By Sola Adeyegbe
Indeed, man has the duty to work out his own redemption! It is his duty and he is already endowed with the abilities to do this. He must clean himself. The detergent, the water and all he needs are already available to him in the Holy Word of God brought to him by Christ!
When man lives by the Word of Truth then he has washed his robes and has made them white in the blood of the Lamb! That is the true meaning of being washed in the blood of Jesus. After all, His Word is His flesh and blood.
It is not humility but sacrilege to assume that man cannot cleanse himself and forsake his sins and that Jesus has to carry man’s inequities.
Now, let us go into the scripture and see the role man has to play. He has to wash himself, clean himself and turn to the Almighty in repentance. Isaiah 1:16
Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
Ezekiel 14:6
Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your abominations.
Ezekiel 18:27
But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.
Ezekiel 18:31
Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
Ezekiel 33:11
Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
And lastly in John 15:3 we find these reassuring words attributed to Jesus the Great Bringer of Truth:
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
May we all resolve now to find, examine and embrace the Word of Truth given to mankind anew at this time. May we turn around, repent and continually live in accordance with the Word of Truth!
Amen.
