Bible's best known text: What God's done and why

Text John 3:16 Time 18 11 07 Place Childs Hill Baptist ChurchI remember some years ago being at the Aberystwyth Conference and for some reason the advertised preacher wasn't able to be there and so they asked an elderly preacher to preach – a man who died not long after. I remember this man saying that he had made a promise to God that if an opportunity like this should arise he would preach always from John 3:16 – and that's what he did. I don't know exactly how much impact it had but I do know that at least one young man was deeply affected and he went on to become a professor in a Reformed Theological Seminary in America.
Now I've not made any promises to preach on John 3:16 but in recent weeks we have been looking at some famous texts. We've looked for example at Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and John 14:6 Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. This morning I want us to look at what is probably the most famous text in all the Bible – John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.John 3 is the chapter where Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and is told that he needs to be born again. Verse 16 is one of several great verses in that chapter and is perhaps the best known of them all. The words were probably spoken by Jesus on that night, though they could be John’s later inspired words.
There are certain famous addresses – 10 Downing Street, 221b Baker Street, 263 Prinsengracht, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, etc. Well, this is one of the most famous, perhaps the most famous address in the Bible, the most famous text – John 3:16.
The reason it is so famous is because it says so many important things, vital things, in such a short space. Martin Luther once called it ‘The Bible in miniature’. And that's what it is.
Like Genesis 1 it begins with God - For God. It goes on to speak about his love for this world, which we see in the rest of Genesis and beyond. It speaks of how he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. This is what the OT points forward to and what the NT reveals so clearly.
Someone else said it contained the gospel in a nutshell. All you need to know is contained in this wonderful text.
The great C H Spurgeon surprisingly only preached on it once – in 1885. He was rather surprised that he had not preached on it more as, he said, it was ‘the sole topic of my life’s ministry’. I’ve preached on it more than once and maybe you've heard more than one sermon on it but it is such a great text that just as you can go again and again to certain houses and see things that you haven’t seen before so we can turn to it again and again, I’m sure, without exhausting it.
When Spurgeon finally got round to preaching it he spoke chiefly of the love of God. Interestingly, when his contemporary Bishop J C Ryle, turned to this text, his emphasis was chiefly on faith. Both are here and I want to give them equal weight. So I want to consider two things: God's love and our faith. We will ask two questions
1. What has God done? 2. Why has he done what he has done?
1. According to this famous text, what has God done?1. According to this famous text, there is a God
Now this may seem a rather obvious thing to say to some of you but we mustn’t miss it. The text begins For God and we must not go rushing into what the text means without pausing first to remind ourselves that there is a God. Now I know that by no means everyone accepts this. There seems to be a small but growing tide of atheism in the country today. Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, etc, are very keen to get us not to believe in God. And even where others at least accept the idea of God in theory, they nevertheless live as if there were no God. What is the theory of evolution all about but a desperate attempt to push God out of the picture? The Bible recognises this phenomenon. Ps 14:1-3 The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no-one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no-one who does good, not even one. The truth is that everyone knows there is a God – we all know the truth. However, for the most part we try to suppress that truth (Rom 1:19ff) What may be known about God is plain to all, because God has made it plain. For example, since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. Those who deny God’s existence or who live as if there were no God are without excuse then. Although in one sense they know God, they neither glorify him as God nor give thanks to him, but their thinking is futile and their foolish hearts are darkened. Although they claim to be wise, they have become fools. They have exchanged God’s glory for a lie. One day we will all stand before God to be judged and then all our feeble excuses about not knowing him or not being sure will crumble to nothing.
2. According to this famous text, he is a God who loves
Well, what about this God then, the God who created all things and rules over all things, the God who will judge us all one day? For God so loved … That is the thing about God that this verse focuses on. There are many other things to say about God, it is true. He is powerful. He is perfect. He is eternal. He is infinite. However, he is also the God who loves. Indeed the Bible famously says God is love. This comes out both in the Old Testament and the New.
OT - Ex 35:5-7 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. He is (Neh 1:5) the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love.NT - near the end of 2 Corinthians Paul says the God of love and peace will be with you. The reason we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us is that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt 5:44).
What an important fact this is to keep in mind. What a wonderful subject – the love of God!
3. According to this famous text, he is a God who loves the world
Love always has an object and here it is the world. Now we use the word world in different ways. When we talk about 'travelling the world' we mean something different to 'feeding the world' and something else again when we talk about 'not following the world'. The Bible certainly uses the word world in various ways – as many as seven according to one writer. What is its meaning here? Some assume it must mean every person who ever has or ever will live. It is far more likely, however, that the word is being used in the sense of the fallen world, the wicked world of sin that opposes God – the world that lies in the lap of the evil one. As one writer puts it, it may seem to us an amazing thing that God loves the whole world but he is God – that is like being impressed with a blacksmith who can carry a whole mustard seed in the palm of his hand! No, the amazing thing is that God should love this wicked and rebellious world, the world that would crucify his Son and that even now is in open rebellion. Despite its wretchedness and sin God loves the world.
Spurgeon notes how great the love of God is in that it is seen in
1. The gift it led to – God’s very own Son. We will come to that next.
2. The plan of salvation – God’s purpose to save a people for himself in this very way.
3. Who salvation is available to – As we have said, the point is not that God loves the vast world but that he loves this rotten world. Who did he love? Those worthy of it? No! He loved rotten sinners like us. Romans 5:8 God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.4 According to this famous text, he is a God who so loves the world that he gave his one and only Son
That he gave his one and only Son. Cf 1 John 4:9, 10 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. In Titus 3:4 Paul refers to the coming of Christ as the time when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared.Several writers tell the story of a family somewhere in a time of famine coming to the conclusion that the only way they can raise money is by selling one of their sons into slavery. But which one can they give up? As they think it through they realise it is impossible and conclude it will be better for them all to die than to sell one. I can identify. Which of my 5 sons would I willingly give up if I had to? Not my first and eldest, not my youngest and neediest, not my calmest and best looking, not my brightest and most helpful, my smartest and most like me. None of them. Yet God, we are told, so loved the world that he gave up his one and only Son for the world. It is not one of the angels that God gave but his very own Son. He didn't lend him either, rather he gave him. He didn't spare him so that he might by this means save us who believe.
Spurgeon again mentions an aged minister of whom it was said ‘Whatever his text he never failed to set forth God as love and Christ as the atonement for sin’. This is what this text teaches us so clearly – God’s great love and the sending of his Son to deal with sin by means of his holy life and his death on the cross.
Spurgeon speaks of
1. Who he gave – his own dear Son. It is clear from Scripture that God is a Trinity and it is the Father who has sent the Son into this world.
2. How he gave – He gave him willingly and purposefully in order to make salvation certain.
3. When he gave – The coming of Christ was, of course, something that occurred in history. However, he is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world and it is in eternity that this wonderful redemption was planned – the Father’s plan was formulated before the beginning of time. Even then the Father was willing to send and the Son was willing to go.
What an encouragement this is. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32).
2. According to this famous text, why has God done what he has done?The verse also explains why God has done what he has done. That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. So why did God give his one and only Son?
1. So that something may happen to change the lot of many
At its most general we can put it this way. God did not send his Son, as some think, simply to provide a good example to us of how to live. He is a great example, of course, but by his life and death he is very much more than that. He came to make the difference between life and death, deliverance and destruction, heaven and hell. He did not come to give life to every single person, as we've said, but he did come to give life to the many. Do not think of God or of his love in a vague way. God’s love means redemption, deliverance and blessing for many. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most significant event in history. It has changed everything.
2. So that
1. Negatively - They may not be destroyed as they would be otherwise
We tend to think that for some reason we all deserve to go to heaven. The truth is, however, that we have all broken God’s Law. We are all guilty sinners and so we all deserve his judgement in hell. All we like sheep have gone astray. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. Have you realised this of yourself? You are a sinner, guilty before God, deserving of hell and damnation. However, through Jesus Christ you can be delivered. You can be saved from destruction. Like a man condemned to death being told there is a reprieve. What glorious good news!
2. Positively – So that they may have eternal life through him
The positive side is that God has provided a way for sinners not only to be delivered from perishing but also to receive the gift of eternal life – everlasting life in Christ. Do you see that that is what Jesus Christ has purchased for sinners by his coming and living and dying and rising again?
3. What must I do to escape destruction and to receive eternal life?
That is made very clear here. God has given his Son so That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Faith is the thing that is needed – trust in Jesus Christ. ‘But what is faith?’ you say to me. It is not simply a matter of accepting certain facts intellectually. It is not merely a matter of feelings either. What is called for is an unreserved trust in Jesus Christ. Spurgeon helpfully speaks of it like this
1. You must firmly and willingly give cordial assent to the truth. Some don't accept the fact Jesus is God come in the flesh – that he lived and died and rose as it is described for us in Scripture. Without accepting that we cannot even begin to believe. This is basic. Do you accept these facts?
2. You need to accept these facts for yourself. It is possible to accept the facts but then say ‘But that has nothing to do with me. It’s all in the past.’ True faith sees that Jesus’s coming was for them. True faith can say ‘he lived and died and rose again and that can set me free. It can save me.’
3. Finally, there must be personal trust. Can you say ‘Living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried …’? Just as in the OT the one making a sacrifice would identify with the animal by putting his hands on the animal’s head so we must closely and personally identify with the Saviour. He must be ‘My Saviour’ ‘My Lord’. Can you say with Paul He loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20)?
In the NT faith is described in various different ways.
In terms of the eyes - it is looking to Jesus (John 3:17, Hebrews 12:2). Are you doing that today?
In terms of the ears – it is to hear Jesus This is my dear Son. Hear him. (Mark 9:7) He who has ears let him hear. In terms of the feet, faith is coming to Jesus (John 6:35 I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty). Come to Jesus today.
In terms of the hands it is receiving Jesus (Colossians 2:6, Revelation 3:20, John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God). Receive him today. Open your heart to him.
It is to build your life on Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:20). Is he your foundation?
It is called putting on Christ (Galatians 3:27 for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ) – it's like putting on a coat. Have you put on Christ?
It is like eating or drinking (John 6). Are you feeding on his flesh and drinking his blood as it were?
It is a matter of commitment (2 Timothy 1:12 I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day). Have you entrusted/committed all to him? You won’t regret it.
Each of these pictures underlines how simple faith is and how suited it is to what is required. Nothing could be easier than to come, to eat, to look, etc. In each case, as well, although something is required from us, we need to depend on someone or something outside us (what we put on, what we drink, the one we commit everything to, etc). I’m sure that is why I is by faith that God chooses to save.
We usually know when we have truly trusted in Christ as it leads to peace, a new heart, holiness, good deeds, overcoming world, the inward testimony of the Spirit and a special regard to Christ.
I do want to underline that Whoever - whatever your background, whether you are wealthy or poor, intelligent or not so intelligent, young or old, whatever your religious background, etc. What matters is not us but him. Look to him! Look only to him. Not just sometimes but always. If we have already come to believe then let’s seek to believe more, to grow stronger in faith. Ask God to increase your faith.
In a sermon on this text the Puritan John Flavel makes two helpful applications.
1. Consider the preciousness of a soul. 1 Peter 1:18, 19 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.2. To slight or reject Christ is the greatest evil. Hebrews 2:3 How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?I want to end by referring to a well-known way of illustrating this verse. It is clear here that in giving his Son God has given the greatest gift there can be and that gift is freely given. However we need to take it. To illustrate sometimes evangelists will hold out a £10 note or sweets for kids and say ‘Here is a free gift for anyone who wants it’. Usually no-one takes it (unless they’ve seen it done before!). They think there must be some catch but there isn’t. God offers salvation to you today.
You may say ‘I don’t want it’ but that just shows that you really don't understand heaven or hell.
You may say ‘I don’t believe this free gift is available’ but this verse is very plain.
It’s tempting to say ‘I’ll think about it’ but there is no guarantee of a future offer.
Perhaps you say ‘But surely I have to earn it in some way’ but no you simply need to receive it. Receive it today.

Walk in the light

Text 1 John 1:7 Time 18 11 07 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
Here is another great text from the New Testament. 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.It is true that it is not remembered like John 3:16 or John 14:6 or Matthew 11:28-30 or even 1 John 1:9 for that matter. It is a great text nevertheless as it sums up for us in just one verse some vital things that we all need to know.
The Apostle John begins his first letter by speaking about that which was from the beginning, by which he means the Eternal Word, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. Now he says that this Eternal Word was someone he heard and saw and touched – it was Jesus Christ, God come to earth as a man. John is both a witness to Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and one who declares or proclaims this One to his readers.
He does this, he says, so that his readers also may have fellowship with him and other believers. And our fellowship he says is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is talking about a fellowship that is horizontal and vertical then – a brotherhood with man and with God. He also says (4) We write this to make (y)our joy complete. No joy can surpass that of fellowship with God and his people.
Verse 7 flows out of what the Apostle John then says in verse 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.Today we are being bombarded by messages from every direction – on your computer, your 'phone, in the street. When I get a message on my e-mail system one of the first things I want to know is where it has come from. Is it from a trusted source? John says two things about where this message came from.
1. This is the message we have heard from him. Its is not a message that John made up himself but one that he and the other disciples have heard from him, from God's Son, Jesus Christ, the one they heard with their ears, seen with their eyes, the one they'd looked at and that their hands had touched. John, the eye-witness, ear-witness, hand-witness, testifies here. Here is a reliable witness.
2. This is the message that he and the apostles declare to you. John has not kept quiet about this message. He wants to pass it on. He proclaims it; he preaches it.
From that statement - God is light; in him there is no darkness at all - he draws certain conclusions. There are five altogether but we are just focusing on the second.
First, negatively, he says that if you claim to have fellowship with God yet walk in darkness, you're a liar. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. Here is a person who claims to be a Christian. He says he has fellowship with God – with the Father and Son. However, he walks in the darkness. There are shady dealings in his life, things that are not entirely transparent. Such a person, says John, is a liar. He's not really a Christian. There is something false here. The man is not living by the truth.
Do you claim to be a Christian? Do you say you're in fellowship with God? Then that is bound to affect how you live. Because God is Light, you will walk in the light and not in the darkness.
Secondly, we have this positive note, the one we want to explore, here in verse 7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. John is speaking here to those who profess to be Christians but we can take the verse and apply it more generally to all. It easily divides into three and so we will look at it under three main headings.
1. A call to walk in the light as he is in the light
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light ...The main picture here is light. We know what light is. It is the opposite of darkness. The sun is the greatest light we know – too bright to look at. The moon and stars are lesser lights and there is the light that comes from fire in candles and lamps and, today, electric light. The main value of light can be spoken of in these terms. Negatively, it helps you avoid danger. Positively, it helps you reach what you are after.
Light points to purity, honesty, transparency, holiness. John has just told us that God is light; in him there is no darkness at all and we know that Jesus is the Light of the World. When you walk in the darkness, you may stumble over a log, step on a snake, fall off a cliff or hit your head on a low door. Darkness is full of threat. It frustrates your ability to attain your goal. But light changes all that. It exposes dangers and frees you from their lurking power. It opens the way to your goal. It is full of hope and promises the glad attainment of your goal.
With it is the idea of walking. Walking implies movement, going from one thing to the next. It stands for living. We must live in a way that can be described as 'walking in the light'. We must all seek to walk in the light or go on walking in the light as he is in the light. A person who is really converted will walk in the light, as he is in the light. Such a person has left the darkness and has begun to lead a life of holiness. He has a true sight and sense of sin, he knows Jesus Christ and he knows way of salvation by him. He walks in the light in the sense of
1. Walking in the light of truth. He accepts what God's Word says about the soul and sin and God and death and salvation. Is that you? Are you walking in the light of truth?
2. Walking in the light of holiness. He leads a holy life – not a perfect life - but a life that is constantly exposing itself to the light so that where there is sin it is willingly acknowledged. As he is in the light emphasises that the light comes from God. God is light. He dwells in unapproachable light. As all in him is light so it must be in us. There is a difference in degree, of course, but the same kind of light.
3. Walking in the light of peace and joy that Christ gives. This sense may also be included. Where are you looking for assurance and confidence?
In practice this means at least 3 things
Walking in the light of God. The fear of God the Bible tells us is the beginning of wisdom. To fear God is to walk in the light of his existence. It is to remember that he is watching you. It is to make every decision in that light. Is that how you live? Is that how you think?
Walking in the light of God's Word. The Word of God is described as a light for our feet and a lamp for our path. We do well to pay attention to it like a light shining in a dark place. It will show us how to live. This is why we need to get to know the Bible and to see how it applies to our lives in different ways. It is a sure and certain light in this dark world.
Walking in the light of our God given conscience. The conscience is also a light. Various illustrations can be used to describe the conscience – that aspect of a man's soul that deals with right and wrong. In one sense it is like a light as it shines out and dispels the darkness in our lives forcing us to recognise our sins and to do something about them. Are you walking in the light of your conscience? It is important not to ignore what your conscience is saying. Conscience can be mistaken, of course, but it is still not right to ride roughshod over it.
Christians are often called Children of light – they have seen the light, they are in the light and they belong to the light. They also grow in knowledge day by day. Is that you? If not come into the light and walk in it from today. If you are already in the light seek to go deeper into it.
2. Consider the first consequence of walking in the light – fellowship with God and his people 
we have fellowship with one another The next picture is that of fellowship, of sharing. The simplest way of picturing this in our minds is to think of a shared meal. When you eat with someone you share your food with them.
The first consequence of this walking in the light that John draws attention to then is fellowship, having certain things in common. One another points most obviously to fellowship on the horizontal plain but it must include the vertical aspect – fellowship not just with one another but also with the Father and with the Son. It takes us back to as he is in the light. When we walk in the same light as God walks in then we share that light and so share fellowship not only with him but all who are in him.
Part of Christian fellowship is walking in the light. As believers we need to be open with each other about our faults, all the while seeking to live holy lives not only as individuals but also as a family. We will be doing all we can to promote holiness among ourselves and not to be a stumbling block one to the other.
Is that you? Are you seeking fellowship of that sort with God's people? Has your becoming into the light brought you into fellowship with God and his people? Are you in the light and sat down to eat with God and his children?
3. Consider the second consequence of walking in the light – forgiveness of sin
and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Another part of this true walking in the light is to also see that we need forgiveness and that comes because the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Here the picture is of purifying or cleansing or washing. Think of a shower or a bath for example, a cleansing fountain. Sometimes the image of red carbolic soap is used.
The blood of Jesus refers particularly to his death on the cross but it really stands for all the work he has done by his life and by his death. It is by means of his work that we can be made clean from our sins – by trusting in him and in what he has done on the cross.
By nature we are not clean. Our hearts are polluted. It is something that we are all born with, everyone of us with no exceptions. When people become conscious of this they try various means to cleanse themselves but nothing can remove sin but the blood of Christ, that is trusting in his death for sinners. Some try ritual washings and sacrifices. Some think that by following moral duties or by doing things like praying and reading the Bible, etc, they will be cleansed. But neither these things nor baptism nor taking the Lord's Supper nor having wonderful spiritual gifts or anything else can cleanse you. Only the blood of Christ will do it.
Here we are thinking firstly of the atonement for that Christ's sacrifice has brought about leading to justification for all who trust in him. We are also thinking of the pardon for sin that has been procured by the blood of Christ and the way it is applied to the conscience, purging it from dead works. There is an ongoing aspect here then. The moment you believe in Jesus Christ all your sins are washed away but there is a need too for daily cleansing. Each time we sin we need, as it were, to be right with God again and that is possible once more because of what Jesus has done by dying on the cross.
A Christian, as we have said is not someone who never sins. Rather, he is someone who when he sins finds forgiveness through the death of Jesus Christ. What is a clean person? What do we mean if we say 'he's a clean person'. Not – he never gets dirty but when he does get dirty he cleans himself up again. You know the old joke 'I have a bath every week, whether I need one or not'! Christ died for the very purpose of providing forgiveness for sin. It is the duty of every true Christian to keep looking to Jesus to be cleansed by his death. Or as Jesus once put it – we have been bathed clean by him and our duty is now to keep our feet clean. When they are soiled he must wash them.
Again is that you? Are you knowing daily forgiveness through Christ?
You may say to me 'Is Christ's blood applied by the Spirit of God really the only way to be cleansed. What about in the Old Testament? They weren't saved by the blood of Christ were they? Yes, they were. Christ's blood has always been cleansing from sin – even then. It had this virtue in it, we may say, even before it was actually shed. This is one reason why Jesus is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.It has the same power to cleanse now as when it was first shed and it will continue to have that same power to the end of the world. When it is sprinkled on the conscience by the Spirit of God, it takes away the sins of believers and purifies from them corruption and sin just as fast as the corruption of nature rises, or sins appear. It removes them out of sight and speaks peace to their souls.
All this is, of course, because of who Christ is and because he has not only died but intercedes in heaven for his own even now. He is able to forgive every sort of sin – original, Adamic sin - actual, personal sin; secret sin and open sin; sins of heart, thought, lip and life; sins of omission and commission; big sins – little sins, sins against light and knowledge, grace and mercy, law and gospel anything but the sin against the Holy Spirit itself. One writer says rightly “There is no stain made by sin so deep that the blood of Christ cannot take it entirely away from the soul.”
Oh believe that all your sins can be forgiven.
In the Old Testament he was pictured in the scapegoat. This was the one led out into the desert to die. The Jews say of it "it atoned for all the transgressions of the law, whether small or great, sins of presumption, or of ignorance, known, or not known, which were against an affirmative or negative command, which deserved cutting off (by the hand of God), or death by the sanhedrin.''
Jesus's blood can forgive your every sin. All you have to do is just trust in him.
So we are saying walk in the light – live a holy life, informed by God and his Word. Enjoy fellowship with God and his people. Realise that this is truly possible in Christ for through him and through him alone there is cleansing from every sin. If we repent from our sins and look to him his blood can make us clean and make us fit for heaven.