Cleansed from Sin (Leviticus 16:30) - Radical

Cleansed from Sin (Leviticus 16:30)

For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.
– Leviticus 16:30

Is that not an incredible verse here in the heart of Leviticus? As we come to the center of this book, that oftentimes is so confusing to read because we’re reading all of these Old Testament laws and rituals and feasts that don’t apply in the same way in the New Testament, the new covenant to followers of Jesus. And so we start to wonder, what do I learn from this book? And there’s so much we can learn about God’s holiness, God’s care for his people, the way he provides the laws, his Word to them, and teaches them to trust in him. But right in the center of this book, in the middle of chapters about sacrifices, we find that God has made a way for his people to be clean before him from all their sins.

Leviticus 16:30 explains the depth of God’s mercy and grace.

Specifically, Leviticus 16:30 says on the Day of Atonement, when a sacrifice will be offered for the people’s sins to cleanse them. And this is the heart of God for you and me. And it doesn’t have to be this way. We deserve to be in hell right now. We deserve eternal judgment for our sin against God. Yet God loves us and God has made a way for us, for you, for me to be cleansed, to be clean before him from all our sins.

This picture of atonement in Leviticus ultimately points us to atonement in Jesus, to Jesus shedding his blood, giving himself as a sacrifice on the cross so that you and I can be clean before the Lord from all our sins and for all those who trust in Jesus, this is you. You are through faith in Jesus and his blood and his atonement. You are clean before the Lord from all your sins.

That’s incredible news and it’s news that will last forever. Jesus has paid the price for the sins of all who trust in him so that there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That we are free from the judgment we deserve. We are free from guilt. We are free to live the life God made us to live, to be holy as he is holy.

Leviticus 16:30 calls us to trust in Jesus as our perfect sacrifice.

And so in a fresh way today, I just want to lead us to pray with gratitude for the cleansing God has made possible for us and the freedom from sin and slavery that God has made a reality for you and me today. Oh God, we praise you for loving us enough to make a way of atonement for us to be restored at one into relationship with you through the blood of Jesus on the cross for us.

Jesus, we praise you for your sacrifice of atonement. We trust in you as the Savior from our sin. Lord, we praise you for the cleansing you have made possible in us. We praise you that we sinners can be clean before God who is holy. And so we pray even now, God make us holy. God, cleanse us continually from sin. Help us to turn from sin all day today.

God, we pray that even now you would open our eyes, and convict our hearts of any sin we have committed. We are holding onto God. We want to live cleansed by the blood of Jesus, by your grace. And we want to live free from the power of sin in our lives, from slavery to sin. Help us to turn, flee from temptation today, and to follow you in holiness by your grace, by your power at work within us.

And God, we pray you would use our lives today to lead others to be cleansed in you… To share the gospel with people around us today.

Prayer for the Dagestani Avar People

And God, we pray for people around the world. We pray specifically for the Dagestani Avar people of Russia in the caucus regions. There’s so much need for the gospel. God, we pray for the 1.1 million Dagestani Avar people who’ve never heard the good news of the sacrifice of atonement through faith in Jesus that they can be forgiven of all their sins.

Lord, we pray that the Dagestani Avar people would be cleansed from their sin through faith in Jesus because they hear the gospel through your people, through our work for them. God, please may it be so. We pray all of this with gratitude, Lord Jesus, for your sacrifice of atonement… For your bloodshed so that we could be clean before the Lord from all our sins. Oh God, help us to live today clean and free from all our sins. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

David Platt

David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.

David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.

He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.

LESS THAN 1% OF ALL MONEY GIVEN TO MISSIONS GOES TOWARDS REACHING THE UNREACHED.

That means that the people with the most urgent spiritual and physical needs are receiving the least support. You can help change that!