Part Three
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Cleanse – First, it’s up to us. Confess. That’s our responsibility. That is the human side of the equation. God can’t do anything about our righteousness until we reach the place of confession. It’s an ugly place. No one really wants to be there. All of those feelings of shame and guilt that we have spent our lifetimes avoiding are written on the walls. But without this part, the rest is useless. As Barnhouse says, “There is only one message in the Bible for the sinner – repent!”
The second part is what Jesus does. He forgives. Not just once. He is faithful and righteous to forgive at the moment of confession. Jesus will not shirk his self-proclaimed commitment and obligation to forgive. He won’t do it reluctantly or begrudgingly. He will do it with cheerful exuberance and joy. Jesus is happy to forgive. Why? Because sin steals, kills and destroys. And no one beckoned to Jesus by the Father needs to be subject to sin’s cancerous growth.
Jesus also forgives because of righteousness. Not only does He enthusiastically embrace the sinner, He does so in a way that conforms to the character of justice. Jesus practices justice in every act of forgiveness. Forgiveness is possible only because Jesus is completely conformed to the will of the Father. It is the Father’s good pleasure to shower His grace on His children and that is accomplished through the one man who expressed the perfect attribute of justice in the act of self-denial, not simply on the cross but in the entire incarnation.
These credentials allow Jesus to exercise the joyous privilege of forgiveness. But if there were no Part Three, the play would not be complete. We are forgiven – and we are cleansed. The choice of the word is particularly important. It is katharise, from a verb that distinguishes the declared, outward state of purity from an inward repulsion from all impurity. Jesus forgives and declares us purified. That is not the same as the operation of hagnos, an inner re-constitution of emotion and will to conform to the character of God. Part Three makes obedience possible. Until I am stamped “Pure”, my life is under the judgment of God. My lot is wrath. Forgiveness is great, but it must be coupled with a declaration of purity if I am to stand before a holy God.
Did you notice the most important thing? Jesus does this, not me. I am called to internal submission (hagnos), not the external declaration. When my sinful acts bring a dark cloud of failure over me, I need to remember that Jesus puts His seal of approval over my past. Now I can lift my head and begin the hard work of internal holiness.
