A Godly View of Life

Conclusion of RESPECT FOR BLOOD

Does the command to abstain from blood include blood transfusions?  Yes. To illustrate:  Suppose a doctor were to tell you to abstain from alcoholic beverages.  Would that simply mean that you should not drink alcohol but that you should have it injected into your veins?  Of course not! Likewise, abstaining from blood means not taking it into our bodies at all.  So the command  to abstain from blood means that we would not allow anyone to transfuse blood into our veins. 

What if  a Christian is badly injured or is in need of major surgery?  Suppose doctors say that he must have a blood transfusion or he will die.  Of course, the Christian would not want to die.  In an effort to preserve God's precious gift of life, he would accept other kind of treatment that do not  involve the misuse of blood. Hence, he would seek such medical attention if that is available and would accept a  variety of alternatives to blood. Christians are also not allowed to take in any  of the components of blood. 

Would a Christian break God's law just to stay alive a little longer in this system of things?  Jesus said: "Whoever wants to save his soul [or, life] will lose it; but whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it." (Matthew 16:25)  We do not want to die. But if we tried to save our present life by breaking God's law, we would be in danger  of losing everlasting life.  We are wise, then, to put our trust in the rightness of God's law, with full confidence that if we die from any cause, our Life-Giver will remember us in the resurrection and restore us the precious gift of life. -John 5:28, 29; Hebrews 11:6. 

Today, faithful servants of God firmly resolve to follow his direction regarding blood.  They will not eat it in any form. Nor will they accept blood for medical reasons.  They are sure  that the Creator knows what  is best for them. Do you believe that he does?

Next time: A Godly View of Life/ THE ONLY PROPER USE OF BLOOD

From the book: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TEACH?