27 Feb Washed Clean

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18).

Have you ever put on clothes thinking they were clean only to find out they are not? What about getting dressed up in your nicest clothes for a special occasion, looking in the mirror, and then to your complete horror you see they have stains! I think the worst is being nicely dressed and then spilling something on your clothes, staining them, and there’s nothing you can do about it. 

The big problem with stains is that some of them become permanent. You can’t get them out no matter what soap you use and how hard you scrub. Sin is that way. It stains us. We are not aware how dirty and stained we are until we look into the mirror – the mirror of God’s Word. Our first reaction may be to try to clean up the mess ourselves, scrubbing away trying to make us clean again. Or, like King David, we may try to cover them up. Maybe no one will notice, especially God. And like David, we discover trying to hide our sins only makes matters worse.

David finally turned to the only one who could deal with his sin permanently, once for all. “I acknowledge my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). 

God sent his prophet, Jeremiah, to his people whose hearts were filthy, stained with idolatry and all sorts of evil. “Come now,” God says, “let us reason together.” The Lord holds out an amazing promise; he will deal with their sins. He will not throw his people away or abandon them to the rag bin. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” 

God has washed you clean; no more stains, nothing to hide, nothing to cover up. He has washed you white in the blood of His Lamb, Jesus (Revelation 7:14). The stain of our sin is not permanent. God invites us to confess our sins, and he promises to wash us in the never-ending forgiveness of our Lord’s precious blood. God did that in your baptism, and those cleansing waters are still washing you clean. Now, there is real peace! There is real freedom, living under the cleansing flood of Christ! 

“Foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me Savior, or I die.” 

(“Rock of Ages” LSB 761 st.3)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

 -Pastor Darrin Sheek