Nothing But The Blood (1Peter 1:19)
TEXT:
1 Peter 1:18-21- (18) Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
Authorship: The Apostle Peter
1. Most prominent disciple during the life of Christ (very intense).
2. First 12 chapters of Acts are devoted to his ministry
Situation: Written during a time of intense persecution
1. Worship of the Roman Gods were promoted and retribution was the results of those who refused!
2. According to Tacitus (2nd century historian), Nero burned Christians alive as torches to light his gardens at night. Ref: Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993. 707. He killed other Christians in equally severe ways (feeding them to wild animals for public entertainment).
Audience: To a mixed audience- ...to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Pet 1:1)
I) REDEMPTION: (vs 18) You were NOT redeemed with!
A) Redemption Defined: To deliver by paying a price
1. The price is high stakes: For the wages of sin is death (separation from God)
2. Lutrao- Strongest of 3 Greek terms used for Redemption: (Given freedom) To pay the price for the slave and remove him. Emphasizes the freedom that Christ made available to those He redeemed
a. Titus 2:13, 14: Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (14) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
B) Not with Silver and gold:
1. Ex 30:16- And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
2. Ac 3:6 -Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk
C) Not with the; Tradition of your Fathers:
1. Peter is speaking of Jewish heritage; the Law; and Legalism-
a. Heritage: Matt 3:9: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (It’s personal; each of us will give an account)
b. Law: John 5:38-40: In this ye think ye have eternal life: (38) And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. (39)Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. (40) And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
1. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, yet he has not freed us from the obligation of it...T
a) The gospel is a doctrine according to Godliness. Matthew Henry
b) If God concluded a covenant of promise with Abraham, the law which was given 430 years afterwards could not alter it, and would not supplant it. If inheritance came by the law it would not be by promise. Ref: Tenney, Merrill: Galatians, The Character of Christian Liberty (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1978)
125.
c. Legalism- Righteousness obtained by rightness:
1. Paul’s arguments in Galatians,were not against the law, but against legalism- that perversion of the law which say’s that salvation can be obtained by keeping the law. Ref: Virkler, Henry A. Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1981. 144.
aa) Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One(Jesus Christ); of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
bb) (Work Salvation)This is found throughout today’s churches:
1. Ephesians 2:8-9- (8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.
2. Acts 4:12: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
II But By The Precious Blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:19) (Peter’s Witness)
A) John’s Witness- Revelation 1:5: Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
1. Him who loved (meaning is continuous- loving us continuously)
2. Change in tense: (Washed) a one time deal- (GR:Loo) Specifically means to bathe (the whole person)
a. Speaks of Christ’s completed payment!
b. Note: (Our) sin’s and (His) blood!
3. For the sins of “the whole world” 1John 1:2- And he is the propitiation [the turning away of wrath, by an offering] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
B) Luke’s Witness: Acts 20:28: Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
C) Jesus’ Personal Testimony- Matthew 26:28- For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
D) Paul’s Witness: Ephesians 1:7- In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
III) As a Lamb Without Blemish or Spot
A) Exodus 12:5- Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
B) Lamb Identified- John 1:19- The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1. Without blemish- In Himself
2. Without Spot- From the world
Concluding Remarks:
1. In the O.T. as in the N.T. atonement came by the shedding of blood. (Lev. 17:11; Heb 9:22)
a. Old Testament: Leviticus 17:11- 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.
b. New Testament: Hebrews 9:22; 24-26: ... and without shedding of blood is no remission. (24) For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: (25) Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; (26) For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
c. O.T. believers were justified by faith even as N.T. believers (Galatains 2:15- 3:29; Matthew 27:52)
3. God reveals the law and His grace throughout both O.T. and N.T. simultaneously, not as mutually exclusive means of salvation.
4. Conclusion: Faith in God’s provision of a sacrifice remains the basis for salvation throughout the old and new testaments.
A) “My faith is not the means of my salvation [it is grace] it is only the means in which I secure [appropriate] it.” Ref: Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary; Theo 530: Systematic Theology II; Lesson 15; Dr. Daniel R Mitchell, Professor.
5. BLOOD, (OF CHRIST)-The animal (actually God) shed it’s blood in Eden to provide a covering for their nakedness; even so the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, covers the criminality of all who believe in Him, and robes them in His righteousness (Rom 3:24-25). Ref: Towns, Elmer: Theology for Today (Belmont CA; Wadsworth; 2002) 218.
6. Some has said that a little fly in Noah’s ark was just as safe as an elephant. It was not the elephants size and strength that made him safe. It was the ark that saved both elephant and fly. It is not your righteousness, your good works that will save you. Rich or poor, learned or unlearned, you can be saved only by the blood of Christ. Moody- 36.
CLOSING STORY:
The Rescuer - The price Jesus paid for our redemption was terrible indeed. When we think of the extreme suffering He endured to purchase our freedom from sin’s penalty, our hearts should overflow with love for Him.
Leslie B. Flynn told a story that illustrates this truth. An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy’s cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drainpipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck.
Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue.
Many voices are calling for our attention. Among them is the One whose nail-pierced hands remind us that He has rescued us from sin and its deadly consequences. To Him belongs our love and devotion. -D. C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
