Topical - Blood of Jesus(a)
A Message About Nothing ---
December 6, 1998
Introduction:
We had a great Thanksgiving vacation with our children Amy and her husband, Scott; Selena and her husband, Miguel; grandchildren Candy and Crystal; and Joan’s mother and brother. We try to have a lot of Christian truth interaction especially with our grandchildren, the two daughters from our son, Matt, who live in Burlington, Iowa.
Remembrances from our vacation with our children and grandchildren:
Crystal: “Where does God live?”
Grandpa: “God lives in heaven.”
Crystal: “Why is God in heaven?”
Grandpa: “Because that is where His throne is. Does anyone know what God’s throne represents?”
Answers: “Riches, rule, authority, Jesus, light, truth ---”
Crystal: “I know what it represents; power, absolute, almighty power!”
Grandpa: “You’ve given the best answer, Crystal. God’s throne is ultimate power. And do you know what is under God’s feet, underneath His throne, what it sits on? It sits upon a sea of crystal (Rev. 4:6). Your name is ‘Crystal’. Your life is under God’s power forever. Do you want God’s power to rule your life?”
Crystal: “Yes, Grandpa. I like God’s power.”
The reason we went to Toledo, Ohio:
We went (along with the grandchildren) to visit Scott and Amy and help them wire the house they are remodeling. The electric service needed a complete replacement. This will be the first place of their own. They needed a boost and we went to encourage them. It gave me a good chance to spend time with Scott. I was there a year ago and did half the project. They want to move in by Christmas. We worked hard and got the job done in two days, right before the insurance inspector came to review the house for insurability. Scott was a little tentative about my help, not wanting to be obligated to me or anyone else. But I told him I just wanted to be Jesus to him. I told him how my father-in-law shared what he had with me. Even if it wasn’t much, he was more generous than my own parents who were far richer. He was Jesus to me and showed me a different way of living. He helped to change my life by the power of God’s witness in his own life. I told Scott I had no motive other than that, which Scott accepted. Praise God!
Attendance at Main Street Brethren Church and Inner City Baptist Church in Toledo, Ohio:
There were over 250 people at the Main Street service we attended - and they have three services each Sunday morning. It was a seeker oriented service with simple choruses on overheads, a worship band, costumes and drama. The message was simple and oriented to those who are on the fringes of faith. It was a worshipful atmosphere and the salvation message was evident. But it seemed to lack power for me.
Then we attended Inner City church. There were about ten people there. When we came it rose by over half. The pastor was not a polished speaker. He was saved later in life and worked construction on the side. His speaking had long pauses, but he spoke the Word of God with love but without compromise. His ministry was covered by the blood of Jesus. I found my spirit weeping at his words. I could identify with the truth. He brought me to the throne of power.
I could not help comparing. There was nothing wrong with the first service. We need to be seeker sensitive. Their numbers proved the popularity of their method. There is a definite place for that worship style. We could learn to adapt some of those methods. But I know what spoke most to my heart. It was the pure unembelished power of the Word of God. It made me wonder. Do we subject the Word of God to people, or should people subject themselves to the Word of God? To be certain, there must be a balance between drawing people in and feeding them.
Amy and Scott were somewhat wondering what church would be best to attend. I said, “They both have their good points. It probably depends upon where you are at in your faith and what your needs are. But I can tell you one thing for sure. Main Street church doesn’t need you. Inner City church does.” God’s power is made perfect in weakness. Inner City church is where some of Scott’s relatives attend.
Returning the grandchildren:
We got home from Ohio safely and the last item of business was to return the grandchildren to Iowa. I had good conversations with Candy and Crystal on the way. (Crystal’s notes give much insight.) But on the way home I began to grieve heavily over the power of sin and the destruction it causes. I started to think of the broken marriage of our son to Candy and Crystal’s mother and other things too numerous to mention on a scale from personal to national. I began to get overwhelmed and sucked into a morass of hopelessness. I began to feel myself drug down to the level of my thinking to where I could almost picture myself in the same sins. I began to get scared that I could easily fall into them without escape if I weren’t careful.
So I looked for the way out that God promises us in 1Cor. 10:13 and turned on the tape player in the car to a song that really spoke to me on a tape called “Exodus,” a composite from several different artists. The title of that song is “Nothin’” by Chris Rice (c. 1998 by Clumsy Fly Music, ASCAP, admin. by Rocketown Music). So now you know the origin of the title of this message. It’s a message about “Nothin’”. But what I came to realize was not that we should be overwhelmed in grieving about sin (although we should grieve to a certain extent), but that we should overwhelmingly rejoice in Christ’s victory over sin. Tears welled up in my eyes and my heart burst with the power of the grace of God through the blood of Jesus Christ shed upon the cross for the forgiveness of sins.
This is why Jesus came to earth. He came born of the water and the blood (1John 5:6) in the power of the Spirit, born of a virgin at Christmas, that he might shed his blood in death and be raised by the power of the Spirit at Easter. But it is the power of his blood that is effective for us, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sins (Heb. 9:22). As the song says, “There’s Power in the Blood of the Lamb - Jesus” (#191, hymnal). Or, as in the hymn that Chris Rice’s song takes after, there is “Nothing but the Blood - of Jesus”.
Have you ever wondered why the Christmas colors are red and green? They might say it is for the holly with red berries and evergreen leaves that may be seen clearly on the trees after their leaves fall at Christmas time, but I think that it must certainly be for the life that red and green represent. As the Bible says, ‘the life is in the blood’.
Le 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.
Blood is red. It is the common denominator of all animal life. Chlorophyll is green. It is the common denominator of all plant life. Here we have the two basic colors of all God’s created life; red and green. A new lease on life was given to all creation at Christmas-time with the birth of Christ. What better colors to represent his birth?
But it is not with color that we have our basic concern, it is with effectiveness. You see, we all have what we might call spiritual AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome. A person with AIDS ultimately has no bodily defense against any kind of disease or infection. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The spiritual disease with which we have been infected is sin. With spiritual AIDS, we have no immunity to greater sin or to the wrath of God over sin. We have all been infected genetically from the seed of Adam (Rom. 5:12). Every generation adds to this infection by the choices they make. We are without cure in our own strength or resources. The Bible also tells us that the wages of sin is death. Death is the penalty for sin. It is a blessing from God that we are not allowed to continue in our sin. That word ‘wages’ is quite descriptive. It means we have earned the death penalty. Sin is not only acquired, it is chosen. If we would have been Adam or Eve, we would have sinned the same as they did.
Have you ever wondered what God’s purpose for Satan is? If he can destroy him in hell at his chosen time, why not now and be done with the sin problem? God’s purpose for Satan is to offer us a choice. He created Adam and Eve morally neutral - they had not yet sinned, but they had the God-given power to choose. God created us with ‘freedom of choice’. How often have you heard that phrase these days? Everyone wants to uphold their freedom of choice. But they often do it at the expense of someone else’s freedom of choice; most notably the weak and defenseless like the unborn, handicapped, mentally infirm, and the aged.
I got a comparison the other day of Mayor Daley’s budgeting over the last several years which shows a great increase in expenditures for public works which is offset by a great decrease in programs for the mentally infirm and the aged. As a society we are saying that you have no value if you cannot produce. But God says that all people have value.
Anyway, God gave us the freedom of choice knowing full well that we would choose sin. Within that context, some would ultimately learn to choose right and some wrong. The sanctity of life upholds the sovereign right to choose. We should never end that sovereign right prematurely. Anyone can destroy, not everyone can build. God can take what is hopeless to us and build through the power of the blood of Jesus the strength of a right choice.
The blood of Jesus is the only AIDS free (sin free) supply in the world. We must go to him for a transfusion by faith. The Hebrew word for blood is mentioned 361 times in the O.T. It appears most often in Lev. (88 times) and Ezk. (55 times), followed by Ex. (29 times), Deut. (23 times), and Ps. (21 times). The occurrences are roughly divided into usage either in reference to shedding of blood as in war or murder (2/3’s), or in reference to shedding of blood as in a death sacrifice to God (1/3). In this latter use, blood symbolizes life offered up in death since blood is the source of life, that is, the means by which life is perpetuated. To remove the blood is to terminate life. Before the sacrifice of an animal could be made to God, it must have all its blood drained and disposed of either on the altar, the ground, or elsewhere. Atonement for sins was made by the sacrifice of the life of animals as a substitution for one’s own life. The shedding of blood was the most important element in the expiation of sin. The primary teaching of the O.T. about the blood is its role in the forgiveness of sins. God promises atonement for sin and cleansing by the blood of a guiltless substitute. How logical it is then for the N.T. to take this concept to its fullest fulfillment and extension. We are reconciled to God by the death of his Son, and we shall be saved by his life (Rom. 5:10).
The Greek word for blood is used 99 times in the N.T. The blood of Christ is supremely significant in the N.T. (1Cor. 10:16; Eph. 2:13) - not his material blood, but its shedding in violent death. This guarantees the new order (1Cor. 11:25). This order includes the forgiveness of sin (Rom. 3:25; Col. 1:20; Eph. 1:7; 1Pet. 1:2; 1Jn. 1:7; Rev. 1:5). Both legal and sacrificial images are used in this connection. Christ’s self-offering is expressed by the idea of his sacrificial blood. Hebrews compares this blood with that of animals (9:12), but the effect of Christ’s blood is ethical (9:14). Fellowship with Christ’s blood in the eucharist (1Cor. 10:16) means union with him who died for us.
1Co 10:16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
1Co 11:25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Ro 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--
Col 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
1Pe 1:2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Re 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
Heb 9:12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
Heb 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
As you can see, the blood of Jesus Christ is not “nothing”; it is that there is “nothing” that can compare with it. It is the most valuable commodity of life - spiritual life, eternal life. It cannot be sold or bought, only given and received; even as it was not taken by man, but given freely by Christ on our behalf. Are those who refuse it afraid of being obligated to God? Do they see some other remedy for sin? They will certainly see that there is nothing but the blood of Jesus. It represents almighty power to heal from our genetically deep sin-sick disease that is otherwise incurable. As long as you are alive you have a choice to make and to keep. But it is a one-sided choice because there is nothing but the blood of Jesus.
1. Nothing can wash away my sin.
The blood of Jesus is a cleanser.
Heb 9:7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
Heb 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
Everyone is familiar with Murphy's Law, "If anything can go wrong, it will." That has spawned a whole set of such tongue-in-cheek laws. One of them is O'Reilly's Law of the Kitchen: "Cleanliness is next to impossible." We've all heard that cleanliness is next to godliness, but doesn't it sometimes seem that cleanliness is truly next to impossible? Spiritual cleanliness is only possible through the grace of God, by the blood of Christ.
-- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
As John Wesley rode across Hounslow Heath late one night, singing a favorite hymn, he was startled by a fierce voice shouting, "Halt," while a firm hand seized the horse's bridle. Then the man demanded, "Your money or your life."
Wesley obediently emptied his pockets of the few coins they contained and invited the robber to examine his saddlebags which were filled with books. Disappointed at the result, the robber was turning away when evangelist cried, "Stop! I have something more to give you."
The robber, wondering at this strange call, turned back. Then Wesley, bending down toward him, said in solemn tones, "My friend, you may live to regret this sort of a life in which you are engaged. If you ever do, I beseech you to remember this, 'The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin."' The robber hurried silently away, and the man of God rode along, praying in his heart that the word spoken might be fixed in the robber's conscience.
Years later, at the close of a Sunday evening service with the people streaming from the large building, many lingered around the doors to see the aged preacher, John Wesley.
A stranger stepped forward and earnestly begged to speak with Mr. Wesley. What a surprise to find that this was the robber of Hounslow Heath, now a well-to-do tradesman in the city, but better still, a child of God! The words spoken that night long ago had been used of God in his conversion.
Raising the hand of John Wesley to his lips, he affectionately kissed it and said in tones of deep emotion, "To you, dear sir, I owe it all."
Wesley replied softly, "Nay, nay, my friend, not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ which cleanseth us from all sin."
--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 50.
We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. I have heard others, and I have heard myself, recounting cruelties and falsehoods committed in boyhood as if they were no concern of the present speaker's, and even with laughter. But mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of a sin. The guilt is washed out not by time but by repentance and the blood of Christ.
C. S. Lewis (1898–1963)
The Bible says that God himself accepted the responsibility for sin; the cross is the proof that he did. It cost Jesus Christ to the last drop of blood to deal with the vast evil of the world.
Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)
If I had the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of John, the meekness of Moses, the strength of Samson, the obedience of Abraham, the compassion of Joseph, the tears of Jeremiah, the poetic skill of David, the prophetic voice of Elijah, the courage of Daniel, the greatness of John the Baptist, the endurance and love of Paul, I would still need redemption through Christ's blood, the forgiveness of sin.
R. L. Wheeler
2. Nothing can make the devil run.
The blood of Jesus is a repellent
Heb 2:14 ¶ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-- that is, the devil--
Martin Luther had a dream in which he stood on the day of judgment before God Himself--and Satan was there to accuse him. When Satan opened his books full of accusations, he pointed to transgression after transgression of which Luther was guilty. As the proceedings went on, Luther's heart sunk in despair. Then he remembered the cross of Christ--and turning upon Satan, he said, "There is one entry which you have not made, Satan."
The Devil retorted, "What is that?"
And Luther answered, "It is this--the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sins."
--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 67-68.
3. Nothing can bring me peace with God.
The blood of Jesus is a protectant.
Col 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Ro 5:1 ¶ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Ro 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
Exodus 4:18-26; Zipporah
Exodus 12; blood on the doorposts.
When I was 5 years old, before factory-installed seat belts and automobile air bags, my family was driving home at night on a two-lane country road. I was sitting on my mother's lap when another car, driven by a drunk driver, swerved into our lane and hit us head-on. I don't have any memory of the collision. I do recall the fear and confusion I felt as I saw myself literally covered with blood from head to toe.
Then I learned that the blood wasn't mine at all, but my mother's. In that split second when the two headlights glared into her eyes, she instinctively pulled me closer to her chest and curled her body around mine. It was her body that slammed against the dashboard, her head that shattered the windshield. She took the impact of the collision so that I wouldn't have to. It took extensive surgery for my mother to recover from her injuries.
In a similar, but infinitely more significant way, Jesus Christ took the impact for our sin, and his blood now permanently covers our lives.
-- Jeffrey Ebert in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.
4. Nothing can lead me to your throne.
The blood of Jesus is an attractant.
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
Heb 10:19 ¶ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
How it must have startled those early Jewish Christians to read in the letter to the Hebrews, "Let us draw near." Their whole Jewish tradition said just the opposite: "Stand back!" The architecture of their temple said it with an outer court for the Gentiles, an inner court for the women, and an inmost court for the men. After that came the temple proper, which only the priests could enter. The whole message of that architecture was "Stand back!" There were ranks of people to match the temple's architecture--a high priest, and then lesser priests, then the men, then the women, and finally the Gentiles. There were rituals to match the ranks. Burnt offerings were offered at an open-air altar in sight of all. The altar of incense was inside the temple, seen only by the high priests and seen only dimly by them, in a shadowy room lit by seven candles. Shed blood was offered for the sins of the people in the inmost room, shrouded in complete and perpetual darkness. All was calculated to say, "Stand back!" Against this background, the letter to the Hebrews offers us a blessed assurance: "Let us draw near to God, with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith" (Hebrews 10:22).
-- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
5. Nothing can make your people one.
The blood of Jesus is a solvent.
Ro 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--
1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, he unites us body, soul, and spirit with God until we are one with God even as Jesus was. This is the meaning of the Atonement—at-one-ment with God.
Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)
6. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
The blood of Jesus is a miracle of the power of God. Covered by the blood of Jesus, you will never be dirty, evil, unaccepted, rejected or lonely. Instead you are clean, righteous, loved, uplifted and increased. This is the victory of Christ over sin. This is why he came. This is why he died. This is what we celebrate today. It is effective. It is permanent. It is glorious. It is yours by faith in nothing but the blood of Jesus. If Paul could say in Php. 3:13-14, ‘This one thing I do,” meaning forgetting the sins of the past, it is because it was, “This one thing I believed,” being faith in the sufficiency of the blood of Christ to cover, nay obliterate, those sins because God chooses not to remember them anymore. The blood of Christ has washed them white as snow.
Php. 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
The blood of Christ may seem to be a grim, repulsive subject to those who do not realize its true significance, but to those who have accepted his redemption and have been set free from sin's chains, the blood of Christ is precious.
Billy Graham (1918– )
It was in 1937, Dennis Hensley tells us, when this true story took place. For the first time, he brought his 8-year-old son, Greg Griffith, to work with him to see what Daddy did all day. The little boy was wide-eyed with excitement, and he clapped his hands with glee when the huge bridge went up at the beck and call of his mighty father. He watched with wonderment as the huge boats steamed down the Mississippi.
Twelve o'clock came, and his father put up the bridge. There were no trains due for a good while, and they went out a couple of hundred feet on a catwalk out over the river to an observation deck. They sat down, opened their brown bag, and began to eat their lunch. His father told him about some of the strange, faraway lands that some of these ships were going to visit. This entranced the boy.
The time whirled by, and suddenly they were drawn instantly back to reality by the shrieking of a distant train whistle. John Griffith quickly looked at his watch. He saw that it was time for the 1:07, the Memphis Express, with 400 passengers, which would be rushing across that bridge in just a couple of minutes. He knew he had just enough time, so without panic but with alacrity he told his son to stay where he was.
He leaped to his feet, jumped to the catwalk, ran back, climbed the ladder to the control room, went in, put his hand on the huge lever that controlled the bridge, looked up the river and down to see if any boats were coming, as was his custom, and then looked down to see if there were any beneath the bridge. And suddenly he saw a sight that froze his blood and caused his heart to leap into his throat. His boy! His boy had tried to follow him to the control room and had fallen into the great, huge gear box that had the monstrous gears that operated this massive bridge. His left leg was caught between the two main gears, and the father knew that as sure as the sun came up in the morning, if he pushed that lever his son would be ground in the midst of eight tons of whining, grinding steel.
His eyes filled with tears of panic. His mind whirled. What could he do? He saw a rope there in the control room. He could rush down the ladder and out the catwalk, tie off the rope, lower himself down, extricate his son, climb back up the rope, run back into the control room, and lower the bridge. No sooner had his mind done that exercise than he knew--he knew there wasn't time. He'd never make it, and there were 400 people on that train.
Suddenly he heard the whistle again, this time startlingly closer. And he could hear the clicking of the locomotive wheels on the track, and he could hear the rapid puffing of the train. What could he do? What could he do! There were 400 people, but this was ... this was his son, this was his only son. He was a father! He knew what he had to do, so he buried his head in his arm and he pushed the gear forward. The great bridge slowly lowered into place just as the express train roared across.
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He lifted up his tear-smeared face and looked straight into the flashing windows of that train as they flashed by one after another. He saw men reading the afternoon paper, a conductor in uniform looking at a large vest-pocket watch, ladies sipping tea out of teacups, and little children pushing long spoons into plates of ice cream. Nobody looked in the control room. Nobody looked at his tears. Nobody, nobody looked down to the great gear box.
In heart-wrenching agony, he beat against the window of the control room, and he said, "What's wrong with you people? Don't you care? I sacrificed my son for you. Don't any of you care?" Nobody looked. Nobody heard. Nobody heeded. And the train disappeared across the river.
-- D. James Kennedy, "Message from an Empty Tomb," Preaching Today, Tape No. 66.
Heb 9:12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
Heb 9:13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.
Heb 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Re 19:13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.