Nothing But The Blood

"What can take away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus."

Those well-worn words of a children's hymn sound almost trite, but they pose some major points to consider.

First, what is sin? The old archery term means to miss the mark. The Bible equates the word with the term "trespass" - to go without permission on someone else's property. In this case, the property is God's. Another term is "transgress" - to cross a boundary or break a law. Yet another is "iniquity," which is to say, being unequal in our judgement.

The word assumes there are ultimate spiritual laws, boundaries, goals and justice, things which people don't define by their own opinions. Not a popular idea these days.

Then there's the second half of the phrase - "nothing but the blood of Jesus." It seems straightforward, but most religious denominations tack subtext onto it.

It may be, "Nothing but the blood of Jesus, which causes my water baptism to be effective for the removal of sin."

It may be, "Nothing but the blood of Jesus, through which my good deeds have a chance of earning heaven, whereas a non-believer never could."

Or it may be, "Nothing but the blood of Jesus, which obligates me to follow certain rules."

Actually, none of those are in the song lyric, because they're not in the Bible.

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 the flow that makes me white as snow,
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Here, with his very own original solo arrangement for euphonium, is 11-year-old Spazzerific.

Click to listen to Nothing But the Blood.

Labels: Music, Podcasts

posted by Zookeeper Cat @ 9:53 PM