the scarlet thread of redemption--part 2

The Word for today:
Joshua 9

mark this: Joshua 2:18-19
When we come into the land, tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window...and anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.

The Bible is a wild collage of stories, poems, letters, reports, genealogies, histories, songs, and prophecies. Its 66 books were written by 40 authors over at least 1600 years. What holds it all together? What connects all of its parts?

It is held together by a single blood-red "thread" that weaves all the way through its pages. A great Baptist preacher, W.A. Criswell, called this "the scarlet thread of redemption."

Yesterday, in part 1, we traced the Prophecy of the Blood all the way from Eden to the cross of Jesus Christ. But the blood of Jesus doesn't stop at the cross. Its undiminished transformative power is even now at work. Today, in part two, we'll behold the wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.

The Power of the Blood

His blood redeems (ransoms) us.
Sin never just vanishes into nothingness. It is always accounted for, to the last penny (1). Jesus paid the wages of our sin (2). It was a price only he could pay:
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

His blood brings us into fellowship with God:
But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)

His blood makes peace with God.
Man, by nature, is at war with God; and we can only come to God on His peace terms—the blood atonement:
And through Christ, God has brought all things back to himself again -- things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace through the blood of Christ's death on the cross. (Colossians 1:20)

His blood cleanses.
Not only does it remove the punishment of sin, it removes the pollution of sin. It doesn't matter what sin you've committed:
The blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from every sin. (1 John 1:7)

His blood gives power over the Adversary.
It's the blood that Satan fears:
And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 12:11)
The devil doesn't want you to learn about the blood. He can't stand it--because he can't stand against it.

Before time, before the creation of the cosmos, God had determined that he would send his Son to die on a cross: Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
The blood of Jesus was not shed in reaction to a plan that went wrong. In some way that is impossible for me to understand, the blood of Jesus was always the only plan.

***

The plan was,
is now,
and ever shall be
nothing but the blood of Jesus:

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain:
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

--Robert Lowry, 1876

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(1) Matthew 5:26; (2) Romans 6:23