How Precious is The Blood
1 Peter 1:18-19
Scientists have a substance which has been said to be the most precious substance in the universe – antihydrogen. Contenders for the world’s most precious substance such as saffron, plutonium, gold, and diamond are like dirt in comparison to antihydrogen, as it has a price tag of more than $1,750 trillion Dollars per ounce. But there is a substance vastly more precious than all the diamonds, gold and Antihydrogen in the universe – the precious priceless blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The power of that blood is unlimited. Through it we find redemption, forgiveness, justification, reconciliation, and unification.
I. It is through the Blood we find Redemption
A. 1 Peter 1:18-19 “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; but WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”
B. We were all under the law which says, “This do, and live.” But the curse of the law is that that whosoever should violate one of its precepts, should die. Sadly, we all have failed to do all. We through disobedience became slaves to it. Before being redeemed by Christ we were bound by the chains of sin, held captive by Satan to do his will and were enslaved to our old sin nature inherited from Adam. A Roman or Grecian slave could be freed with the payment of money, but there is no amount of money can set an enslaved sinner free. Only Christ could pay that price and He has paid the ransom price in full, by His precious blood.
C. 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.”
D. Revelation 5:9 “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, AND HAST REDEEMED US TO GOD BY THY BLOOD out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation”
E. The great English preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon told of a man who had been sentenced to death by a Spanish court. Because he was an American citizen but also of English birth, the consuls of both countries decided to intervene. They declared that the authorities of Spain had no right to take his life but their protests went unheeded. Finally, they deliberately wrapped the prisoner in their flags-the Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack. Defying the executioner, they issued this warning: "Fire if you dare! But if you do, you will bring the powers of two great nations upon you!" There stood the condemned. But the rifleman would not shoot. Protected by those flags and the governments they represented, the man was invulnerable. - copied
II. It is through the Blood we find Forgiveness
A. Ephesians 1:7 “In whom WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, according to the riches of his grace”
B. Redemption provides for the forgiveness of sin. Redemption means being freed from sin's power so that it no longer rules over us, whereas forgiveness means God "wipes the slate clean". Forgiveness of sins comes only through the blood of Christ.
C. Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
D. It has been said, “If there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, then the opposite is also true: with the shedding of blood, there is forgiveness!”
E. Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
F. In R. Moffatt Gautrey's book entitled, "The Glory of Going On," he gives this incident: "Not many months ago in an Oxfordshire village, an old saint lay dying. For over eighty years she had been on pilgrimage to Zion, until her face had grown bright with heavens approaching glory. An Anglo-Catholic priest, under the misapprehension that none of his parishioners could find access to the celestial city unless he unlocked the gate, came to visit her. "Madam," he said, "I have come to grant you absolution." And she, in her simplicity, not knowing what the word meant, inquired, What is that? "I have come to forgive your sins," was the reply. "May I look at your hand?" she answered. Gazing for a moment at the hand of the priest, she said, "Sir, you are an impostor." "Impostor!" the scandalized cleric protested. "Yes, sir, an impostor." The Man who forgives my sin has a nail print in His palm."--Indian Christian
III. It is through the Blood we find Justification
A. Romans 5:8-9 “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.”
B. 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSES US from all sin.” Consumer Reports put out a little book entitled "How to Clean Practically Anything." It tells you, what solvent to use for a particular stain.
C. Glycerin will remove the stain from a ball point pen. Boiling water will remove berry stains. Vinegar will remove crayon stains. Ammonia will remove blood stains. Alcohol will remove grass stains. Hydrogen peroxide is good for magic marker stains. Use bleach on mildew stains. Lemon juice works well on rust stains. But the book lists nothing for sin stains. "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." -
D. Dr. Paul Brand in GOD'S FOREVER FEAST wrote, “I used to think it strange that the Bible keeps talking about the cleansing power of the blood (1 Peter 1:2). It seemed to me that blood was messy stuff. I needed to wash my white lab coats if they became stained with blood. Today, I love the analogy; it is so true of the body. The blood is constantly cleansing every cell, and washing away all the debris that accumulates all the time. I like the phrase in Hebrews 9:14: "How much more shall the blood of Christ purge your conscience from dead works?" (Discovery House, 1998)
E. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! O precious is that flow that washes white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
IV. It is through the Blood we find Reconciliation
A. 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 makes an atonement for the soul.
B. "The word translated "atonement" means to "make an atonement to make reconciliation."
C. Colossians 1:19-20 “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, HAVING MADE PEACE THROUGH THE BLOOD OF HIS CROSS, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”
D. Christ’s love had 'broken every barrier down' and brings the sinner into everlasting reconciliation with Himself through His shed blood. Being reconciled through the blood we can enjoy peace and access through His acceptance of us as blood bough, blood washed children of God.
E. Romans 5:10 “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
V. It is through the Blood we find Unification
A. Ephesians 2:12-13 “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are MADE NIGH BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.”
B. Blood is the only tissue which is unlimited in its movement within the body. Almost all other body tissues are fixed, such as muscle, bone, nerve, fat, and skin. They remain where they are. The blood is the only tissue which is not fixed but circulates throughout the body to every living cell. There are other fluid products of the body, such as saliva and gastric juices, tears and bile, but these are not tissues, but secretions and are not parts of the body but byproducts of that body. The blood alone is the liquid tissue that can reach every single cell in the body and, therefore unites all the members with the head and the individual members as well. - M.R. DeHaan, M.D., The Chemistry of the Blood.
C. 1 Corinthians 12:12 “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”
D. 1 John 1:7 “"If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
