Nothing But the Blood

The hymn: "Nothing but the Blood" has all the earmarks of a classic gospel song. It focuses on a single theme and hammers it home. The singer will repeat the text, "nothing but the blood of Jesus" 12 times if we sing all four stanzas. The refrain is succinct and reinforces the theme. The language is direct and obvious, with all one- or two-syllable words.

Hebrews 9:22 appeared originally above the hymn in the original publication by Robert Lowery and William H. Doane entitled Gospel Music (1876). The passage reads: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin."

Introduction

Blood and gore don’t particularly bother me, but when I was in Junior High our Introduction to Physical Sciences class dissected worms. That wasn’t too bad for me, but some went running off to throw up. The class was just before lunch, and unfortunately, lunch that day was spaghetti. Now that grossed me out. And I don’t recall anyone from the class eating lunch that day. While I get a bit of a chuckle thinking back on that day, I was not amused then.

Now, have you ever heard of a TV series called Dr. Pimple Popper?, It show’s about the grossest thing I’ve ever seen. On the program, people come to Dr. Pimple Popper, a dermatologist, for problems with boils or abscesses or pimples. She excises everything in front of the cameras—talk about blood and gore.

I imagine that some of you don’t particularly care for the sight of blood yourself; you might have had to pass the kids off to your spouse when they got a cut. But on the other hand, you may deal with blood regularly. Maybe you’re one of the good folks who donates blood on a consistent schedule. But you might also be one of those folks who takes a blood thinner daily and you bleed and bruise easily.

Jesus certainly bled easily on the cross, for crucifixion was a messy, gory, and bloody affair. The author of Hebrews detailed the benefits of Jesus’s crucifixion in this morning’s text, and he wrote: “Jesus secured eternal redemption by his own blood.”

Today, we are going to take a different approach for the message today. We are going to step through our verses one or two at a time. This is what is know as an “expository sermon”. An expository is defined as “intended to explain or describe something” in detail.

Exposition of Hebrews 9:11-14

SLIDE: Open Your Bibles to Hebrews 9:11-14

Verses Hebrews 9:11-12

Hebrews 9:11–12 ESV

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Jesus, as the high priest, entered the heavenly tent, which is greater and more perfect than the earthly one. The ancients considered anything that was heavenly as perfect and superior to whatever was on earth. Of course, that’s not simply an ancient idea; it is the truth of God.

Jesus “entered once for all into the holy places.” The Greek grammar demonstrates that Jesus’s ascension into heaven is being pictured here. Jesus entered the heavenly tabernacle “once for all.” He didn’t enter the tabernacle year after year like the descendants of Aaron, but he entered only once.

He entered the heavenly tabernacle “not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood.” On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and sacrificed a bull for himself and his family; afterwards, he entered a second time with a goat’s blood to make atonement for the people. However, Jesus offered his own blood and then entered the Holy Place. His blood is far superior and far more powerful than “the blood of goats and calves.”

Jesus’s blood secured “an eternal redemption.” On the surface, “the blood of goats and calves” cleansed from sin every year; at least superficially, the Israelites were made right with God for a year until the next Day of Atonement through those sacrifices. But Jesus’s blood secured a redemption that is eternal, not yearly.

Verses Hebrews 9:13-14

Hebrews 9:13–14 ESV

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

The author here used a common “how much more argument.” What he said was that if the blood from the Day of Atonement can hypothetically forgive sin (the blood of bulls and goats can’t), how much more the blood of Christ can forgive you.

Jesus, you see, offered himself through the eternal Spirit without blemish to God. Please notice that all three Personalities of the Godhead were involved in the sacrifice at Golgotha—Jesus offered himself to God the Father through the eternal Spirit.

Imagine a child presenting their drawing to a parent. The child is beaming with excitement, despite the colors being all wrong and the figure drawn with three arms. To the parent, it's a masterpiece! Just as the child’s creation may not be perfect, Jesus’ offering was made knowing we are not perfect. Yet, the joy and love behind it are what truly matter—that love that radiates joy because He sees beauty in our imperfection.

Jesus “offered himself without blemish to God.” The Levitical sacrifices had to be physically without blemish; however, Jesus was ethically without blemish. Jesus was perfectly moral and without the stain of sin.

He offered himself to “purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” Notice that in this passage Jesus’s death served two purposes. The first purpose was to cleanse you from sin. Jesus’s blood does cleanse from sin:

About the fruit of the vine at the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Revelation 1:5).

Thus, Jesus’s blood cleanses you of all the sin in your life.

A friend once told me about how they accidentally spilled grape juice on a white shirt at a party. They panicked, thinking they'd ruined it forever, but when they rushed home and treated the stain, it came out completely! She joked, 'I guess it’s a lot like Jesus’ blood; it cleanses even the toughest stains!' Just as that grape juice stain came out with a bit of effort, Jesus’ blood cleanses us from our sin if we bring it to Him with sincere hearts.

Why does Jesus’s blood cleanse you of all the sin in your life? So that—the second purpose Jesus died according to this text—you might “serve the living God.” Jesus didn’t simply die for you so you can get rid of all your sin and guilt and go to heaven. He died for you so that you could serve God.

The Greek term “serve” refers to working either for hire or as a slave. The idea is that you now work for God since Jesus died for you.

Application

You may serve the God who lives forever and ever only because “Jesus secured eternal redemption by his own blood.” Since Jesus went to that old rugged cross for your eternal redemption, you cannot live however you want; in fact, the author of Hebrews made clear how you must live.

1: Purify Yourself

Since Jesus died for you, you need to live a pure life. Yes, his blood has purified you, but you can get dirty again.

Visualize a beautiful car that has just been polished to perfection. It gleams beautifully in the sunlight. But leave it out in a storm, and it quickly gets dirty again. Just like that car, we often start our days clean through Christ’s sacrifice but can quickly get dirtied by the world around us. We must consistently check ourselves and wash away the grime with His love and forgiveness!

The same thing can happen in your life.

Jesus’s blood cleanses us from sins you and I commit as Christians: “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 cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

But you have a serious obligation to live a pure life; you cannot live however you want—as a Christian, you must live within the confines of God’s law; you must be pure.

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

“Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8).

How pure are you?

The blood of Jesus has made you clean, but are you staying clean?

How clean are your thoughts? How clean are your actions?

Jesus, who gave his blood to cleanse you, sees your actions and knows your thoughts—how clean would he say you are?

2: Perform Good Works

Jesus gave his blood to cleanse your “conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” As I said, the Greek term envisions your working away in God’s kingdom; as a Christian, you are God’s servant.

During a community play, one actor forgot his lines completely. Instead of panicking, he improvised and turned his blunder into a hilarious moment, engaging the audience with his humor. At the end of the show, he said, "I may have botched that line, but I was there to entertain, and I hope you enjoyed it!" So it is with serving God. We might not always get it right, but if we pour our hearts into it, we will certainly bring joy to those around us.

Therefore, your role is to Perform for the living God. “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (Romans 12:11). You are to be “living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16).

This church is full of servants—from Hurricane relief to buying gifts for our adopted family at Christmastime to the National Night Out to serving food at the soup kitchen. So many of you have served and continue to serve in big ways.

Knowing that I’m speaking to people who love God and serve God, let me ask you this:

How can you consistently serve God in your daily life?

In the morning, what can you do to serve God—can you be kind to the barista when she gets your order wrong or not rage in traffic or pray for God’s kingdom to grow?

In the afternoon, what can you do to serve God—can you comfort a grieving friend or read Scripture while you eat lunch or invite a friend to worship?

In the evening, how can you serve God—can you attend Wednesday evening Bible class or help a neighbor with yard-work or take groceries to a struggling family?

What will you do to be “living as servants of God?”

Do you need to come this morning and begin living as God’s servant?

SLIDE: Prayer

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