THE CLEANSING POWER OF THE CROSS

For if the blood of bulls and of goats . . . sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, . . . purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:13,14

To have a guilty conscience is an experience. Psychologists may define it as a guilt complex and may seek to rationalize away the sense of guilt; but once this has been awakened through the application of the law of God, no explanation will quiet the insistent voice of conscience. Many a criminal has finally given himself over to the authorities because the accusations of a guilty conscience were worse than prison bars. The Bible teaches that Christ cleanses the conscience. To have a guilty conscience cleansed and to be free from its constant accusation is an experience, but it is not the cleansing of the conscience that saves you; it is faith in Christ that saves, and a cleansed conscience is the result of having come into the right relationship with God.