ABC's of Salvation
Nov6’05
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
Luke 24:26
“Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
How would you define a tragedy? We would think that a vicious hurricane is a tragedy- and it has certainly been to the people in the Southeast. A tragedy might be the death of someone young, or the unjust punishment of an innocent man. A tragedy can fit a variety of circumstances in all sorts of ways.
But would we consider the suffering and death of Jesus Christ a tragedy? So often we look at the crucifixion as something of a misfortune. Afterall, an innocent man named Jesus was betrayed by one of his close friends, falsely accused by those in power, denied by his strongest supporter, beaten and killed by pagan soldiers. This was a tragedy.
Jesus listened to the disappointment in the voices of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. These men had seen, heard and believed that Jesus was the Christ. And yet, they witnessed the tragedy of his death.
But listen to Jesus’ response: “Did not Christ have to suffer?”
Think about this for a moment. Jesus needed to suffer in order that we might be freed from the penalty and power of sin. Jesus needed to suffer so that you and I might be free to live lives of holiness. Jesus needed to suffer. Within one event we find a great crime committed and yet we see a great love revealed.
Jesus needed to be offered upon the altar as a sacrifice for your sins. Jesus needed to die in order that you might live.
And I am here to proclaim to you today that the only thing that can wash away your sins is the blood of Jesus.
In Leviticus 17:11 we learn that life is in the blood. And it is a scientific fact that within the corpuscles of your blood, life resides. Without this life you could not live.
And in the same sense, for spiritual life we need the precious blood of Jesus to cleanse us and keep us. Our spiritual life is found in the blood of the sacrificial Christ. His blood was his life poured out for the many.
God promised through the prophet Zechariah (13:1)- “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity.”
There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins.
And sinners plunge beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
Do you long to lose all your guilty stains?
King David longed to see something changed in his heart. Listen to his cry in Psalm 51:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion…[listen to this]:
“Blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
He saw within him self a deeper problem than just the adultery and murder that he committed. He saw the law of sin at work. But the Holy Spirit revealed to him that the deeper the problem the greater the problem solver.
His transgressions needed to be blotted out.
His iniquity needed to be washed away.
His sin- not sins committed, but his sinful self- needed to be cleansed.
There is a Savior who became sin for us that we might be reconciled to God.
John the Baptist saw something in Christ when he proclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
And truly Jesus was this Lamb whom was slain at the foundations of the world! (1 Peter 1:20) His one sacrifice perfects us toward holiness. (Hebrews 10:14) Jesus needed to suffer in order that we might be freed from sin
God looked toward this moment of Christ’s suffering by saying through Jeremiah 31:33- “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel… I will put my instructions in minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.”
Are you God’s person? Is God the Father your God today through the blood of His Son?
I want to answer these questions today:
How does the blood of Christ impact your heart today?
Where does this power come from?
Are washed in the blood of the Lamb?
1. How does the blood of Christ impact lives?
Jesus said at the Last Supper to his disciples: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus instituted the communion sacrament as a memorial and means of grace. Within that first communion he was delivering a strong message of grace. He was essentially saying: “My blood will be poured out for the forgiveness of sins.”
Without the shedding of Christ’s blood there would be no forgiveness of sins. Without his death- as tragic as we may see it to be- salvation would not be possible. God would not and in fact could not forgive sins unless there was a just punishment.
2. Where does this power come from?
Leviticus 17:11 tells us this: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”
Hebrews 9:11-12 tell us that Christ came as High Priest not with the blood of animals- as in the Old Testament- but “with His own blood.” Furthermore, He entered into the holy of holies and obtained eternal redemption.
Now get this: If the blood of animals in the Old Testament were used to provide “outward ritual cleansing” “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
The implication of Christ’s blood is that it contains redemption for you and me. And so that we don’t miss the full truth, this is not merely an accredited righteousness. It is a tangible cleansing that frees us from all sin.
The power of the blood of Christ comes from His life that is in the blood. And it has infinite value because Christ’s very life was in this blood. And it was offered for the forgiveness of many.
3. Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
How can you be washed in the blood and cleansed from sin? If I could only make the decision for you! I call on you to ignore the others here today and focus on your own need of Christ.
What is it that you need cleansed out of your life? Is there pride standing in the way? What must you do to apply the precious blood to your heart?
1 John 1:7 tells us: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purifies us from all sin.”
I want to focus on one grammatical phrase: The blood of Jesus purifies from all sin.
Maybe you feel as though God cannot forgive you for certain things. Don’t believe that lie. The blood of Christ purifies from ALL sin.
Maybe you feel as though you are unworthy for forgiveness. Yes, you are unworthy. But the blood of Christ makes us worthy. In fact, through the blood God’s love and desire for you is expressed. “God demonstrated his love for us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
So do you need to be cleansed of all sin?
a. Knowledge is necessary.
There a few things that you need to know:
You need to know that sin separates you from God. Even as a Christian, when you sin it breaks your Father’s heart.
You need to know is that if you are going to have a right relationship with God you need the blood of Jesus to cleanse you from sin. You can strive with ten point plans, twelve steps out and all other disciplines. You can work hard at not sinning but the bottom line is that to be truly purified from sin you need the blood of Christ.
b. There must be desire.
You have to “want” to be cleansed by the blood of Christ. With so many distractions out there and so many this calling for our attention it is very easy to let this desire slide. It is so easy for any of us to allow certain things into our life that will cause our foot to slide.
Do you desire to have a close and intimate relationship with your Savior more than anything else in the world?
c. There must be a willingness to separate your self.
Cleansing is not possible unless there is a willingness to give up anything and everything that is unclean in your life. Are you willing to separate yourself from those habits that divide you and God?
You possessions and your life must all be surrendered so that you can be cleansed. It calls for you to surrender those things and people that you hold dear in your life.
d. You need to exercise faith.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. And if the Old Testament saints could have faith looking ahead to the promise of Christ’s blood, how much more can we say about our faith that already have the cleansing blood available right now.
To experience the purifying effects of Christ’s blood in your life you need to believe that there is a cleansing awaiting you. He stands ready to apply the blood to your life.
Conclusion
During the summer time when there is very little rain we can see the dust develop over the grass and flowers in our yard and even see it form on the road surfaces. But when rain comes, that dust washed away and you see the grass and flowers and road surfaces in a clearer way. The rain water washes away the dust and dirt.
In the same sense, Jesus blood washes away the sins of your life. There is nothing that does what the blood of Christ can do in your heart today.
Are you ready and willing to surrender your heart to the cleansing of the blood?