And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them (Genesis 3:20-21).
This is considered the first prophecy of the atonement sacrifice of Christ. Adam and Eve had tried to cover themselves, but it was not adequate. Then the Lord made a covering for them by shedding the blood of an innocent animal, prophesying of the atonement that Jesus would make by shedding His blood for our sins.
There is nothing we can do to cover our sins. Our good works will never balance the evil and make us acceptable to God, or cover the shame and wounding that sin does to our soul. Only the Lord can cover our sins. For us to even try to cover ourselves is an affront to the cross of Jesus, by which our redemption was purchased.
Just as Adam and Eve's first response to their sin was to look at themselves, feel naked, and then try to cover themselves and hide, we can still go through the same process even after we become Christians and have the knowledge of the cross. However, regardless of how we feel, we must run to God when we sin, not away from Him. The price that He paid is enough to cover even our worse sins. When we refuse to go to the cross, and try to carry the guilt ourselves, we are saying that the cross was not enough, and this sin is so great that we will have to pay the price ourselves. This is a tragic delusion, and a pride that is not only an insult to the cross of Jesus, but a fundamental departure from the faith that the cross is enough for our salvation. We are assured in I John 1:7-9:
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.These Scriptures clearly state that His blood cleanses us from all sin and from all unrighteousness. For us to consider we must do penance for our sins is an affront to the cross of Jesus. It is a tragic deception to think that the cross is not enough, and that we can do something to add to the work of the cross to pay for our own sins. We can never cover ourselves, but we can always be assured that the covering He provided for our sins is enough. We read in Ephesians 1:7-8:
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,
which He lavished upon us.
In Ephesians 2:13 we are told, "But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." This states a basic purpose of the cross, which is more than reconciling us to God, but also bringing us back to Himself in the close, intimate relationship that He originally intended to have with men. He wants to bring us near. This is also stated in Hebrews 10:19-22:
by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Even if we have sinned, we have confidence to come into the very presence of the Lord, not because of anything we can do, but because of the blood of Jesus. All of our confidence is in Him, not ourselves, and not even in our ability to repent. Even so, this gives us an even greater confidence to draw close to God. Remember that He loved us enough to send us His Son to make the atonement for our sins. The atonement of the cross is enough for even the greatest of sins. His atonement not only reconciles us to God, but is also great enough to cleanse our consciences and make us pure. Therefore, never let your sins or shortcomings drive you away from the Lord, but rather to Him. Stay at the cross until you are intimate with Him again.