Tonight I'm going to be preaching
on the circumcision of Timothy. You read about it in Acts chapter
16, the circumcision of Timothy. Now in that passage of scripture
I just read out of Genesis chapter nine, the Lord told Noah and
his family, all the animals are food for you. Doesn't matter
what it is, it is meat for you. One restriction is given. The
consumption of the blood of that animal is forbidden. And this was before the Levitical
law. Right after they got out of the
ark, the consumption of blood is forbidden. Turn with me for
a moment to Leviticus chapter 17. I've entitled this message, Who
is the blood for? Who is the blood for? Look in verse 10. And whatsoever
man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that
sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood, I will even
set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut
him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is
in the blood. And I have given it to you upon
the altar to make an atonement for your souls." Notice, I have
given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your
souls, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. So we see before the giving of
the law, we have this command. We see this command in the law.
Now turn with me to Acts chapter 15. This is the New Testament. We touched on this a few weeks
ago. Verse 20, right unto them, this
is the Gentile church at Antioch, right unto them that they abstain.
from pollutions of idols, from fornication, from things strangled,
and from blood." Look in verse 29, you abstain from meats offered
to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from
fornication. And in chapter 16, verse 4, and
as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees
for to keep those four things that were ordained of the apostles
and elders which were at Jerusalem. Now, why this command? It was given before the Levitical
law, it's given in the Levitical law, and it's given to the church
in the New Testament. Why this command? Now, it's not
a command as in one of the Ten Commandments or any of the commandments
commanded in the Levitical law. This is a gospel issue. Why is
this given? Because the blood is not for
me or you. The blood is for God. Now let me repeat that, and I
want you to think about it, and I think, hopefully, if the Lord's
pleased to bless it, we'll understand this more clearly. The blood
is not for you. It's not for your consumption.
Blood is for God. 50 times, over 50 times in the
book of Leviticus, when we read of the blood being offered, it
was always said to be placed before the Lord. 50 times before
His face is what the word means. You see, the blood was not presented
to you. The blood was presented to God. God said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Not when
you see the blood. As a matter of fact, if you were
in the house with the blood over the door, you couldn't see it.
But that's not what matters. God said, when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. And the high priest went into
the Holy of Holies once a year, once a year, not without blood. He didn't just come waltzing
into God's presence, not without The writer of the Hebrews said,
and almost all things are by the law purged with blood. And
without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. Now this book that we're looking
at this morning, the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, here's the subject. The character of God. He's holy. That means he's not in any way
like me or you. He's other. The character of man. He's utterly
sinful. That's you. That's me. That's
all men. That's God's testimony. utterly
sinful. And the Bible tells us how a
holy God can embrace a sinful man through the blood atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the theme of this book. In Genesis chapter 3, as soon
as the fall takes place, what happens? A lamb is slain to cover
their nakedness. In Genesis chapter 4, two men,
Cain and Abel, what was the difference between those two men? The blood. As we saw last week, as soon
as Noah walked out of the ark, what's the first thing he did?
He built an offer and offered blood sacrifice. It's the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. Now, men have called this barbaric. Many have even called this a
slaughterhouse religion, this thing of the shedding of blood. And the only reason they say
that is they don't know God and they don't know themselves. If
I would make any apology for preaching on the blood of Christ,
it's that I don't preach it enough and that I'm not clear enough
on it. That's the only apology and may the Lord enable us to
enter in to who the blood is for. When Paul summarized his
preaching, he summarized it like this. We preach Christ crucified,
the blood shedding of the Son of God. And he said, I've determined
not to know anything among you, not to consider anything as important
as worth mentioning, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified, the
shedding of His Blood. The cross, the shedding of the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most God-like thing God
has ever done. Now, the first thing I would
like for us to consider is whose blood was shed? Whose blood was shed? You see, if my blood was shed
for you, What good would it do you? It wouldn't do anything for you. But the blood we're talking about
is the blood of the God man. The Lord Jesus Christ, Paul said,
feed the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. Strong language, isn't it? Who
is he that condemneth? Paul asks in Romans 8, verse
34. Who is he that condemneth? And
here's his answer. It's Christ that died. By his own blood, the writer
to the Hebrews said, by his own blood, he entered once into the
holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us. The blood of God the Son. And this blood, the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ, this blood that was shed for God, is eternal
blood. The blood of God's purpose. We read in Revelation 13 and
this is the whole Bible. Now you listen to this carefully.
Get hold of this, by the grace of God, the whole Bible is interpreted
in light of this verse of scripture. Christ is the Lamb having been
slain from the foundation of the world. And the whole Bible
is interpreted in light of that. Before there was a creation,
before there was time, before there was space, before there
was matter, he's the Lamb having been slain. bloodshedding from before the
foundation of the world. We read in Hebrews 13, verse
20, of the blood of the everlasting covenant, the covenant that never
had a beginning, the covenant that never has an ending, the
blood of the everlasting covenant. You see, it was with his blood
that he obtained eternal redemption for us. The blood of Jesus Christ
is not God's response to anything. The blood of Jesus Christ is
God's eternal purpose. It's the reason for everything. His blood is the only innocent blood, the only sinless
blood that's ever been. You think of all the billions
of people that have died up to this point, billions and billions. Ain't nobody ever had innocent
blood. Now I realize that the Lord Jesus
Christ, when sin was counted to Him, when He took the sins
of His people on, when He was made sin, He was guilty before
God. He wasn't treated as if He were
guilty, He was guilty. My sin literally became His.
He bore my sin in His own body on the tree, but in and of Himself,
His blood is sinless blood, innocent blood. The point is, he never
sinned. Paul said he knew no sin. Judas said, I have betrayed the
innocent blood. Pilate said, I find no fault
in him. The dying thief said, this man
hath done nothing amiss. The Roman centurion said, surely
this was a righteous man, a man without sin. God the father said,
this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Why, the Lord even said of Satan,
the prince of this world has come and found nothing in me. How much could he find in you?
How much could he find to work with? When he came to the Lord
Jesus Christ, he found nothing. For his blood to do anything
for God, remember the blood was for him, It had to be sinless
blood. Now, who was this blood shed
for? This is the theme of the Bible. I could not be speaking
on anything more glorious or more important. Who was the blood
shed for? You cannot preach the blood of
Christ if we don't tell FOR WHOM His blood was shed. That has
to be paramount in giving what the Bible says with regard to
His blood. Well, I've already quoted this
scripture, FEED THE CHURCH OF GOD, which He purchased. with his own blood. Who did he purchase? The church
of God. The Lord said, I lay down my
life for the sheep. Not goats, the sheep. Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. Christ Jesus, when he shed his
precious blood, he shed his blood. for the elect to present them
to God. Now, 99%, and I think that's generous,
of what is called Christendom teaches that Jesus Christ shed
his blood for all men without exception, and forgiveness is
offered to you on that basis. Jesus Christ shed his blood for
all men without exception. He died for everybody, put away
everybody's sins, and now God offers you forgiveness on that
basis. Now listen to me real carefully.
There is not a drop of gospel in that message. No gospel. Somebody that preaches that does
not preach the gospel. Somebody that believes that does
not believe the gospel. My only hope is that his blood
will shed for me. If you tell me that his blood
can be shed for somebody who winds up in hell anyway, I know
I'll wind up in hell. Because the only hope I have,
oh, I wish I could say this, The only hope that I have is
that Jesus Christ paid for my sins, and I'm not going to have
to pay for them. His blood, when we talk about
this blood that's for God, it was for the satisfaction of
God. You see, for Him to do something
for me or you, He had to first do something for Himself. That's
why he gave his son to die, for him to accept me, for him to
embrace me, for him to love me. He's gonna first have to do something
for himself before he can do anything for me. He's the one
who gave his son. His son willingly shed his blood
for God, so God can accept me and God is satisfied with the
blood of his son. And the proof of that is the
resurrection. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. He was raised because God was
infinitely satisfied with what he did. I am satisfied, God said. That's why he raised his son
from the dead. And he's satisfied with everyone he represented.
Perfectly satisfied. He's not looking for anything
else. He's not looking for anything else out of you. He is satisfied,
infinitely satisfied with the blood of his son. And you know
what? I am too. I'm not looking for anything
else. I'm satisfied in what God's satisfied with. I don't find
my satisfaction in my feeling of satisfaction. I find my satisfaction
in seeing that God is satisfied with the death and resurrection
of his son. Nothing else is needed. You see,
his blood is sanctifying blood. Hebrews 13, 12 says, wherefore
Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood. And generally people look at
sanctification as how you conduct yourself. Well, how you conduct
yourself is infinitely important. I wouldn't say it's not, but
that's not what sanctification is. The blood of Christ sanctifies. By one offering,
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, by the which
will we are sanctified once for all through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ. You know what that means? You
know, Psalm 86, when David said, I'm holy, I used to read that
and I'd cringe. How does he say that? I know
how he says it now. The blood of Christ makes me
holy. I'm holy. And I'm not looking
to any works on my part that prove that to me. It's the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, sanctifying blood. His blood is redeeming
blood. The price has been paid. I said
this a couple of weeks ago. We don't sing Jesus paid a half
the other half I owe. No, we sing Jesus paid it all,
all the dead I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain,
he washed it white as snow. Peter said, for you know that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold,
from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. His blood is justifying blood. Romans 5, 9, being justified
by his blood. Now, if I'm justified, that means
I don't have any guilt. That means more than being forgiven.
I stand before God's law perfect, sinless. That is what His precious
blood accomplished. It's peace making blood. Colossians 1, verse 20 says,
having made peace through the blood of His cross. Now that
peace is not referring to the peace I feel. I love to feel
peace, but that means God's at peace with me. He's got no reason
to be mad at me. He made my peace with God. He was delivered for our offenses,
raised again for our justification, therefore by faith we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. His blood is forgiving
blood. It's the cause of forgiveness,
Ephesians 1, 7, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins. Now, let me tell you something
about the forgiveness of sins. It doesn't come at the end. Well,
you do this, you believe, you repent, you change your life,
you whatever, fill in the blank and you'll have the forgiveness
of sins. No, God's salvation begins with the complete forgiveness
of sins. That's how you start out. They're
all forgiven through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
in his precious blood, there is present cleansing. 1 John
1, 7 says, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth. Not has cleansed,
not will cleanse. Right now, present tense, the
blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. I become so defiled every day. My feet dirty. and spoiled by
sin, and I need cleansed every single day of every single moment,
every single second. You know, that laver that you
had to, first there was the altar, and then that laver with the
water in it, what that represents is the continual cleansing of
that sacrifice. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanses us from all sin. And listen to this. Having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood. There's only one place boldness
is. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bold shall I stand in
that great day, for who ought to my charge lay. FULLY ABSOLVED
FROM THESE I AM THROUGH SINS, TREMENDOUS CURSE AND SHAME. THAT'S
WHAT THE BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST DOES. IT GIVES US BOLDNESS,
CONFIDENCE TO ENTER INTO THE VERY HOLIEST, THE VERY PRESENCE
OF GOD. AND THIS BLOOD WE'RE SPEAKING
OF IS THE BLOOD ONCE SHED. WHAT THAT MEANS IS IT'S SO EFFECTIVE
IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE SHED AGAIN. When he said it is finished,
you know what? It's finished. You know, all
I got to do is think about that and tension comes out of my body.
It's finished. That's the power of his blood.
It's never to be shed again. Every high priest, often daily,
offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away saved. But
this man entered in once into the holy place. Having obtained
eternal redemption for us, now once in the end of the world
hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
You see, it's the blood once shed. No need for it to be shed
again. It's effectual blood. It's the
blood of heavenly worship. Now, what was going on before
time began? The land was slain from the foundation of the world.
What's going on right now? We're looking to His blood only.
Let me give you a view into eternity future. That great group around
the throne, you can read about it in Revelation 5. You know
what they're singing? Thou art worthy to take the book and to
open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed us
by thy blood. out of every kindred, tongue,
people, and nation, and has made us unto our God kings in Greece."
You know, if that's not the theme of your worship now, you won't
be there. This is the theme of heavenly worship, the blood of
Jesus Christ. Now, I would like to close by
turning to Romans chapter 3. Verse 24. Well, let me read verse 23 first. For all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now, there's
your history. There's my history. Sinned. Come short. What a definition of sin. Coming
short of the glory of God. That's me. That's you. End of
story with regard to me and you. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Verse 24, being justified, freely
By His grace. It has to be free to us or we
can't have it. We've sinned and come short of His glory, but
thank God it's freely. Being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption, the shed-blooding, or the blood-shedding
of the Lord Jesus Christ, His death on Calvary's tree, His
redeeming death, whom God set forth to be a propitiation, a
sin-removing sacrifice, Now look at this phrase, through faith
in his blood. Through faith in his blood. Do you have faith in his blood? I'm not asking you what you think
about yourself. I'm asking you this, do you, you personally,
right now while you're listening to this message, do you have
faith in His blood? Are you relying on the accomplishments
of His blood? Do you believe God is satisfied? with His blood? Are you personally relying on
God's satisfaction with His blood? Do you believe His blood is the
blood of God? Do you believe his blood is sinless
blood? Do you believe that his blood
is effectual saving blood? Do you believe that his blood
is sanctifying blood? Do you believe his blood is redeeming
blood? Do you believe his blood is justifying
blood? Do you believe that his blood
is peacemaking blood? Is the only hope you have that
his blood is continually cleansing, continually? Do you believe that
there is forgiveness in his blood? Do you believe there's a finality
in his blood that it doesn't have to be shed anymore? Effectually
accomplished what he purposed. Can you see where his blood,
do you find his blood? This is the only way, the only
way you come into his presence is his blood. There is no other
way. Do you believe His blood is the
theme of heavenly worship? Do you have faith in His blood? Hymn number 212. My hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not
trust the sweetest flame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Let's pray. Lord, in Christ's
name, we ask that you would teach us and enable us to have faith in his precious
blood, enable us to understand what can wash away my sins, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes us white as snow, no other fount I know, nothing but the
blood of Jesus. Come listen at him, 212. That's
what I meant to say.