Andrew Murray. The Power of the Blood of Jesus. 1935?; Sanage Publishing, 2021.
For a shorter review, click on the following:
The Power of the Blood of Jesus: The Vital Role of Blood for Redemption, Sanctification, and Life by Andrew Murray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Power of the Blood of Jesus is a translation originally made around 1935 at the instigation of Andrew Murray’s son. It is actually an organized collection of sermons of his with each chapter based on one sermon. Because it is a translation, it goes by various titles. This edition includes ten chapters. Some editions include seven more.
Having said that to hopefully alleviate some confusion, this is a great book. I heartily recommend it to any Jesus follower. While focused on the books of Hebrews, Romans, and Revelation, it presents many of the promises of the Bible to those who have faith in Jesus and what His blood sacrifice and blood covenant provides.
I have mentioned before a friend who used yellow highlighter. When he read some articles or books, he would say that they should simply be dunked in a pail of yellow ink. The Power of the Blood of Jesus is one such work. The first chapter gives a helpful background of the concept of the blood covenant. Many people in the Western world have lost a sense of what this means.
After that, each chapter is dedicated to a different promise from the Bible about what the blood of Jesus can provide or accomplish in the life of the believer. We are redeemed. We are reconciled to God. We are cleansed. We are sanctified. We serve the Lord. We dwell in the holy place. We have life. We have victory. We have heavenly joy.
To this reader perhaps the most relevant chapter was on cleansing. The Bible tells us that our consciences are cleansed or purged (Hebrews 9:14). Murray goes into some detail about this and the related sanctification. This demonstrates how powerful the blood of Christ can be.
God created our consciences to work in our lives to help us make right choices. When we sin, however, our consciences remind us that we have messed up. Even people who reject the Bible or its commandments have a sense of right and wrong. Once we have been made aware that we have done something wrong, what can we do about it? What is done is done, and we cannot undo it.
Jesus came to save sinners. Yes, that means forgiveness, but it means more. It means that He came to cleanse or purify our consciences. Once we are aware of God having done that through Jesus, we can approach God with confidence.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:19-23)
Do you lack confidence? Read this book. The Son of the Almighty God made a way for us! Hallelujah!
N.B.: While I highly recommend this book, I do not recommend the edition that I read. It was clearly made from a computer scan and not edited carefully. Some combinations of letters and symbols are readable—for example, the context clearly meant “clone” should read “done”—but some are indecipherable. My Goodreads review said “Five-star book, two-star editing.” Still, if this were the only edition, it would be worth reading.