SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28
Romans 8:9-14
Galatians 6:7-9

“The word is very pure…”

THE SPIRIT CLEANSING (I)

Believers love the hymn by Robert Lowry which says: “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

If “nothing but the blood of Jesus” can cleanse, what part does the Holy Spirit play? It is by the working of the Spirit that our eyes are opened to see the sinfulness of our sin, and our hearts are made to feel its deadly weight. By God’s Spirit we are enabled to see our need of the cleansing blood. Then by faith, trusting in God’s Word, we are moved to receive the cleansing blood.

It is by the power of the Spirit that we come to trust in the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and to be cleansed.

To the believer who is overtaken by some sin and even now is wondering what to do, God’s Word is your guide. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Rom 8:13). God’s Word is true and piercing. No matter how painful, it is the way of life and peace. Heed the solemn warning and the gracious promise: through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the flesh!

If you are a believer, you belong to the Lord. He owns you and you are a “debtor” to Him: you owe it to Him (who died for you) to live for His glory, and to please Him. You are “debtor” to the Holy Spirit (who regenerated you) to submit yourself to His absolute control. Your filial response to the Lord is both a duty and a high privilege. If your sin dulls your perception to these, may God’s warning awaken you: “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die.” This means spiritual and eternal death – separation from God and Christ our life. If you through the Spirit put to death the sinful practices of the body, you shall live! What a gracious offer – reject not!

THOUGHT: Am I not already saved? Am I not a child of God?
PRAYER: Lord, help me to submit and obey.