Today, we will observe the Lord's
Supper. We will, by God's grace, remember
Him. That'll take God's grace. God
help us to do exactly that. That's the reason our Lord gave
us this ordinance, that we might remember Him by it. God help
us to do so, and not just go through the motions. I know that
I will. Even as I read the scriptures
and lead you, In the observance of the Lord's table, my mind
will go in a thousand different directions unless God, by His
grace, enables me to truly remember His Son. There's nothing else
worth remembering. There's nothing else to do me
more good than to remember Him. Mr. Spurgeon wrote a communion
hymn that included these lines. It said, what food luxurious
loads the board, when at His table sets the Lord. The cup,
how rich, the bread, how sweet, when Jesus deigns the guest to
meet. If now with eyes defiled and
dim, we see the signs, but see not him. Just go through the
motions. Oh, may his love the scales displace,
and bid us view him face to face. Here's the subject for the message,
the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Would you turn
with me to 1 Peter 1. We'll read a few verses. about
four verses in 1 Peter chapter 1. The precious blood of Jesus
Christ. 1 Peter 1 verse 18. For as much as you know that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but But, what was the price of redemption? What got the job
done? What brings a sinner to God in
a way of acceptance? Acceptance forever. In a way
of justification. In the way of pardon. What does
that? What can do such a great and
mighty work as that? Look at God. Consider Him. High,
holy, lifted up. requires perfection. Not our
best, but perfection. Then look at the sinner, look
at me. Altogether sin, oh wretched man that I am, I have to say
in all honesty with the Apostle Paul, what hope can I have? Right there it is in our text,
verse 19. But, but, thank God for that. But, with the precious blood
of Jesus Christ, of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and
without spot, it must be perfect to be accepted. He was, who barely
was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest
in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God,
that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your
faith and hope might be in God. We'll consider just two things,
just two things. First, whose blood it is, whose
blood it was, And then the second thing, in light of that, what
that blood must do, what it must accomplish. First of all, whose
blood is it? We just read that, didn't we?
In our text, verse 19, the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Peter
uses that word precious a lot in his epistle. For example,
in chapter 2, he tells us Christ is precious. Three times he tells
us Christ is precious in himself. He is precious. The word is preciousness. He's precious to his people,
to you who believe he is precious. But most importantly, he's precious
to God. To whom coming, verse 4 of verse
Peter 2, to whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed, set
aside, we won't have this man rule over us. Disallowed indeed
of men, but, another blessed interjection of God's grace and
providence, but, Chosen of God, let men do what they will, let
men say what they will, let men think what they will, the Son
of God is precious to God himself. Chosen of God and precious. How
precious is Jesus Christ of God Almighty, God the Father? Well,
God could never justify a sinner without Jesus Christ. How can
a man be just with God? God cannot, will not. Impossible
for God to justify a sinner without Jesus Christ. It is Christ offering
himself to God that enables God to be just when he justifies
a sinner. This is what Paul wrote in Romans
chapter 3. Romans 3 verse 21. But now, but now, the righteousness
of God without the law is manifested. being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith
of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe, for
there is no difference. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, being justified freely, freely without
price, without money and without price from us, but being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption, that's the grounds,
that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation,
a mercy seed, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God. To declare, I say, at this time
his righteousness, that he, that is God, might be just, and the
justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. As Brother Scott used
to say so many times, I've heard him say it, perhaps you have
too, God must do something for himself before he does anything
for the sinner. God must be satisfied himself
first, and that's exactly what Jesus Christ did. And because
of that, the forgiveness of the sins of a sinner is as much a
matter of justice as it is of mercy. Yes, God was merciful. Oh, the mercy! the mercy and
grace that gulfed that great span between the sinner and God.
But more than that, God must be just when he justifies a sinner. When he forgives anyone of their
sins, he must do so on righteous grounds. And that's exactly what
the Lord Jesus Christ enabled God to do. Look, if you will,
in Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. This is what
the writer tells us. Hebrews 10, verse 4. We read
there in our reading, Earlier, in John 18, Jesus, knowing all
things that should come upon him, went forth. Oh, my soul,
he's altogether lovely, isn't he? He goes forth, the spotless
Lamb of God. He goes forth, doing always those
things that please the Father. And he says that an angry mob,
just as he said to the justice of God, here I am. God says,
Awake, O sword, awake, O sword, against the man who is my fellow. Smite the sheep, oh no, no, no,
let the sheep go free. Smite the shepherd, oh yes, knowing
everything he went forth. Hebrews 10 verse 4, it is not
possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore, when he cometh into
the world, behold, I come. He said, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. And burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come, and
the volume of the book is written of me, to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice
and offering, and burnt offerings, and offering for sin, thou wouldest
not, neither had pleasure therein, which are offered by the law,
Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
the first, that he might establish the second. By the which will
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. Jesus Christ did not offer himself
to you and I. It was on our behalf that he
offered himself to God. Atonement wasn't made to please
you and I. It was made to please God, to
satisfy a holy God. Again from Hebrews chapter 9,
verse 13. For if the blood of bulls and
goats, and of ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctify
it to the purifying of the flesh, how much more? How much more
shall the blood of Christ? We just sang it, didn't we? We
answered that question partly in that hymn. We just sang, how
much more? What can wash away my sin? Nothing. nothing but the blood
of Jesus Christ. 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? And now, now, on those righteous
grounds, God in perfect justice declares this, when I see the
blood, that satisfies me. That pleases me. That's sufficient
for me. When I see the blood, oh, then
I will pass over you. Not just when I see blood. Oh,
no, no. He said, when I see the blood,
that lamb, every sacrifice, morning and evening, every year on the
Day of Atonement, God Almighty looked upon that sacrifice as
a type, as a picture of His Son. His Son. He saw His Son and the
blood that His Son would shed on behalf of His people. Not
all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain could give the guilty
conscience peace or wash away the stain. Never happened. Never happened. Oh, but Christ. Oh, but Christ. The heavenly
Lamb takes all our sins away. The high priest would put his
hand over the head of that scapegoat and pronounce the sins of Israel
symbolically upon the head of that lamb, and then it would
be taken out to the wilderness and let go, never to be seen
again. Oh, the bliss of this glorious
thought. My sins not in part, but the
whole are nailed to his cross. They're gone. They're gone. They
can't be found. God said in Jeremiah in that
day, the sins of Israel shall be looked for, and they shall
not be found. But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,
takes all our sins away, a sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood
than death, the blood of His Son, the spotless Lamb of God. That's what God looks to, because
that is the only thing that satisfies His righteous judgment. There
is an infinite merit in His offering, in His blood, in His sacrifice,
that satisfies God's infinite justice. And looking up on that
sinless sacrifice, God says to everyone for whom Christ died,
not everybody, not the whole world. Oh, no, no. He said, I
laid down my life not for the world. He wouldn't even pray
for the world. I don't pray for the world. He
prayed for those that he was about to lay down his life for,
the same people. He doesn't pray for one group
and then die for another. Oh, no, no, no. prayed for the
same people, interceded for the same people that he offered sacrifice
for. And that's exactly what our high
priest did. And now God, in light of that
sinless sacrifice, God says to everyone for whom Christ was
the substitute, because of my son, because of what he did,
I now pass over you. Oh, don't you like that? In Acts
chapter 20 verse 28, this is what Paul said to those Athesian
elders. Take heed therefore unto yourselves,
and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you
overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased
with his own blood. With his own blood. Christ loved
the church from eternity. and gave himself for it. And
now God says, when I see the blood, the blood, the blood of
my dear son, the blood of the spotless lamb, then I will pass
over you. God's eye rests on the blood
of that substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. I love the hymn
we just sang, don't you? Oh, what can wash away my sin? What can do it? Billy, what can
do it? David cried out, oh, my sin is
every before me. Lord, wash me, wash me thoroughly
and I'll be clean. Return unto me the joy of my
salvation. But what can do that? What can
accomplish that? What can wash away my sin? Nothing. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope, all my peace. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness. Nothing. but the blood of Jesus.
You remember the night, the night our Lord instituted the Lord's
Supper? We read of it in Matthew 26, verse 27. He, Christ, took
the cup, and he gave thanks, and then he gave it to them and
said, Drink ye all of it, all of you drink from it, for this
is my blood of the New Testament, the new covenant, which is shed
for many, not everybody, but for many, for this purpose, for
this reason, for the remission of sins. This is the seal of
the New Testament, that everlasting covenant that God the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit entered into before the world began,
concerning the salvation of all his chosen people. And in that
covenant, God laid down the stipulations, what he required for the salvation
of his people, and the Son, the Son stood forth and said, Father,
here am I, send me. I'll go, in the fullness of time,
I'll go and do everything you require. When he cometh into
the world, he said, Father, I come to do thy will, oh my God. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his son. Oh, see him once again as
he comes forth. All together lovely, that land
without spot or blemish, and said, here am I, take me. God
sent forth his son. made of a woman, made under the
law. To redeem them that were under
the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. The writer
in Hebrews in the last chapter speaks of that everlasting covenant
of God's grace. In verse 20 of Hebrews 13, now
the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep. Don't you like
that? That great shepherd of the sheep. Who's responsible
for the sheep? The great shepherd. Who provides
for the sheep? The great shepherd. Who supplies
all the needs of the sheep? The shepherd. Who protects the
sheep? The shepherd. Whose hands are
the sheep in? The shepherd. He keeps them.
Oh, no wonder David said, the Lord's my shepherd. The Lord's
my shepherd. Well, so what, David? Well, the
Lord, my shepherd, I shall not want. The word is lack. I shall
not lack anything. Shall I lack righteousness that
God commands? Shall I lack sanctification?
Shall I lack wisdom? Shall I lack redemption? No,
with Jesus Christ as my shepherd, I shall not lack anything that
God Almighty requires. Now, the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd
of the sheep, Through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
that's what sealed the covenant. That's what ratified the covenant. Make you perfect in every good
work to do His will, working in you, that which is well-pleasing
in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen. Oh yes, precious is the
flow that makes me white as snow. You're looking at a sinner that
in the sight of God Almighty is white as snow. The blood of
Jesus Christ is so thoroughly and completely put away the sins
of his people that they stand before God just like the Son
himself, without a spot or a blemish or any such thing. Doesn't that
give you more comfort and hope in your works? Your faithfulness? Oh, when I see the blood, I will
pass over you. As the death of Christ was the
subject of the Old Testament and the types and the prophecies,
it's the theme. It's the theme of the New Testament
as well. There's no redemption, no remission of sin, but by the
Son of God pouring out His life's blood as an atoning sacrifice
for sin. Redemption in the remissions
of sin is not accomplished by the life of Christ. Oh, no, no,
not by the life of Christ. Not by the example of Christ,
not by the sinner's repentance toward Christ, or faith in Christ,
or obedience to Christ. Christ must die before God can
justify a sinner. For he that is God. This is what
we remember today. Not what he attempted to do.
Not what he tried to do. Or right before he went to the
garden. Not many days before, he said, all things that are
written in the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall what? Shall
be accomplished. I'm going to get the job done.
I'm going to fulfill everything God the Father put into my hands
to do. If God made his son to be sin
for me, then I must be. If Jesus Christ was my substitute,
then I must go free. If God made him to be sin for
me, then I must be, unless God ceases to be righteous. Unless
God Almighty ceases to be just, then I must be made the righteousness
of God in him. And that's exactly what Paul
wrote, didn't he? For God had made him to be sin
for us. Sin for us. who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness, the very righteousness of God
in him. Jesus answered him, saying, The
hour is come that the Son of Man shall be glorified. Verily
I say unto you, Except the corn of wheat fall into the ground
and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, what does it bring
forth? What's the fruit of it? What's
the result of that? It bringeth forth much fruit. John saw the evidence of that,
didn't he? John saw the proof of that when he was caught up
to heaven and he saw a multitude that no man could number. Oh,
John saw the fruit of the death of the Son of God, it bringeth
forth much fruit. Folks say that the teaching that
the death of Christ, if you teach anything other than it was for
everybody, If it was for the whole world, in other words,
that it was universal in its intent, that alone glorifies
God. That is, that He died for all
men. Well, I ask you, I ask you, if
Christ died for all men, are all men saved? Are all men saved? If Christ after all, and all
are not with Him in glory, where is the good of His dying for
them? What difference does His death make? If He shed His blood
as much for Judas as He did for Peter, then what's it worth? Oh, universal atonement, so called,
does the very opposite of glorifying God. It robs God of His glory. It represents the Son of God
as a failure. If one for whom Christ died perishes
after all, What hope does any sinner have? Billy, if Christ
died for Judas and Judas went to hell and Christ said he went
to hell, Then what hope do I have, huh? If the same sacrifice didn't
avail for Judas, it won't avail for me. Oh, no, no. The Son of
God, the spotless name of God, our glorious substitute, when
He raised His head on that cross after enduring the travail of
His soul, after passing through that darkness, after being made
sin, He said, it is finished. Glory to His name. It's done.
It's done. The great transaction's done. In reality, the teaching of our
universal redemption does the very opposite of glorifying God. It makes God's wisdom and power
to mean nothing. Oh, the death of Christ, it makes
it to be useless, but that cannot be so. That cannot be so. God, 700 years before this, before
he sent his son into this world, said this concerning his son. He shall not fail. That pretty well wraps it up,
doesn't it? He shall not fail. Bless God,
he did not fail. Jesus Christ did not make redemption
possible, he redeemed his people. He didn't try to atone for their
sins, he atoned for their sins. God cannot forgive sin without
satisfaction to his justice. And God cannot punish sin again
once satisfaction has been made. He won't demand it twice. Will
the righteous judge of men condemn me for that debt of sin which
God, which Lord was charged to thee? Of course not, of course
not. Complete atonement thou hast
made. Oh, may God allow us to remember that. Oh, and we take
the bread representing his body. and drink this wine representing
his shed blood, may we remember this, complete atonement thou
hast made and to the utmost farthing paid whatever thy people owe. How then can wrath on me take
place if sheltered in his righteousness and sprinkled with his blood? If we confess our sins, John
wrote, God is faithful. Faithful to his son, faithful
to his word, faithful to his purpose. and just, to forgive
us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,
and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin. If thou hast my discharge procured,
and freely in my room endured the whole of wrath divine, payment
God cannot twice demand, first at my bleeding surety's hand,
and then again at mine. Again, hundreds of years before
Christ came, Isaiah told of his sufferings in Isaiah chapter
53. But he also told about the certain
outcome, the fruit of those sufferings. They weren't for anything. Isaiah
53 verse 3, he is despised. He's talking about the Son of
God. Isaiah 53 and 3, it's almost like Isaiah was standing at the
cross, isn't it? He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it
were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. Surely he had borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray. We have turned every one to his
own way, and the Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is done,
so openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he
was cut off out of the land of the living. With the transgression
of my people was he stricken." Now again, I ask you, what was
the outcome of all that? Was it for a perchance? Was it
for a maybe? Was it for a mere possibility?
Oh, no. The prophet went on to say this,
"'Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, to crush him. He
hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, He shall see his seed. Don't you like these shalls?
He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of to
develop his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall
my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquity. How in the name of even common
sense could we read that Jesus Christ could ever be satisfied
and he looked down from the throne of his grace and saw one for
whom he suffered and died in hell. How could he be satisfied?
The answer is he could never be. His death didn't make possible
the salvation of his people. His death guarantees the salvation
of his people. His blood is too precious not
to accomplish exactly what it was intended to do. Again, oh,
how precious is the blood that makes this sinner white as snow. No other fount I know Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. Now here's the second question.
We considered whose blood it was. What did the blood of Christ
do? What did it accomplish? And we've
already mentioned, and it will be brief, Romans chapter 5 verse
1. It accomplished this. It did
this. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. Wow. Wow, peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 9 of Romans 5, much more
than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through him. I remember Henry Mahan telling
this story somewhere one time where he was preaching and I
was there. And he talked about in the olden days, olden times
before the car and so forth, when people traveled by covered
wagon, horse and covered wagon. And there was a caravan of covered
wagons crossing a prairie, and they saw in the distance a fire,
a terrible fire, those prairie fires that just came and just
swept everything before them. And they mean quickly, themselves,
as they gathered the people together in the wagons, they themselves
deliberately started the fire. And then they gathered all the
people, the wagons and the horses, and they stood on that burnt
grass. There was a young boy standing with his father, holding
his hand tightly, and he was just terrified. He said, Father,
as he saw the flame approaching, Father, are we going to die?
Are we going to die? And his father calmly said, no,
son, we're safe. We're not going to die, because
we're already standing on burnt grass. We're standing on burnt
grass. Child of God and the person of
God's son, we're standing on burnt grass. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? We're standing on burnt grass.
It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. There is therefore no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus. Here's another thing. Not only
does His death guarantee our justification and gives us justification,
In Ephesians 1 and 7 we read these words, In whom we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of his grace, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ,
even as the Son of Man, he said, came not to be ministered to,
but to minister and to give his life a ransom again, for who? For many. for many. Now God,
in light of that, in perfect justice can do this. Then he
is gracious unto them and says, deliver his soul from going down
to the pit. I found a ransom, a ransom that
satisfies, a ransom that's enough, it's sufficient. Let me conclude
just by reading a few verses and pray that God will be pleased
to bless into our hearts. We're going to remember the triumphs
of our glorious Redeemer, the triumphs of our great God and
King. We remember his victory, Hebrews
1, who, that is Christ, who being the brightness of God's glory,
and the express image of his person, and upholding all things
by the word of his power, when he had by himself, glory to his
name, what a Savior, when he had by himself purged our sins,
sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. But Christ,
being come a 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, neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained, past tense, eternal redemption for
us. And they sing 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. Arise,
my soul, arise. Shake off thy guilty fears. The
bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears. Before the throne my
surety stands, my name is written on his hands. He ever lives above
for me to intercede his all-redeeming love his precious blood to plead,
his blood atoned for all his race, and sprinkles now the throne
of grace. Five bleeding wounds he bears,
received on Calvary, they pour effectual prayers, they strongly
plead for me. Forgive him, O forgive, they
cry, nor let that ransomed sinner die. But now thus saith the Lord
that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
fear not, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called
thee by thy name. Thou art mine. I am his, and he is mine. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention. Amen.