"Last Days Newsletter"
Vol. 13 No. 2

"Nothing but the Blood" by Melody Green




"In Him we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses ,
according to the riches of His grace,
which He lavished upon us." (Eph. 1:7-8)

Some time ago I was really blessed by reading a classic little book by Andrew Murray called Humility. One of it's themes has stayed with me to this day: It is not sin that humbles us most, but grace.

Humility is a quality that runs all the way through the life of Jesus. Without humility there would have been no Redeemer, no atonement, and no way for man to reach God. The Bible says, "He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death...." (Phil. 2:8). Jesus demonstrates His humility by stepping down from His rightful place as King of the Universe to be a servant and die a criminal's death. Jesus walked in humility by character and CHOICE. Sometimes it was painful and lonely, but He not only secured a way for mankind to be saved through His humility. He left an example we must follow if we want to be like Him.

I'd often thought that if I kept my eyes on my sin and my failures I'd feel so bad it would keep me humble. But being preoccupied with our sin does not bring a lasting work of humility into our lives. It only keeps our eyes turned inward instead of upward.

Our very first moment of conversion should set the tone for the rest of our Christian lives. In that moment we understood we were sinners saved by grace, and no "deeds" except calling out for God's forgiveness and mercy could secure our salvation. That position of being a ransomed sinner -- called to serve the Lord and others -- should remain our position always.

The biggest block to walking in humility is pride. Keeping our eyes on our sin does not counteract the pride in our lives -- except for short periods of time. Although seeing our sin often motivates us towards humility, it's not our sin that KEEPS us humbles. Humility comes as we acknowledge we are nothing and God is everything.

If sin was a prerequisite to humility, we'de need to keep on sinning to remain humble. Sin would then become a virtue. But the humility of receiving UNDESERVED GRACE without any way of earning it points to our utter inability to do anything in ourselves apart from Jesus. It should produce in us total dependence on God.

Our proud nature likes to have a part in "earning" this gift from God. If there's something we can "do" to make things right, we feel we've paid the price for our forgiveness. Sometimes God asks us to make restitution in light of a particular sin, but it's only by His blood that we're cleansed. When we remember that fact, all we can feel is humble because there's nothing we can do to recieve that which we don't deserve.


What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh! Precious is that flow, that makes me white as snow.
No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
~Robert Lowry 1826-1899