One Sacrifice

Q: What does the Bible say about sacrifices for sin?

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the one perfect sacrifice for sin, superseding all previous sacrifices. The sacrificial system in the Old Testament served as a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice that would be made by Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:9-14 explains that while the old sacrifices could never take away sin, Christ's offering of Himself was a one-time event that perfected for all time those who are sanctified. This underscores that all those who believe are saved through Christ alone, as He is the only means through which God has ordained salvation.

Q: How do we know that Jesus is the only way to salvation?

The Bible clearly states that there is no other name but Jesus by which we can be saved. Acts 4:12 affirms that Jesus Christ is the exclusive way to salvation, indicating that all other avenues are false. The sermon emphasizes that all acceptable approaches to God must come through an atoning sacrifice, which is fulfilled in Christ. No other sacrifices or religious acts can accomplish what Christ has done on the cross, as He is the only mediator between God and men. This conclusion strongly aligns with the doctrine of sovereign grace and highlights the necessity of faith in Him for salvation.

Q: Why is the resurrection of Christ important for Christians?

The resurrection proves that Christ's sacrifice was sufficient and grants believers eternal life. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is crucial because it validates His role as Savior and attests to the acceptance of His sacrifice by God the Father. It signifies that the debt for sin has been fully paid, enabling believers to be confident in their salvation. Romans 4:25 states that Christ was raised for our justification, which confirms that His work was completed and accepted. The resurrection not only assures us of eternal life but also empowers us to live in victory over sin in the present.

Q: What does it mean to be justified by faith?

To be justified by faith means to be declared righteous before God based solely on faith in Christ. Justification by faith is a central tenet of Reformed theology, indicating that a believer is made right with God not by their own merits but through faith in Jesus Christ. As highlighted in Genesis 15:6, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, illustrating that faith in God’s promises is what justifies. This doctrine emphasizes that our faith is a gift and that it looks solely to Christ for salvation, reinforcing the sovereign grace view that we cannot save ourselves but are fully dependent on God’s grace.

Open your Bibles if you would to the book of Genesis chapter 15 the name of the message is Jesus Christ the sacrifice Jesus Christ the sacrifice there's only one sacrifice that God will accept For sinners and that's the Lord Jesus Christ That's his own son whom he sent to save his people from their sins and here in Genesis chapter 15 We're see our text it'll be found in in this chapter, but let's first read verse one for our text. Genesis 15, verse one.

And after these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision. Now this is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to him. This is the Lord of glory. This is the word of God before he becomes incarnate. And he says to Abraham, fear not. Oh my. What beautiful words for the believer in Christ. God says to us, fear not, because we're in Christ. We're safe in him. Just as Noah and his family were safe in the ark, and the wrath of God was pictured by that rain pelting that ark, which was a picture of Christ, and not one drop of that rain fell on Noah and his family, not one drop of God's wrath falls on those who are in Christ Jesus our Lord. Look at this. Fear not, Abraham. or Abraham, I am, look at this, I am. Oh, he's the great I am. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. My, now let's read verses nine to 11, Genesis 15, nine to 11.

And he said unto him, take me and Heifer of three years old and a she-goat of three years old and a ram of three years old. and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another, but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcass, Abraham drove them away. My, oh my, look at verse six.

This is all happening after verse six, and look what Genesis 15, verse six says. And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. So the same faith which Abraham believed, the Lord, is the same faith, beloved, you and I have. There's only one faith, isn't there? One baptism, one sacrifice for our sins, one mediator between God and men. one way to heaven, one truth. It's all found in the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone.

Praise his mighty name if he's revealed himself to you. Oh my, it's wonderful. My. We see here Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Doesn't say he did any works, does it? Look at that, he just believed. He just looked to Christ. He looked to the Messiah. He believed what God told him. God tells sinners, such as we, flee to Christ, look unto Him, and live. All ye ends of the earth. There's a general call. It goes out to everyone, right? Look to Christ. Look to Christ. He's the only Savior of sinners.

And Christ himself said, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Oh, that's rest from our labors, trying to make ourselves good in our eyes, or gain merit and favor with God. No. No. Our great God said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ. God is pleased only with Christ. And he's pleased with those who are in Christ. Isn't that glorious? And he puts us in Christ. That's what's amazing.

And this faith that Abraham had was given to him. He is born again with the Holy Spirit of God, just like we're born again. Can't have faith without being born again, can you? Nope. Regeneration always precedes faith. Oh, my. And Abraham's faith wasn't in his faith, was it? Abraham's faith was in Christ. See, faith always has an object. God-given faith has an object. And it doesn't look to itself. It looks to Christ. It looks to Christ. Oh, my. It's wonderful. We see here that right after he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness, that's where that works. Isn't it wonderful?

We see then, behold the power of the sacrifices in verse 9 and 10. All this was by God's command. This is what God told him to do. Oh my, and this was a sacrifice that he willingly did. We see he killed the three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. These are the creatures that were ordained for the sacrifice.

Now, the Patriarch's hands were stained with blood, weren't they? Oh, see, our religion, our belief, not our religion, but what we believe is stained with blood, isn't it? It's stained with the blood of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. See, without the shedding of blood, there's no remission. Oh, my.

And so this is picturing when he's offering the sacrifice, the sacrifice, he's offering a sacrifice up to God, but this is picturing Jesus Christ, the sacrifice, who would shed his blood for his people, give his life for his people, willingly, at Calvary's cross. My, so Abraham's hands are stained with blood, and as he handles the butcher's knife, he divides the breast. The beasts he kills the birds he places them in order revealed to him by God the Holy Spirit at the time There they are There they are and Abraham learns that God meets his people He meets his people through the sacrifice. He meets his people through Christ Who is the sacrifice for his people?

Oh my Do you know God has shut every other door as a means of salvation? God has shut every other door. All those other gods out there, Allah and Muhammad and Buddha and Mary, people worship Mary. Oh, they worship all kinds of things, stones and Hindu gods. You know those are all false gods. There's no salvation in anything. And you notice this too? They all have something you have to do. This is already done.

The sacrifice, the shedding of this blood, pictures Christ, who Abraham is looking to, right? He's looking to the Messiah, isn't he? There's only one Messiah, right? There's only one Messiah for the Old Testament saints and the New Testament saints, and his name is the Lord Jesus Christ. There's only one Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ. And notice, God has shut every door except that over which the blood is sprinkled, the blood of Christ. And this picture is the blood of Christ.

Isn't that wonderful? All acceptable approaches to God must be through an atoning sacrifice. Must be. And the scriptures tell us that all these sacrifices could never take away sin, but they were pointing to Jesus Christ, the one true sacrifice. who shed his blood, right?

He shed his blood, and it's through his blood we have the forgiveness of sins. Praise his mighty name. Through the blood of Christ, we're saved by the work of another. My, we're such mercy beggars, but praise be to God, he saved us. Praise be to God, he saved us. My. So all acceptable approaches to God must be through an atoning sacrifice, and Abraham understood this.

Well, the promise is still in his ears. Well, the promise is still in his ears. Oh, what is that promise? And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. Well, that promise is still in his ears. He offers up the sacrifice. Oh, my. He's justified. He's justified by the Messiah. Look into him, who was going to come and has already come 2,000 years ago. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. He was God in the flesh.

And he gave himself up as a sacrifice for the sins of his people. My, it's amazing. Now again, none of those Old Testament sacrifices could take away sin, could they? not one of them now if you turn into Hebrews chapter 10 in verse 9 to 14 it says this then said he lo I come to do thy will oh God this is this is the Messiah speaking this is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking I come to do thy will oh God he takes 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, once for all his people, once for all the elect of all the ages. He gave himself up once. He shed his blood once, cried, it's finished, once. Oh, it's beautiful. And every priest stands at daily ministering and offering, oftentimes the same sacrifice, which could never take away sin. So that's talking about all those Old Testament sacrifices, they could never take away sins.

They were picturing one, the one great sacrifice, the Lamb of God, the sent one of God the Father, His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, Oh my, it's wondrous that he died for us. God became a man, beloved. Let that never become commonplace to us. Let us never wish to not hear that God became a man for us. Oh, because that's how he saved us from our sins. Oh, the mystery of the incarnation, it's amazing.

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, now, don't forget, sins, plural, right? That's all the sins of all the elect of all the ages. You can't number all them sins. And he offered himself up once. Once. Jesus Christ, the sacrifice. Oh my, he offered himself up once for sin. But this man, after he offered one sacrifice for sins, and that's himself, forever. One sacrifice for sins forever.

It's done. There's no more sacrifices, beloved. There's no need to build another temple in Israel and start sacrifices. That'd be an abomination in God's eyes, because Christ is the one sacrifice for sin. Forever. sat down on the right hand of God. He's done. It's finished. All the priests in the tabernacle, they were always busy. They never sat down. There was no chair for them to sit down.

But our king, after he finished the great work of saving his people from their sins, sat down at the right hand of God. Praise his mighty name. And it says, from henceforth, expect until his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for them He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

And we're only made perfect in Christ. We're a bunch of sinners saved by grace, aren't we? But there's going to be a day, beloved, when we'll be perfect, when we'll never have a thought sin again. Oh, we'll never struggle with sin. We'll never say with Paul, like we do now, a wretched man that I am who can deliver me from this body of sin. That's the cry of a believer every day, isn't it? Oh, it is.

So my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it's a blessed thing when our faith justifies us. It helps us to obtain a more complete and vivid view of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. See, we're justified by Christ through faith, aren't we? That's God-given faith. We didn't earn it, we didn't merit it, it's a gift. It's absolutely incredible. My, and we breathe in the air at Calvary, don't we? Redemption.

Salvation through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh Jesus made that for his people and he did it willingly. People talk about free will. Christ willingly gave himself. We're bound by our nature. Christ willingly gave himself beloved. He went to that cross knowing he's going to die for the sins of his people, knowing that all the wrath of God for his people is going to be poured out on them. He willingly went there. Oh, praise God. He offered himself up once for our sins. And he finished the work forever. Oh, forever. Isn't that wonderful? That's wonderful. I'll tell you why. My.

Return to the history of the Redeemer's sacrifice given to us in the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and let us bow ourselves in prayer before the Lamb of God and blush to think that we should have forgotten His death. And you know, His death is the center of all history, whether people believe it or not. Yeah? Times are counted B.C., before Christ, A.D., after death.

Now, modern science has tried to change that, but it's still ain't gonna change it, is it? Nope. Nope. That cross is the center of all human history, beloved. And that we who are the redeemed, the Lord, contemplate the wondrous transaction of our great substitution, of the work of our great substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you know what? Our faith will be revived when we think that all our sins were taken and placed upon Christ Jesus, our Lord. And he bore them all one time by the sacrifice of himself and cleansed us from all sin, beloved, through his precious blood. And now we're clothed in his precious righteousness. That'll make your faith revive. Oh, my. It's not the study of theology. It's not reading books upon points of controversy. It's not searching in the mysterious prophecy which God will bless our soul. No, it's look at the Christ in him alone. It's look at the Christ.

My. Christ is the essential nutrition for the believer in Christ. He's our bread. He's our water. He's our life. This is why we must hear about Christ. He's everything to us. He's the essential nutrition for the life of the believer. For our hearts and for our minds. Oh, through the scriptures we learn that we're justified by Christ, and then we learn that we're kept by Christ. Oh, praise His mighty name.

Abraham looked think this when Abraham said all these things look at look how it look isn't this amazing little thing we might miss Little think we might miss and when the fowls came down upon the carcasses Genesis 15 11 right Abraham drove them away. He sat there for hours looking at that sacrifice He sat there for hours looking at that sacrifice which pointed him right to Christ and Which pointed him right to Christ. He looked all the day long.

He started to shoo the birds away. They were coming down to eat the meat. He had to shoo them away. Looking at that sacrifice, all those animals there. Which pointed to our king. My. Chase them away. We must drive off all disturbing thoughts. We must drive off sin. Oh my, how? By focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. We often have distracting thoughts, don't we? Oh, let's drive them away by looking to our King, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one sacrifice for sin. Amen and amen.

One Sacrifice

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about sacrifices for sin?

How do we know that Jesus is the only way to salvation?

Why is the resurrection of Christ important for Christians?

What does it mean to be justified by faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Wayne Boyd

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One Sacrifice

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about sacrifices for sin?

How do we know that Jesus is the only way to salvation?

Why is the resurrection of Christ important for Christians?

What does it mean to be justified by faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Wayne Boyd

Comments

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