The Blood Of Christ

Temple Baptist Church - 5-12-2010

Ephesians 1:7

(Temple 5-12-10)

Introduction:

A. The blood of Christ is a doctrine less and less preached upon. Most of us that are older in the Lord realize the importance of the blood but, I fear, many of our young people are much less acquainted. Doctrines such as the blood, hell, heaven, etc. are less preached upon today.

1. Because many preachers have never been acquainted with the blood of Christ! They do not preach upon what they do not know.

2. Because many preachers feel that preaching upon such familiar subjects should be left to the younger preachers while us older ones deal with the “deeper things of God.” You cannot get any deeper than the blood of Christ!

3. Because many lost church members do not like hearing about the shedding of the blood of Christ. “Slaughterhouse Religion” is a term that has been relegated to the doctrine of the blood over the past 30-40 years.

B. The payment for our salvation was an extreme one. “Without shedding of blood is no remission!” (Hebrews 9:22b) Something of such great price should be something that is priceless! Our text verse declares that redemption is through the blood of Christ.

1 Peter 1:18-20 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (Saved people KNOW!)

C. J. P. Morgan was a noted financier and multi-millionaire of an earlier American generation. Before his death, he composed a will consisting of 37 articles and 10,000 words. While Mr. Morgan had been involved in transactions involving millions of dollars during his illustrious business career, he left no doubt as to what was the greatest transaction he had ever made. In his will he wrote:

"I commit my soul in the hands of my Savior, full of confidence that having redeemed me and washed me with His most precious blood, He will present me faultless before the throne of my Heavenly Father. I entreat my children to maintain and defend at all hazards and at any cost of personal sacrifice, the blessed doctrine of complete atonement through the blood of Christ with regard to the believer's salvation."

J. P. Morgan recognized the priceless value of the atoning sacrifice of Christ's blood that was shed in His death on the cross.

D. There is a continual red thread of truth that spans the entire breath of our inspired Bible: the blood. From the Garden of Eden when the Lord Himself shed the innocent blood of an animal to our entrance through the gates of the New Jerusalem in Revelation, the Bible is filled up with the blood of atonement in the Old Testament.

1. It was the blood of an animal that the Lord shed in the Garden.

2. It was the blood of an animal that Abel offered in Genesis 4.

3. It was the blood of an animal that Abraham offered in Genesis 22.

4. It was the blood of an animal that was placed upon the doors of the Israelites in Exodus 12.
5. It was the blood of animals, regardless of whether it was the consecration of a priest, the birth of a son, the deepest penitence due to sin, or the highest religious festival throughout the Old Testament.

6. The way to communion, at-one-ment, and fellowship with a holy God in the Old Testament was through the blood of sacrifice.

E. The New Testament is just as filled up with the precious blood of Christ. Where the Old Testament was filled with shadows and types of the atonement of Christ, The New Testament is the fulfillment of the same—only in both the fact and person of Christ sacrifice. This vital truth concerning the blood of Christ is eternally recorded in an eternal Bible that is forever settled in Heaven.

F. All hope of Heaven and forgiveness of sin is based upon the shed blood of Christ at Calvary, His presentation of the blood upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven, and it’s eternal presence upon the same. As long as the blood is there, we are saved—sanctified—and secure!

G. Now, let us look at this blood of Christ which is called precious in Peter’s first epistle.

First, Let Us Look At The Blood Itself:

1. The Blood Of Christ Was Sacred Blood. Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

While Christ's blood was physical blood, real blood and genuine blood, it was uniquely different from all other blood in human history; without the defilement of the curse of sin, death or disease in its composition. No one can explain Christ's Virgin Birth! It was a divine miracle. The transmission of Christ's blood to his body cannot be adequately explained via any medical process. The miraculous work of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:22-23) is the only answer. Christ's blood was perfect, priceless and pure! His blood was declared to be the blood of God.

2. The Blood Of Christ Was Sinless Blood. 1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

As our Lord Jesus Christ was the sinless Son of God, the sinless blood of God flowed through his physical veins. Judas Iscariot did not fully realize the implications of his statement, “I have betrayed the innocent blood.” (Matthew 27:4) His blood was not tainted by the blood of fallen Adam. Since His blood had no adamic sin, His blood could neither coagulate nor die. Once the flow of His blood began, it would not be stanched.

3. The Blood Of Christ Was Substitutionary Blood. Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The blood of Christ was offered in our stead. Since our redemption required a perfect sacrifice, a perfect Saviour (Hebrews 4:15) took the place of sinful man (Romans 5:8).

4. The Blood Of Christ Was Sacrificial. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

It cost God the Father the death of His only begotten Son! Our sin, placed upon Christ at Calvary, separated God the Father from God the Son. How precious is the thought that God the Father would separate from His darling Son in order that we might never be separated from Him (John 10:28). The most expensive gift ever bought and given is that of our Lord Jesus Christ!

5. The Blood Of Christ Was Sufficient Blood. Romans 3:24-25 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

The word “propitiation,” found in 1 John 2:2, means appeasement. It means satisfaction as the sole and complete payment for the sin that separates man from God. At Calvary, righteousness and peace truly kissed each other (Psalms 88:10). Many songs have been written concerning our salvation and one such said, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

6. The Blood Of Christ Is Shielding Blood. Revelation 12:10-11 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (11) And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

The blood of Christ is our “safeguard!” “When He sees me, He sees the blood of the Lamb. He sees me as worthy and not as I am!” When the old Accuser slanders me in the presence of God, it is the blood of Christ that He sees. There is eternal victory through the shed blood of Christ! It shields us from Satan’s accusatory attacks. We are victorious and Satan is a defeated foe!

7. The Blood Of Christ Is Often Slighted Blood. Hebrews 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Those who reject the blood of Christ are guilty of slighting it. To count it as an “unholy thing” is beyond my comprehension. Not only does the unsaved slight the blood of Christ, the sinful saint does the same. That precious blood was shed for our sin and God forbid that we continue in it. Before we sin, we should consider the immeasurable price paid. We would never buy a shiny new car and then walk around “keying” it. We protect it because of its value. The blood of Christ is far more valuable than the most expensive automobile.

Now, Let Us Look At The Impact Of The Blood:

1. The Blood Of Christ Brought Redemption. Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Redeemed – To be bought back. The freedom of a former slave purchased off the slave block. The believer has been bought off the slave block of Satan. Purchased and “made free” by the blood of Christ. Loosed and set at liberty: free praise the Lord, free at last!

2. The Blood Of Christ Brought Righteousness. Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

The believer is judiciously declared righteous solely upon the merit of the blood of Christ. He is justified—just as if I had never sinned! Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne! (Jude 24) “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Made Him what He was not that we might be made what we are not!

3. The Blood Of Christ Brought Remission. Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

The complete, eternal purging of all sin! Once for ever is our purchase in Christ Jesus. “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” (Hebrews 1:3) Our slate has been wiped clear, never to be remembered again.

4. The Blood Of Christ Brought Reconciliation. 1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Man’s relationship with God was severed by sin in the Garden of Eden. The Lord made an immediate effort to reconcile Adam and Eve. The Lord went to them when they would not come to Him. They chose to hide while He chose to reconcile. “ And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:20) By faith, regeneration , and adoption—man is back in fellowship with God.

5. The Blood Of Christ Brought Reception. Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

The believer is not only forgiven, he or she belongs! Welcomed into the greatest family on the face of the earth. The Body of Christ. “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” ( Romans 5:2)

6. The Blood Of Christ Brought Rejoicing. Romans 5:10-11 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Oh what joy the cross of Christ brings to the believer! Though nothing, we have been made nigh by the blood of Christ. Our life is saved, our soul is saved, eternity is secured, and joy floods our souls!