Washed

<p>My friend Bill described Gerard, an acquaintance of his, as being &ldquo;very far from God for a very long time.&rdquo; But one day, after Bill met with Gerard and explained to him how God&rsquo;s love has provided the way for us to be saved, Gerard became a believer. Through tears, he repented of his sin, and gave his life to Jesus. Afterward, Bill asked Gerard how he felt. Wiping away tears, he answered simply, &ldquo;Washed.&rdquo;</p> <p>What an amazing response! That&rsquo;s precisely the essence of salvation made possible through faith in Jesus&rsquo; sacrifice for us on the cross. In 1 Corinthians 6, after Paul gives examples of how disobedience against God leads to separation from Him, he says, &ldquo;That is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ&rdquo; (v. 11). &ldquo;Washed,&rdquo; &ldquo;sanctified, &ldquo;justified&rdquo;&mdash;words that point to believers being forgiven and made right with Him.</p> <p>Titus 3:4&ndash;5 tells us more about this miraculous thing called salvation. &ldquo;God our Savior . . . saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth.&rdquo; Our sin keeps us from God, but through faith in Jesus, the penalty of it is washed away. We become new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), gain access to our heavenly Father (Ephesians 2:18), and we&rsquo;re made clean (1 John 1:7). He alone provides what we need to be <em>washed</em>.</p>