A Better Sacrifice ! Part 2 Series

Peter said: you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot 1Pe 1:18-19 and truly Jesus blood is precious!

A young Roman was condemned to death for treason. At the end of the trial an older brother stepped forward. He had lost both arms fighting for Rome. Holding out the stumps he pleaded for his brother’s life. He confessed his brother’s guilt and that he was worthy of death, but he pleaded for his younger brother’s life because of his own sacrifice. As they looked at the stumps the judges pardoned the younger brother for the older brother’s sake.

No greater price could have been paid for our redemption. Can you begin to understand the feelings of our Father in Heaven when He sacrificed His Son that we might be saved? Is it any surprise that the earth quaked and the skies darkened as His beloved Son died? How terrible must our sin be to God, since it could only be forgiven at so great a price!

What claims Christ has upon those that He has bought at the cost of His own precious blood! Is His sacrifice meaningful to us? Does it really make any difference to our daily life?

What about when we give something to God, our time or our money? Do we give Him the very best or just the leftovers? David said 1Ch 21:24 I will not … offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing. How much does serving God cost us? The price we are willing to pay reflects our love.

Eric Fellman told of meeting a Chinese couple in Hong Kong, while travelling to China. "A friend took me down a narrow alley to a second-floor flat to meet a man recently released from prison in China. A Chinese man in his 6Os opened the door. His smile was radiant, but his back was bent almost double. He led us to a sparsely furnished room. A Chinese woman of about the same age came in to serve tea. As she lingered, I couldn’t help but notice how they touched and lovingly looked at each other. My staring apparently didn’t go unnoticed, for soon they were both giggling. "What is it?" I asked my friend. "Oh nothing," he said with a smile. "They just wanted you to know it was OK they’re newly-weds."

I learned they had been engaged in 1949, when he was a student at Nanking Seminary. On the day of their wedding rehearsal, Chinese communists seized the seminary. They took the students to a hard-labour prison. For the next 30 years, the bride-to-be was allowed only one visit per year. Each time, following their brief minutes together, the man would be called to the warden’s office. "You may go home with your bride," he said, "if you will renounce Christianity." Year after year, this man replied with just one word; "No." I was stunned. How had he been able to stand the strain for so long, being denied his family, his marriage, and even his health? When I asked, he seemed astonished at my question. He replied, "With all that Jesus has done for me, how could I betray Him?"