Nothing But the Blood

 Meditations on Romans

July 27, 2021

Nothing But the Blood

People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.

Romans 3:25b

Read: Romans 3:25-26

These two verses are so densely packed with deep theology, we could spend quite a bit of time with them. For today, I want to lift up just two points. First, these two verses make it clear that forgiveness of sins is completely dealt with by God through the shedding of the blood of Jesus and his sacrificial death. This truth is at the heart of the sacrament of Holy Communion as expressed by the celebrant when they say, "Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (UMC - A SERVICE OF WORD AND TABLE I) I believe it was Saint Thomas Aquinas who noted that Holy Communion was food for the journey. This really hit home to me during the pandemic when churches stopped offering the sacrament, or did so in abbreviated forms that eliminated the confession and pardon. Cheryl and I are so grateful we connected with an Anglican Church that continued to offer the sacrament with the bread and wine, and using the full liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer. During the closings of the pandemic, and since re-openings we have shared their Communion Table several times per month. Indeed, it is food for the journey.

Secondly, Paul asserts that those who have been justified by faith in Christ Jesus have a double assurance. We are assured of God’s favor with us today as we are in a right-standing relationship with God. And we are assured that we will be vindicated in the future as we stand before God’s Throne of Judgement because we are in a right relationship with God, through faith in the faithfulness of Christ Jesus.

My Takeaway: There is a huge temptation in our present culture to do away with talk about blood sacrifices. There are some ministers who seek other language to use in vain efforts to explain how God managed to forgive our sins. May I never, ever forget that my forgiveness was won, first, last and always, through the shed blood and sacrificial death of my beloved Savior, Christ Jesus.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.