Can Jesus make you clean? (Intro to Romans)

A while back I talked with a friend who I have known for several years. This friend has been struggling with the same (or similar) stuff as I have in my past. In that person’s life they have dabbled in things, as I did. Our stories overlap so much. I remember years ago being in that person’s house and I knew that God is mightily in that person’s life – and He still is to this day. Back then we were both under so much trouble and distress in our lives that we found it hard to make it through the day.

That person is still suffering, still going for deliverance prayer, still waiting on God, still fasting to discover the “doorways” that the enemy is coming through in previous generations – and then closing those doorways.And yet I am clean and walking in freedom and that person is not. (Yet.) Why? Yes I see that the person has made progress, I can hear that, but the freedom is not complete.

Can God simply remove our iniquity and sin?

Yes, He did it for the priest Joshua:

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the Angel [of the Lord]. And He spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And He said to [Joshua], Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel. – Zechariah 3:3-4

Yes, He did it for Isaiah:

One of the flaming creatures flew over to me with a burning coal that it had taken from the altar with a pair of metal tongs. It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, “This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.” – Isaiah 6:6-7

Yes, King David wrote about when God removes our iniquity in the psalms.

Yes, He made the disciples clean and pruned:

You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you]. – John 15:3

Profound don’t you think? His teachings (and what they believe… faith) made them clean. What had He been teaching about? Himself! What/who did they have faith in? Jesus!

But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life. – John 4:14

The key thing we need to understand about this passage is that when keeping the law Jewish custom says that there are two kinds of water: alive and dead. Live water bubles and flows like a stream. Dead water is still water. In a ritual, to make a person clean a priest MUST use bubbling water. Jesus is claiming in this verse that HE is the bubbling water that will keep the person clean forever. Rituals need to be repeatedly performed, but Jesus is saying that He can make us clean and then keep us clean – once and for all.

He *is* the bubbling water and we need never drink from any other source of bubbling water again. How do we drink of it? When He taught His disciples, He cleaned them. Who can teach us? Well… I guess that is what the new testament was written for eh?

Let’s dig into Paul’s teaching in Romans

I’m trying a new thing here, listen to this 15 minute podcast and let me know if it is more useful for you to HEAR the message and the bible, rather than read about:

[odeo=http://odeo.com/audio/2061768/view]

Did you like the podcast? Do you prefer straight text – which one is better? Which explains the material more clearly? Please leave your encouraging or discouraging – but always honest – comments, so I can learn and improve.