p. 147 | THE DOCTRINE OF BLOOD by William P. Pearce

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 5, 1901

THE DOCTRINE OF BLOOD

By William P. Pearce

WILLIAM P. PEARCE

(Concluded)

I HAVE read of men who went to battle as substitutes for others. I have known of others giving an inch of skin from their arms to graft on the back of a comrade’s body. But none ever touched my sympathy as that of Alec Scott, who gave a portion of his blood to save a child that was suffering from chlorosis. Drugs having failed, the physicians held a consultation, and decided to try transfusion of blood. Volunteers were forthwith called for, and unhesitatingly three or four of the professors’ clerks stepped forward. The selection was not difficult. Alec Scott stood out from the rest as being the proper subject. His five feet ten inches, his deep, broad chest, his finely developed muscles, his handsome face, and crisp, brown hair, all spoke of vitality at its best. The professor, as he was bound to do, enumerated, without exaggeration but with scientific accuracy, the dangers and risks to which Scott was subjecting himself. For example, he reminded him that so simple an accident as the entrance into the veins of an air-bubble might result in instant death. But, in answer, Scott, amid a profound and solemn silence, declared himself perfectly satisfied, and said that he felt no hesitation whatever.

At the appointed hour, in the presence of nearly five hundred students, the physicians announced that they were ready to begin the operation. Their instruments lay gleaming on the tables. The door opened. A stretcher was carried in on which lay the little patient. The sister of the ward walked at its side. The eyes were closed in unconsciousness, the face was waxy and bloodless. He looked already dead. Scott came unconcernedly behind. The surgeon explained the nature of the case, describing the treatment that had failed, and stating what he proposed to do. He then turned to Scott, who was seated in a chair at the right side of the patient, with his left arm bared. An incision was rapidly made in the prominent artery at the bend of the elbow, and a tube inserted. This was connected by India rubber to a bulb, from the other extremity of which another tube led into a vein of the patient’s right arm. A series of stop-cocks prevented the entrance of air into the blood of either person.

At last all was ready. The last stop was turned, and the transfusion began. Slowly the blood flowed past the glass section, through which its passage could be observed. All eyes were fixed on the face of the unconscious boy. For several moments there was no alteration in his appearance, but soon the quality of the pulse improved, the tone of the heart-beat grew stronger. Soon the eyes opened, and the lips moved as if about to speak. The sister leaned down, and whispered to him to keep still. He seemed to understand, and lay very quiet. By this time the patient’s general appearance showed the most extraordinary improvement, and the surgeon, deeming it advisable to suspend operations at least for that day, stepped forward, amid the profoundest silence, to address the students. He opened his mouth to speak, but checked himself involuntarily as the sweet child’s voice, singing slowly and distinctly, issued from the up-till-now unconscious lips:—

“Jesus loves me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong; I am weak, but He is strong.”

What Alec Scott did for that patient, Jesus Christ did for the whole world. Alec Scott gave a few ounces of blood, but Jesus Christ gave His all. Alec Scott’s arm was opened, but the forehead, the hands, the feet, and the side of Christ were opened. Alec Scott’s blood entered the body of the patient; but the blood of Christ trickled down His face, His cheek, His chin, His hands, His side, and fell on the sod at the foot of the cross. It was blood in drops, blood in rills, blood in pools. Alec Scott gave his blood for a friend; Jesus Christ for His enemies. Alec Scott survived it; Jesus Christ succumbed to it. Alec Scott gave an extension of life to that child; Jesus Christ gives life eternal.

When the English army invaded Afghanistan, one soldier, while doing scout duty, was caught and shot down when none of his comrades were in sight. Weeks afterward his body was found lying before a tall rock, on which he had written, in letters of blood, “I want mother to have all.” The war department held the will to be valid, and saw that the proper distribution of the property was made. But Jesus, in making His last will and testament, said, as the heart gave its last beat, and the bosom heaved its last sigh, and the last drop of blood oozed from His wounds: “It is finished.” What finished? The will?—Yes,—a will in which is incorporated forgiveness and redemption, as Paul said: “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14),—a will that includes justification; for the apostle says: “Being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:9),—a will that informs us how to overcome the evil one; for in the apocalyptic vision John saw the final triumph of the saints, and a shout went up: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.” Rev. 12:11.

But notice again, this blood is said to cleanse; that is, to remove foul matter, to heal, to free from ceremonial pollution, to purify from guilt.

Should you enter one of the large sugar refineries, you would be surprised at the process through which the raw sugar goes. It is first hoisted to the upper story, where it is dissolved in large tanks of hot water, care being taken to use as little water as possible for the purpose. A quantity of bullock’s blood is stirred into the solution of sugar, and the heat gradually raised; the albumen of the blood coagulates, and rises to the surface in the form of a thick scum, bringing with it nearly all the mechanical impurities floating in the fluid. In like manner, when the blood of Christ is applied to the heart of saint or sinner, it purifies and cleanses it.

How? you ask. Is it the material blood that flowed nineteen centuries ago?—No. But it is Christ’s blood in its moral significance and strength, implying, as nothing else could do, His sufferings as a man, His sacrifice on the tree. In the expression of Channing, “To be redeemed by such blood is to be redeemed by His goodness; and, in the language of Christian theology, it is the dogma with pathos.” Faith in such blood cleanses.

But note the word “cleanseth” is in the present

tense. It is not “cleansed,” nor “hath cleansed,” but “cleanseth.” Thank God for this. It is a process resorted to in my present condition and for my betterment.

Oh, let us thank God this morning for such blood! In the words of the reformed Nellie Conray, of the Florence Mission: “It is no ordinary blood.” “It is the symbol, the token, the surety, and the seal of the covenant of grace,” as Charles Spurgeon used to say. Thank Him also for the thoroughness of it. It “cleanseth from all sin.” All! The hard, cold sins of avarice and hypocrisy, the hot impulse-sins of passion and desperation, the secret sins of vice and dishonesty, the sins that glow like scarlet (Isa. 1:18)—ALL shall be washed away. Thank God not only for the cleansing but for the healing properties of the blood. Blood flows to a wound, becomes vascular there, knits the living parts, and the wound heals. Truly, as David said: “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Ps. 51:17. No, no matter how broken, He will heal. Thank God also that not only will the blood cleanse and heal, but it is the only passport to the royal port of the new kingdom. Paul had this in mind when he said: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” Heb. 10:19–22.

View the scene in closing. It is heaven. Never mind the pearly gates, or golden streets, or gorgeous mansions, or the sparkling waters of the river, or the twelve kinds of fruit on the tree of life. See that throne! See that vast host in white! How the faces shine, and the garments sparkle! Here’s one of the elders. Elder! Elder! tell me, “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?” Rev. 7:13. Listen, listen to his answer: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Close the scene, stop the discourse. It is enough.

“Thou dying lamb! thy precious blood Shall never lose its power, Till all the ransomed Church of God Are saved, to sin no more.”