Cleansing Sin vs. Covering Sin

Many people know and understand that the Law of Moses was given to the children of Israel to tide them over until Christ should come and deliver The Truth to them. Amen?

John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

John 4:25 The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things. 26Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He.

Galatians 3:19-23 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.21Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.22But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Basically, The Law, (assuming that it was practiced to the letter) through the sacrifices and life ordained therein, covered the sins of God’s people. It hid them for a short amount of time from their conscience so that they could seek to serve God, but it did not hide their sins from God. The problem, of course, is that if sins are covered, they are still there; they are just hiding under the blood of the bulls and goats. You see, the life of a goat, ram, etc., is not equal to the life of a man. This is because man was created in the image and likeness of God Himself. For this reason: the life of a perfect animal could not cleanse the imperfections of the man who made the sacrifice.

Were you listening? We just said that man was performing the sacrifice for themselves and the flesh of their families. Sacrifice was therefore the work of their own hands. However, God had respect toward this practice because it was done out of obedience to His Law. The unfortunate thing is that it did not completely justify man in His sight, so they could never dwell in the full presence of God. This is why there was a veil covering the entrance to the Holiest Of All Tabernacle.

As we said, those sacrifices couldn’t “completely” justify man, because they only dealt with the flesh, and did not work with the internal man – which is the root of this sin problem. We are a 3-fold being, having a heart, mind, and flesh, you know. Thank Our Lord that this changed and so we can now be justified through faith in Jesus Christ!

Hebrews 10:1-7 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 7Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Now, to go deeper, I have a question for you… what is the purpose of a ‘covering’? When you place a bandage over a wound, does the wound magically disappear? Nope. The bandage simply covers the wound. It can no longer be seen, but the bandage actually protects the wound. Did you know that many wounds will never completely heal if they are left covered? To answer the question that was asked: a covering hides nakedness and shame, right? Sound familiar?

And, what if the things that are causing the shame, in the first place, are never addressed? -The shame will never go away. That is until they either fix the root of the problem, or it is accepted as normal to be there and so the person who should be ashamed begins to call good evil, and evil good. Then they are completely carefree and walk around naked, not realizing that they should be ashamed, but will reap the consequences of that shame openly.

Genesis 3:9-11 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto Him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

I recently spoke with a believer who says that he has been following Christ for more than 30 years. He said that during this time he has heard people proclaim both extremes: that some say that they can “live it up” and do whatever they want, yet they say that they are still saved. Well, that is certainly not what we are preaching here! He said that the other extreme was that people basically say that they need to keep the letter of The Law of Moses in order to be justified in God’s sight. Friends, I am afraid that neither of these extremes are Truth.

To debunk the thought that we could be saved by God’s Grace and still do whatever we please concerning sin, the bible does say: 1 Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now, on the other hand… Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Many people call the practice of keeping the Law of Moses “legalism”. Legalism refers to doing what the letter of the law says to do, or, more importantly; not doing the things that The Law condemns. What these people fail to understand is, by keeping The Law, they are attempting to continue to cover their sin. The unfortunate thing is: if their sin is covered, they will never be cleansed! Their sin will never be washed away and removed. Remember – God still sees them!

Psalms 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Ephesians 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

Psalms 90:8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

What might be some examples of covering sin? Well, lying about it, for sure. But, there are some other ways that people might be doing this and they are not even conscious of it. What are we talking about here? -Outward holiness. Here is what Jesus had to say about these people:

Matthew 23:27-28 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Jesus also explained to us that it is what is inside of us that matters first. The contents of our hearts reveal our true potential or worth in God’s sight. If the heart is in God’s Will, then they rest of our being; spirit/mind, and body will also become cleansed through the operation that God’s Word will perform on us.

Colossians 2:12 Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.

The difference? Dressing and/or acting in a ‘picture-perfect’, cookie-cutter fashion is often a telltale sign of outward holiness only. These things can be persuaded by and learned from our parents, siblings, friends, fellow church-goers, etc. Oftentimes, if we are not aware of what is happening, we are shaped and molded by the ideals of these people and held accountable to them rather than God through their judgements, pride, fear, and so on. Folks, this is called “the traditions of men”.

Mark 7:5-9 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

You see, they were not washing their ‘dishes’ because, in their heart, they wanted to eat from clean plates. They were washing them because, in their heart, they did not want another person to think that they were not holy and judge them and think that they were not upstanding, God fearing, keepers of what they were taught to be part of God’s commandments. They were taught these things by their elders.

Matthew 15:17-20 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

One thing that comes to mind concerning this subject is apparel. Why do you wear what you wear? Is it because of what someone else wears, or what someone else approves, or have you taken this up with The Lord for yourself? Here is a common passage that is taken out of context.

1 Peter 3:1-4 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 3Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Many confessing Christians also add to this by defining and prescribing specific items to be worn. Take the Amish for instance: the bishop of each diocese approves specific colors and clothing that can be worn by its members. These are the only colors and items that can be worn, by the way. If we read these verses in context, we find that it is instructing a wife on how to win her unbelieving husband over to Christ. To do so she must be separate and different from the women he encounters while out rubbing elbows with the sin of this world.

Dressing up in fancy clothing and magnifying her outward beauty is for outward appearance only and so doing this will only attract him to her physically. Therefore, if this is the only thing that she does for her husband, he will never see the inner beauty that Christ has placed within her. Instead, she needs to focus more on her actions and conversation with him. Now, what is in her will also, (of course) cause her to dress modestly, as The Lord shows her to do. Make sense?

Proverbs 31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

What man do you know that would not welcome a soft answer from his wife? Shamefacedness? Meekness? These come about via the fruits of The Spirit and not the beauty of the flesh. Thus, a believing wife’s most prominent attributes that she should hope to stand out to her husband are the inward beauty. This will help to attract her husband to Christ, if he is a chosen vessel.

Many people deceive themselves also by being more concerned about what others think of them, than what God thinks. This would be another motive for someone to get wrapped up in outward holiness rather than seeking God’s approval first. Some examples of these might be using certain customary manners, or donating when everyone else does, even though you are not really compelled to support the cause. Mimicking the behavior of others is another example.

Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

All of these things said here are meant to open the eyes, ears, and hearts of those who are truly seeking God’s kingdom, for His name’s sake. Please remember that your personal relationship with Him must always come first, and that you should seek Truth by going to His Word for yourself. Do you recall these scriptures?

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Romans 14:22’23 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. 23And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

So, what is the alternative to outward holiness - if I must ask???

Psalms 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

How do we become one of God’s people inwardly? By allowing ourselves to be cleansed from all sin. This is “the Operation of God” through Christ Jesus and His New Testament Covenant that we spoke about earlier. We also talked about how the blood of those animal sacrifices made under The Law only covered sin, right? Guess what, the blood of Jesus Christ does not cover sin (contrary to what many might tell you), His blood removes it!

What does the scripture reveal that His Blood represents spiritually? God’s Word.

Mark 14:24 And He said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

Jesus shed His Blood to put the New Testament Covenant into effect. This is His Will written in His own Blood before His death through the things that He taught. The blood is the life of the being that shed it. He preached and lived the life that He chose to give us. We, in turn, are to live this same life now, under the grace of His Word. Jesus is the Word of God. God and His Word are the same.

1 Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:10-14 He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. 11He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. 12But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

How does He do this? Grace works to cleanse us from sin through the same means as The Law of Moses covered our sins – that is: through our obedience! You see, The Law is full of do’s and don’ts. It can be likened to a parent's way of discipline with a small or young child.

Before the age of accountability; when a child has a good understanding of consequences and can discern between right and wrong, parents teach it the word “no”. There are things that young children simply should not and cannot be allowed to do. An effective parent, according to God’s Word, will use correction to overcome and overpower their child’s rebellious nature. When the child disobeys, there are usually immediate and sometimes severe consequences that they will experience. If the parent fails to hold their child accountable, they will often personally experience the consequence.

As a young child, therefore, they are not behaving because it is their will to do so. They are not behaving because it is in their heart to do good (at first.) They are behaving because of their fear and love for their parents, and fear of consequences. You might say that their parents are teaching them right from wrong through the things that they either allow, or the things that they do not allow. The parents are their “schoolmaster”, teaching them the difference between good and evil.

Once the child has been trained up in the way that they should go, and have a good knowledge of what is appropriate and what is not: they are now personally responsible for their actions. They now have freedom to do whatever their heart desires. They can choose the good or evil. Their conscience will bear witness to keep record. Sometimes they can do things wrong and there may not be an immediate consequence, Rest assured though…

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

In this same way, once we are converted to Christ, (God’s Spirit coming into our hearts) we now are free from The Law of Sin and Death - free to choose the good, if you will? Through the grace found within His Word (if we are seeking Him there we will find it) He enables us to learn to bring our mind and body into subjection to become faultless before Him.

Prior to this conversion, our flesh was stronger than our mind. Since our flesh is connected to this world and therefore prone to sin, it would overcome our mind and force us to do things that a repentant heart would not want.

Acts 15:8-9 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; 9And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of

God

How does God’s Spirit bear witness with our spirit? -Our conscience. Our spirit is our mind, Folks.

Ephesians 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind

What is it bearing witness of? What is inside us. Where is the proof of what is inside us? It is in the fruit that we produce: our actions.

Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

John 15:5-11 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love. 11These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Now to address those that have been deceived into thinking that they can live a life of sin and still be saved… what happened to the tree that Jesus could not find fruit on?

Matthew 21:19 And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

1 Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 1

Thessalonians 5:22-23 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. 10But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. -Jesus Christ

Galatians 5:25-26 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Luke 11:9-13 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will He give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will He for a fish give him a serpent? 12Or if he shall ask an egg, will He offer him a scorpion? 13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?

Galatians 2:16-20 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We have said all of these things to now say this…

2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

rob@intruth.site

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Ephesians 6:23-24 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

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