The last line of Nothing But the Blood of Jesus goes: This is all my hope and peace, Nothing but the blood of Jesus; This is all my righteousness, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Aaron and I sung this hymn in front of Planned Parenthood recently. We’ve sung this song over 100 times out street witnessing. But on that particular day, the lyrics this is ALL MY RIGHTEOUSNESS, NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS really hit me.
Like the apostle Paul, we preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We share the glorious Gospel out in the open-air and we literally have sung this song over 100 times, but on that day the words all my righteousness jumped out at me. What is my righteousness? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What is my very best, ever? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What about me is good? What about me is holy? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
All My Righteousness
All my righteousness, my righteousness, the righteousness that I have, that I can personally claim, that I have done or that I can come up with is NOTHING! I have none of my own. I have no righteousness – myself. I have none. The only righteousness that I can hope for, that I can claim, that is even near me, is not my own. The only righteousness that I have is the righteousness that God has given me. All my righteousness is nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Is this truth hitting you anywhere near like it hit me on that day? You and I have no righteousness of our own. You and I are sinners. I am a sinner saved solely by the grace of God. Can you say that? Are you a sinner saved by grace? Do you also have the righteousness of Jesus, all your righteousness, from the King of kings and the Lord of lords? Are you saved? Are you justified? Has Jesus taken your sins away and given you His righteousness? Have you repented and put your trust in the Risen Lord?
My righteousness and your righteousness is nothing. Are you grasping this truth? My very best and your very best added together amounts to zero righteousness. Good deeds are good and good for us to do, but they add nothing to our righteousness. In fact the Bible says that our very best is as filthy rags. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away (Isaiah 64:6). Your very best, my very best is as filthy rags.
Can You Imagine?
Again, God’s not saying that it is wrong to do good things. You just can’t count on your works to save you. No matter how hard you work for your salvation, it will never be enough because your good works do not undo the bad that you have done and we all have done bad things. We all have done things that we are ashamed of. Can you imagine sitting in a movie theater surrounded by all of your family and friends and the “movie” that’s being shown is everything that you have ever thought, said or did?
Can you imagine how embarrassed you would be? Can you imagine every time that you smiled to someone’s face and secretly inside you were thinking to yourself I wish this person would die? Or have you ever been around your friend who is happily in love and wished that you were the one that was with your best friend’s girlfriend? Have you ever wished that you had someone else’s house; or their car? Have you ever wished that you were your boss’s boss instead of the way it really is? Have you ever thought I wonder if I could knock this person in the head and steal their money and get away with it?
Have you ever thought any of these thoughts? Please keep in mind that I’m only talking about your thoughts so far. What wicked thoughts have you had that you plan on taking to your grave without ever telling anyone else about them? In addition to evil thoughts, what about the words that you have spoken? The Bible says that hate is the same thing as murder. Being angry without cause is also the same thing as murder.
How many times have you been angry or hated someone? How many times have you blurted out words that you wished you hadn’t of said just as soon as they left your lips? How many times have you said something snarky to someone and then laughed it off as if you were joking, but you really meant it? Again, picture yourself at that movie theater with all of your friends and family members watching these words come out of your mouth.
Imagine all of them watching the screen in high definition of every time that you lied to one of them. Can you see those who are closest to you gasping when they realize that not only did you lie to them when they thought you were telling the truth, but how you went back home, opened up a beer and laughed at how stupid they were for believing you in the first place? How shocked would your friends and family be at every single time you have cursed God, that you took His name in vain? Can you imagine the horrified look on your family members faces every time you have cursed God or Jesus Christ?
Why Do You Curse God?
By the way atheists, why do you curse Almighty God when you claim that He doesn’t exist? Doesn’t that seem foolish to curse something that’s not real? I’m just asking this question because in a twisted way, it actually shows that you know God is real, but instead of falling to your knees and begging God for forgiveness, you curse Him instead. You can’t hide your disdain and disgust at the great Creator God. You know that He is real and you know that He is Holy and you know that you are a sinner. But you love your sins, so you curse the One that created you.
Then in addition to your thoughts and your words, then picture everyone that you care about sitting in that movie theater with you, also watching all of the evil deeds that you have done. Every time that you stole something, when you thought no one else was looking. Every time that committed fornication or adultery. Every time that you looked at pornography. Every time that you watched a television show or rented a movie that was inappropriate. Every time that you’ve gotten drunk or high. Can you see yourself in that movie theater, slunk down in your seat wishing that you could be anywhere in the world right now except right there, with everyone that’s close to you watching and listening to every single sin, large and small that you’ve ever committed?
At the Judgment, it won’t be a movie theater and it won’t just be limited to your close friends and family there. Jesus said that the queen of the South would condemn those who rejected Jesus when He walked the earth. Everyone that’s ever lived will be there and all of us will see your thoughts, your words and your actions. How embarrassed do you think you will be?
How righteous do you suppose you will feel on that day? Do you really think a single good deed will make you feel better when everyone that’s ever been born sees and hears every wicked thing that you’ve thought, said and done? How do you think you will feel when you stand before the very God that you have cursed? Don’t you suppose that you will bow your knee to Jesus on that great and terrible day? The Bible says that you will. You will bow your knee and confess with your tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Do not be deceived tonight. You and I have no righteousness of our own. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). We are all guilty sinners and none of us meet God’s Holy standard because His standard is perfection. None of us have met that high and lofty standard. None of us are righteous. None of us are holy. None of us are good. So the best thing you can do tonight is recognize this fact. Admit that you are a sinner and cry out for God to have mercy upon you; for God to save you.
We deserve His wrath. We deserve His punishment over our sins. But in God’s great love and mercy, He made a way for you and I to escape His eternal punishment for our sins. When you are saved, when you are born again, God remembers your sins no more. He no longer holds them against you and that way is through Jesus Christ. Jesus was fully God and fully man when He walked this earth 2,000 years ago. He did what you and I could never do and that is He kept the 10 Commandments. Not only did He keep them in the letter of the Law, but He also kept them in the spirit of the Law. In other words, He never sinned in His thoughts, words or deeds.
He paid the sin debt that you and I owe. He became sin who knew no sin. He suffered God’s anger, God’s wrath over our sins while He hung on that old rugged cross. He suffered, bled and died for guilty sinners like you and me. But you must repent or you will perish (Luke 13:3). You must turn from your sins and turn to Jesus. You must surrender your life fully and completely to Him because you and I have no righteousness. None. We have none and He has all.
Submit Your Life to Jesus
Submit your life to the Righteous One. He will take your sins and He will give you His righteousness, if you repent and put your faith in Him. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
You and I have no righteousness on our own. Come to the One who is righteous. Come to Jesus. Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:1-10, 13). Call upon the righteous, precious name of Jesus tonight and be saved.