Monday, December 01, 2008

Drops of Blood

This idea has surfaced in the past on this blog and on others but the thought came to life again when I encountered a fellow stating "…Both bad and good... I guess it really is by grace through faith and not by works so that we can't boast. God justifies the ungodly... I am not advocating antinomianism, but just making an observation that God's grace is more powerful than any transgression. Just one drop of blood was enough to take away all sin forever as far as the east is from the west." This statement intrigues me to no end. The power is in the blood as the old Pentecostal song goes (at least that is where I heard it first) so it is not surprising to believe that just one drop of Christ's blood could remove the east from the west carrying a immeasurable multitude of sins with it. It sounds right yet if you think about it for a moment it also adds a quantity or limitation to it. Of course there are only so many drops of Christ's blood to go around unless we regard the blood as with the loaves and fishes. But is this a correct manner of thinking about Christ's blood?

Consider how many drops of blood it took to save that man across the street or myself. Could we squeeze out one drop for each of us as into a thimble and thank the LORD for the salvation given? I am beyond certain we would still be standing in our sins for to cover my own hideous innumerable sins requires a life, my own at least. The Hebrews used to offer live sacrifices of bulls, rams, goats, sheep and doves to carry themselves in the LORD's graces for a season yet even that was not enough after a lifetime of shed blood. Sin carries a great cost, the very life of men and it is knowing this that we can look upon not just the shedding of droplets of Christ's blood but his complete sacrifice necessary for cleansing us of sin. For that man across the street or myself it took every drop of Christ's blood, every sign of life in His glorious body to remove our sins as far as east is from the west. Not less than all of His blood and His life were required not by me or that other man or any man. Christ's life was required as propitiation by God the Father. So, where does this thought or idea lead?

I have listened to men tell me in so many words that there is only so much of Christ's blood to go around, only so many drops to save a limited number of people yet they seem not to consider that whether they alone are saved or the whole world, it took the death of Christ to accomplish what provides for salvation. If ten souls are found faithful by Christ and a thousand perish, it is suggested that Christ would have to be a failure if His blood was a provision for all one thousand and ten. I am astonished by such thinking knowing that one soul saved is a priceless treasure in the eyes of God and even more so by the knowledge that every sign of Christ's life was required for just that one soul. Rather than muse over the imaginary failings of Christ I would rather hold concern for the souls who fail to labor in a plentiful harvest knowing that the blood of Christ is sufficient for a harvest of infinite size. Pray for those whom the LORD has called to preach His Word that they be unhindered in their mission to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to a world who's only Hope is the Man who shed every drop of blood just for them.

2 comments:

bethyada said...

The clue to the answer is in you comment

Not less than all of His blood and His life

Blood is a metaphor for life, so what the number of drops of blood means, is a meaningless concept.

A.M. Mallett said...

Amen ... Sometimes it is hard for people to move away from the "quantity aspect", especially those who see some limitation in can benefit from Christ's sacrifice.