Justified by the blood of Jesus; not just by faith?
In Romans 5:1-2, Paul gives us three things to look forward to when justification comes by faith: (1) we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (2) also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, (3) and we will rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Skip to Lou! In Romans 5:6-11, Paul gives us a message from the cross. Not only is our justification through faith in Jesus, but we are also “justified by his blood” and that we “shall be saved from wrath through him.” Shout out loud, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Not the blood of Abraham, Buddha, Mohammad, Wicca witch, Vishnu, or Mary, the mother of Jesus. Only one way! Now, after reading that I thought it so amazing that we give blood to save lives, but others are not justified through the giving of our blood. That’s how we know Jesus is Lord. Is it possible that we can save others from wrath through the giving of our blood? No, not at all, because the truth be told we are a weak people. And, I have been told “some men weaken at the site of blood”, per a few nurses. Admit it. Paul speaks of our weakness in verse six (6) “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
I found four truths mentioned in this chapter that verified that only Jesus was capable of following through on. We as sinners could never pay anyone enough money to: (1) die for the ungodly (2) commend our love toward all sinners (Ex. A lot of people hate the sinner and the sin committed by homosexuals, murderers, liars, racists, adulterers, false prophets, etc.) (3) Reconcile others unto God by our death (4) be the one and only atonement for the sins of others. Jesus did. But God. Now peradventure there are some that will commend their love toward all sinners, because that IS something we are capable of doing when the heart is right with God. Right?
Speaking of blood..let’s go back to “In the beginning” for a moment. Do you know of the first time blood was shed in the bible? Nope, it wasn’t when Cain slew Abel. It was when God provided “garments of skin” for Adam and Eve to cover their known nakedness. Gen. 3:21 and Lev.7:8 lead us to believe that an animal sacrifice took place as the atonement for their sin of disobedience, therefore I believe that the blood of an innocent animal was shed.(TYHS!) “And then there’s” us (not Maude) you and I, who God in the form of an innocent man, Jesus Christ died for the ungodly by the giving of His blood. The first powerful lesson I learned in this chapter is how strong of a role disobedience to God played in the shedding of innocent blood. Now, let this soak in. God said “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.“(Lev.17:10)Ouch! (TYHS!)
The other powerful lesson I learned is to always share with others just how potent God’s love for us is; which was through the blood sacrifice of His “only begotten Son”. Think deeply about it folks, God has always provided a substitute for sin or a way out for His people. He has always done things for us that we are not capable of doing for ourselves. We are not capable of punishing ourselves for wrong doings. We can’t outsmart God. We are not capable of escaping God’s justice; therefore a penalty had to be paid according to His laws. Nothing but the powerful blood of Jesus could settle that debt for all mankind. Amen.
All throughout the Old Testament, pick a story, any story, you will find how often the disobedient people of God were covered by His grace that abounded much more than their sins. (vs. 20) And so I can agree with Paul when he stated that “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”(vs. 8-9) Shout ((((Thank you Jesus))))
Do you remember this hymn? http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Nothing_but_the_Blood/
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Challenge- Make a list of sinners you would die for by the giving of your blood. Now that’s going to be a challenge for sure. 🙂
Biblical Thoughts 