Commentary: Are you washed?

Ralph Fudge

Qualification for heaven has nothing to do with following rules or 'living right.'”

An old hymn I love asks, “Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?” The Lamb is Jesus, the Christ of God and God’s own Son. He shed His blood on the cross of Calvary to wash away the sins of all who believe in Him and trust their souls to Him.

The wonderful thing is that every sin is washed away or removed, past, present, and even future sins. H. G. Spafford confirmed this truth in his beautiful song, “It Is Well With My Soul.” It declares, “My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, praise the Lord.”

C. S. Lewis was another great Christian. He applied the Lord’s warning not to judge by suggesting we never say an obvious sinner is not a Christian, but rather not a good one. The truth is that most of us Christians fall into the category of not being good Christians. To mature in Christ takes years, and one never reaches perfection. However, even the Christians who are not good ones will still see heaven. The reason for this is explained so well in Ephesians 2:8-9. It says, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, lest anyone should boast.” Besides, not a single person on earth is truly good. Jesus told us that only God is good. So we know from that that goodness has nothing to do with being saved and seeing heaven.

One of the reasons for discouragement today is the set of rules and demands some preachers try to impose on their congregations. These are things that they are not capable of doing themselves. These rules they have tried to add to the Bible include no consumption of any alcohol, no smoking, no dancing, and such. The truth is that nothing in the Bible condemns these things done in moderation. These preachers turn a lot of would-be members away. They sin by trying to add to God’s Word, and they sin by discouraging many who might become good church members.

As stated, even the sins that Christians do commit are all covered by the blood of Christ, and we bear them no more. Qualification for heaven has nothing to do with following rules or “living right.” It only has to do with belief in Christ and repenting by calling on His name for salvation. Jesus condemned this rule-making by the Pharisees when He said, “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

There are many unhappy Christians, and that is such a shame because Christians should be the happiest people on earth. We need to keep focused on Christ and the fact that He has washed away our every sin if we are believers. And because of this, we should experience the joy of our salvation most of the time. Forget about your failure to keep rules, especially those created by men. Just remember Whose you are and where your soul is going at the moment of your passing.

If you have never trusted your soul to Christ, you are living a terribly dangerous life. This is because you must secure salvation while you are living on earth. Your death ends all opportunity to ever be saved, and the problem is that no one knows when he will die.

Let us thank God and give Him praise and glory each day of our lives. Thank Him for your many blessings, but thank Him most of all for His grace in sending Christ to die for us and wash away our every sin. Amen.

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Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.