Cleansing Here and Now

My personal testimony based on the statement above would be, “While I am walking in the light, the blood of Jesus is cleansing me, now and continually, from all sin.” I say it is “cleansing me now” because that makes it a here and now statement, not just a vague generalization. It is for me in the here and now, but it is also continual — indefinitely into the future as I continue to walk in the light.

The Swahili language of East Africa has a special tense to describe things that are complete and permanent. In that well-known song, “The Blood of Jesus Cleanses Us from All Sin,” they sing, “The blood of Jesus completely cleanses us absolutely.” These lyrics have stuck with me because they say it so perfectly. So, consider this confession in the light of something that is continual and complete.

There is a beautiful commentary on this truth in Psalm 51, which is the great penitent psalm David penned after he was convicted of his sins of adultery and murder. It is one of the most beautiful psalms — a psalm every one of us would do well to read from time to time, making it our own prayer. I believe in making the psalms my prayers; I don’t just read them, but I read them as my prayers.

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7)

You will notice that David introduces the hyssop. The implication is that hyssop is the substance that brings the blood to where I am. It is a beautiful, prophetic preview of being cleansed with the blood of Jesus.