Let's go back to the 12th chapter of Exodus. I want you to turn over to the 21st verse, Exodus 12, 21. The Lord having given instructions to Moses concerning the first, the original Passover, Moses now calls for the elders of Israel to the fathers of the children. And the 21st verse, then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, draw out or choose out and take you a lamb according to your families and kill the Passover.

And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike the lentil in the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians. And when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer or permit or allow the destroyer to come in under your houses to smite you. And you shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever.

And it shall come to pass when ye be come into the land which the Lord will give you according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you, what mean ye by this service? that ye shall say, it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshiped. And the children of Israel went away and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. Moses had received the instructions from the Lord at the beginning of the chapter. The instructions were very clear to him regarding the first Passover. He said, choose a lamb. If the family was small, You could choose a lamb for you and your neighbor.

Choose a lamb, a male of the first year, without spot, without blemish. Put it up for inspection for four days to make sure that there's no faultiness with that lamb. There's nothing wrong with it. Make sure it's not diseased. After all, this lamb is to be a picture of the lamb of God, who without sin, who did no sin, who spoke no sin, the innocent one who would die for the guilty.

And then the Lord said, on the fourth day, you shall kill it. Catch the blood in a basin. and take some hyssop, small bush-like plant, dip that hyssop in the basin and sprinkle both side posts of the door outside and sprinkle the upper door post and then go inside, shut the door, don't come back out to the morning. Roast the flesh of that lamb that you killed. Eat that roasted lamb. You can't boil it. It's got to be roasted. Roast it with fire. And enjoy a meal with your family. Eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

And when the destroyer comes through at night, the Lord said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Both God and man look to the same remedy, the blood of the innocent animal. And you and I look to the same one God looks to. We look to Christ. God has never looked to you or to me for satisfaction to his justice. But we can't do that. We can't satisfy justice. He looks to his son, that one who is called the Lamb of God. And as God looks to Christ, for full satisfaction, so we look to Christ for full redemption from our sins.

That Passover lamb, as you well know, and you have been taught for many years, was a special type, a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're not left to gather from the general fact that all of the Old Testament sacrifices were shadows of the one true sacrifice, but we are assured in the New Testament. that this Passover lamb was a picture of our Lord Jesus. For in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 11, we read that Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. And just as that Paschal lamb, just as that Passover lamb must be without blemish, our Lord Jesus was unblemished.

He was the perfect son of God. Just as that Passover lamb had to be roasted with fire, so our Lord Jesus Christ had to die and face the fire of God's wrath, the fire of the anguish that he felt in his own soul. He was the sacrifice that endured all the agony that sin deserved, all the punishment that sin deserved, all that the law of God required, our Lord Jesus suffered that in his own body. And even with respect to the timing of this sacrifice, our Lord fulfilled that as well. The sacrifice of our Lord corresponded with the various items listed in this Passover feast and sacrifice. I read to you that this had to be drawn out from the flock.

Hold your place here and look at Psalm 89. Psalm 89. Let me read you a few words of David here. Psalm 89. Psalm 89, let me begin at verse 18. Psalm 89, verse 18. For the Lord, Jehovah Jesus, is our defense. He's our defender. and the Holy One of Israel is our King.

Then thou spakest in vision to thy Holy One and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty. I have exalted one chosen, drawn out of, just like the Father drew out of the flock a sheep or a goat to be sacrificed, and the blood called in a basin and applied to the doorposts and over the doorposts. Even so, the Lord says, I have chosen, I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David my servant, and with my holy oil have I anointed him, and with whom my hand shall be established, mine arm also shall strengthen him. I've exalted one chosen out of the people. As the father of the family, the father of the firstborn, went out and he drew from his flock a male of the first year and he inspected them and looked at all the the sheep in his flock and and then put it up when he found one that looked to be perfect without any kind of blemish or spot He put it up for four days and inspected that.

That lamb that he chose was a picture of our Lord Jesus, whom God chose. He chose him before the foundation of the world. He says, I have exalted one chosen out of the people because our Lord Jesus was not only God, a very God, but he was the son of man, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.

We see him as Isaiah set him forth as being the sheep that was led to the slaughter, the lamb led to the slaughter. We see his blood shed. And later we see his blood by faith applied at the mercy seat in heaven. We see our Lord Jesus roasted with fire.

Somebody's got to answer for our sins. Somebody's got to endure the wrath of God. I sure don't want to do that because anybody upon whom the fire of God's wrath falls will have to suffer that wrath forever, and it'll never pay for any sins. Those who've been suffering in hell, I guess Cain's been there longer than anybody has.

He has suffered the wrath of God, but he's not put away one of his sins. His blood can't do it. His death can't do it. His punishment can't do it. There's only one who is fully qualified to meet the justice of God and answer all of its demands and then fully put away the sins of all those for whom he died, our Lord Jesus Christ. And when the lamb died, it was with the unleavened bread. When the lamb was roasted rather than eaten, it was with the unleavened bread. And it was with the bitter herbs of penitence and sorrow over sin.

And the Spirit of God takes this story, this is, And I did a little bit of reading from the old Jews, and they just talked about this as significant point in the history of Israel. And of course, there is no mention with them of Christ Jesus or his sacrifice for sins, nothing like that. It's just an important event in the history of Israel. It's more than just an important event. It's a picture of the Son of God, that one who specifically is called the Lamb of God, who died suffering the wrath of God in the stead of his chosen people. The blood of the chosen lamb in this passage of scripture was caught in a basin. It wasn't spilled on the ground. There was no wastefulness to this blood because the blood of Christ is most precious and that's what this picture is. In no sense was it accidentally spilled as though it was wasted.

Into this bowl of blood, a bunch of hyssop was dipped. And as the father went outside with that hyssop, And he began to dip it in the blood and then mark the doorposts and over the doorposts, that crimson spray, as it went upon the doorposts and over the door, that pictured the sprinkling of our souls by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Liberally applied. and all for whom this blood here in Exodus 12 was shed, that is the firstborn. Every firstborn child for whom the blood was applied, they had to be safe. They had to be behind the protective covering of the blood.

It could not be that the blood of a suitable lamb, a God-appointed lamb, we read that, a God-approved lamb, we read that. It cannot be that a God-appointed and a God-approved lamb die, and the blood caught in a basin, and the father, having killed the animal, having killed the sacrifice, having killed the substitute, having applied the blood as God instructed and then told his family, now get back in the house and shut the door. It could not be that the animal die and the firstborn child die also.

That would be a grave injustice, wouldn't it? Well, sure it would. Since God said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you, that firstborn child ever how old he or she, and most of the Jews say it was a he, but however old that firstborn child was, there was no way possible that that child would die also. Well, how do you know that? Because God said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you.

The blood was not wasted. The blood was not applied in vain. And this speaks to me quite loudly, a particular redemption. The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ could not and was not wasted. All for whom the blood was shed. all for whom Christ died, they have to be saved. They must be saved because that which God appointed and that which God approved of has been presented to him, the blood of the Lamb of God. Therefore, whoever Christ shed his blood for, they cannot possibly perish. God is a just God. He is a righteous God. and all for whom the Son of God tasted the bitterness of death shall be saved. No blood was put on the threshold. Hold your place here and turn to Hebrews, if you would. Look at Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Woe to the person who tramples underfoot the blood of Christ. Hebrews 10 verse 29, of how much sorer punishment. Stop right there.

I do not believe there are degrees of heaven, do you? I can't believe in degrees of heaven. because the righteousness of the Son of God has been imputed to us. All for whom he died have been made righteous by his obedience through life and up to death, including death. No degrees of heaven. Some don't get more in heaven than others get.

The Lord is my portion. That's what Jeremiah said in Lamentations. The Lord is my portion. If the Lord is your portion, what more could God possibly give you than his son, Christ, who is our life? He is our all, he is our rest. no degrees of glory. But there will be, and there is, degrees of punishment.

And this passage of Scripture makes that clear, of how much sorer punishment. Suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy or common thing and hath done despite or insult under the spirit of grace." He's talking about Jews who for a little while seem to forsake the old covenant, the old law, and yet now they're forsaking the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and going back, going back to the old covenant, going back to the law, going back to legalism. And he says, of how much more worthy are they of greater punishment? You see, to have been introduced to, exposed to the gospel of free grace, the gospel of Christ, His person, His work, His accomplishment, His redemption, having been exposed to the true gospel, and then to turn away from that, exposes a person to sore punishment. because they've trodden underfoot the blood of Christ.

So when the instructions are given over here in Exodus about the application of the blood, dip the hyssop in the bowl of blood and go out there and sprinkle the doorposts, the side posts, and over the top of it, doesn't say anything about sprinkling the threshold. That's to trample the underfoot, the blood of Christ, to treat it as a common thing.

And don't be swayed by those who preach or try to preach. They have no biblical basis for preaching a general atonement. A general atonement that Christ died for all the sins of all the people of all ages is really no atonement at all. That's no putting away of sin.

The Lord said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. He didn't say, when I see the blood and I'm satisfied that you're concerned about the blood and you're looking by faith to the blood, then I'll pass over you. That's not what he said. The eye of God is always on the blood.

After all, Christ is the lamb who was slain from old eternity, from the foundation of the world. God's always looked to Christ for full satisfaction to his justice, for the full redemption of his people. That's never changed. The eternal God has his eternal eye upon the eternal sacrifice of the eternal son of God. And God is perfectly satisfied with his son and all that he did to accomplish the redemption and the salvation of his people. It cannot be that a soul for whom Christ has died will ever perish.

It may have been on that Passover night after the father had put the blood outside the door as he was instructed and they go back in and they roasted the lamb and they sat down and had a family meal together. It could have been that the firstborn was weak in faith and said, dad, I'm so afraid. I'm the firstborn. Will I make it safe through the night? Am I gonna lose my life? And the father said, rest assured. You're as safe as safe can be.

Because that which God commanded, that which God demanded, has been satisfied. The lamb has died, a male of the first year without spot, without blemish. The blood has been applied outside per the instructions of God Almighty. And son, or if it was a daughter, and we're not really told whether it's son or daughter, but just the firstborn.

Son, know this. You're safe. Why worry, Father? Well, I'm sorry you're worried, but you shouldn't. Don't we have the word of God himself on this? Yes, Father. Cannot you trust God? Yes, Dad. Believe it. And then perhaps in the house next door, the firstborn said, you know, I believe God. Maybe his brothers and sisters, younger brothers and sisters said, aren't you afraid? Aren't you scared? No, I'm not. Because God can't lie. And I am absolutely safe. I'm not worried about anything. And I'll tell you this. If Christ is died for you, the Spirit of God will bring you to trust him.

And you may at sometimes be Mr. Little Faith. And then at other times you may be Mr. Big Faith. Or it may be sometimes you wonder if you aren't Mr. I don't think I have faith at all. God doesn't look to your faith. He looks to the blood. He looks to the blood. Can you not believe the word of God? All for whom Christ died, the debt is paid. It's fully retired. Your sins have been remitted. They're cast behind God's back.

God said, your sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Never again, never again will I remember your sins. Not even at the judgment. You don't think they'll be raised up to testify and witness against me at the judgment? Not if God is true. For God said your sins and iniquities, I'll remember no more.

Sometimes I feel like maybe my faith is fairly strong. Sometimes I suspect you're like me, but I'll just be honest with you. Sometimes I feel like my faith's kind of weak. And at times like that, actually at both times, I'm so thankful that my salvation is not dependent upon my faith. My security is not my belief.

I do believe, and I must say, as many of you would say also, I believe, help thou mine unbelief, but my safety, my security, my salvation, my redemption is not in my faith, but in the Savior who took my place and died my death and put my sins away. Do I believe in full redemption by the blood of Christ? I absolutely do. And those who would have a general redemption, they've got a redemption that redeemed nobody. See, I believe what Christ did, he did successfully. He saved his people. I don't believe that the success of our Lord's redeeming work is in the hands of the sinner to make it effectual and make it successful. I believe Jesus paid it all, all the debt I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.

Let me give you just four or five things here as time allows. Let me talk about the blood of sprinkling. The blood of sprinkling, number one, was the national mark of distinction. Had you been a traveler through Egypt on that Passover night from a foreign country, perhaps, and you're passing through, you would have discovered that the only distinguishing mark The only mark that distinguished Israel from the Egyptians was this, the blood mark, that's all.

If you had gone up to the window of an Egyptian house or an Israelite house and heard them speak, that wouldn't tell you anything. The real story was to be seen from the outside. It's the only distinguishing mark. There were the Egyptians whose doors were not marked with blood, and the Israelites whose doors were marked with blood. One marked with blood, one not marked at all with blood. That's the only distinguishing characteristic.

And in the end, that will be the distinguishing mark between the two nations that exist. The people of God and the people of the evil one. That's the distinguishing mark. The blood of the covenant. The blood of Christ Jesus. That's what sets us apart.

And this gospel of redeeming grace, it sets those churches and preachers who preach this successful gospel, it sets us apart from all the religions of the world. There are a bunch of religions. But the only religion that is true religion is that which focuses in on the success of Christ Jesus' death upon the cross of Calvary. that says it all. You see, true Israel trusts in the Lamb of God who died for our sins. This is the never-failing sign of the people of God. This sets us apart as being Israelites indeed, the blood of Christ, And you can go here and I read a little bit on the internet.

I don't get too involved in that sort of thing. I don't get on various forums to see what others are saying. I'd rather find out what God said. But I'll tell you this. True preachers of the gospel will set forth Christ and him crucified, his successful work of redemption. May be wrong on some other things. May be wrong on what the end times are gonna be like. May be wrong on some other things. Might even be wrong by the mode of baptism.

I've got some friends who believe in sprinkling. They love the gospel of Christ. Will I separate from them? No. I'll pray that the Lord will teach them what true baptism is. But if you've ever read men like Lorraine Bettner, The Reform Doctrine of Predestination, outstanding, outstanding book. And many others, Presbyterian writers, but they emphasize the success of the work of Christ. Do not tell me that his work was an attempt to save, and do not tell me that his blood was wasted.

I will not hear of it, and I cannot fellowship with you. I'll pray for you. I'm not gonna get mad at you. I'm not gonna debate with you. Spirit of God has to convince you. This blood of sprinkling was the national mark of distinction. And wherever you go in the world, when you find a group of people who believe the gospel of Christ, they'll believe this very same truth. The second thing I want to show you is this. The blood was the mark of salvation. The words of verse 23 are really remarkable. I want you to look at this closely with me.

Moses says, for the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians. And when he seeth the blood upon the lentil, and on the two sideposts, the Lord will, watch it now, pass over the door. Pass over the door. and will not suffer or allow or permit the destroyer to come in. And one Hebrew scholar says this not only means we'll pass over, he won't touch that house in judgment, the firstborn is safe, but he also went on to say that he will pass over the door, that is, he will lean against the door or set His presence at the door and say to the destroyer, you cannot get in here. In other words, the Lord would be the protector. He would be the one who stands at the door and would not allow judgment to ever come in.

And you see, our Lord stands at the door of His church, as it were. A door, by the way, which is splattered with the blood of Him who is the door, Christ Jesus. And the Lord says to divine justice, to judgment, you can't come in. The blood of sprinkling is the evidence that justice has already dealt with this sinner through a substitute, and you can't get in.

That gives me some peace right there. Can't touch me. I'm one of the untouchable ones. And you are too. Justice will not come where justice has already visited. It's burnt ground. And fire won't visit burnt ground a second time. The blood was the mark of salvation. It cannot be that the Lamb of God die, that his blood be sprinkled, and the firstborn die also. What a grave injustice that would be. How dishonoring to God. There are few things that I hate more than the theory of general atonement. or general redemption.

Got me kicked out of seminary because I just, I wouldn't budge on it then, I'm not gonna budge on it now as God gives me confidence to do it, as God gives me the strength. Had a professor come up to me and said, you know, you're putting your whole life in jeopardy, your ministry's in jeopardy if you hold to this.

Please sign this paper saying you believe that Jesus Christ died for all men without exception. And I said, I will not sign that, whatever it costs me. And he said, you know, we're gonna reclassify you for the draft. I said, well, you'll have to do that. It means that much to me.

Christ means that much. Don't you love the Savior? And I'm nobody going nowhere. I'm just a simple preacher of the gospel. But here I take my stand, as Luther said. Here I take my stand. I can do no other. And my voice is not loud. Not very many people listen to me. But whoever will listen to me will hear me preach about a successful atonement, a triumphant redeemer. And he's my message. He's my message. You see, God stands guard at the door of his church. And he says to the divine judgment as it were, You can't come in here. You can't come in here. See that blood out there? That's the blood of the Lamb of God, and it speaks volumes.

What the blood of sprinkling declares is heard throughout eternity. It is finished. I believe that. and then I'll just touch on a couple more things and I'll quit. The blood was applied, the blood sprinkling was applied as conspicuously as possible. They ate inside, but there was no doubt that that family believed God. You know how I know? Look, the blood outside. And I bet you when Dad put that Dipped that hyssop in the blood to sprinkle the doorposts and over the doorposts. I bet you he didn't put it on sparingly. You wouldn't, would you? I wouldn't do that. I'd be liberal with that. I don't want anybody to misunderstand whose side I'm on this.

Smeared that blood all over the place. Beautiful crimson droplets. Because what that announced was this, a substituted God. No entrance here. God says you're not coming in. And for those of us whose hearts have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ by the Holy Ghost, our consciences have been sprinkled That blood says, no judgment for this one. No judgment. Death can't come in here. Oh, physical, physical death, falling asleep. That's going to happen, but can't be any judgment. There is therefore now no, what's next word? Condemnation. No judgment to them who are in Christ Jesus. Redemption is not a subject about which we are ashamed.

My dear friend, J.D. Butler, who's been in glory now for a few years, he loved the gospel of substitution. He told me of a preacher that he spoke to He said, he asked him this, and here's a really good question to ask people. J.D. asked him, he said, is there anybody in hell for whom Christ Jesus died? That's a really good question to ask anybody, especially a preacher. He said the preacher hemmed and hauled around just wouldn't give him a straight answer. And J.D., because God invited J.D. to come to his church, he said, ain't no way I'm coming here. If you can't give me a straight answer on redemption, if you can't give me a straight answer on the question, is there anybody in the hell for whom Christ Jesus died, if you can't answer that clearly, distinctly, honestly, I'm not gonna come hear you preach. And he did. I'm not going to hear somebody preach like that either. Tell me who died and tell me what accomplishment he made in his death. Let's always make much of the bloody death of Christ. We preach Christ crucified.

It gives comfort to the people of God. It honors God. It magnifies the Lamb of God. The Spirit of God will use this message to draw chosen sinners to faith in Christ. It will disgust the enemy. It will magnify the errors of false religion and will fill the hearts of God's people with joy and thanksgiving.

And the blood was always to be remembered. I'll give you one more thing here. Look at verse 24. And you shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever. Don't ever forget. And you know what we're going to do in heaven? We're going to sing about the blood of the Lamb.

Let me give you this and I'll quit jokingly to sing the final song. Look at Revelation. Revelation chapter 5. I'm not ashamed of this gospel. That's what Paul said. Remember in Romans chapter one, he said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God and salvation to everyone that believe it, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Well, we going to be talking about this forever. If you're thinking, and I'm sure nobody here is thinking this way, People who are watching, I'm sure you're not thinking, well, I wish he'd hurry up and quit, get on to another subject. I'm sure you're not thinking that. We're gonna be on this subject forever. If you get tired of this here, well, it'll really wear on you in eternity, except you won't be there to enjoy it if it wears you out now.

Look at Revelation 5, 11. And I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb. Oh, I'll be there. I'm gonna be singing this too. Worthy is the land that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing and every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them heard I saying blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts, the preachers said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. And I say Amen too, don't you? Amen. Well, let's sing a closing song. Let's get your psalms