By Evangelist S. Lee Homoki
“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).
The Apostle Paul is introducing a contrast between those who are “afar off” and those who are “near.” The most terrible place in the entire world is to be “afar off” where you are “without Christ,” “without hope,” and “without God” in this world (vs.12)!
Now, the good news is that those who are “in Christ” are made “nigh”; that is the most comfortable, peaceful place in the entire world to be. You cannot get any closer to God than “In Christ.”
Now, how is this possible? The answer is, “by the blood of Christ.” There is no greater truth in the entire Bible. It is the foundational doctrine in all the Word of God. If you take away the blood, the foundation is gone and the house crumbles. Thankfully, the song writer has captured the reality and worth of the blood of Christ saying, “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners plunge beneath that blood and lose all their guilty stains.” You ask, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!” Without the doctrine of the Blood, the Bible is a sealed book.
Now I want to give you five Bible facts about the blood. Let me show you something of the worth and the value that God places upon the blood of Christ.
(1) No Covenant between Holy God and sinful man has ever been made apart from the shedding of blood.
When Adam and Eve sinned, God had said, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:16); they ate and they died spiritually. How are they restored? God clothed them with the skin of the dead animal; you see, Holy God and sinful man were brought together on the basis of the shed blood.
God made a covenant with Abram on the basis of shed blood. He told Abram, “Take me a heifer; a she goat; a ram; a turtledove; and a young pigeon.” Abram then killed and “divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another.” God put Abram to sleep and God, in the likeness of a “smoking furnace, and a burning lamp” passed between those pieces, walking through the blood (Gen.15:9-17). All of the work, all of the effort, all of the labor in providing this promise had nothing to do with Abram’s work or worth but was God’s doing, but all by the shed blood.
Moses sprinkled the blood of the old covenant. He sprinkled the blood “on the people and on the book and on the mercy seat” thus, ratifying the covenant by the shedding of blood (Lev. 9:18; 16:15; Heb. 9:7-17).
The Lord Jesus said, “This is my blood – the blood of the New Testament” (Mt. 27:28; Mk. 14:24; Lk. 22:20). And what is the New Covenant? It is that covenant made by the Lord Jesus Christ with the promise that sinful fallen man could, once and for all, be brought into relationship with God; not by the blood of bulls and goats which could never take away sin but only by the blood of Christ (Heb. 10:4).
(2) No forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22). It is a sad fact that most people don’t know that. Many will sit in a place similar to where we sit today and never once ever be told that they are saved, forgiven, made a child of God and are on their way to Heaven on the basis of the blood! How many will walk out of church doors this week believing that salvation is simply the work of their hands? How many will believe that it is simply by following some religious ritual or depending upon their own righteousness? NO, my dear friend, that is not what the Bible teaches. Salvation is attainable only by faith in the blood! The blood of Christ is God’s only provision for salvation (Titus 3:5).
(3) No redemption except by the shedding of blood. The Apostle Peter said redemption from sin’s penalty was, “Not by silver or gold or any such corruptible thing.” Those things pass away and could never buy our salvation but, rather, we were purchased, redeemed from the slave market of sin’s penalty, power and poverty by the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
(4) “Christ shed His blood once for all” (Heb.10:10). In the Old Testament, sinners were dependent upon the blood of bulls and goats to save them. This sacrifice had to be made at least once a year, but it could only temporarily cover sin. But now, “How much more shall the blood of Christ who, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God to purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb. 9:14). Christ, “by His own blood entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”(Heb. 9:12). How many times? “But now, once in the end of the age hath Christ appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26). He was “once offered to bear the sins of many”(Heb. 9:28). It is by this, once for all sacrifice that we are sanctified (made holy) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ” (Heb. 10:10). Sinful men are made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. “Once for all” the song writer said, “Once for all! Oh sinner, receive it! Once for all! Oh brother, believe it!” Once, and only Once! Do you know what that means? It means that there is no need for a veil or barriers between Holy God and sinful man! There is no need for a Pope or a Priest or a prophet! There is no need for the intermediary work of a preacher! No! No! “Once for all” the Veil of the Temple was rent. Believers now have a “new and living way” into the Throne Room of God, made possible by the blood of Christ (Heb.10:20)!
Warning! For the sake of your ever-living soul, NEVER sit under the ministry of any preacher, any missionary, any evangelist, any Sunday School teacher, any deacon, anybody who doesn’t make much of the blood of Jesus Christ because, without faith in the soul-cleansing blood of Christ, there is no eternal life; no victory over Satan; no cleansing from sin; no defense; no covering; no mercy; no Heaven but only Hell.
(5) Man’s greatest blunder is to “despise” the blood of Christ (Heb. 10:27-29). The word “despise” means to look down upon or to insult. We have all made some terrible mistakes in life, but no mistake is as disastrous as when a person despises the value or worth of the blood of Christ.
The judgment of God for rejecting the Law of Moses (which was ratified by the blood of bulls and goats), when compared with God’s judgment upon the person who considers the blood of Christ of no value is far greater. For this insult, there is “a judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:27). Make no mistake about it; there will be a “payday someday!”
If a person ever comes to that point in their life where the Holy Spirit speaks in a still small voice and points His finger of conviction at you and says, “Sinner, the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin; that’s the truth. You see, Christ died and rose again for you. His blood was shed for your redemption. Oh, believe it! Believe it!” And if, in childlike faith, the sinner believes that Christ paid the ransom, he is eternally saved! However, when the sinner says, “No, no, that’s not for me,” thus, setting aside or rejecting the truth – insulting the information that God the Holy Spirit gave him concerning the worth and value of the blood and the promise of salvation, he is eternally lost!
Dear friend, there are many coming to join the church before they have come to the Cross. No preacher, Sunday School teacher; or deacon has any Biblical authorization to invite a sinner to join the church unless he has first invited the sinner to the Cross where the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin.