Washed Clean / 洗净

[Dexu Xia]

Washed Clean

The blood of Jesus, [God’s] Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

I couldn’t believe it. A blue gel pen had hidden itself in the folds of my white towels and survived the washing machine, only to explode in the dryer. Ugly blue stains were everywhere. My white towels were ruined. No amount of bleach would be able to remove the dark stains.

As I reluctantly consigned the towels to the rag pile, I was reminded of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah’s lament describing the damaging effects of sin. By rejecting God and turning to idols (Jeremiah 2:13), Jeremiah declared that the people of Israel had caused a permanent stain in their relationship with God: “‘Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me,’ declares the Sovereign Lord” (v. 22). They were powerless to undo the damage they’d done.

On our own, it is impossible to remove the stain of our sin. But Jesus has done what we could not. Through the power of His death and resurrection, He “purifies [believers] from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Even when it’s hard to believe, cling to this beautiful truth: there’s no damage from sin that Jesus can’t totally remove. God is willing and ready to wash away the effects of sin for anyone willing to return to Him (v. 9). Through Christ, we can live each day in freedom and hope.

洗净

祂儿子耶稣的血也洗净我们一切的罪。-约翰一书1章7节

真令人不敢相信，我的一枝蓝色原子笔躲在层层叠叠的白色毛巾中，竟然在洗衣机里逃过一劫，最后才在烘干机中爆裂。结果那些白色的毛巾全都沾上难看的蓝色斑点，不管用再多的漂白剂，都无法除掉这些污点。

在我不情不愿地把这些毛巾丢到抹布堆的那一刻，我想起旧约先知耶利米的哀叹，提到罪恶将带来破坏性的后果。以色列民背离上帝，转而敬拜偶像（耶利米书2章13节），因此耶利米宣告他们与上帝的关系已染上永久的污点。正如上帝对百姓说：“你虽用碱、多用肥皂洗濯，你罪孽的痕迹仍然在我面前显出”（22节），对于自己犯罪所造成的破坏，他们无力改变。

我们确实不可能靠自己除掉罪恶的污渍，但耶稣已成就了我们做不到的事。祂以受死与复活的大能，“洗净我们一切的罪”（约翰一书1章7节）。

虽然有时我们会觉得这好得难以置信，但盼望我们都能信守这美好的真理：任何罪恶所造成的破坏，耶稣都能彻底除净。只要我们愿意归向上帝，祂就乐意洗净我们的罪污（9节）。藉着基督，我们天天都能得享自由与盼望。

你要如何消除罪咎呢？
知道耶稣的死能完全洗净你身上的罪污，
你今天的生活会有何不同呢？

耶稣的宝血洗净罪污。