QUESTION: Is it right to speak of being repeatedly washed in the blood for daily cleansing?

ANSWER: No. It is not right or scriptural to speak of a daily cleansing by the blood of Christ. In fact, the Bible clearly states that the cleansing from our sins by the blood of Christ is a one time act which takes place when we repent of our sins and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

One verse which makes this clear is 1 John 1:7—"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." It is true that the word "cleanseth" is in the present tense but it is used this way only to point out the character of the precious blood of Christ. Whenever any one comes to Christ and confesses his sin then the blood of Jesus Christ has this character that it cleanseth that one from all sin. Notice the Bible says, "all sin." "All" means just what it says—all. This includes past, present, and, yes, future sins. (Remember all of our sins were future when Christ died for us.) How good to know that every sin, all sins, are cleansed by the precious blood of Christ.

The Bible tells us that the blood of Christ has done the following for the believer:

1. Through it we are justified (Romans 5:9).
2. Through it we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7).
3. By it the Lord Jesus obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:12).
4. It has purged (purified or cleansed) our consciences from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14).

To say that we need to be cleansed daily by the blood of Christ means that:

1. We deny the value of that precious blood of Christ which has obtained eternal redemption for us. It suggests that the blood of Christ is no better than the Jewish animal sacrifices which could never take away sin and had to be repeated over and over again. The Bible says, "But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:1,2,10-14).

2. We put the Christian back into the place of a sinner by having him or her go through the cleansing process over and over again. The Bible says, "For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14).

Although the Bible does not ever speak of the "blood" for daily cleansing from our sin we find that it does show us that there is a daily cleansing that the believer needs and which the Lord has provided. Psalm 119:9 tells us what will cleanse our way. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word." In Ephesians we read that "Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word" (5:25,26). The daily cleansing which we so much need is provided then by the Word of God, the Bible. It is in the reading of it and the meditating upon it that our ways, hearts, and thoughts will be cleansed.

It is important to notice that the daily washing of water by the Word does not, like the blood, wash our sins away, but instead restores us to fellowship with the Lord Jesus. When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour then the blood of Christ secures our salvation and our relationship with God. The daily cleansing by the Word secures the enjoyment of our salvation and our fellowship with God.

John D. McNeil