March 2010: A BLOODLESS GOSPEL

Like two good friends, blood and the Gospel go hand-in-hand. They cannot be separated. The New Testament is a blood pact made by Christ in favour of His people. Just before He was handed over to the Romans to be punished unto death, He said, “This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). That blood was innocent; even the traitor, Judas Iscariot, knew it to be so. That blood brings life to us who believe: “whosoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:54).

The blood teaches us that the Gospel cost something; or to be more precise, that the Gospel cost everything. New Testament grace was no cheap purchase for the eternal Son of God. To bring forgiveness to fallen humanity, Christ faced the wrath of Almighty God alone; He drank the bitter cup alone; He laid down His life alone so that sinners could have life. Oh, how can we ever grow tired of hearing the Gospel? When you think of what Jesus went through; how can you ever stop praising Him for loving you and choosing you? What mercy did you deserve? Would God have ceased to be love if we all went to hell? In no way! But God showed grace and mercy. We can only marvel at His goodness; awed in the presence of His divine charity. Thank you Jesus, again we cry, thank you Jesus!

Gospel preaching is blood preaching. And wherever blood is not present, neither is the Gospel. There is no Good News without blood because, “without the shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). A bloody Gospel tells the truth about God and tells the truth about men. A bloody Gospel reveals that God is a Potentate of infinite love and wrath; a bloody Gospel tells man that he is a vile, miserable wretch in need of the saving mercy of God. A bloody Gospel strikes man’s self-confidence and auto-esteem dead with one killer blow. This cruel, bloody Gospel has been the glory of the church for two millennia. But today, that old Gospel is no longer in fashion.

Liberal theology is preaching a bloodless Gospel. ‘There is no room for blood in our message,’ they say, ‘for blood won’t let anyone feel comfortable!’ Blood is too real; too in-your-face; too raw; too genuine for these anaemic false-prophets. A bloodless Gospel tells you that everyone is good and that we are all children of God and not His enemies. A bloodless Gospel demands no repentance. A bloodless Gospel denies the exclusivity of salvation in Jesus Christ. A bloodless Gospel sees the cross an example of morality and not as a substitutionary punishment for an abominable beast named “man”. A bloodless Gospel will tell you that all God sees in a man is potential and capability. God sees nothing in an unregenerate man but sin! Why does this biblical truth seem so foreign to us? Do we have to learn again the old evangelical lesson that the cross does not tell us how great and important we are; rather the cross shows how vile we are?

So, this question begs to be asked, and the weight of all eternity depends upon your answer: does the Gospel you believe in have blood in it? If it doesn’t, your Gospel can go to hell! Is the Gospel you preach a bloody one? If not, then woe unto you!

Whatever it costs, whatever the price: get blood back into your Gospel! Only the bloody Gospel is worth us shedding our blood because only the bloody Gospel is pleasing to God. The Holy Spirit gives witness to the bloody Gospel. Blood and the Gospel go together: and what God has joined together, let no man put asunder!