On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:So true. From Edward Mote (1834) to Benny Hester (1981) to Hillsong Worship's "Cornerstone," the hymn gets repeated and respun ... a popular song with timeless lyrics. It's that first line, though, that I'm looking at. "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." Is that ... true? Sure, but, I mean, is Mote engaging in poetic license, or are "Jesus' blood and righteousness" two distinct things? I would argue, "Yes, they are two distinct things."
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
From the Old Testament sacrificial system to the New Testament coming of Christ, Scripture repeats this refrain of "blood" as necessary for forgiveness. Ephesians tells us "In Him we have redemption through His blood" (Eph 1:7). Jesus Himself said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28). At the Last Supper, He said, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins" (Matt 26:28). He said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves" (Joh 6:53) Paul referred to Christ's blood as the "propitiation" -- the appeasement of an angry God (Rom 3:25). John wrote, "If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.(1 John 1:7). The author of Hebrews wrote, "Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Over and over, Scripture assures us that Jesus's blood saves, and there is no salvation without it. But ... His righteousness? We often miss this important facet. We know we need forgiveness, accomplished by His blood, but ... that's only part, isn't it? We need the slate cleared, but we need more. We need to be perfect (Matt 5:48). That is, all that stuff we didn't do right -- all that righteousness -- needs to be added to us. We can't just be cleaned. We have to be filled. So we read, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21).
It's true, then. Our only hope is Christ. Our hope is built solely on Him. An essential part of that singular hope is "Jesus' blood and righteousness." Both parts ... blood for forgiveness and righteousness for filling the requirement. Not our blood. Not our righteousness. His. Jesus paid it all. Oh, wait ... that's a different hymn. Still, it's true. All to Him we owe.
In recent years, I've come to be more mindful of the double imputation of the Cross. It's understandable how we miss out on the imputation of His righteousness in us, since every Communion service focuses on His death, we often speak, correctly, of how He died for our sins. So I'm that time, I've shifted my thinking during Communion. When taking the bread, I focus on the fact that He became flesh and lived a righteous, holy, and perfect life on my behalf. Then, when I'm taking the "wine" I focus on His death on my behalf. For me, that feels like a more complete understanding of what Communion means.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote, “We know we need forgiveness, accomplished by His blood, but ... that's only part, isn't it? We need the slate cleared, but we need more.” It struck me immediately upon reading these couple of lines that, we certainly do need more, because if Christ’s righteousness were not added to us after we found our “slate cleared,” then we would constantly need yet more propitiating blood sacrifices, again and again, as we continue to sin, again and again (and mark up that clean slate each time). (Thus the OT sacrificial system would never come to an end.) “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever….has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:12, 14). Praise God, He provided it all through the Lord Jesus Christ!
ReplyDeleteThe seeming lack of knowledge about the OT sacrificial system, what it means, how it worked, and how Jesus fits into it is concerning. There is so much imagery and language around Jesus that only make sense in the context of the sacrificial system. That even the Passover was a foreshadowing of Jesus death, and that Jesus' death came during Passover is ignored or glossed over.
ReplyDeleteI've always taken the righteousness piece for granted, in that I assumed that the death of someone unrighteous would be pointless in the sense of being the final/ultimate sacrifice. It was simply a given for me.
Absolutely the first line is an accurate and Truthful expression of the foundation of the hope that is within us.
Strangely enough, sand is used as a stable fill material when the soil is incapable of bearing the load of a building.
Craig, I believe sand only works in that application when it is properly applied. It has to be compacted, filled, compressed ... essentially hardened. And contained. As opposed to loose on the ground like on a beach.
DeleteStan, you are correct. Yet, it's still sand. The parallel then becomes about properly using the sand instead of using it "as is".
DeleteBecause of my background, I love the use of "foundation" language in scripture, and I've used the rock/sand scripture in talks before. The use of sand to replace soil, made me rethink how I worded the illustration.
I find it somewhat ironic, and humorous.