“There is not, I repeat it again, the slightest atom of saving-power anywhere but in the blood of Jesus.”
Charles Spurgeon reveled in the blood of Jesus Christ. That fountain “drawn from Immanuel’s veins” was the vermillion cement which ensured that “God’s people are always safe.” Neither “plague,” “famine, “war,” or “tempest” could shake the believer’s foundation.
Even though God himself had vowed to bring the “sword of vengeance” in judgment upon the world, yet, according to Spurgeon not all would perish, for “the voice of the covenant of mercy speaks.” Indeed, as Spurgeon said, “God’s people are only safe through the blood,” and the reason why “God spares his people in the time of calamity is, because he sees the blood-mark on their brow.”
To emphasize the point Spurgeon recounted to story of Adoniram Judson’s return from Burma. When Judson returned, he spoke to an enthusiastic crowd awaiting tales of adventure. Instead he spoke “about fifteen minutes, with much pathos, of the precious Saviour.” Afterwards one of Judson’s friends informed him that the crowd was “very much disappointed.” The crowd was looking for “something else” but Judson only offered Christ. As Judson said, “My business is to preach the gospel of Christ; and when I can speak at all, I dare note trifle with my commission.”
In the first section of his sermon, Spurgeon expounded upon the nature of “The Blood Itself.” His first observation was that Christ’s blood was that of “a divinely appointed victim.” That is, “Jesus Christ did not come into this world unappointed. He was sent here by the Father.” In turn this blood could be trusted because it was appointed.
Second, not only was Christ appointed, he was also “spotless.” Spurgeon knew that “Had there been one sin in Christ, he had not been capable of being our Saviour,” but “Sin had no foothold in him, never troubled him.”
Third, Christ’s blood was trustworthy because “Christ himself was God.” Simply, “The divinity was so allied with the manhood, that the blood derived efficacy from it.” And because of this, Spurgeon claimed that, “you cannot put an estimate upon it that should so much as reach to a millionth part of its preciousness.”
Fourth, Christ’s blood was the blood “once shed” for the remission of sins, having accomplished its end. And finally, Spurgeon noted that of all blood only “The blood of Jesus Christ is blood that hath been accepted.” Furthermore, God’s acceptance of that blood for believers was so binding that, according to Spurgeon, “God must un-God himself before he can reject thee, or reject that blood.”
In the second section of his sermon, Spurgeon focused on “The Efficacy of this Blood.” First, Spurgeon asserted that “The blood of Christ hath such a divine power to save, that nothing but it can ever save the soul.” He knew that “My works, my prayers, my tears, cannot save me,” rather “the blood, the blood alone, has power to redeem.” Indeed, Spurgeon was adamant, nothing else held “the slightest atom of saving-power.” In this way, “THE BLOOD stands out in solitary majesty, the only rock of our salvation.”
Second, Spurgeon emphasized that the blood “must save alone.” Spurgeon stated this truth in stark terms, saying, “Put anything with the blood of Christ, and you are lost; trust to anything else with this, and you perish.” According to Spurgeon, Christ was so jealous…of his honour” that anything put with the blood would become “an accursed thing.” For Spurgeon, the “rock of salvation” was “Jesus only – Jesus only – Jesus only.”
Third, Spurgeon rejoiced that the blood was “all-sufficient.” In simple terms, “It is not your estimate of that blood, it is the blood that saves you.” Furthermore, because the emphasis was on the blood great sinners could rejoice for “There is no case which the blood of Christ cannot meet; there is no sin which it cannot wash away."
Finally, Spurgeon articulated that the blood saves “surely” and that is saves “completely.” Indeed, he rejoiced because he knew that “there is no damnation to the man who has the blood of Christ upon him.”
In the third section of his sermon, Spurgeon briefly mentioned “The One Condition” of salvation: That God sees the blood. This provided encouragement for even when believer’s eyes are dim, “God’s eye is not dim.”
In the fourth and final section of his sermon, Spurgeon rhetorically asked, “What is the Lesson[?]” He proceeded to conclude saying, “Christian, take care that thou dost always remember, that nothing but the blood of Christ can save thee. I preach to myself to-day what I preach to you.” Indeed, “Christ’s blood must be your trust” both in times of “joy” and times of “doubt.”
“O, brethren, if we could always live with a single eye fixed on the cross, we should always be happy.”
Why you should take up and read:
For Charles Spurgeon the blood of Jesus Christ stood in “solitary majesty,” for it alone must save. Only the blood of Jesus could serve as “the rock of our salvation.” In this sermon Spurgeon explained at length the riches of grace found in the blood of Christ. For those wanting nothing but the blood, please take up and read.
Here is the link to the Sermon of the Week:https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-blood#flipbook/
Phillip Ort serves at the Director of The Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City where he is also pursuing a Master of Divinity degree.
