Pleading the Blood for Protection…..is it biblical??

I remember this teaching very well—-“pleading the blood” over everyone, everyday…..exhausting and a fearful way to live—in case you forget to plead it that day!!

Since Jesus’ blood was shed for His sheep—indefinitely—despite whether Christians “plead” it or not, we are only to pray that God will soon bring those who are His into the fold—and He will. That’s why we proclaim the gospel, for those who are truly His will be given the grace to respond in true faith and repentance.
God does all the work and Jesus is the only mediator who pleads His blood for those who are His—- for He intercedes for them and saves them to the uttermost (Heb.7:25).  He entered the holy of holies and has sprinkled His shed blood on the mercy seat and continues to plead its value, worth and sufficiency to pay our sin debt “in full”—to appease the Fathers wrath, so we could be reconciled to the Father. We don’t have to legalistically plead it over others or ourselves, we are only instructed to pray unceasingly that God’s word will have free reign, so people will be born again —-by regeneration of the Holy Spirit…. rather than being distracted by legalistic rituals.

Jesus’ blood was splattered all over the Roman soldiers who were crucifying Him. Were they all saved simply because the blood fell on them??—..No. Jesus’ blood is not actually applied to people’s hearts unless God Himself applies the merit of Jesus’ sacrifice to their account. We can’t “speak it into existence.” Only God creates a new creature in Christ.

I realize this teaching is so wide spread and common today in Word of Faith circles, but “pleading the blood” is not a magic formula (for loved ones to be saved, warding off evil, disasters, death, etc.), but only distorts its true biblical application and meaning. It’s no small thing that Jesus’ blood was for the cleansing and forgiveness of sins, for without this there is no protection, deliverance, etc…. Eph.1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” If it wasn’t for His sacrifice we’d still be under old covenant “blood on doorposts” practices….. Galatians 4:9 “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, where unto ye desire again to be in bondage?”

Christ’s blood is precious, incorruptible, eternal and holy. Its cleansing power for man’s ultimate problem, sin, is not insufficient…it paid His peoples sin debt “in full.” …..an actual payment, not a hypothetical payment that is only applied if we “name it and claim it”…… God freely bestows the grace necessary for His people to be able to respond in true repentance and faith in the gospel, for the merits of Jesus’ sacrifice has already been applied to their lives….. Without them having to earn, perform or speak any of it into existence, for it was actually applied before we could have had anything to do with it. Jesus already pleaded it for His people on the cross over 2,000 years ago and He said, “It is finished.”

When we struggle with guilt, hardships, etc. we need to remember the cleansing power of the blood, nothing more, and nothing less. That alone is a Christians only plea–as in a courtroom plea. In that sense, Christians can and should plead the blood, NOT thru “positive confessions” or by asking God to do it, but by remembering that Christ has already done it for us on the cross and the only way to realize this is by “having the Witness in our spirit that we are His”……. Nowhere in scripture does it teach us to “plead the blood” legalistically as a means of gain, protection, fighting the devil, etc…… For then it becomes like a magic charm that is borderline blasphemy, manipulation and witchcraft. This may sound harsh, but it is what it is. Pleading the blood as taught by Word of Faith teachers…Joyce Meyer, Joel Olsteen, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Jack Hayford, Bill Johnson, T.D. Jakes, etc. ….is NEVER taught in scripture and can have serious implications…..bondage, error, superstition, demonic attacks, etc…… Which happened to the “sons of Sceva” in Acts, who also used the name of Jesus un-biblically….and happened to me until God brought me out of all that and showed me the truth thru His word.
The Bible tells Christians how to overcome the accuser of the brethren in Eph. 6 and Phil.4:6 tell us how to pray…. Neither place mentions the practice of “pleading the blood” for protection from evil, etc……. James 4: 7 says to submit to God and resist the devil. That is, resist his temptations to sin by submitting to God (casting down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ) just as Jesus did in the wilderness, not just by quoting Scripture, but by being full of the truth against Satan’s lies. He is to be our example, rather than conforming to the world. God’s word contains all we need for life and godliness when the Holy Spirit opens our understanding to it… not just when we quote it. And this can only happen if the merits of Jesus’ blood have been applied to our account by God Himself thru Jesus’ actual atonement….. Not some potential atonement based on our performance.

The bottom line is that the Bible contains no record of this phrase ever being used by anyone in the Bible.  Paul and the other apostles encountered much evil but never once recited this phrase. It has become a legalistic practice that causes the lost to get a faulty view of salvation and opens the door to doctrinal error, fanaticism, mysticism and spiritual bondage. Worse yet, it actually attracts darkness by being used un-biblically and reveals a severe lack of knowledge and understanding of the truth of God’s Word. Only by God’s grace can anyone be free from this and other Word of Faith teachings that “promise liberty but bring into bondage” (2Pet.)

I hope and pray this helps someone —Jesus said “whoever the Son sets free is free indeed.