“Nothing but the Blood”: Robert Lowry’s question-and-answer hymn

“What can wash away my sin?” The hymn asks the question and answers it before the singer has time to think: “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Robert Lowry built his hymn as a call and response, and that simple structure has made it one of the easiest hymns for any congregation to learn.

Robert Lowry

Robert Lowry was born in 1826 in Philadelphia. He was a Baptist pastor, a professor and an editor of hymn collections. He wrote music and words for many hymns, including “Shall We Gather at the River” and “Christ Arose” (“Up from the grave He arose”). He also composed the tune for Fanny Crosby’s “All the Way My Saviour Leads Me”.

“Nothing but the Blood” was published in 1876 in Gospel Music, a collection Lowry edited with William Howard Doane. Lowry wrote both words and music.

Question and answer

Each verse follows the same pattern. The first line asks a question or states a need; the answer is always “nothing but the blood of Jesus”. The chorus begins, “Oh! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.” The repetition makes the hymn work well with a leader singing a line and the congregation answering.

The theology

The hymn draws on the biblical teaching that Christ’s death on the cross brings forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22 says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness, and 1 John 1:7 says the blood of Jesus purifies from all sin. Lowry’s hymn turns these verses into a confession of faith. One verse states, “For my pardon this I see, nothing but the blood of Jesus; for my cleansing this my plea.” Another says, “Nothing can for sin atone.” The hymn insists that forgiveness cannot be earned by good works. It is received.

Africa and modern versions

The blood of Jesus is a central theme in Ghanaian and Nigerian Christianity, especially in Pentecostal prayer, where believers “plead the blood” for protection. Lowry’s hymn fits naturally into that devotion and is often sung at communion services, revival meetings and prayer vigils. The hymn has been rearranged by gospel and worship artists, sometimes with new choruses. Its core question and answer remain unchanged.

Lowry asked a question that people have asked for centuries. His answer was short enough to fit on a line and deep enough to fill a lifetime of faith.