Life In The Blood
I don’t know about you, but I get squeamish at the sight of blood, especially my own. One morning I woke up and a blood vessel had burst in my eye. When I looked in the mirror and saw dried blood coming from my eye, I immediately passed out. When I woke up, my wife was standing over me and I kept looking at her wondering why she was upside down. Then I realized that I was lying flat on my back on the bathroom floor. (Luckily I missed the corner of the wall by an inch or less).
Life Of The Flesh
Even though some of us are squeamish when it comes to seeing blood; blood is very important. The Bible says that there’s life in the blood. And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.
And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. (Leviticus 17:10-14).
Without Blood…
There is life in the blood. Without blood, we would not be alive. When people are in a serious car accident, many times they need blood transfusions to keep them alive while the doctors operate on them. There is life in the blood and without blood, we would not be alive.
The Israelites had to offer sacrifices for their sins. An innocent animal had to be killed and the shed blood was then sprinkled on the altar as a covering – to cover the sins of the people. But the blood of bulls and goats could not cleanse the Israelites once and for all. It could not take away their sins, it merely covered them up. So the Israelites had to continually offer blood sacrifices for their sins.
These animal sacrifices pointed toward the sinless sacrifice that does take away our sins. The sinless Lamb of God – the sinless Son of God takes away your sins, He removes your sins, when you repent and put your trust in Him. He can cleanse you. He can wash you white as snow, through His shed blood. 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 (Isaiah 1:18).
We Cannot Cleanse Ourselves
Jesus paid the sin debt that He did not owe because you and I cannot make ourselves clean. We are not perfect. We are not sinless. Not only are we sinful beings, but we cannot wipe out our sins. We cannot cover them up. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, they tried to cover their shame with fig leaves. But we cannot cover our sins. We can’t undo our sins. We are sinful creatures and the only way to be cleansed is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus paid it all. He gave His perfect sinless life for guilty sinners like us. He never sinned once. Not one time. Yet, He suffered, bled and died as though He were a guilty criminal. He died among the transgressors. Jesus took the punishment that we deserve. The Sinless for the sinful. The righteous for the unrighteous. The Holy for the profane. The God-man for the godless sinners like you and me.
Precious Blood
Jesus gave up His precious blood, His blood was poured out to wash away our sins. Jesus said: For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28). He gave up His life, He shed His blood for sinful people.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
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. 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 (Isaiah 53:3-6).
Christ Died For The Ungodly
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life (Romans 5:6-10).
Jesus Christ died for ungodly sinners like you and me. Christ died for us. God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We can only be justified through His shed blood. We can only get back in a right relationship with God, through Jesus alone. He is the only way of salvation.
God’s Wrath
If Jesus Christ is not your Lord and Savior tonight, then God’s wrath still abides upon you. In the verse I just read, it says that we are saved from God’s wrath through the blood of Jesus. It also says that our sins make us enemies of God. If you have never repented and put your trust in Jesus, then you have made yourself God’s enemy. His anger over your sins abides upon you (John 3:36).
Oh, but life is in the blood. Eternal life is in the shed blood of Jesus. He gave His life for guilty sinners like us. He shed His blood for us. He was the perfect sacrifice. He did the atoning work for our sins. He was the spotless Lamb of God that died for the sins of world. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
He suffered, bled and died, that we might have life. Not just life now, not just a more abundant life now, but for eternal life. Jesus died that you might live – forever.
Salvation Is Come
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death (Revelation 12:10-11).
Don’t you see tonight what a high price Jesus paid for your sins? Don’t you see that you cannot redeem yourself? Don’t you see that you can’t save yourself? Do you understand that your sins are offensive to our Holy God? You do not want to die as an unrepentant sinner. You must be born-again through the blood of Jesus.
No Remission Of Sins
Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). Without an atoning sacrifice, there is no forgiveness of sins. Your sins are not forgiven unless you are washed by the blood of Jesus. We don’t like talking like this. Talking about blood is so bloody. It makes us sick. It is repulsive. We’ll, Jesus was a bloody mess when He died on the cross. He was beaten beyond recognition. He was beaten with 39 lashes across His back. He was nailed to the cruel cross. A crown of thorns was pressed upon His brow, with blood running down. Jesus Christ was a bloody mess when He suffered and died on the cross.
He endured all that suffering that we might receive everlasting life. God poured His wrath out upon His own precious Son to take away our sins. In order that we might live – forever. Jesus shed His blood for the sins of the world. You can be saved today. You can receive eternal life. You can be cleansed from your unrighteousness; for all your sins. If you repent and trust Jesus. Won’t you do this today? Won’t you surrender your life to the risen Lord?
Resurrection And The Life
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26). Jesus is the resurrection and the life. You can be saved today through Jesus. You can rise from the dead after you die and spend eternity with Jesus.
In conclusion, oh believe in the Lord Jesus. Believe in His finished work on the cross. He paid the awfully high price of shedding His own blood for guilty sinners like you and me and He freely offers salvation to those who repent and put their faith in Him. Do you believe? Do you believe in the blood of Jesus to cleanse you from all unrighteousness? If so, repent and believe the Gospel. Cry out to Jesus to save you from your sins.
(This message was proclaimed on the square in downtown Springfield, MO on September 30, 2016)