Blessings Through The Blood Of Jesus

INTRODUCTION (SECURE ATTENTION) & BACKGROUND OF THE PASSAGE:

PRAY before starting the sermon.

How many of you donated your blood at least once to someone?

I still remember the first time I donated my blood in 2002.

I have to admit that I was fearful.

After donating my blood for the first time, I felt dizzy and I said to myself that I will never donate my blood again.

However, I donated my blood quite a lot of times after that.

Now, what motivated me in donating my blood?

One thing that motivated me in donating blood was that someone else’s life will be saved because of my blood.

I’m sure you might have seen this written in the hospitals – ‘Donate blood, save a life.’

Saints, “the life of a creature is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11).

That is what the Word of God declares.

Blood is essential to human life.

The Bible tells us the most powerful cleansing agent in the world is blood.

In fact, God created blood to be a cleansing agent.

In your body blood takes oxygen and other supplies to cells and removes waste and impurities from those cells.

Blood literally cleans out the filth from your body.

That is one of its major responsibilities.

There is no other cleansing agent known to man that can purify our bodily system as well as the blood that courses through our veins.

So also, there is no other cleansing agent known to man that can rid your soul of its filth and shame than the blood of Jesus.

This evening, I’m going to talk about the blessings that we have through the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Would you take God’s Word and turn your Bibles with me to EPHESIANS 1:7 (READ)?

I have entitled today’s sermon as: “BLESSINGS THROUGH THE BLOOD OF JESUS.”

THE EXEGETICAL IDEA: Not needed as this is a topical sermon.

FALLEN CONDITION FOCUS: Many Christians either don’t know or forget the blessings that we receive through the blood of Christ.

That’s why we need to remind ourselves the blessings that we receive through the blood of Christ so that we can enjoy those blessings that God has for us.

PROPOSITION: God has graciously granted us several blessings through the blood of our Jesus Christ.

What are the blessings that we have through the blood of Jesus?

The following are the blessings that God has graciously granted us through the blood of Jesus:

I. THE BLOOD OF CHRIST REDEEMS US FROM SIN.

Read Ephesians 1:7 – In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

The price paid for our redemption from bondage to sin was costly beyond measure; it was the very lifeblood of Christ himself, poured out in his death on the Cross.

What was foreshadowed in the Levitical system of sacrifices was realized at the Cross when the Son of God laid down his life in death and ransomed us from sin.

Read I Peter 1:18-19 – 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Here Peter reminds his readers of the cost of redemption, based on the value of the Person of the righteous Messiah himself.

The Greek word for "redeem" goes back to the institution of slavery in ancient Rome.

Any representative first-century church would have three kinds of members: slaves, freemen, and freedmen.

People became slaves in various ways--through war, bankruptcy, sale by themselves, sale by parents, or by birth.

Slaves normally could look forward to freedom after a certain period of service and often after the payment of a price.

Money to buy one's freedom could be earned by the slave in his spare time or by doing more than his owner required.

Often the price would be provided by someone else, who purchased a person's freedom from servitude.

A freedman was a person who formerly had been a slave but was now set free.

The redemption of Christians is from the "empty" lifestyle of their ancestors.

Verse 19 stresses the value of the purchase price of redemption and at the same time identifies the blood as that of a spotless lamb--the Messiah.

ILLUSTRATION: {Some of us are like a man who has built up a huge debt and can't pay it.

The man's wealthy boss comes along and pays the bill without telling his employee -- then calls him in to give him the good news.

The man sits down, is handed the dossier of debts, and flips through the pages to see the list of bills he has accumulated.