it was.
But one thing I found myself focusing on again and again was the fact and experience of the atoning work of Christ. Despite the feelings of a fleeting Easter, I had a real sense, a fresher grasp, a much deeper appreciation and understanding of the work of the cross … the shed blood of Jesus Christ. You can know a lot of facts about the Easter event, many of us have built up quite a knowledge bank over the years. But the marvellous power of God’s Word means that for the honest Easter pilgrim seeking to understand more and prayerfully enter deeper into the ancient narratives, something new is always revealed.
I came away from this Easter with a richer appreciation – a much deeper blessing – of the power of Christ’s eternal atonement … and I’ve shared that with you from Revelation 7 where there is a breathtaking scene of untold millions of the redeemed worshipping around the throne of God in pure white robes. Here’s how the apostle saw it …
Revelation 7:9ff (NIV) “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" 13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
I made the point that this was a picture of the result of the eternal power of the shed blood of Jesus that not only brings us forgiveness from our Father God, but total cleansing from the stain of sin which is guilt and shame. The blood of Jesus paid sin’s obligation – death. But it also released a divine, cleansing power into grace that continues to remove all trace of guilt and shame so that heaven is the richest possible experience of the new life we have in Christ. If atonement meant forgiveness only – our sin penalty expiated, paid for, nullified – we would still be left with the stain of sin. Set free, but not free to really live without shame. But, thanks be to God, we have received a full salvation because Christ made full atonement for us. Sin’s penalty was completely paid for with His death, and sin’s stain was removed from us and we received His righteousness. That is a fact of the atonement. But the experience of this cleansing (although a fact as far as God is concerned, and signified in our baptism) it is progressively realised as we intentionally walk in this atonement. As we work out our salvation as Paul noted (See Philippians 2:12). That is, we submit to God so that sin’s stain is washed away by the eternal power of the atonement …
Most Christians I know are certain of their forgiveness because of the cross, but many still have some struggle with shame or guilt from time to time. This is a half-salvation experience. God wants us to experience no guilt or shame in His presence. None. For that to be added to our salvation experience we need to embrace and learn to absorb into our lives (by faith) the truth about the cleansing power of Jesus’ death that was released on the cross. The key to this is not hard work trying to be good – that’s religion, a most ineffectual flesh pursuit. Mind you, that’s not licence to go on sinning, either.
The key is in having faith that the blood of Jesus cleanses as well as pays the penalty for sin. That’s full atonement. We have forgiveness now. We have cleansing now and ongoing so that fellowship with the Father is full and rich. So, how do I realise and experience more and more of the full blessing of a full atonement? The answer is given to us in John’s first letter:
1 John 1:7-9 (NIV)
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 [But] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Forgiveness and cleansing. We need both so that we can enjoy God and receive fresh experiences of Him more and more. This is the first taste of heaven.
We “wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb” like those millions of saints did in Revelation 7, by confessing our sins often, by not going back to them – by putting to death the misdeeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13), and by overcoming sin (because it’s power has been broken). This is walking by faith in what Christ has done, ignoring how we may feel as we press through trusting in the power of His atoning work every day, until we begin to experience those special joy moments when the blood of the Lamb has done its work.
And we know it.
You are so loved by the Father.
Ps Milton