We can cut ourselves, or throw our children in the sacred river, or give a million dollars to [charity], or serve in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving, or perform a hundred forms of penance and self-injury, and the result will be the same: the stain remains and death terrifies.
We know that our conscience is defiled — not with external things like touching a corpse, or eating a piece of pork. Jesus said it is what comes out of a man that defiles, not what goes in (Mark 7:15-23). We are defiled by pride and self-pity and bitterness and lust and envy and jealousy and covetousness and apathy and fear — and the actions they breed...they don't come from new life, they come from death, and they lead to death. That is why they make us feel hopeless in our consciences.
The only answer in these modern times, as in all other times, is the blood of Christ. When our conscience rises up and condemns us, where will we turn? Hebrew 9:14 gives us the answer: we turn to Christ.
We turn to the suffering and death of Christ — the blood of Christ. This is the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give the conscience relief in life and peace in death.John Piper, The Passion of Jesus Christ, p. 51
{Between February 12th and April 16th (the Wednesday before Easter), I am reading and discussing John Piper's The Passion of Jesus Christ - Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die with a group of friends. From now through Easter, my Still Saturday quotes and I {LOVE} Sunday scriptures will come from my readings in this book by Piper, and the photos might simply be a few favorites from those I've taken during the week.}
