He Takes Away the Sins of the World
Thomas Goodwin (1600—1680) known as 'the Elder', was an English Puritan theologian and preacher, and an important leader of religious Independents. Contemporary church historians place Goodwin in the ‘main stream of Puritan thought’.
He was chosen a member of the Westminster Assembly, and at once identified himself with the Congregational party, generally referred to in contemporary documents as the "dissenting brethren." He was chaplain to Oliver Cromwell and was one of his intimate advisers, attending him on his death-bed. He was also a commissioner for the inventory of the Westminster Assembly and together with John Owen drew up an amended Westminster Confession. From 1660 until his death, he lived in London, and devoted himself exclusively to theological study and to the pastoral charge of the Fetter Lane Independent Church.
How does Christ cleanse us from our sins? Thomas Goodwin answers this in An Unregenerate Man’s Guiltiness Before God:
He doth it, first, by his blood; there was nothing else could do it. It is that which purges your consciences from dead works: as Heb. 11:14, 'How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?' There is in every part of our nature a mass of corruption, a bundle of folly, Prov. 15:22. But how shall that be got out? See 1 John 3:8, it is said there, that Christ appeared 'to destroy,' to untie 'the works of the devil.' He is the fountain opened for a separation of sin and uncleanness, Zech. 13:1, to purge and purify the sons of men, and it is his blood that doth all this.
Again, secondly, this power he communicated by his Spirit. When this refiner, Mal. 3:2, and the fuller's soap, that is, his Spirit, does join, then such a man is purified indeed; therefore the Holy Ghost is compared to fire, which purgeth the heart from all the dross which we brought with us into the world. He is this fuller's soap, and there is none like it in the world; and if the Spirit seize upon the heart once, he will purify it thoroughly. Therefore do you as David did; when he saw he could not do it of himself, he went to God for the assistance of his Spirit: 'Purge me, O Lord,' saith he, Ps. 51:7. So, 1 Peter 1:2, this work is attributed to the Spirit. In 1 Peter 1:22, 'Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.'
Thirdly, The Spirit is conveyed to us in the word; therefore the apostle, 1 Peter 1:22, they had 'purified their souls in obeying the truth.' If thou wouldst be pure in heart, be frequent in the word; therefore our Saviour saith, 'You are clean through the word that I have spoken to you;' for the Spirit goes with the word, and that washes and purifies the heart. But you must be sure you obey it then; therefore it is said, they purified their hearts in obeying the truth. It is not enough to hear a sermon, but you must eat it down, take in what it commands, and then it will purge your heart. Ps. 119:9, 'Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his ways? By ruling himself according to thy word.' Take the word and digest it, squeeze the juice of it into thy heart, and it will purge thee from all contrary corruption.