No 23
(The Precious Blood of Christ)
“But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot:” 1 Peter
Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands and feet and
side spilling streams of precious blood. It is “precious” because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it the
sins of Christ’s people are atoned for; they are redeemed from under the law;
they are reconciled to God and made one with him. Christ’s blood is also “precious” in its cleansing power; “Though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18). Through Jesus’ blood there is not a spot
left upon any believer, no wrinkle nor any such thing remains. O precious
blood, which makes us clean, removing the stains of our iniquity, and
permitting us to stand justified, notwithstanding the many ways in which we
have rebelled against our God. The blood of Christ is likewise “precious” in its preserving power. We
are safe from Satan under the sprinkled blood. When God sees the blood on us, that is the true reason for our being spared. Here is
comfort for us when our faith is dim because God’s eye is always the same. The
blood of Christ is “precious” also in
its sanctifying influence. The same blood which justifies by taking away sin
quickens the new nature and leads it onward to subdue sin and to follow out the
commands of God. There is no motive for holiness as great as that which streams
from the veins of Jesus. And “precious”
unspeakably precious, is this blood, because it has an overcoming power. The
Bible says “And they overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives unto the death.” (