Lev. 17:11; Col. 1:14
Every
surgeon learns to identify blood with life. The blood and life
are inseparable: You lose one, you lose both!
The Bible
is alive. The Bible is a bloody Book. A scarlet thread
runs from cover to cover. Cut it anywhere and it bleeds.
Blood begins to flow in Genesis 3:21 and continues running through
the Book of Revelation when blood will flow to a horse's bridle
at the battle of Armageddon. Over 400 times God inspired
men to use the word blood in the Scriptures.
One characteristic
of a false teacher is what do they teach about the blood
atonement of Christ. If they are wrong on redemption by the blood,
they need to be avoided.
The writers
of the New Testament choose the word "blood"
three times as often as the "cross" of Christ, five
times as frequently as "death."
I. PRECIOUS BLOOD-- "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:" (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
A. You cannot BUY salvation. You cannot PAY to get saved!
B. Precious = Of high worth; VALUABLE.
1. Precious because it is spotless. INCORRUPTIBLE
without
spot.
2. Precious because it is life giving (TEXT). One speck
of blood contains 5,000,000 living red cells; 300,000 platelets
and 7,000 white cells. It is an ocean stocked with living matter!
II. PURGING BLOOD-- Cleansing blood. Hebrews 1:3--
"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
9:22-- "And almost all things are by the law purged
with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
Revelation 1:5-- "
Unto him that loved us,
and washed us from our sins in his own blood."
A. There
Is A Fountain (Wm. Cowper).
B. Scientifically--
One of the functions of blood is to CLEAN the body:
The components of blood cooperate
to accomplish a simple goal: Nourishing and cleansing each living
cell. From the red blood cells first entrance into the bloodstream
they are pushed and shoved through rush hour traffic. Beginning
the cycle at the heart, they take a short jaunt to the lungs to
pick up a heavy load of oxygen. Then they are propelled throughout
60,000 miles of blood vessels linked to every living cell in the
body. Highways narrow down to one-lane roads, then bike paths,
then footpaths, until finally the red cell must bow sideways and
edge through a capillary one-tenth the diameter of a human hair.
In such narrow confines the cells are stripped of food and oxygen
and loaded down with carbon dioxide and other waste products.
From there the red cells rush to the kidneys and liver for a thorough
scrubbing, where the hazardous waste chemicals can be dumped for
elimination outside the body. Then they go back to the lungs for
a refill of oxygen and the journey starts over. The complete cycle
takes oly 23 seconds. An average red cell endures the cycle of
loading, unloading, and jostling through the body for a half million
round trips over four months.
C. We are
contaminated with the toxin of SIN.
1. Sin is a blockage, a paralyzing toxin that restricts
and hinders our lives from counting for God (Isa. 59:2; Jer. 5:25).
Hebrews 9:14-- "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?"
2. ONLY THE BLOOD can cleanse from sin! 1 John 1:7--
"
the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin." What color is blood? What color
is sin? RED--"Come now, and let us reason together, saith
the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool" (Isa. 1:18). ILLUS--I read,
according to photography, if you take a red filter and
look at something red through the red filter, it will appear to
be white!
III. PROPITIATING BLOOD-- "Being justified freely
by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood
" (Rom. 3:24-25).
A. Propitiation = satisfaction; covering; that which turns away
the incurred wrath of God upon sinners. Because God is righteous
and just, sin must be penalized (Rom. 6:23a). The holiness of
God prevents God from forgiving the sinner without a payment or
"propitiation" of satisfaction. Propitiation is that
which brings about a change in God's attitude toward us,
so that we are restored to the fellowship and favor of God. Propitiation
points to God's wrath being appeased. To appease means
to make peace with someone who has been wronged. If I am
angry because you have wronged me, but you then do something to
appease me, the offence is removed. Propitiation results in God
no longer being angry with us.
B. Propitiation is pictured by the mercy seat in the Old Testament
tabernacle (Heb. 9:5; Ex. 25:17,21).
Sin is no longer the issue between man and God. The only
issue is "
faith in his blood
"
(Rom. 3:25).
IV. PLENTEOUS BLOOD-- (1 John 2:2).
V. POWERFUL BLOOD (Rev. 12:10-11)
VI. PURCHASING BLOOD (Acts 20:28).
VII. PREDETERMINED BLOOD (Rev. 13:8; 1 Pet 1:19-20). Jesus
blood was not spilt (accidental). It was shed
(on purpose).
CONCLUSION: It is not enough that Jesus died--
THE BLOOD MUST BE APPLIED.