Introduction:
1. Sickness Seems To Be Spreading Like A Wild-Fire This Week, Doesn’t It?
- My Daughter Told Me That On Wednesday, 1/4 Of Her Class Was Absent Because They Were Sick! In Order To Fight Off This Kind Of Sickness, You Normally Should Get Plenty Of Rest, Drink Plenty Of Liquids, And Eventually You Will Get Over It!
2. Well, This Morning, I Want Us To Look At A Problem That Has Spread In A Greater Way Than What’s Going Around This Week – And It’s a Problem That Noone Will “Eventually Get Over”!
- This Problem Was Also Mentioned In The Passage From Hebrews We Looked At Last Week!
- Look At Hebrews 9:9 - “Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience!”
- The Problem We Have Is A Universal Problem! The Problem We Have Is A Problem With Our Conscience!
- Have You Ever Felt This Way? IE: Once, A man consulted his doctor and complained, “I’ve been misbehaving, Doc, and my conscience is troubling me.” The doctor asked: “And you want something that will strengthen your willpower?” The man replied: “Well, no, “I was thinking about getting something that would weaken my conscience.”
- We All Have Been Confronted By Our Conscience At One Time Or Another!
3. But What Is The Problem With Our Conscience?
- The Problem With Our Conscience & Our Heart Is Guilt!
- “It Is Guilt Only That Disturbs A Man’s Conscience. . . Guilt Makes A Man Troubled When He Thinks Of Death And Judgment; It Is Guilt Only Which Alarms A Man When He Thinks Of A Holy God; And It Is Nothing But Guilt That Makes The Entrance Into Another World Terrible And Awful. If A Man Had No Guilt He Would Never Dread His Maker, Nor Would The Presence Of His God Be Ever Painful To Him; If A Man Had No Guilt He Would Not Fear To Die – For What Have The Innocent To Fear Anywhere? . . . The Only Thing . . . Which Ever Disturbs The Conscience, And Makes Death Dreadful, And God An Object Of Aversion, And Eternity Awful, Is Guilt! (Albert Barnes)
- What Are You Guilty Of?
- Sometimes When We Ask A Child This, They May Say: “Lying” Or “Talking Back” Or “Not Cleaning My Room When I’m Told To!”
- But They Would Never Be Guilty Of Crimes Like Murder! Or Would They?
- What Do You Say, When You Are Asked This? Maybe A Few “Worse” Things Like “Stealing” Or “Laziness” Or “Lust!”
- But You Would Never Be Guilty Of A Crime Like Murder! Or Would You?
- The Problem With Our Conscience Is That We Are As Guilty Of The Deepest & Darkest Sins & Crimes As The Mass Murderer On Death Row Or The Terrorist In Iraq Or Afghanistan!
- And This Guilt Permeates Your Conscience & Your Soul Like Air Permeates Your Lungs!
- This Is Our Problem! My Problem! Your Problem! Its Not Just Guilt For Sin – It Is Guilt For The Worst Kind Of Sins Known To Man!
4. Above Everything Else, Our Problem Is A “Blood-Guiltiness!”
- We Might Say That We Are Not Guilty Of The Worst Kinds Of Crime & Sin – But The Reality Is, We Are!
- Consider How You Have Treated Others!
- Matthew 5:21-24 - “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift!”
- Our Problem Is “Blood-Guiltiness” Because Of How We Have Treated Others!
- Consider How You Have Treated Christ!
- Ever Since Mel Gibson’s Movie “The Passion Of The Christ” Came Out, People Have Been Debating About “Who Killed Jesus?” The Answer To This Question Is: Anyone Who Has Ever Sinned! Not Just The Jews! Not Just Pilate! But You & Me, Because Of Our Sins!
- IE: A Man Was Once “Preaching To A Jewish Audience On New York City’s Lower Side. One [Stubborn] Fellow Glared At The Speaker As He Told Of God’s Redeeming Love Through Jesus Christ. Making His Way To The Front, The Heckler Blurted Out (As If To Embarrass Him To Silence), ‘Who Killed Jesus?’ Realizing What The Jewish Man [Was Thinking Would Be His] Answer, The Preacher Replied: ‘I Did!’” (A. Reid Jepson - “Who Killed Jesus” Tract)
- Romans 5:6, 8 - “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. / But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!”
- 1 Corinthians 11:27 - “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord!”
- Our Problem Is “Blood-Guiltiness” Because Of How We Have Treated & Continue To Treat Jesus Christ! Through Sin, We Are All Guilty Of Murder!
5. And Because Of Our Guilt, We Deserve To Have Our Own Blood Shed!
- Genesis 9:6 - “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man!”
- What Is Your Reaction To This?
- Like Paul? Romans 7:24 - “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
- Like David? Psalm 51:14 - “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation!”
-The Problem With Our Conscience Is That We Are Guilty – Guilty Of The Deepest & Darkest Sin Against A Holy God! And We Need To Be Delivered From It! We Need To Be Cured From It!
6. And In Hebrews 9:11-14, We Find “The Cure For Our Conscience!”
- How Can We Be Delivered From Our Guilt?
* You Can Only Be Delivered From Your Guilt:
I. Through The Arrival Of Christ!
- 9:11 - “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building!”
- Who Came To Deliver Us From Our Guilt?
- Christ! He Is The One Anointed By God To Deliver Us From Guilt! He Is The Only One Who Can Deliver Us From Guilt!
- How Did He Come To Deliver Us From Our Guilt?
- He Came As “An High Priest Of Good Things To Come!” He Is The One Appointed By God To Deliver Us From Guilt! He Is The Only One Who Can Deliver Us From Guilt!
- Were Did He Come From To Deliver Us From Our Guilt?
- From Heaven! He Is The One Approved By God To Deliver Us From Guilt! That “Greater And More Perfect Tabernacle!”
- 9:24 - “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!”
- The Old Testament Priests “Went” To God! (9:6-7) Christ “Came” From God! In Order To Free & Deliver You From Our Guilt! In Order To Be “The Cure For Our Conscience!”
* You Can Only Be Delivered From Your Guilt:
II. Through The Atonement Of Christ!
- Atonement Is The Work That Jesus Christ Performed On The Cross To Repair The Relationship Between God & Men Caused By Sin!
- But In Order For This To Happen, There Had To Be The Shedding Of Blood - Because “Without shedding of blood [there] is no remission!” (9:22)
- So We See That It Was: 9:12 - “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us!”
- We Can Only Be Delivered From Our Guilt Through The Blood Of Jesus Christ!
- What Is This Blood That Can Deliver Us From Guilt? It Is “His Own Blood” – The Blood Of The Lord Jesus Christ That Came From His Body When He Was Crucified And Died!
- Only Pure Blood Can Deliver Us From Guilt!
- The OT Priests Could Never Offer Pure Blood – They Were Sinners In Need Of A Savior Too – The Best They Could Offer Was The Blood From A Relatively “Pure” Animal!
- But Christ’s Blood Is Pure – Untainted From Sin!
- 1Peter 1:19 - “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot!”
- Only Permanent Blood Can Deliver Us From Guilt!
- The OT Priests Had To Offer Sacrifice After Sacrifice!
- But Christ’s Blood Is Permanent – It’s Effect Will Last Forever! How Do We Know This?
- In Leviticus 17:11 We Find This Principle: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood!”
- It Was The Eternal Life Of God That Spilled Forth From The Body Of Christ – And Though His Body Died, Yet His Blood & Its Infinite Power Lives On!
- Only Powerful Blood Can Deliver Us From Guilt!
- Christ’s Blood Is Powerful!
- When Cain Murdered His Brother Abel, God Told Cain: “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground!” (Genesis 4:10) How Much Greater & Louder Must Be The Voice Of The Blood Of Christ, When It Was Shed On The Cross! And Although: “Abel’s Blood Cried For Vengeance, Christ’s Blood Cries For Peace And Pardon!” (Gill) After All, One Of Christ’s Last Prayers Was: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do!” (Luke 23:34)
- What Does This Blood That Can Deliver Us From Guilt Do?
- Christ’s Blood Provides: “Eternal Redemption For Us!” It Frees Us From The Guilt & Bondage Of All Our Sin!
* You Can Only Be Delivered From Your Guilt:
III. Through The Absolution Of Christ!
- To Absolve Means To Clear Someone Of Guilt & Blame! And This Is What The Blood Of Christ Does For The Born-Again Christian!
- We Cannot Be Delivered From Our Guilt From The Outside!
- 9:13 Describes A Ceremonial Cleansing That Was External & Temporary!
- 9:13 - “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh!”
- Numbers 19 - If Someone Touched Or Went Near A Dead Body, They Could Not Have Fellowship With God Or His People - But If He Was Sprinkled With This Solution (Made From Blood & Ash), He Would Be Considered “Clean” After 7 Days!
- So The People Could Receive Outward Cleansing Through Their Ceremonies – But Then Could Never Receive The Inward Cleansing Of Their Conscience! But Which Is Better? Which Is More Needed?
- Mark 7:21-23 - “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man!”
- We Need To Be Delivered From Our Guilt On The Inside!
- And We Can Be Delivered From Our Guilt On The Inside!
- 9:14 Describes The Solution To The Problem With Our Conscience! “Christ’s Blood Cleanses Our Consciences!” (Kistemaker)
- 9:14 - “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
- Christ Will Deliver You From Your Guilt! Through The Spirit! Through His Purity! Through His Pardon! For His Purpose!
- This Is How We Can Be Delivered From Our Guilt!
Conclusion:
1. The Lord Jesus Christ & The Blood That He Shed For Us Is “The Cure For Our Conscience!”
- Nothing You Do On The Outside Can Remove Your Guilt! Only What Christ Does On The Inside Can!
- Only When Christ Arrives In Your Heart, Atones For Your Sin Through His Blood & Absolves You From Your Guilt – Will You Ever Be Free To Serve Him In A Way That Counts!
2. Has The Lord Delivered You From Your “Blood-Guiltiness”?
- Trust In His Arrival, Atonement & Absolution - Forgiveness! And You Will No Longer Have To Fear The Eternal Consequences For Your Guilt!
- And You Too Can Experience “The Cure For Your Conscience!”
* “Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus!”
