Ephesians chapter two. Question I would ask us is what makes a sinner, what makes a leper, what makes the most unclean, clean? What makes a sinner saved? What makes that which is unclean, clean? That which is broken, made whole? What makes a sinner accepted in the beloved? The answer is very simple, the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. What makes the dirtiest, most vile, wretched creature? That's what we are by nature. Wider than snow, it's the blood of Christ. That's our subject this hour. I've titled the message Made Nigh, Made Nigh.

Let's read our text, Ephesians chapter two, verse 11 through 18. The reason we're reading 11 through 18, we won't cover all of it, but it's a complete thought. So we'll probably be back there next Sunday as well.

11 through 18, wherefore remember that you being in times past Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcised by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands. That at that time you were without Christ being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenant 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 for he is our peace. who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity even the law of commandments contained in the ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. and came and preached peace to you which were far off and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one spirit unto the Father.

Made nigh by the blood of Christ, verse 13. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who are sometimes far off, he called us strangers, he called us aliens, but now in Christ Jesus, ye who are sometimes far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

In the Old Testament, The high priest entered into the holiest of holies one time per year to make an offering unto the Lord for the sin of the people. He had to make an offering for his own sin first, because if he didn't, God would kill him. It was called the holiest of holies. It was the presence of the Lord. It was where the mercy seat was. It's where God said, here's where I'll meet with you. This is where you can worship me. And you can only worship me with blood.

God's always demanded blood for the remission of sin. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God slew a lamb. God slew a lamb and covered them. What did Abel bring into the Lord for sacrifice? It was the blood of the lamb, wasn't it? And was God pleased with that? Absolutely. To Abel, God had respect both to Abel and Abel's sacrifice. But into Cain and Cain's sacrifice, he did not have respect because Cain's sacrifice was the works of his hands. The blood is required for the remission of sins, as scripture says. Without the shedding of it, there is no remission. The blood is what has made us nigh, allowed us to enter into the holiest of holies. We are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Now, I want to first notice our state. If you look, we have a fourfold depravity right here, a fourfold depravity. First of all, we are aliens to the promise. We are dead in trespasses and sin, having no hope, and without God in the world. That's a fourfold depravity. I've never seen that before until I was studying this, but four different ways that we can't fix. We are aliens to the promise, meaning we're outcasts to the Commonwealth of Israel. We are dead in trespasses and sin, having no hope, and without God in the world. What a terrible place and condition to be in by nature.

When Adam messed it up, he really messed it up, didn't he? I think that's the whole point. Of course, we know it was for the purpose and glory of God, but we didn't just fall down a little bit. We fell all the way to the bottom. We fell to the depths of the bottom. We fell into darkness and despair and decay. We became utterly, completely, totally depraved sinners because of what Adam did in the garden.

Think about this, how sad it would be to be lost and not even know it. Because a lot of people, they don't believe they're lost, but they're lost. A lot of people believe they have peace with God based upon something that they have done, but they have no peace with God. The Lord says, I'm going to disannul your covenant. You made a covenant with death. I'm going to disannul it. Think about being cursed. Think about being cursed, the thing that we are. We're cursed under the law, but yet thinking that we're blessed. We're blessed. Think about being dead, but yet believing that we're alive because of something that we do or something that we have accomplished. Left in this state, it is certain doom. We will face certain doom. There's no doubt about that, but look in verse 13. But now, in Christ Jesus, Ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. If you can break down the gospel to the most simplest form, it would be this, and you could do it several different ways, but one way in particular would be it's by the blood alone. Can't add one thing to it. Can't take away one thing from it. It's by the blood alone.

Now, I understand the Lord's soul had to be made an offering for sin. I understand how the imputation of the Lord becoming sin for us, we becoming righteousness by him is necessary to preach the gospel. I'm not saying that, but I'm saying it's by the blood alone that God was satisfied. Without the shedding of blood, you and I would still have sin. Without the shedding of blood, you and I would still be found guilty before the law of God.

I understand something about sin. I've said this recently, but sin is not what we do. Men preach that you can have a better moral life and you're not sinning as much, you're cleaning up your life. I know somebody, it was a family member of mine, they passed away, made this statement, I haven't sinned in three months. And I've said that from this pulpit before. That's a true story. What a sad condition to think that I'm alive but actually dead. Because that's exactly, she was dead. But no, it has to be the blood alone. Not what I do. Not what I haven't done.

Is anybody else, is anybody getting better? No, we're not getting better, we're getting worse. And that's the point. Paul said, oh, wretched man that I am, not wretched man that I was. We continue to get worse and worse to reveal one thing. It's the blood alone. Thank God he's made his people nigh unto God by the blood. What does that word nigh mean? Well, that's a very important word. It means close by or near, near unto. To approach God in a sinful condition is certain death. To approach Mount Sinai, the scripture says they would die. Don't let the animals touch it. Don't come near it, because if you do, you will die. Why? Because God is holy, and His holiness demands justice for sin. So the moment sin is in His presence, it has to be dealt with with the full wrath of God.

You say, well, I'm not really that bad. I'm talking about one sin. Talking about one sin. If we think we're not bad, then we really don't know how bad we really are. The Lord has to give repentance for us to even understand that we are as bad as He says we are. One sin. I'll destroy you, you can't have one sin. Thank God he made us nigh, where now we can touch the one that can touch the mountain and not be destroyed, and touch us and make us clean, and not be defiled. Isn't that glorious? He gives repentance and faith to see that he's God, I'm not, and this is all freely by his grace.

The three questions I have this morning are this. Why did Christ shed his blood? For whom did he shed it? For whom did he shed his blood? And the third one is what did the blood of Christ accomplish? If we answer those three things, we'll find out how and why we are made nigh by the blood.

First is why did Christ shed his blood? Why did the sinless Lamb of God, the fullness of the Godhead bodily, The king of kings and Lord of lords, why did he have to die? Why did he have to shed his blood? The scripture tells us in Romans 6.23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That's an umbrella for every single human being that's ever lived on the face of this earth, except the Lord Jesus Christ, who was both God and man. He's the only one that doesn't qualify as being all have sinned. But everybody else, the lineage of Adam, when Adam sinned, we were in his loins and therefore we died in Adam. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Well, what's the wages of sin? Death. Death is demanded by God for any sinner that comes to him, bringing their own righteousness, bringing their own goodness. But if a sinner comes to him looking to the righteousness of Christ alone, that means he's actually not a sinner. The Lord's done a work and Lord gets all the glory. Now we can't see that work, but the Lord sees it that way. There's nothing you and I can do to change or fix the fact that we were born sinners. And there's nothing that you and I can do to change the fact that the wages of sin is death and God will not acquit the guilty. Do we know what that means? That means the judge is not gonna say guilty, but you're free to go. It's not gonna happen. That would be an unjust judge in our day and time that's unheard of doing that. What makes us think the God of this universe would do that? He's sovereign and holy. He wouldn't do that either, would he?

Well, what's the solution? Well, scripture says, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. Hebrews chapter nine, verse 22. Christ had to shed his blood in order for our sin to be put away. If he did not shed his blood, then the sin of his people would remain, would remain. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. The only way our sin can be remitted is by him shedding his blood.

The problem with us is that a lifetime of sacrifice is not going to change one sin. lifetime of service, a lifetime of kindness to others, a lifetime of giving, a lifetime of doing, a lifetime of working. It's not going to change one sin. And if we're doing that for righteousness, then the Lord calls it iniquity. So really we're just adding to the death penalty. That's all we're doing. We're making it the list longer and longer.

Keeping the law, good deeds, being kind to others doesn't take away sin. Christ's blood, and I want to say this loud and clear, as simple as I can, Christ's blood is the only remedy for sin. The only one ever given. The only one that will ever be given.

Somebody said, what about all those Old Testament sacrifices? Well, they didn't remit sin. It was a, they were saved looking towards the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how the Lord allowed them to worship. And their sin was covered for a year, but they had to sacrifice every single year because they could not put away sin. It took a perfect sacrifice. And that's who the Lord Jesus Christ was and is, is perfect.

The blood of Christ is the only remedy for sin. It's the only solution for sin. It's the only thing that remits sin. It's the only thing that made sin disappear forever, made it go away. It's the only substance that can do that, and it's the only substance that ever will. Anything else, offering anything else to God is an abomination, and it's not because it takes the place of the blood. It takes the place of the death of his son, the Passover lamb.

That was a picture, the Passover lamb. You remember whenever the Lord told the children of Israel, I'm going to pass by this evening and I'm going to smite the firstborn, take a lamb and kill it and put its blood upon the doorpost and the lintel. And when I see the blood, I'll pass by you. It wasn't the good works that they were doing. It wasn't the good deeds that they were doing. It wasn't even their obedience. It was the blood that he was looking for one thing.

When you and I stand before the flaming eyes of God, he's going to be looking for one thing. the blood of Christ being applied to our heart. The Lord's the one that has to do that, and He only does that for His chosen people. And what did He say? When I see the blood, you know what He's gonna say? Enter thou in, thou good and faithful servant. That's what He's gonna say to His people.

Christ had to shed His blood because of a covenant. A covenant was made, a covenant unto death, whereby a transaction had to take place that we might be redeemed. Otherwise we would not be redeemed. Christ had to take our sin and give us his righteousness because you and I couldn't take his righteousness and we couldn't give him our sin. Isn't that right? I couldn't have gave him my sin if I wanted to. Here, take it. How are you going to do that? It doesn't make any sense. But he took it into himself, took it into himself, burying his own body on the tree, the scripture says.

I quote this often, but the scripture says, God hath made him to be sin for us who do no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Why do I quote that so often? Because that's my only hope, that I was made the very righteousness of God. Why? Because the Holy God that I'm talking about that requires the blood of Christ demands righteousness or justice will be executed. And the glorious news of the gospel is that the blood of Christ accomplished just that, accomplished just that.

Why did he have to die? Well, because it was a covenant. But furthermore, we were aliens at the time, aliens to that covenant. The covenant was given to the Jew. And just to break it down as simple as I can, if you're not a Jew, you're a Gentile. It's that simple. Unless you're born a Jew, you're a Gentile. And so the Jews believe, and some people today still believe that that's God's chosen people over there. That's not true. The promise was for the Messiah. That was the physical promise of the Messiah, but that had spiritual ramifications. This was a spiritual promise of salvation. That's what that was all about. That's why it says they are not all of Abraham that are of Abraham. It was Abraham's spiritual seed, the faith that the Lord give him. He's going to give that to every single one of his elect. And that's how we were grafted in, the scripture tells us, because he came to his own, the Lord did, the Lord received him not.

Why didn't they receive him? They couldn't, they couldn't, they weren't his sheep. But to as many as did receive him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. Why did he have to shed his blood? Because we're fourfold depraved. We were aliens from the promise. The covenant to Abraham was for the Messiah, the promise was I'll make you a great and mighty nation. That your seed will be as the stars of the heaven, the sands of the sea. But he's talking about a spiritual people. He's talking about the church. He's talking about the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the only way that you and I could be part of that, the only way that we could be redeemed back to God is by the blood of Christ. This is why he had to shed his blood. This is why he had to shed his blood.

Why did Christ have to shed his blood? Because we're born sinners and we can't fix it. We're born sinners and we can't fix it, all we can do is make it worse.

Second question is, for whom did Christ shed his blood? I think I've already made that abundantly clear, but we're gonna continue talking about it. It's so important to be as clear and plain as you can, because in most churches it's said that Jesus died for everyone, and that's not true. It's not true.

Turn with me to John chapter 6 verse 35. John 635 says, And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believed not. All that the Father giveth me, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I am come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the father's will. This is it. This is the father's will, which has sent me that of all, which he has given me. I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

What does he mean, giveth, giveth to him? All that the Father giveth me. That's the covenant of grace. That was the election of God. God chose someone to salvation, gave them to the Son to redeem. This is God's purpose salvation. They're called the elect of God.

Turn over to Romans chapter nine. Look at verse six. Not as though the word of God had taken none effect for you. They are not all Israel, which are Israel. That's what we were talking about a while ago, wasn't it? That's why I was like, why, why did I back up that far? Because that verse, that's exactly why. That is, they which are children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. This is everything we were just talking about. Everything we were just talking about. It's the children of promise, not the children of the flesh. And this is the word of promise, at this time when I come and Sarah shall have a son, and not only this, but when Rebecca also hath conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the children, being not yet born, neither having done any good, or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated."

You telling me before those kids were even born doing any bad or good, either one of the Lord said, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated? Yes, that's exactly what he's saying. How could he love one and hate the other? God hates all workers of iniquity. As creatures of dust and creatures of sin, he hates sinners. But the sin that we are, he hates it. It can't be in his sight. So how could he love Jacob? Because he took away that sin. How did he do that? By his own blood. That's the whole point here.

Verse 14, what shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Somebody might say that's unfair. But is unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will, he hardeneth.

This is the electing grace of God. Some people don't like this, and let me tell you why. Because it takes them out of the equation completely. It puts salvation where it actually is, in the hands of God. Men hate that. You're saying, I don't have a choice. Salvation is a choice. It's just not mine or yours. It's God's choice. God will choose to save whom he will when he wants to. He's God.

The mindset that men have is that they have power over God to obligate him or to make him do something. And it's not true. We can't constrain or restrain him. We can't do anything to get away, take away one sin that we have. This is the Lord. It's not based upon, that's something else to be said because this election I'm talking about, it's not based upon us, what we do, what we don't do. It's not based upon my choices or my actions or my decisions, not my prayer, but the power, choice, and purpose of God alone. For those who say that's unfair, look at verse 19. Thou will say then, Unto me, why doth he yet find fault for who hath resisted his will? And I like this answer, Nay, but, O man, who are you to reply against God? Who are you? Who are you? Who art thou that replyest against God? Shall the thing formed say to that which formed it, why hast thou made me dust? Hath not potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel into honor and another to dishonor?

What if God willing to show his wrath and to make his power known endured much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. As he said in Osi, I will call them my people, which are not my people, and her beloved, which was not my beloved. Except the Lord chooses. And I like how it says a four ordained. That's what he does. He purposed all this before the foundation of the world. That's the good news of the gospel. He chose in. He chose us in Christ before time ever began.

So the question that I'm asking right now is who did Christ die for? We're answering it. His elect, his chosen people, chosen unto salvation, predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son, chosen to be saved from their sin. How did he do that? By his own blood, by his own blood alone. Somebody might ask the question, well, how could a loving God send people to hell? Well, first of all, First of all, his love is very conditional. Very conditional. Somebody says God has unconditional love. No, he doesn't. God's love is conditional based upon the Lord Jesus Christ. If I'm not in Christ, he doesn't love me. If you're not in Christ, he doesn't love you. I have to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ in order for me to be loved of God. Otherwise, I'm the enmity. I'm enmity against God. I'm the enemy of God. His love is conditional based upon the blood of Christ. If it washed you, he loves you. He loved you before in eternity past, that's the good news, he's always loved you.

But understand something, men say, well, it's not fair that loving God would send people to hell. All that has to happen for you and I to go to hell is God just leave us to ourself. Don't ever open up our eyes. Don't ever come to us. Don't ever speak to us. Just let us fabricate all these delusions about who God is and what we are, about what sin is, and what we can try to do to fix it. If He leaves us in that state, we're going to just keep committing iniquity and iniquity, and we're going to stand before Him, and we're going to say, Lord, I've done all these wonderful things in Thy name. I've cast out demons. I've done this. I've done that. I pastored a church. I sat on the pew every Sunday. I've given to the church. I've done this and that. The Lord says, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. I never knew you.

God chooses to save. He chose to save. God chooses to reveal his truth to his people, to whom Christ died for, to whom Christ died for. Thank God he chose some and ordained them into eternal life. If he hadn't, we'd be lost. But that's the answer to the question. Because he chose and ordained some into eternal life, those are who Christ Jesus shed his blood for, for those whom he loves, given to him in the covenant of grace by his father before time.

Now go back with me to our text. Look at verse 11. Wherefore remember that ye being in times past Gentiles in the flesh who were called uncircumcised by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands." So what they're saying is that had everything to do with the covenant that God had given to Abraham. in order to be a sign. He told Abraham, be circumcised and circumcise your whole house and your children. And that was the token that the Lord given them. But those who didn't have the promise were considered uncircumcised. So again, you have the Jews and the Greeks, that's what he said, or Gentiles.

That at the time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenant 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, For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. and came and preached peace to you which were far off and to them which were nigh, for through him we both have access by one Father, access by one Spirit unto the Father. We're made nigh. The only reason that we're made nigh is by the blood of Christ. That's the only reason. And the last, that's the answer to the last question, which is what did the blood of Christ accomplish? Was it away? that I could choose or an offer that I could reject? No. Christ has made his people clean by washing them in his own blood according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to his people before the world ever began.

Think about this, the vilest, most sinful, wretched sinner has been made cleaner than the whitest snow. Said, though your sin be as scarlet, they shall be as wool. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. His blood accomplished salvation. He's made his people nigh and broken down the middle wall of partition.

Think about partition. So that's a partition leading into the hallway there. and that separated us. Think about our sin being that partition. We couldn't get past our sin. All we could do is just keep adding to it and making it worse. We couldn't get to God. And if we could have, he'd have killed us. But yet, because of the blood of Christ, the wall has been destroyed. It's been put away. The wall of sin doesn't exist anymore.

In the temple, whenever the Lord Jesus Christ bowed his head with a mighty voice said, it is finished. and gave up the ghost, says that the veil in the temple was rent entwined from top to bottom. We talked about the holiest of holies at the beginning of this and how you and I couldn't have entered in there. It had to be a high priest and it had to be with blood after he had made sacrifice and atonement for his own sin. You and I couldn't enter in. Matter of fact, when that high priest entered in, he had bells on him. So sometimes there might've been something that he didn't confess or something because the Lord would kill him dead right there on the spot. They had a rope to him and bells. As long as they heard the bells ringing, they knew, okay, he's all right. But as soon as the bell stopped, they'd pull him back out.

You and I could not God have anywhere close to there. There's a partition. It's the holiness of God. And it's our sin that separated us from him. And yet whenever that veil in the temple was written twain from top to bottom, it represented the Lord Jesus Christ's body being broken for us. We're going to take the Lord's table in a minute. So this is lines right up with that. The Lord's body being broken for us, his blood being outpoured, being the atonement, the covering of the Lord's people, washing away their sin for all time and eternity. Making us nigh now the spirit says come and the bride says come and whosoever will come take the water of life freely enter you in Boldly to the throne of grace that you might obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need

That is what the blood of Christ accomplished complete oneness and union with God complete reconciliation complete perfection and righteousness that's found now in the Lord's people bestowed freely by his grace and He accomplished the full salvation of God's chosen people all by his blood. The full salvation is accomplished, completed, finished. There's nothing left to be done. Nothing left to be done. Not a single sin is upon them any longer. Upon the Lord's people, they're gone. He's seeded, it's finished.

We who are aliens, far off, have been made nigh by the blood of the Lamb, united in perfect oneness by his Spirit. by his sacrifice. We've been made the very righteousness of God in him. We've been made nigh. Can you imagine approaching the throne of God and he says, welcome, not depart from me? If we have any idea how bad our sin is, approaching the throne in our sinful condition is a terrifying, terrifying thought. But yet we have scripture that tells us we have peace with God. No longer judgment, no longer wrath. Justice has been satisfied. This is what the blood of Christ accomplished. We've been made nigh. by his blood. We're no longer fourfold depraved, but we're, he's given us double, double for our sin. He's given us righteousness and holiness in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would take this and bless it to our understanding. Thank you for the blood, for we know without it we'd be lost, undone, without hope, afar off, dead in trespasses and sin, and without God. But because of your blood, we've been made nigh. Thank you. Lord, as we are about to partake of these elements, we ask that you would bless them and remind us of your body being broken and your blood being shed, and that we would confess you Lord, you said whosoever take this unworthily. Lord, we wondered what unworthily was for the longest time, but we realize if we're confessing anything else besides your body and your blood is our only hope for righteousness, then we're taking it unworthily. But if we are confessing you alone. Then you tell us to partake. Bless it for our good and your glory in Christ name, Amen.