| Introduction: |
| The Blood of Christ was shed for the Salvation of Men. |
| How do we appropriate the Blood of Christ. |
| There are benefits in being saved by the Blood of Christ. |
| Conclusion. |
1. Blood has always been important in God's divine scheme of things.
2. The sacrifice of blood has always been the sacrifice of life, since life is in the blood.
Deut 12:23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. (KJV)
3. Illustrations of the significance of the blood in God's scheme of things.
A. Genesis chapter 4 Abel "Brought of the firstlings of his flock. A sacrifice to Jehovah". Cain brought the fruit of the ground.
B. The offering of Isaac, and the ram offered instead.
Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. 15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. (KJV)
C. The passover.
Exodus 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. (KJV)
D. Sealing of the covenants.
Exodus 24:6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. 8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words. (KJV)
Heb 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. (KJV)
E. Blood used to sanctify and seal the tabernacle and the vessels of service.
Heb 9:21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (KJV)
F. Blood of animals used to temporarily remove sin, but could not permanently forgive sin.
Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. (KJV)
G. Independent there is no remission of sin.
Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (KJV)
4. One sees the ultimate value of blood in the blood of Christ.
I. THE BLOOD OF CHRIST WAS SHED FOR THE SALVATION OF MEN.
A. Isaiah foretold of the healing that would come through the Lord's stripes.
Isaiah 53:5 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. (KJV)
B. Zechariah prophesied of the fountain opened for sin.
Zech 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. (KJV)
C. Jesus in instituting the Lord's Supper declared the cup to be his blood of the New Testament shed for the remission of sin.
Matt 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (KJV)
D. One of the fundamental facts of the gospel is that Christ died for our sins.
1Cor 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (KJV)
E. It is an expression of God's love.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (KJV)
F. We are made nigh by it.
Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (KJV)
G. It is universal in availability.
Heb: 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (KJV)
H. Redemption comes by it.
1Peter 1:18 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: (KJV)
I. It makes forgiveness possible.
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins
J. Presents us acceptable before God.
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (KJV)
II. HOW DO WE APPROPRIATE THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.
(Or what must I do to be saved by the blood of Christ)?
A. Were they saved?
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
Yes!
Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (KJV)
Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (KJV)
Since they were saved, they must have been saved by the blood of Christ, since that is how men are saved. What did they do? They repented and were baptized.
B. Acts 18:8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. (KJV)
Note the Corinthians "hearing, believed and were baptized". Were they saved? Yes! The Bible declares that those who believe and are baptized shall be saved.
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (KJV)
The Corinthians believed and were baptized and was therefore saved, otherwise Mark 16:16 is false. By what were they saved? The blood of Christ. Like everyone else when they were saved by the blood of Christ, when they believed and were baptized.
C. Acts 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. (KJV)
Was the Eunuch saved? Yes! By what? The blood of Christ. When? When he believed, confessed and was baptized. Verses 37-38.
D. Men today are saved by the same thing (blood of Christ) in the same way through obedience to the gospel.
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (KJV)
Matt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (KJV)
1. They must believe.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (KJV)
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. (KJV)
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (KJV)
2. They must repent (turn from) sin.
Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (KJV)
Luke 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (KJV)
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (KJV)
2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (KJV)
3. They must acknowledge the deity of Christ (confess).
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (KJV)
Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (KJV)
4. They must be immersed in water for the remission of sin (baptized).
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (KJV)
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
1Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (KJV)
Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (KJV)
E. Important connection between baptism and the blood of Christ.
1.) Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (KJV)
By what is the conscience purged from dead works? The blood of Christ. When is our conscience purged by the blood?
1Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (KJV)
When we are baptized.
2.) Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (KJV)
What washes us from sin? The Blood of Christ. When does the blood wash away sin?
Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (KJV)
When one is baptized.
3.) John 19:33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. (KJV)
Christ's blood was shed in his death. One is baptized into His death.
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4.) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (KJV)
Where the blood was shed and cleansing occurs.
III. THERE ARE BENEFITS IN BEING SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.
A. Redemption.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (KJV)
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (KJV)
B. Forgiveness.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (KJV)
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (KJV)
C. Justification.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (KJV)
D. Freedom.
Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. (KJV)
E. Makes possible our heavenly home.
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. (KJV)
1. We as children of God should consider such a great honor, for we as His children have access to the continual cleansing of His precious blood.
1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (KJV)
2. The blood is indispensable.
"What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can for sin atone - nothing but the blood of Jesus. Naught of good that I have done - nothing but the blood of Jesus".
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