Back To The Blood Part 2

In our last blog we started talking about getting back to good balanced teaching and preaching on the blood of Jesus. We want to continue that with this blog by looking at some of the benefits we receive because of the blood of Jesus.

 

The first benefit of the blood of Jesus we want to consider is PURIFICATION. The dictionary defines purification as: the act of making pure, to clear of defilement or imperfection, to free from moral guilt, to cleanse. There several Scriptures in the New Testament that deal with this aspect of what the blood does for us.

 

“But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 NASB

 

“And not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:12-14 NASB

 

“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Hebrews 9:22 NASB

 

All of these Scriptures deal with the fact that we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. The old Hymn had it right:

 

“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus…Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

 

I also want you to notice that part of the definition of purification deals with freeing from moral guilt. So many allow the enemy to put them under guilt over what they have done in their past. The truth is once something is under the blood…it is forgiven and forgotten. The Word says:

 

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 NASB

 

If you have been washed in the blood of the Lamb…don’t let the enemy put you under guilt anymore!

 

Another great old hymn of the faith comes to mind here:

 

“There is a fountain filled with blood. Drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood; lose all their guilty stains…Lose all their guilty stains, Lose all their guilty stains, And sinners plunged beneath that flood; lose all their guilty stains…The dying thief rejoiced to see. That fountain in his day. And there may I, as vile as he, wash all my sins away…Away, Away, Wash all my sins away.”

 

The second benefit of the blood of Jesus that we want to consider is REDEMPTION. The dictionary defines redemption as: The act of buying back or repurchasing. To free from captivity by the payment of a ransom. To release from blame or debt. Repair, Rescue or Restore. The New Testament also has many verses that deal with the fact that we are redeemed or purchased back by the blood of Jesus.

 

“Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18 & 19 NASB

 

“And not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12 NASB

 

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” Ephesians 1:7 NASB

 

“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.’” Revelation 5:9 NASB

 

It is quite clear from these Scriptures that we were redeemed or purchased by the blood of Jesus. What were we redeemed or purchased from?

 

^“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE.’” Galatians 3:13 NASB

 

We have been redeemed from the curse of the law (see Deuteronomy 28 starting around verse 15). Thank God for the plan of Redemption. The Bible declares that it was a hidden mystery (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). In fact if the princes of this world had known it they would have never crucified the Lord of Glory the Word says. What the devil thought was his greatest victory became his ultimate defeat!

 

I am thinking of another old hymn of the faith:

 

“Redeemed how I love to proclaim it. Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed through His infinite mercy. His child, and forever, I am. Redeemed, redeemed. Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. Redeemed, redeemed. His child, and forever, I am.”

 

In our next blog we will pick up some more of these benefits. These blogs on the blood are all adapted from messages recently preached at a two day seminar on the blood of Jesus. We are posting clips of those messages to YouTube. Some have already been posted and more will be over the next week or so. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUZKgAraX_IVn0o1YmkCbJA/videos 

Back To The Blood Part 1

This past weekend my Mom, Dad & I had the privilege of conducting a two day seminar on the Blood of Jesus. This was designed to be an in-depth study of the blood. Both what it doesn’t do as well as what it does do. It is unfortunate that we don’t hear many sermons on the blood of Jesus anymore, and some of what we do hear isn’t always Biblically accurate.

 

There was a song by a Christian artist named Pam Thum that came out in the mid 90’s called “Back To The Blood”: “We’ve got to get back to the blood of the Lamb, Back to the blood where the power began. It’s time to stand beneath the crimson flood once again. We’ve got to get back to the blood, the blood of the Lamb.”

 

I believe we do need to get back to both teaching and preaching about the blood of Jesus, but we need some good teaching. Sometimes poor or wrong teaching about a subject can be just as detrimental to us as having no teaching on a subject…and the blood of Jesus would certainly be included in that.

 

You might be asking or thinking to yourself what could possibly be considered poor teaching on the blood? One of the most religious, well-meaning, good sounding practices of the church over the last forty years or so that I am aware of and perhaps longer than that…Pleading The Blood!

 

If you have been around the church for any length of time I am sure that you have heard well-meaning Believers ‘plead the blood’. Normally this is done for one of two reasons, for protection or as a means of spiritual warfare. I don’t really know where or how this started but folks have been doing it for years. Did you know that ‘pleading the blood’ is not found anywhere in Scripture?

 

The protection slant is normally derived from Exodus when the death angel would pass over the houses in Goshen that had the blood on the sides of and over the door of the house…so when he saw the blood he would pass over. People take this and then say well we can plead the blood and be protected from evil. Folks this thinking is so hermeneutically (the art& science of proper Bible interpretation) poor it is astounding!

 

Number one, the death angel was either the Lord Himself or an angel who was assigned this task, but still directed by the Lord. Number two, this was an isolated incident and Scripture clearly teaches that things must be in the mouth of two or three witnesses to be established. Number three, the protection the blood here provided was from the judgment of God, not the evil of the enemy. The picture symbolically is that as we enter through the shed blood we are now free from God’s judgment! It was true for them in Goshen and it is true for us as New Testament Believers.

 

So how is ‘pleading the blood’ going to protect us from evil? The truth is…it isn’t! It is a religious practice that sounds good but really serves no purpose whatsoever.

 

The second slant of why folks ‘plead the blood’ we said was as a part of spiritual warfare. Can you tell me anywhere in the New Testament where we are told to cast out devils by the blood of Jesus? How about laying hands on the sick in the blood of Jesus? No, the New Testament is quite clear that God has highly exalted the Name of Jesus, and given Him a name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord to the glory of God.

 

The New Testament is full of talk about casting out devils in Jesus Name. It speaks of laying hands on the sick in Jesus Name.

 

“Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’” Acts 3:6 NKJV

 

“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:17&18 NKJV

 

“…let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.” Acts 4:10 NKJV

 

Notice that in none of these texts does it say that by the blood of Jesus…rather in every one of these instances it says in the NAME OF JESUS! The weapon of our warfare is not the blood…it is the Name! I believe the enemy has deceived many into doing something that has no spiritual value at all. All the while folks are ‘pleading the blood’ the devil is laughing at us and we are wondering why we are not seeing the victory that we should be seeing.

 

Why do we sing songs like: “Satan the blood of Jesus is against you?” We should be singing: “Satan the Name of Jesus is against you!” I am not minimizing the blood by any stretch. I am just saying that in many cases we have been sold a religious bill of goods that is useless and powerless to help where we are trying to apply it.

 

The blood does have tremendous power in the life of the Believer. The old hymn of the church: “There Is Power In The Blood” is in fact a great song full of truth, but let’s not go beyond sound doctrine in anything, especially, misapplying the blood.

 

In our next Blog we will delve into what the blood of Jesus actually does do for us.