2 Peter 1:2-9 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, (3) as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, … (9) For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”
We have seen in this section thus far, that Jesus has paid the price for the sins of the world. The question is then asked, when does the world experience the benefit of what Jesus has done for them? The answer to that question is it is only those who are born-again who benefit from the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. In other words, the blood of the Lamb is only applied to those who receive it. In the above passage of scripture, the apostle Peter teaches us this truth, when he tells us that those who are born-again are at that time, cleansed from their old sins. In other words, when we are born-again the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sins that we have committed up until that moment. And so, even though Jesus presented His blood in the Holiest Place over two thousand years ago, that blood is only applied to each individual when they enter the kingdom of God through faith in Christ. With regards to sins that believers commit after they are born-again, those sins are dealt with in the manner that we have already discussed in this section thus far.
John 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
John 9:41 “Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.”
For those who choose not to believe in Jesus, they receive no benefit from the blood of the Lamb that was shed for their sins. Jesus plainly confirms that truth to us in both passages of scripture quoted above, for in these passages, Jesus tells us that unbeliever’s die in their sins and that their sins remain. In other words, they are not washed from their sins in the blood of the Lamb, as believers are.
Michael E.B. Maher
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