A common practice amongst evangelical Christians is "pleading the blood". I am ambivalent about this practice, as it does not seem to be biblical. The phrase "pleading the blood" is not used in the New Testament. Claiming the covering of the blood" (or being "under the blood") is closely related to "pleading the blood", but "claiming the blood" is not mentioned in the New Testament either.
These phrases are mostly used in spiritual warfare. Modern Christians frequently "declare the blood" or claim the "covering of the blood" as a defence against demonic influence or temptation. Since spiritual warfare is serious, I believe that we should base our defensive posture on the clear teaching of the scripture (see Personal Protection).
Paul gave clear teaching about spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6. The main protections against spiritual attack are the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God). Our spiritual protection comes from declaring the word of God and standing in faith.
1 Peter 5:9 and James 4:7 confirm that we defeat the powers of evil by resisting them in faith. This is not something we just do as individuals; it is something we do with a body of believers. Strong protection comes together by standing together with other followers of Jesus who are committed to loving us in him (see Spiritual Protection).
Words are not magic. Using words that we do not understand to resist evil is a risky game. Pleading the blood is a fairly vague way of resisting the powers of evil and standing on faith. When resisting the enemy with prayer, we should be more precise about what we are doing.
I appreciate all the work and teaching your providing in these posts about the blood. Will you discuss how the blood of Jesus acted as the blood of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-43?
ReplyDeleteThat Covenant promises that the law would be put in their minds and written in their hearts. It also proclaimed that each person would be taught by God through knowledge of God. That their sins would be forgiven and their iniquities would be remembered no more. It also speaks of removing their heart of stone and putting His Spirit within them.
When Jesus died on the cross, this enacted this unilateral, unconditional covenant, that bound God himself to do these things. (Notice the “I will” statements throughout). The power of this covenant isn’t merely the blood, it is the Spirit of God and the promise of the Father, and the shed blood of the Son.
So the blood itself enacts this covenant, but the power of the Holy Spirit to bring it about and the will of God to make it happen is the power of it.
Again this is not said to contradict but to agree, to “claiming of the blood” that has found its way into contemporary music seems more of an emotional lyric than a biblical truth.
Note: If this post is detracting from the direction of your writing, or something you’re about to get to, please feel free to delete it.
Thanks. I agree.
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