I hope you are enjoying looking at our blood and how it displays various aspects of salvation. Today we are going to look at another component of our blood, white blood cells.
White blood cells are important to your body. They are the part of your blood that hunts down foreign agents and kills them. They are like soldiers searching for the enemy. Without these “soldiers” we wouldn’t be able to fight off illnesses. Without them even viruses such as the common cold or flu would be deadly. God made your body to fight for life and fight off anything in your body that should not be there.
An Inside Look at White Blood Cells
A few years ago, my kids and I were studying the human body in school. I found a really great video of a white blood cell hunting down a bacterium. You can see the bacterium running as fast as it can away from the white blood cell. Following close behind is the white blood cell. It’s almost as though the bacterium is frantic while the white blood cell is calm, knowing it will overcome and destroy the bacterium in due time. The white blood cell does eventually overtake the bacterium and kill it. I find it fun to watch!
White Blood Cells and Salvation
How do white blood cells give us a picture of salvation? Think of the bacteria in that video as sin. Sin comes into our lives and its desire is to control us. “You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Genesis 4:7 (NLT)
Like the bacteria in the video, sin will grow and multiply until it is so big, so bad, so out of control, it kills you. “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:15 (ESV)
This death may not be you actually physically dying, though in many cases it does. This death could be the death of dreams, relationships, your God given purpose, or any number of other types of death.
The Consequence of Sin
Ultimately if sin is not conquered and dealt with, you will die. Your physical body will die, and afterwards your spiritual body will spend eternity dying. “Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14-15 (NLT)
There are consequences to sin. Romans 6:23 (NLT) says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” The payment for sin is death, just like if the white blood cells in our bodies failed to get rid of that bacteria. It would grow, multiply, and eventually overpower our bodies and kill us. Thankfully God gave us a way to pay for our sins so we don’t have to die for all eternity.
The Remedy
Remember the verse in Revelation we just read? It said, “…anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.” To avoid being thrown into the lake of fire, we must have our names written in the Book of Life. After Jesus sent out 72 of his followers to every town he was planning on visiting, they came back excited that even the demons had to listen to them when they spoke to them with the power of Jesus. Jesus replied, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:20 (ESV). Our names are written in heaven, in the Book of Life, when we surrender our lives to Jesus.
We need to make Jesus the Lord of our lives. That means Jesus is in charge of our lives; we give up control to him. We become children of the King, and thus do as the King commands. Romans 10:9-10 tells us when we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, and we believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. Our names will be written in heaven. We will escape eternal death. Furthermore, we will be given life so amazing, so abundant, we can never begin to comprehend it. (See John 10:10 and Ephesians 3:20-21.)
You Are Made White
The moment we surrender our lives to Jesus, his blood comes into our whole being and cleanses us. “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:9 (NLT). It’s as though the blood of Jesus is a white blood cell, seeking all sin, even little ones, and consuming them. We are made new right then and there. We are no longer our old selves, bound by sin, slowly dying. Instead we are brand new creations, free to live the best life. We receive a brand new identity, which we will talk about next week!
To me, the white blood cells are the most accurate picture of salvation. Just as white blood cells hunt down anything not supposed to be in our bodies, the blood of Jesus comes into our life, hunts down all sin and anything that isn’t a reflection of Jesus, and kills it His blood makes us white as snow. ““Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.”” Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)
Join me next week as we conclude our study on blood and salvation. I hope you have enjoyed reading these posts. I know I’ve enjoyed studying and writing them! See you next Friday!
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