No Works Attached

We’re told in Proverbs 20:30 that “Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.” Okay, so line up all you sinners for a good flogging. Which one of us is innocent of all impurity―sinless, blameless, holy? Who doesn’t need a hearty purging? Well, the truth is that Jesus took all of this on our behalf. He was beaten for our sins, bruised for our iniquities. Jesus is the one who stood in line for us and cleansed away our evil, and His beating purges our inmost being. You are the pure, the holy, the blameless and the righteous. These things are unattainable, and yet if you put your faith in Christ, they are a free gift to you. You may still be tempted to punish yourself in your guilt, and you might think it will help you. You might be thinking, “Well, I really deserve every bad thing that happens to me,” but that isn’t God’s strategy. If we could become “good” without Christ, then He wouldn’t have come. We can’t. It’s when you receive Him as your Savior that you are free from evil, and the inner part of you begins to change. Jesus came and brought us life. Praise Jesus!

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale | Mesa | Ahwatukee