The Double Cure
Our ailment is sin’s guilt and power, it’s stain and influence, so we need a double cure.
“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our[g] conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14).
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure
Cleanse me from its guilt and power
Hidden inside familiar hymns is some of the richest, deepest, theology presented in beautiful language and proffered as prayer. In a mere 13 words it offers a prayer for the brokenhearted, downtrodden, self-loathing sinner. It offers the plea for the crushed and shame-faced.
When we have fallen into sin, it is not enough for the power of sin to be broken in our lives. We are still guilty for our prior rebellion against God. We are still ashamed and marked by the stain of sin. Nor is it enough for the guilt to be washed away while sin still holds sway in our hearts. That would be like taking laundry out of the dryer and throwing it in a mud puddle or like a pardoned criminal stealing a purse on the way out of the courthouse.
Our ailment is sin’s guilt and power, it’s stain and influence, so we need a double cure. And the blood of Christ is just that. It washes us clean of sin’s stain. It erases shame and guilt. It covers us in the innocence and righteousness of Jesus himself. And it breaks the power of sin. No more are we “slaves to sin” (Romans 6:17) but are able to resist (James 4:7), to flee (1 Corinthians 6:18), and to be ruled by Christ.
This is what Christ accomplished on the cross as the final, complete, and perfect sacrifice, pouring out this “double cure” for you and me.