Three or four weeks ago, I read
a story. There was a fellow during the days of the Civil War. I
don't know anything at all about him except his name, and I don't
know whether that was his given name or whether it was his family
name. His name was Blake. He was notified that he would
be pressed into military service, and the thought caused him a
great deal of concern. as it would any man, but particularly
because his wife was already dead, and he had no family except
his children who greatly depended on him and needed him. But the
law was the law, and he must go to service. Word got around,
and there was a neighbor who was also a good friend who attended
the same place of worship that Blake attended, and he came to
him one day after their worship services, and he said, Blake,
I've been thinking. You're needed here at home. Your
family needs you, and I've decided that I will go in your place
and serve in your place. Needless to say, he was overwhelmed,
speechless, grasped his hands, thanked him, and thanked God
for it. And Charlie Durham went off to war. didn't have to go
far to the battlefields right next door. And he nobly, nobly
engaged in battle. But he was killed during the
first conflict he was engaged in. And Blake heard about it. He sat on his horse and went
to the battlefield and started searching through the rabble
of bodies until he found his friend, Charlie Darrell. He arranged
for his funeral in the churchyard where they attended the house
of God. And he made a tombstone for it, and he engraved it with
his own hands, took his chisel and roughly chiseled out an inscription. And never was there an inscription
more tenderly chiseled in stone, more honoring to the man of whom
it spoke. are more tender to the heart
of the one who did the chiseling than this. These are the words
he wrote on his tombstone. He died for me. Nothing more tender and nothing
more touching than one man willingly giving his life for another. And there is a man, a man who
is of infinite worth, a man who is God Almighty, who died for
me. I hope I never get over the wonder
of it. I hope I never in any way cease
to be amazed by it. And I want one more time to tell
you about him. I want to show you a picture
of him. I want to show you a picture of him that was drawn 2,000 years
before he came into this world. A picture that's drawn in the
book of Leviticus, the 8th chapter. Our text this morning will be
verses 14 and 15, but really we're going to be picking out
things throughout the chapter. Leviticus chapter 8 and verse
14. Now this is going to be our subject. I want to talk to you about the
efficacy of the blood. The efficacy of the blood. And just in case I should forget
to say it when I get to it, for you youngsters particularly,
when we use that word effectual or efficacious or efficacy, we're
talking about power. We're talking about absolute
power. When we talk about the efficacy
of the blood, we're saying the blood of Jesus Christ always
does exactly what he intends it to do. Effectual power is
power that gets the job done. Effectual blood is blood that
gets the job done. Look here with me in Hebrew,
or I'm sorry, I keep wanting to call the book of Leviticus
Hebrews, because Hebrews explains it so well. Leviticus chapter
eight, verse 14. And Moses brought the bullock.
for the sin offering. And David and his sons laid their
hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering, and they
slew it. And Moses took the blood and
put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger,
and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom
of the altar. and sanctified it to make reconciliation
upon it. And then in verse 30, we'll look
at this in a moment, but in verse 30, after the blood was offered,
after the sacrifice was slain, the blood shed, the altar sanctified,
then Aaron and his sons were anointed with the holy oil of
consecration. Now here's the thing I want you
to see. All were anointed with the holy anointing oil for whom
blood was shed. All were sanctified for whom
atonement was made. All were consecrated to God for
whom the sacrifice was given. That seems so simple, but the
whole religious world has missed it. The whole religious world
around us has altogether missed the beauty, the glory, and the
message of the gospel of God's free grace. All for whom Jesus
Christ died at Calvary, all for whom his blood was shed 2,000
years ago, every sinner for whom God Almighty sacrificed his darling
son shall in the appointed time of mercy love and grace be brought
to God by the effectual sanctifying work of his Holy Spirit. Now,
I want to show you just two things in this message. First, the prominence
of the blood, and then second, the efficacy of the blood. First,
our passage clearly shows us the prominence of Christ's blood
in picture. Christ's in atoning blood is
set before us throughout the scriptures, yes. It is typically
unfolded throughout these verses in this eighth chapter of Leviticus.
Throughout this chapter, the thing that's constantly before
us is the necessity and the efficacy of our Savior's blood for atonement,
for the putting away of sin, for reconciliation to God. Throughout
the chapter, we're being told that there is no way any man
can approach the Holy God. No man can come to God and God
will not come to man, except through the merit of the blood.
The Lord God says, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And I pray that you will see
the blood this day. God's judgment is passed when
God sees the blood, but God's grace is experienced when you
see it. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Look in verse 18. Verses 18 and
19, we read about a ram for a burnt offering. Moses killed it, verse
19, he sprinkled the blood. In verse 22, we read about the
other ram, the ram of consecration. So we've seen three rams, three
sacrifices. The bullock of the sin offering,
the ram of the burnt offering, and the other ram, the ram of
consecration. Aaron and his sons all lay their
hands upon the head of these rams. Each ram is sacrificed. The blood is sprinkled as the
Lord commanded Moses. Now it should come as no surprise
to us then to read what Paul tells us in Hebrews chapter 9.
Turn over there for a moment if you will. Hold your hands
here and turn to Hebrews chapter 9, verse 19. On this auspicious day, this great, great day, when Aaron
and his sons were consecrated to God, blood is everywhere. We've seen the glorious apparel
which Moses put on Aaron by the command of God, but blood was
everywhere. These sacrifices were made, the
blood was sprinkled, the blood was everywhere. On the altar,
on the ground, on the curtains, at the door of the tabernacle,
the blood was everywhere. Now look what we read here in
Hebrews 9, verse 19. When Moses had spoken every precept to all
the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves
and of goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop. and sprinkled
both the book and all the people, saying, This is the blood of
the testament, the blood of the covenant, which God has enjoined
unto you. Verse 21 now. Moreover, he sprinkled
with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry,
all the vessels of worship, all the vessels of service in the
tabernacle. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood. And without shedding of blood
is no remission. Now this is what we see in the
passage. Sinners are accepted of God only
by blood atonement. I wonder if we can ever understand
this. Our only acceptance is the blood
of Christ. Someone said, well, you make
too much of the blood. You can't make too much of the blood. The
life of the flesh is in the blood. The blood of Christ signifies
not only his death for us, it signifies the violence of his
death. He is a slain victim. Not only
does it signify the violence of his death as our substitute,
it signifies all his being. Jesus Christ gave himself for
us. That which was sacrificed John
Calvary 2,000 years ago was the total being of the Son of God. His entire self laid down for
us. The blood. Oh, the precious blood. Without it, we can't come to
God. God wouldn't have killed his son for nothing. God would
not have sacrificed his son for nothing. God would not have slaughtered
his son at Calvary if he could bring you to him any other way.
Wouldn't be done. You see, the whole message of
the gospel is that God Almighty is just and the justifier. He sacrificed his son because
sin must be punished. And when his son was made to
be sin, he slaughtered him by the sword of his justice, sacrificing
all that he is for us. And therefore, the scripture
tells us that we have redemption through his blood. We have the
forgiveness of sins through his blood. You're not redeemed with
corruptible things such as silver and gold from your vain conversation.
Oh, no. But with the precious, precious,
precious blood. Precious causes his blood. the
precious blood of Christ, who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but is in these last times made
manifest, revealed to us as a Lamb without spot, without blemish,
slain before God. Behold the Lamb of God. And understand this, that Lamb
Ascending up and standing upon the throne of heaven's glory,
that Lamb, beheld in heaven's glory in Revelation 5, of whom
the scripture says, worthy is the Lamb, that Lamb, is the only
way you've never come to God. On the way. You can't come to
God by your fastings and prayers. You can't come to God by your
religious duties. You can't come to God by doing
anything. You can't come to God by something
in you. You can only come to God by the
merits of the blood, by the medium of the blood, by the mediation
of the blood, by faith in the blood, by faith in his darling
son. Can't come any other way. The bloodstained ear. Remember
when Moses took the blood and put it on the right ear? On the
tip of the ear. Only the bloodstained ear can
hear God's Word. Only the bloodstained ear will
hear God speak. Only the bloodstained hand can
serve our God. Only the bloodstained foot can
walk in the path of righteousness. Only the bloodstained foot can
walk in His way. We cannot come to God except
by the blood of Christ. But blessed be God, we can come
by his blood. Preacher, can I come to God? If you will, you can. That's right. If you will. Come to God now by the merit
of his blood. Cast aside all your doings. Cast
aside all your hopes to prepare yourself to come. Cast aside
every idea you have of making yourself ready to come, and come
now by faith in Jesus Christ the Lord. Throughout this chapter,
we see the value, the efficacy, the power, and the wide application
of the blood. Almost all things are by the
blood purged according to law. As the blood is our only acceptance
with God, the blood is our only assurance too. We have peace with God not because
of anything in us or anything done by us. We have peace with
God because God has accepted the blood of our subject. Now
that's all. That's all. Our Redeemer's presence
in heaven, his presence on the throne of glory, declares the
worth and efficacy of his sin-atoning blood. Our Lord ascended into
heaven and took his seat at the right hand of the majesty on
high, because he had by his blood, by the sacrifice of himself,
purged our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ sits upon
the throne of heaven, not for himself, but as our high priest.
He's there for us. He took possession as a forerunner.
This is our blessed assurance. He ever lives above for me to
intercede, his all-redeeming love, his precious blood to plead. That's our assurance. Christ
lives in heaven for sinners, for this sinner, for his people,
for whom he bore the wrath of God. And the Lord Jesus Christ,
our great High Priest and Substitute, is that one by whom we have experienced
and in whom we have received all the free grace of God, giving
us acceptance by the blood. The Lord Jesus presents us to
the Father in his own immaculate perfection. Christ is yonder in heaven, perfect,
accepted because of the blood. Now, when we talk about Him being
accepted, as we read the 69th Psalm, the things we read there
could never be said concerning Jesus Christ as God, the eternal
Son. It could never be said concerning
Him in His eternal deity. But rather, those words were
spoken by Him as Jesus Christ, the man who is God incarnate,
our mediator and substitute. And that man seated yonder in
heaven, seated on the throne of glory, sits there by the merit
of blood. He bought the place. He bought
the right to sit there. When he was made to be sin, he
offered sacrifice for sin. Did you ever notice in Leviticus
16, on the day of atonement, when Aaron went in to make atonement
for the people, he first had to make atonement for his own
sake, and then for the people. And the Lord Jesus Christ, our
mediator, took our sins and caused them his own. He took our sin
and calls it His guiltiness. He took our reproach and makes
it His own. He takes our iniquity and makes
it His own. He takes our foolishness and
makes it His own. And by His blood, He atoned for
our sins that were made to be His. He arose from the grave
and is sat down in heaven in the perfection of redemption
accomplished as a substitute and in the perfection of his
infinite worth as the God-man mediator. And he presents us
before the Father in his perfection. And without seed, without spot,
without rica, without blemish, and the Father looks on us in
his Son and delights to receive us in the perfection of his Son. Oh, wondrous identification with
Christ. Aaron and his sons, we're told
three times in this chapter, laid their hands upon the same
sacrifice. Aaron and his sons, that man,
his four boys, two on either side of him, pressing their hands
down upon the bullock of the sin offering and the ram of the
birth offering and the ram of consecration. They lay their
hands upon the same sacrifice, identifying themselves as one
people, as one man, as one person. And so our Lord Jesus Christ,
like Aaron We are accepted in him as Aaron's sons were accepted
with him. Now, don't miss this. Aaron and his sons all stood
before God in the same value, upon the same grounds, upon the
same right, and were accepted for the same reason. Now, there's
nothing on this earth There's nothing on this earth more joyous
to my soul than this. This sinner, this sinner, by
virtue of Jesus Christ's worth as my substitute, stands before
God and calls God his father and has acceptance with God. on exactly the same ground and
with exactly the same absolute assurance of acceptance as God's
darling son, accepted by the same sacrifice. Jesus Christ,
my mediator, entered into heaven with his own blood. And with
that blood, he obtained eternal redemption for us. Now, yes,
Aaron, you will notice, was alone when he was anointed. He was
anointed with his sons in verse 30. But in verse 12, back here
in Leviticus 8, Aaron was anointed before the blood was shed. He
was robed in the gorgeous garments of his priestly office and anointed
with the holy oil before his sons were either clothed or anointed. Why was that? The reason ought
to be obvious. Aaron, when spoken of by himself,
typifies Christ in his own personal, peerless worth. As such, Our
Savior stands alone. In all things, he has preeminence. He, as a distinct individual
man, and as our representative and substitute, but still, as
a distinct individual man, he stands alone. There's none like
him. He's holy in his own worth. He's righteous in his own worth. He's accepted in his own worth. He stands peerless, the none
beside him. As such, Aaron was anointed alone,
and the Lord Jesus was anointed as the Lamb of God before the
world began. Anointed is our high priest from
of old. His name is the Anointed One.
His name is Christ. He was anointed at his baptism. God gave the Spirit without measure
to him. And still, there is the fullest
possible identification between Aaron and his sons in the anointed. Look in verse 30. After Aaron was anointed in verse
12, Moses took the anointing oil. And he took the blood which
was on the altar and sprinkled it upon Aaron and upon his garments
and upon his sons and upon his son's garments with it. And he
sanctified Aaron and his sons and his sons and his son's garments
with it. I'm sorry, Aaron and his garments
and his sons and his son's garments with it. Now, these verses tell
us as well in picture, as there was the fullest possible identification
with Aaron and his sons here, so there is the fullest possible
identification of Christ and his people. I've said this so
many times, I don't know how to say it and say it clearly
enough to satisfy my own understanding, much less say it clearly enough
to get you to get hold of it. God help you to get hold of it.
Merle Hart, are you sanctified by the blood? Are you sanctified
by the blood? Oh yeah. Both he that sanctifies
and those who are sanctified are one. That's what the book
says, Hebrews chapter 2. Both the sanctifier and the sanctified
are one. They are one. Jesus Christ who
sanctified us by his blood and all who are sanctified by him
are one before God. But Pastor, you said we were
distinct. Yes, distinct. But what? The personal distinction
makes the spiritual union, the spiritual oneness, even more
blessed. You see, we have no worth before
God. We have no merit before God.
We have nothing to offer God. We can't bring anything to God
that God won't receive. It can't be done. We're as far
away from God as hell is from heaven. And we can no more be
brought to God than hell and heaven can be mixed. It can't
be done. Except by a mediator. A mediator of infinite worth.
A mediator who has a personal worthiness before God. of infinite
value, a mediator who's a man like us, but without sin. A mediator who is God, one with
the Father, holy and infinite. And this mediator, by the merit
of his obedience as a man, joined to eternal Godhead, brings us
in our worthlessness and makes us worthy of God's It's called
grace. It's called substitution. All
right now, briefly, let me say something about the efficacy
of our Savior's blood. As the blood of Christ was prominent
in all the sacrifices and services of the typical Levitical priesthood,
so too the blood of Christ is effectual. As I said earlier,
I didn't forget. That means it gets the job done.
Let me make four statements before I look back at Leviticus 8 with
you for a moment. And I want you to hear these
things because this is where Satan's opposition to the gospel
rages most vehemently. This is the point at which self-serving
prophets of deceit will most quickly and most subtly deny
the gospel. I have observed in recent years
a number of men who at least once gave lit service to believing
that Christ actually redeemed his people. And they've fallen
over top of themselves trying to figure out a way to say this
in such a way that sinners won't be offended by it. It can't be
done. It can't be done. The gospel of God's free grace,
the glory of God, the truth of God, stands or falls with the
accomplishments of Calvary. Everything. Everything right
here. The whole message of the gospel is wrapped up in blood
atonement. When we say that the blood of
Christ is effectual, this is what we mean. This is the doctrine
of scripture. He put away our sins. Who sins? His peoples. But the books say he came to
save his people from their sins. His people, that's all the people
trusted to him from eternity. All the people chosen by him
before the world began. All the people who come to him
in time. All the people who are called
by his spirit. But our sins were put away long
before we came to and they were put away when he said it's finished. The Lord Jesus did not make a
stab or just provide for the provision of sins being put away. He put them away. Brother Lindsey
was speaking this morning concerning the heresy of free will, Arminian
works, religion. But nobody, nobody, well there
are a few. Heretics are dumb enough to reveal
the colors and they'll tell you that your works have something
to do with salvation. But not many. Most everybody talks about
salvation by grace. They use the word, but it comes
out sounding like free will. They talk about salvation through
Christ, but it comes out like salvation by you. How come? Because
when they get done talking about grace, Bobby, this is how they
put it. The Lord Jesus, he did everything
to save you. He obeyed God. He died at Calvary. He paid the price sufficient
to put away sin. then God will accept you. All
you have to do is. What was that? All you have to
do? Oh, you mean he didn't really
do anything. That's what the Grinch. All you have to do? Oh, you mean
salvation is by works after all. That's exactly what the Grinch.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We're talking about what you
do with your will. Oh, now you're talking about worshipping yourself.
That's what Paul called it, will worshipping. Read the book of
God. It's exactly right. Oh, preacher, are you saying
sinners are saved by doing nothing? You got it. Jesus Christ Did not do all the
work of salvation except the final little touch that you finish
up with. Oh no. He put away sin. He put away sin. He put away
sin. Believe on Him now and I'm telling
you He put your sins away 2,000 years ago. Believe on Him now
and I'm telling you that your faith in Him is the result of
him having put your sins away. You could not, he would not believe
had he not put your sins away and now given you faith by his
grace. Secondly, when our Lord Jesus had fully paid the debt
of his people, he obtained eternal redemption for us with his blood. He got the package. He obtained eternal salvation. No question about it. There's
somebody going to be saved because Christ died for them. Number
three, every sinner for whom Christ shed his blood at Calvary,
no exceptions, shall at God's appointed time of mercy, love,
and grace be brought to him and shall gladly come to him by the
power of his spirit. Portrayed here in the blessed
anointing oil, the Holy Spirit will be given to all for whom
the blood was shed. I remember the first message
I heard Brother Jesse Gestan preach. He said, where the blood
don't flow, the Spirit don't go. Then I'm telling you that
where the blood flows, the Spirit always goes. I don't pace the floor and wonder
whether or not God's going to maybe possibly use the gospel
I preach. I know he's going to. I know
he's going to save somebody. I know he is. Somebody's going
to hear his voice. Somebody's going to come to him
because Christ obtained redemption for him. Fourthly, all for whom
Christ died at Calvary shall be saved. by the power and grace
of God the Holy Spirit. Now let's look at this anointing
for just a minute. Between the anointing of Aaron in verse 12, and the anointing of Aaron's
sons, between the anointing of the great high priest who stands
alone, and the anointing of us priests, that is, we who are
believers, Several things took place. Aaron
was anointed in verse 12, then the blood was shed. The facts
of the sacrifice was consumed on the altar. The breast was
waved before the Lord. And only then do we read in verse
30 that Moses took the anointing oil and of the blood which was
on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments and
on his sons and on his son's garments and sanctified Aaron
and his garments and sanctified his sons and his son's garments
with it. In other words, perfect atonement
has been made. The Lord Jesus, who died at Calvary
under the wrath of God as our substitute, has now ascended
back into heaven, ascended up in resurrection power by the
merit of his blood and by the power of his life. Emmanuel has
taken his place in heaven. and we've taken our place with
him. He's taken possession of heaven for himself, but he's
taken possession of heaven for us. And the sweet savor of his
sacrifice constantly ascends before the throne of God. All
this comes between his anointing and our anointing, between the
anointing of the head and the anointing of his members. In verses 8 through 12, we see
Aaron alone. The breastplate, the Urim, the
Thummim, the golden plate, the holy crown placed upon his miter. Aaron alone was anointed. The tabernacle and all that was
therein sanctified. The altar, the vessels, everything
sanctified. And then in verse 12, Moses poured
the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to sanctify
him. And the whole assembly is looking
at Abraham. Just the way God intended it.
Every eye focused on one man. Oh, look at that priest. Look at those precious stones.
Look at that breastplate. Look at that miter. And look
right in the front of that miter, that turban. Look at the crown
he wears. As he goes about his business
before God, he wears a name that no other man can wear. He wears
the name holiness to the Lord. And thus he stands alone. But he wears that name as God's
high priest. He wears that name as the great
high priest of Israel. His being anointed alone shows
us then a special picture of our Savior. You see, without
the shedding of blood, there could be no union between Aaron
and his sons. Aaron's sons could never be brought
into the tabernacle. They could never be brought into
the priesthood except blood be shed. And then the anointing
comes to Aaron's sons as well. without the shedding of blood
is no remission. We could not be one with Christ. We could not be united with Christ. We could not enter into the holy
place with Christ. We could not be brought to God
by Christ, except by the shedding of his blood. When the blood
has been shed and the blood has been accepted, we are accepted
before God as one with Christ with the same anointing, with
the same sanctification he enjoys. The anointing oil is now ours. Well, why weren't Aaron's sons
anointed when he was back in verse 12? Because the blood hadn't
been shed. Look at verse 10 for a moment.
Verse 10 and 11. Moses took the anointing oil,
and anointed the tabernacle, and all that was therein, and
sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon
the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels,
both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. Now hold your hands there and
turn to John chapter 17 for a moment. I believe you'll learn something
there. I did. What is meant by sanctification? Moses took the blood and the
holy anointing oil and sprinkled it on everything in the tabernacle. Everything. Settled all the dust
of sin, so there's no sin floating around in there, no dust floating
around. He sanctified the altar and the
table and all the instruments in the tabernacle. He sanctified
them with blood and with oil. And thereby, he says, these things,
this tabernacle and all its furnishings are set apart for God. They're
not to be used for anything else except this. for sinners to come
to God. That's all. Their only purpose
is to do the will of God for the glory of God. They're consecrated
to this use for sinners to come to God. All right, look at John
17, 19. For their sakes, I sanctify myself. I set myself apart, my father. to you, that they also might
be sanctified through the truth, through me, through the gospel
of my grace. Our Savior is like one of those
temple vessels. He came here in human flesh and
sets himself apart. Lo, I come to do thy will. And I've come here for just one
purpose. Just one purpose. So that sinners can come to God
this way. So that sinners can come to God
this way. I must needs go home by the way
of the cross. There's no other way but this.
I've got to go this way. And blessed be God. I can't go
this way. You see, the Lord Jesus set himself
apart willingly and voluntarily to be the sinner's savior for
the glory of God before the world began. Oh, glorious gospel we
preach. Jesus Christ, the son of God,
is the sinner's savior. Angels can't use him for such.
Angels can't touch him in this regard, but sinners everywhere,
sinners anywhere, the guiltiest sinner out of hell may come to
God this way, trusting Jesus Christ the Lord by the blood
of his cross. All right. And let me show you
one more thing. I won't take the time to read verses 31 through
35, but you read them when you get home. Aaron and his sons were shut
up in the tabernacle for seven days. Seven days. What day is that? That's the
day God finished all his work. What day is that? That's the
day when God rested from his work. What day is that seventh
day? That's the day when all the works
of God are concluded. What's that seventh day? That's
the day of grace. What's that seventh day? That's
the accepted time. That's the day of salvation.
Aaron and his sons are shut up for seven days with the sacrifice,
the boiled flesh. And they're shut up in there
with the bread out of the basket of consecrations. And Moses said,
now, boys, you stay right here and eat this flesh and eat this
bread for seven days. And don't you go out of Tabernacle.
Don't you go out. Keep this charge that you die
not. And that's where we are. We are
shut up with Christ. In the holy place. feasting on
his sacrifice. The high priest and his sons
together, feasting on the same sacrifice, eating from the same
basket of consecrations. And there we abide, and we keep
this charge, believing in, and we'll never die. They shall never
perish. And then in chapter 9, On the
eighth day they came out. They've been shut up for seven
days waiting for the promise that God gave of the revelation
of His glory. And then on the eighth day they
came out and the glory of God appeared to everybody. Here we
are. There's an eighth day coming.
That's the day that hasn't yet been made. That's the day that
has never yet been. That's the day of the new creation.
That's the day when the glory of the Lord will be revealed
in all the earth. Christ will come and every eye
will see Him. And they also which pierced Him. All shall look on Him and all
shall see in Him the glory of God. And in that day, I want to say like Old Blake said
concerning Charlie Darrow. See him? Look, wandering worlds! Look, angels of heaven! Look,
demons of hell! Look yonder at him! He died for
me. He died for me. I'm here because
he died for me. He's mine because he died for
me. God.