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The Wednesday Word:
Justified By His Blood
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Why is the blood so important to the gospel? Here’s one reason… we are justified by the blood. As you know, to be justified means to be found not guilty, acquitted and declared legally righteous. It is the exact opposite of being condemned and damned. We are either legally condemned or legally justified before God, and the difference between the two states is made by the blood.
In Exodus 11:7 we read that the Lord put a difference between Egypt and Israel. What was the difference? It was the blood! On the fateful night of the Passover, the angel of death swept through the land of Egypt killing all the firstborn males. The firstborn of the Israelites, however, were spared, not because they were better people, but because they were sheltered under the blood. There was no difference between the firstborn of Israel and the firstborn of Egypt --they were all the same; they were all sinners (Romans 3:23). But in events that prophetically pictured the cross, God made the difference, the difference of the blood.
We now see that, at Calvary, because of the blood, God’s wrath was intercepted. We see that, because of the blood, no charges are being held in reserve against us. We see that, because of the blood, the Judge of all the earth consults His record books and finds none of our sins.
Nothing can hurt people who are sheltered under the blood. Why? Because, the Father sees that the blood has settled the entire catalogue of charges made against them. We often look at ourselves and see a different picture. We see our failings and our sinful heart---and, by the way, this is not always a bad thing as these things continually humble us and propel us to the throne of grace. And, there at the Throne of Grace we learn to occupy ourselves more with Christ and our righteousness in Him than to be absorbed with our sinful hearts.
May the Lord help us to remember that in Christ we are perfect and complete. In Christ, we are declared, “not guilty” because of the blood. We are justified by His blood. May we never tire, as many do, of hearing about the perfections of the blood.
Adoniram Judson, the man who, in the 19th century, opened up Burma for the gospel, came back to America after 30 years of unheard-of hardships. A vast crowd gathered to hear him speak. To their amazement, he spoke of the precious Saviour, and of what He had done for them and of what they owed to Him because of the blood. As he sat down, he was visibly affected.
“The people are very much disappointed,” said a friend to him on their way home—“they wonder you did not talk of something else.”
“Why, what did they want?” he replied, “I presented, to the best of my ability, the most interesting subject in the world.”
“But they wanted something different—they wanted a story.”
“Well, I am sure I gave them a story—the most thrilling one that can be conceived of.”
“But they had heard it before! They wanted something new of a man who had just come from the Antipodes.”
“Then I am glad they have it to say, that a man coming from the Antipodes had nothing better to tell than the wonderful story of the dying love of Jesus! My business is to preach the Gospel of Christ. And when I can speak at all, I dare not trifle with my commission. When I looked upon those people today and remembering where I would next meet them, how could I stand up and furnish food to vain curiosity or tickle their fancy with amusing stories of my testimony. That is not what Christ meant by preaching the Gospel. And then how could I hereafter meet the fearful charge, ‘I gave you one opportunity to tell them of ME. You spent it in describing your own adventures instead of telling of the precious blood of by which men are saved.’
And that’s the Gospel Truth
Miles McKee
Minister of the Gospel
www.milesmckee.comhttp://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=milesmckee