The Cleansing Blood
Doxology Grand Reunion

Belleville, Illinois, 2011

1.	Our Longing for Purity
•	The Lord’s lament in Jer 13:27: How long will you be unclean!
•	The importance of washing for humans
•	Ritual purity in the OT: all more or less unclean
•	Our need for a clear conscience: loss of face and self-confidence
•	Inner cleansing with blood: removal of toxins
•	Jesus in Matt 5:8: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

2.	The Spiritual Neglect of Abused People
•	Recent sensitisation to the effect of abuse
•	Focus on sexual abuse
•	Psychological analysis and treatment of abuse
•	The spiritual effects of abuse
•	Shame before God
•	Sense of taintedness and impurity
•	Feeling of unworthiness and worthlessness
•	Anger 
•	Bitterness, resentment, hatred, vengefulness
•	Self-disparagement , self-punishment and depression
•	Confusion of shame with guilt as both result in a bad conscience: sense of impurity
•	Sense of rejection by God and the church: something wrong with self as a person
•	Unfitness for God’s presence: discomfort in church
•	Manipulation of shame and anger by the devil
•	Spiritual diagnosis with the Ten Commandments
•	Ritual abuse with the divine service
•	Ritual abuse with God’s name
•	Ritual abuse with God’s word
•	Abuse of authority
•	Physical abuse: violence and threats of violence
•	Sexual abuse
•	Economic abuse: money and property
•	Abuse of justice ►verbal abuse
•	Emotional abuse by calculating and manipulative people
•	Worst abuse: parental or pastoral ritual sexual abuse

3.	The Help from Jesus for the Abused
•	Jesus as a victim of abuse who endured such hostility against himself from sinners (Heb 12:3)
•	His bearing of sin by bearing abuse: 1 Pet 2:23-24: When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
•	Removal of abuse with the removal of sin: John 1:29: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
•	Forgiveness as remission of sins: release from the sin for the sinner and its power for the one who has been sinned against
•	Greek verb: ’aphiēmi
•	Greek noun: ’aphēsis
•	The blood of Jesus as remedy for sin and abuse
•	Ransom from tyranny: 1 Pet 1:19
•	Redemption from slavery: Eph 1:7
•	Liberation from disempowerment: Rev 1:5
•	Justification as vindication: Rom 5:9; cf. 3:25
•	Cleansing from taintedness: Heb 9:14; 1 John 1:17
•	Sanctification: Heb 10:29; 13:12; cf. Rev 7:14
•	Conquering condemnation of the devil: Rev 12:11
•	Approach of God the Father with the blood of Jesus: Eph 2:13; 10:19
•	The blood for the remission of sins: Matt 26:26
•	The speaking blood of Jesus: Heb 12:24

4.	Our Ministry to the Abused
•	Affirmation of baptism: Eph 5:25-27: Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
•	Affirmation of Christ’s love for baptised person
•	Affirmation of ongoing cleansing through baptism
•	Affirmation of holiness in Christ and the removal of every blemish by him (see also Eph 1:2-3; Col 1:22; 1 Thess 3:11-13; 5:29; Jude 24)
•	Affirmation of beauty and splendor in Christ’s eyes
•	Affirmation of baptism as being dressed with Jesus: Gal 3:27
•	Affirmation of new self in Christ: Eph 4:20-24
•	The use of the appropriate gospel promises and declarations
•	Ps 23:6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
•	Is 43:1-2: Fear not, I have redeemed you, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, they will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
•	Is 43:6: You are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you.
•	Mark 1:11: You are my beloved son/daughter; with you I am well-pleased.
•	John 8:12: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
•	Rom 8:1: There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
•	Rom 8:31: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not give us all things?
•	Rom 8:38: I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, not things present nor things to come, nor powers,...nor anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
•	1 Cor 15:57: Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
•	1 Pet 2:24: By his wounds you have been healed.
•	1 John 1:7: The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
•	1 John 1:9: God forgives our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness/abuse.
•	Confessional praying as in the psalms of lament
•	Admission of abuse and its impact
•	Offense and its effect: anger ► anguish, sorrow, pain, tears, sleeplessness, impotence, depression, sickness
•	Offender as triumphant enemy
•	Frustration with silent God who seems to be angry: failure to hear and help
•	See warning in Eph 4:26-27: Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
•	Prayer for rescue and justice
•	Referral and release of offense to God
•	Danger of holding on to it for self-justification
•	Removal of abuse and its effects by God
•	See advice Eph 4:37: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
•	Prayer against enemy: dealing with desire for revenge
•	Promise of thanksgiving 
•	Attendance of Holy Communion: 1 John 1:5-9: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim that we have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 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...If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
•	Unrighteousness = injustice, abuse
•	Light as God’s presence with us in the divine service
•	Darkness as hatred (2:9)
•	Confession of sin and abuse as walking in the light
•	Fellowship: common reception and possession of the light
•	Unrighteousness: Greek adikia = injustice, abuse
•	Impurity from sin and abuse 
•	Forgiveness: release from sin
•	Purification from sin and abuse by the blood of Jesus
•	See mention of the sin of the world in the Agnus Dei
•	Provision of liberation and blessing in the name of Jesus
•	Declaration of release in the name of Jesus as in Luke 13:12: In the name of Jesus I say to you, “You are free from your infirmity.”
•	Benediction: appropriate promise with Apostolic or Aaronic benediction

5.	Conclusion
•	Spiritual attack to prevent abused from attending church and receiving the cleansing blood of Jesus: fear of desecration
•	Story of woman in Kuala Lumpur