Thursday, February 29, 2024
The Only Way We Can Know God
In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22 NLT)
The classic hymn by Robert Lowry says, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
Sometimes, even people who are Christians say things like, “I think that other people may find their own path to God. Who am I to say they can’t know God if they haven’t come through Christ? I found my way to God through Christ. But maybe someone else has found their way through another path.”
That may sound sweet and touching, but it is not biblical thinking. The Bible clearly teaches that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (see Hebrews 9:22). This is God’s order. He set it up.
In the Old Testament, a priest sacrificed an animal for a person’s sin. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfilled all that the Old Testament pointed to. He became the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world (see John 1:29).
Now, the only way that we can know God is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We can only come to God through Jesus Christ. And if we are not coming to Him through the blood of Christ, then we cannot know God.
We don’t come to God because we seek to follow the example of Jesus alone. No one can do that. If anything, if we were to take an honest look at Jesus’ life, it would show us how far that we fall short. We don’t gain access to God because we try to live by the teachings of Jesus, as wonderful as they are and as profound as they are as the words of God to us.
It isn’t following His teaching alone that does it. If we honestly look at the teaching of Jesus, it will make us aware of our own sinful condition.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, among other things, “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 NLT). He also said that God looks on our hearts as well as our actions.
His teaching drives us to Him. So, can we approach God because we’re worthy? No. It is built upon a relationship that stands, no matter what our state may be.
Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins. We put our complete trust in Him because it is only through His blood that we can approach God.
It is one thing to know that God has done this for us and to say that we believe it’s true. But we need to ask ourselves these questions: Have we applied it in our lives? Are we applying it to the situations that we’re facing?
We have open access to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way.
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Grief is one of life’s most difficult challenges. Pastor Greg Laurie experienced this truth when his son Christopher passed away suddenly. Discover comfort and healing in times of pain as you read his book Hope for Hurting Hearts. Receive your copy as our gift for your donation of any amount to Harvest Ministries this month.
