The Strange Word of the Gospel

[0:00] I'm looking out today and thinking about how many people are away today. There's quite a few for various reasons, which is, of course, one of the reasons why I'm up here. How many remember when I preached on the troublesome word of the gospel?

[0:17] Do you remember what that troublesome word was? Propitiation, which it means to appease the wrath of God. And how do you appease the wrath of God?

[0:28] With blood. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So now I'm preaching on the strange word, the gospel.

[0:39] And I'd like you to follow me in Hebrews 9, 11 to 28. Well, when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands.

[0:54] That is to say, is not part of this creation. He did not enter by the means of goats and calves, but he entered the most holy place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

[1:08] The bread of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those whose ceremony are unclean. Sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more then will the bear the Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse their consciousness for acts that lead to death, so that they serve the living God.

[1:30] For this reason, Christ is a mediator of the new covenant. Those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. Now that he has died is a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

[1:43] In the case of the will is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because the will is only enforced when somebody has died. It never takes effect while the one who made it is living.

[1:57] That is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool, and the branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the straw on all the people.

[2:15] He said, This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you to keep. In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies.

[2:27] In fact, the law requires that near everything be cleansed with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. It was necessary then for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices.

[2:41] But the heavenly things themselves were better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands. That was only a copy of the true one. He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.

[2:56] Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the most holy place every year, with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.

[3:10] But he has feared once for all, at the culmination of the ages, to do away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.

[3:21] So Christ would sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. And he would appear a second time to bear sins. Not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

[3:32] Since it's the first Sunday of Lent, I thought I'd speak on a Lenten theme. It's a strange word, blood. We sing songs about blood, but we get a little squeamish when we look at blood.

[3:45] Sometimes, when we go in and get our blood test, we don't even want to look at it. Oh, it doesn't bother me, but it bothers a whole lot of people.

[3:57] Yet, when I saw the movie, The Passion of the Christ, I was upset by all the blood, and it seemed to be unnecessary. Why do we sing songs about something like blood? I heard of a story once where some people who were street people happened to wander in a church meeting, and somebody once said, Aren't you glad you're washed in the blood of the Lamb?

[4:20] Think about how that would affect a person who has had no contact with the Bible at all. That would be a strange sound. Yet, we sing that, Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

[4:33] And we sing it with great meaning. Because it has a lot of effect on us. There are many references in the Bible. On the email this week, Ken said there's about 700.

[4:48] How many of you checked that out? Counted them. I certainly didn't. But there's a lot. The Bible talks a lot. It is impossible to tell the story of the gospel of Christ without talking about blood.

[5:02] It's in fact, it's impossible to read the whole plan of salvation throughout history without talking about blood. And that's what the author of Hebrews is making point of here.

[5:15] It's that blood was about everything. The old covenant was established by blood. In fact, blood sacrifices go back a long time. When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid themselves from the Lord.

[5:30] Because they were ashamed. And God provided animal skins to cover them. That required that blood had to be shed. Because otherwise, where would animal sin?

[5:40] And then you get the sacrifice of Abel when he sacrificed the blood of an animal. It goes on. And it continues on. And in Leviticus 4, it talks about the sin offerings in the blood.

[5:53] And then in Hebrews, it mentions how when Moses sanctified the tabernacle, he had to sprinkle blood on pretty well everything. Fortunately, we don't have to do that.

[6:04] I can think about how it would affect if we sprinkled blood on the communion table and the pulpit and pews. We don't do that. Because the blood of Christ covers all of that.

[6:20] I used to say that the blood of Christ covers sins that you haven't even committed yet. Now I realize that's not quite true. The blood of Christ covers the sins of people who haven't even been born yet.

[6:30] It reaches out back to everyone that's ever lived. And it reaches forward to everyone who ever will live. In Genesis 9, it says that the life is in the blood.

[6:43] And we hear on TV commercials that say, give the gift of life. What does it mean? Well, it means giving your blood donation.

[6:54] Because life is in the blood. Because, you know, without blood, absolutely dead. That's the way it is. In Acts 15, 29, the great Jerusalem council had met to determine whether Gentile Christians could be Christians without observing all the Old Testament sacrifices and the circumcision and all the rest of that.

[7:21] And James and the Jerusalem council laid down some rules. One of them was to abstain from blood. Job a witness picked that up and says, okay, we can't have blood chandras.

[7:32] No, no, that's what it meant. It meant that they shouldn't drink or eat blood. It meant animal blood. And even today, kosher meat, meat that's acceptable for Jewish people, has all of the blood drained out of it.

[7:49] Same is true with hallow meat as well. Blood has to be drained right out. In Hebrews 9, 12, it talks about, He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, but he entered the most holy place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

[8:10] Think of that picture. He entered heaven with his own blood. It's the blood of Jesus that covers everything, and once for all, it's a total, complete sacrifice.

[8:21] In verse 26, he says, But now he has appeared once for all at the end of ages to do away of sin by the sacrifice himself. Its eternal redemption was purchased by us.

[8:33] Blood of Christ is a means of our salvation. And the blood of Christ is a great accomplishment. The blood of Christ paid for our justification.

[8:44] Romans 5, 9 says, Since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him? Justified. Someone said justified means just as if I had never sinned.

[8:58] What it means is we're declared not guilty. It's a legal term. It means it doesn't matter what you've sinned. If you confess Christ as Savior and Lord, and you believe in him, then the blood of Christ covers all of your sin.

[9:16] All of it. It's as if you'd never sinned at all. That's why John the Baptist said about Jesus, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

[9:28] Totally removed. It's gone. As far as the east is from the west. Ephesians 1, 7 says, In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

[9:42] Redemption through his blood. Everything is about the blood of Christ. It talks about a new song and revelation that those who have been redeemed will sing.

[9:55] And it says, The song is, For you are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because you were slain. And with your blood you purchase men from God, from every tribe and language and people and nation.

[10:07] Everything. The blood of Christ covered it all. But the salvation of everyone. In John 6, Jesus is talking about, after he's had the 5,000, he talks about eating his, drinking his blood.

[10:22] And we're thinking, What? What we meant is that we have to confess Christ and believe that his blood covers our sins in order to help salvation. Last week, Kent mentioned about Jesus praying earnestly and fervently and with persistence in the Garden of Gethsemane.

[10:45] Luke 22, verse 44 says, That his prayer was so earnest that his sweat drops the blood. And it says, Being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly. And his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

[10:58] So since, even at Gethsemane, he shed the blood for us. And then, when the soldiers were checking to see whether Jesus had truly died on the cross, shoved a spear in his side and out came blood and water.

[11:11] Which meant, all the blood was gone. Matthew 26, 28, Jesus said, instituting the Lord's Supper, This is the blood of my covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

[11:23] That's what we celebrate. We drink grape juice to celebrate that Jesus said his blood for us. And we say it again and again. This symbolizes the blood of Christ that was shed for us.

[11:36] Blood is everything. The blood of Christ paid for our justification. The blood of Christ also provides for our sanctification. Justification is a once-for-all process.

[11:46] That's it. You're justified. You're declared righteous. But sanctification is an ongoing process. We're being made holy by slowly but surely.

[11:59] 1 John 1, verse 7 says that we walk in the light as he is in the light. We are a fellowship with another and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. Purified from the empty way of life.

[12:12] Purified by the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 10.10 says, And by that will we've been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

[12:24] It's all about the sacrifice of Christ. It's all about how his blood was shed for us. And we sing about the power in the blood. Ephesians 2, verse 13 talks about that as well.

[12:38] But now in Christ Jesus, you were once far away have been brought near by the blood of Jesus. In ourselves, we are vile creatures. We are sinful.

[12:48] We could never even dream to approach God. But with the blood of Christ cleansing us, making us holy, we can enter his presence boldly because we've been cleansed by the blood.

[13:00] Aren't you glad you're washed in the blood of the Lamb? In other ways, we could not approach God at all. It reconciles us toward God. But the blood of Christ also reconciles us to one another.

[13:13] Colossians 1.20 says, And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether in heaven, on earth, and make him peace with his blood shed on the cross. That's how we have peace with God and peace with one another is because of the blood of Christ.

[13:27] Revelation 1.5 says, To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by the blood. And Revelation 12.19 talks about how we can overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb.

[13:37] It's all about the blood. And then Hebrews 13.21, probably you've heard many times, says, May the God of peace, who through the blood of eternal commandment, brought back from the dead, O Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will.

[13:56] May he work in us what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ to him in glory forever and ever. Amen. Our process of being made more like Jesus is accomplished by the blood of Jesus.

[14:10] What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. It's all about the blood. The blood of Christ paid for our justification. The blood of Christ provides for our sanctification.

[14:22] And the blood of Christ promises our glorification. It's everything. It purifies and all. Hebrews 9.28 talks about this. So Christ was sacrificed once for all to take away the sins of many and he will appear a second time not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

[14:42] An eternal inheritance awaits for us because Jesus said his blood for us. Revelation 7.14 it talks about saints who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.

[14:54] Means they've been purified, made holy by the blood of Christ. And now, of course, now we still sin. Almost always. But eventually we'll be sinless and perfect.

[15:07] Not now. But when Christ comes to take us back to his own self. 1 Corinthians 15.50 says, I declare to you brothers that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

[15:21] These bodies are not fit for heaven. Not at all. How can they sing in heaven when nobody wants to listen to me here? Got instructions to turn my mic off when I'm singing.

[15:32] Bodies are frail. Sometimes I've come up here with a walker. You know, we'll have glorified bodies. 1 Corinthians 15.51-54 says, Listen, I tell you a mystery.

[15:46] We're not all asleep, but we'll all be changed in the flash, in the twinkling of an eye, of the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

[15:59] For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable is clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with the immortality, then the saying that is written will become true.

[16:12] Death has been swallowed up in victory. Death has been swallowed up in victory. We sing songs about blood. I checked on the internet and wanted to see how many.

[16:25] I could count it. 38 Christian songs that mention blood into the title of the first line. And there are others that mention it later on as well. Why? Because the blood of Christ paid for our justification.

[16:40] In it, because of the blood and faith in his blood, we are declared righteous. Our sins are taken away. The blood of Christ provides for our sanctification. It is a process by which you are made holy.

[16:53] More like Jesus each and every day of our lives. The blood of Christ promises our justification. Promises our glorification. We will be made like him. Because Christ is what it's all about.

[17:07] The blood of Christ is something we're singing about. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blood that Jesus Christ willingly shed for us. The blood that will never lose its power.

[17:19] The blood that gives us strength from day to day. Nothing but the blood of Christ can wash away our sins. Nothing but the blood of Christ can make us whole again. Thank you for the blood.

[17:31] And help us to be holy as we confess Christ and his blood shed for us. In his name we pray. Amen.