The Precious Blood of Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about redemption through Christ's blood?

The Bible teaches that we are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, not by corruptible things like silver or gold. According to 1 Peter 1:18-19, we are redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. This emphasizes that our redemption is a divine act, founded in the sacrificial death of Jesus, who is termed the Lamb without spot or blemish. Throughout Scripture, the blood of Christ is presented as the sole basis for forgiveness and reconciliation with God, highlighting that it was His blood that satisfied divine justice and secured our salvation. As Ephesians 1:7 states, in Him we have redemption through His blood, emphasizing the significance of the blood in the context of God’s redemptive plan.

Q: How do we know Christ's sacrifice was sufficient for our sins?

We know Christ's sacrifice was sufficient because His blood was pure, offered once for all, and is effective for complete cleansing from sin. The sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice is underscored in the New Testament, particularly in Hebrews 9:11-12, where it states that Christ entered the holy place once for all by His own blood, securing eternal redemption. This highlights that His sacrifice was once and for all, negating the need for repeated offerings. The purity of His blood, being without sin, makes it a perfect sacrifice. Additionally, Hebrews 10:14 confirms that by one offering, He perfected forever those who are sanctified, assuring believers of their complete and permanent redemption. Thus, we can be confident in the efficacy of His sacrifice based on His perfect nature and the finality of His atonement.

Q: Why is the blood of Christ considered precious?

The blood of Christ is precious because it is pure, sufficient for salvation, and the means through which we are reconciled to God. The preciousness of Christ's blood stems from several factors. Firstly, it is the blood of the Son of God, making it inherently valuable. Secondly, His blood is pure, untainted by sin, and thus capable of cleansing us from all unrighteousness, as stated in 1 John 1:7. Further, His blood is effective; it does not merely cover sin but cleanses fully and completely. The blood was also offered once for all, securing eternal redemption as indicated in Hebrews 9:12. This singular act of sacrifice reflects both the love of God and the depth of Christ's commitment to His people. Hence, we continually reflect on the significance of His blood throughout our lives as Christians.

Q: How does understanding the blood of Christ impact a believer's faith?

Understanding the blood of Christ solidifies a believer's faith by ensuring confidence in salvation and grace. The understanding of the blood of Christ is foundational for a believer's faith because it anchors our hope in the completed work of Christ. Knowing that we are saved by His precious blood allows us to trust wholly in God's grace rather than our works. As stated in 1 Peter 1:21, our faith and hope are grounded in God, and recognizing the central role of Christ’s sacrifice enhances our relationship with Him, instilling assurance and confidence in our salvation. Believers are encouraged to continually remember and reflect upon the significance of the blood in their lives, as it nurtures a deeper appreciation for God's mercy and strengthens their faith against doubt and despair.

1 Peter chapter 1, Peter says in
verse 18, for as much as you know, and
what I'm preaching tonight, and what we're doing tonight in symbol
and picture is not speculation, and this is not theory. Peter said, this is something
we know. This is something that we know,
for as much as you know. You know, several writers of
Holy Scripture use this word, I know. Job said, I know whom
I have believed. This is not just a fancy, a passing
fancy. This is not just a theory. This
is not something out of my imagination. I know my Redeemer liveth. I know He liveth. And the Apostle
Paul also spake so positively, dogmatically. He said, I know
whom I have believed. It's not I know when. I'm sure
he did. It's not I know what. I'm sure
he knew that. But he said, I know whom I have
believed. And I am confident, I am persuaded,
that he's able to keep that which I've committed to him against
that day. John used it frequently. If you
read the epistle, the first epistle of John, you'll hear him talking
about, we know that we have passed from death unto life. We know
that we've passed from death unto life. We know that. And then Paul wrote in Romans
chapter 8, he said, and we know. And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are called
according to His purpose. We know these things. And when
a man knows these things, that's when committal takes place. It's very difficult to commit
anything of value to something you suspect. Isn't that right? It's difficult
to commit anything of value to that of which you're not quite
certain. That's the reason in today's
church-anity, and I think we need to quit calling it Christianity, It's not Christianity. Christianity
is Christ's people. Christian. C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N
is a Christian, like I'm a Kentuckian. I'm a Kentuckian. I live in Kentucky. My home's in Kentucky. My life
is lived in Kentucky. I pay my taxes in Kentucky. I abide by the laws of the state
of Kentucky. I'm a citizen of Kentucky. I'm
a Kentuckian. And that's the only way a man
is a Christian, who lives in Christ, who abides
in Christ. That's right. So quit calling
them Christians. Isn't that right? John, you're not a Kentuckian.
You're an Ohioan. Jim, you're not a Kentuckian.
So we don't call you one, do we? I don't call you a Kentuckian. You're Howard. That's right,
Juanita, you're not a Kentuckian. We love you just the same. But I'm a Kentuckian. And people who are Christians
are Christians because they live in Christ. And the reason we have so little
commitment on the part of today's church entity, you can call them
church churchans because they hang out at those places. But
the reason we have so little commitment is because they're
speculating. They're not sure. They're like
the Athenians. They've erected idols to unknown
gods in case they're wrong. That's the reason those folks
down there in Athens put that idol up to that unknown God.
They weren't sure about their God, so in case they missed one,
they erected one to the unknown God. And that's the reason there's
so much tolerance in churchanity with people that are totally
opposite. It's because they're fearful
that they might be wrong. So there's no commitment. You
only commit that which is of value, which is your soul, your
life, your home, your children, your possessions and everything,
to something of which you are absolutely certain. Certain. And when you are certain, you
can say, I know whom I have believed. I know that my Redeemer lives.
I know I've passed from death unto life. I know that all things
work together for my good. And that's the language he's
using here. I know. I know. What do you know, Peter? What do you know? Well, I know
this. I know we're not redeemed with
corruptible things. What do you mean redeemed? What do you mean redeemed? Redeemed
is to be bought back. Redeemed is to be set free. Redeemed
is to be delivered. We have been redeemed. We have
been redeemed out of the clutches and out of the bondage and out
of the hand of Him who held us. We've been redeemed from sin.
You were the servants of sin, but you've been redeemed. You've
been set free. Sin is no longer your master.
Christ is your master. Whoever's servant you are, you
obey, and whichever master you obey, his servant you are. We've
been redeemed from sin. Sin is not our master. Oh, we
know sin remains with us, but it doesn't reign over us. Sin is a pestilent fellow who
lives on the property, but he ain't sitting on the throne.
Right? We've been redeemed. from sin. We've been redeemed from religious
bondage. We've been redeemed from religious
tradition. We're no longer wrapped up in
religious tradition. We're no longer servants of denominations. We're no longer servants of custom
and servants of tradition handed down by our fathers. We're no
longer slaves and servants to religious clichÃ©s. and religious
traditions and religious days and religious forms, we've been
redeemed, right? Been delivered from that bondage
of religious tradition. We've been delivered from dead
works. We've been delivered from self-righteousness. We've been delivered, redeemed
from the clutches of the law, from the curse of the law. Cursed
is everyone that continues not in all things written in the
book of the law to do them. But Christ has been made a curse
for us, and he has redeemed us from the clutches and bondage
and curse of the law. We've been set free. We've been
redeemed. We've been delivered. But we
know this, we know that we were not redeemed by silver and gold. It's not a price we paid. We're
not redeemed by silver and gold. We're not redeemed by works and
deeds. The price of redemption is much
higher than that. A soul cannot be redeemed by
works. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be redeemed or justified. By the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. A man is not justified by the
works of the law. He's not justified by silver
and gold and works and deeds. He's justified by the blood of
Jesus Christ. God said, deliver him from going
down into the pit. I've found a suitable ransom. And that ransom is extremely,
extremely high in value. I'll show you just how valuable
that ransom is in a few moments. You were not redeemed with silver
and gold. You were not redeemed with corruptible
things. You were not redeemed with deeds
and works. You know that. We know we were
not redeemed. But, verse 19, We were redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. Oh, the precious blood of Christ. The blood of Christ. I hope we
never get so sophisticated that we quit talking about, thanking
God for, preaching about, and singing about the blood. The
blood. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. The Scripture makes much of it.
Ephesians 1, 7 says, "...in whom we have redemption through his
blood." 1 John 1, 7 says, "...the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us, cleanseth us from all sin."
Acts 20, 28, Paul said to the elders, "...feed the church of
God, which he purchased with his own blood." Luke 22, 20,
Our Lord gave the cup of wine to the disciples, and He said,
This cup is the new covenant in My blood, My blood, shed for you. I'll tell you this,
as I read the Word of God, and it doesn't read any differently
now at 63 than it did at 33. That's something I don't understand,
is sometimes when preachers get older, they get more tolerant
of error. They get more tolerant of error.
And I don't understand that because the Bible reads the same at 63
as it read at 33. They have less enthusiasm. They
have less conviction. They have less forcefulness.
They get tolerant. But one thing is so clear and
obvious to me when I read the Word of God even at 63, and that's
the unmistakable union and connection between God's mercy and the blood
of Christ. I never find God's mercy apart
from the blood. Do you? Do you? the unmistakable connection
between forgiveness and blood. Without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission. Now, when a 30-year-old reads
that or an 80-year-old reads that, it reads the same. I'm determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Is that just for
the energetic youth or for us old folks, John? Same thing,
isn't it? There's an inseparable, unmistakable connection between
forgiveness and blood. There's never any forgiveness
without the blood. And between the covering of sin
and the blood. The blood was always on the mercy
seat, and it never changed. It never changed under the priesthood
of Aaron. Or the last priest that ministered
in the tabernacle before they tore it down. It was the blood
on the mercy seat. Same sacrifice, same offering,
same ceremony. Never changed. Until Christ sprinkled
His blood on the mercy seat in glory. Leviticus 17, 11 says the life
of the flesh is in the blood. In the blood. Their life is in
the blood. And I've given it to you upon
the altar to make an atonement for your soul." Hebrews 9.22
said, and under the law almost everything. Moses sprinkled the
book. Moses sprinkled the vessel. Moses
sprinkled the tabernacle. Moses sprinkled the people. Almost
all things were purged with blood. And without the shedding of blood,
there's no forgiveness. Back down in the Garden of Eden,
When Adam and Eve had transgressed God's law and stood ashamed and
naked and broken and guilty, Almighty God himself with his
own hand slew an animal, shed its blood, and covered their
nakedness. When Abel would come near to
God in that example of worship That sacrifice with which God
was well pleased and God had respect to Abel and his offering,
it was an offering of blood. And right across the way, his
brother, I don't know whether a liberal or whether a tolerant
man or whether a compromiser, whatever he was, I don't know
whether a moral man or immoral, what difference does it make?
But he didn't bring the blood, and he was condemned. And Abraham on Mount Moriah,
when he saw the day of Christ our Lord, he saw it as he shed
the blood of a substitute ram on an altar where his son had
just laid. And Israel came out of Egypt
delivered because God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over
you." And that old tabernacle in the wilderness, the high point
of every year, the high point of every year in that tabernacle
in the wilderness, that place of worship where God met men
and men met God, was when that old high priest slew that bullet and came and crawled under the
veil. and took the blood into the holy
of holies before God Almighty's majestic glory and sprinkled
it on the mercy seat. The blood. The blood. Everything before and after.
Everything that day and the day before. Everything revolved around
that moment when the blood hit the mercy seat. And a holy just
God was reconciled. And yonder on Calvary's cross,
turn with me to Hebrews 9. Let's look at this and you tell
me what you conclude from this. Tell me what you conclude from
Hebrews 9 verse 11. But Christ being come, a high
priest, Hebrews 9, 11, a high priest of good things to come,
by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, that is, not made
with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by
the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the
blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling
the unclean sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, in type,
in shadow, in picture, how much more, oh, how much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God. I don't need to preach on that,
do I? What do you conclude from it? Well, I conclude this, there's
only one way for sin to be put away. There's only one way for
a sinner to approach a holy God. There's only one way that the
eternal God can be just and justified, and that is through the blood
of His Son, Jesus Christ. Actually, when those two men
went to the temple to pray, the Pharisee and the Publican, We
know the Pharisee prayed thus with himself, and God had no
regard to his prayer. But the publicans, who would
not so much as lift his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his
breast, his prayer was. And you ask anybody who knows
anything about the Word of God, his prayer was, O Lord, be propitiated. Let the blood be propitiation
for me on the mercy seat, for me the center." That's what he
said, back and about. Let the blood on the mercy seat
be propitiation for me. All right, another thing that's
clear. Turn back to the text. We know, we know, We know this. We were redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. Precious. His blood is precious. There are a few things in the
Bible called precious. Somebody said one time that we
carelessly use some words that maybe we ought not use. The word
wonderful. Wonderful. Everything's wonderful. But do you know who wears that
name wonderful, his name shall be called wonderful. And in the
light of that wonderful Lord, not much else is wonderful, is
it? Wonderful. And the Bible uses
the word precious, calls some things precious. It says he's
precious. To you who believe he's precious,
Bob read a while ago about the precious faith like precious
faith, and then His Word is precious. It is indeed, isn't it? Faith
is precious. Faith is God-given. Faith's the
gift of God. It's precious. Oh, if you can
believe, if you can believe, if I can believe, it's precious.
He's precious. Faith is precious. His Word's
precious. And precious in the sight of
the Lord is the death of a believer. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of a believer. And then here, we're redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ. You know why His blood is precious? It's because it's His blood that
is precious. Whose blood? It's the blood of
the Son of God. It's the blood of God. It's Christ's
blood. It's precious. I'll tell you
another reason why it's precious. It's untouched and untainted
by sin. It's pure blood. His blood is pure. We go down to the hospital to
give blood, and they'll take your blood, and they'll put it
under a microscope. Don't be insulted now, but they're
going to really look it over. They'll be looking for germs,
and looking for AIDS, and looking for jaundice, and looking for
hepatitis, and looking for... because our blood is corrupted. But I tell you this, that precious
blood of Christ is the blood of a lamb without spot or blemish. It's precious. Oh, to be sprinkled
in the blood of Christ. I tell you it's precious too
because it's sufficient to save. It cleanses us from all sin. I just imagine that about every
sin known to mankind could be confessed here in this auditorium
tonight, if not indeed, at least in thought. If not indeed, at least in thought. But his blood is sufficient and
effectual and is able to save and cleanse to the uttermost. Aren't you glad? That's the power
of his blood and the preciousness of his blood. And you want to
put, people want to put some religious works beside that cleansing,
precious, pure, sufficient blood of the Lamb. It's an insult to
God to even think about it, let alone talk about it. His blood
is precious, it's sufficient. And I'll tell you it's precious
too because it's offered one time. By one offering, He perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Just one time. One time. I'll tell you, especially now
at this age, I'll get up and see if I lock the door two or
three times. Y'all don't do that, do you? Check two or three times,
see if you set the alarm. Going to get up and go somewhere
and the next morning early you wake up all night long. You wake
up and look at your watch, afraid I've overslept. We're such, oh
my, we're such, infallible failing foolish people fickle keep a
home creatures But he came down here and died one time One time
he shed his blood one time he went to glory and what did it
sat down? It's done It's done the great
transactions done. I'm my Lord's and he is not He's
not even gonna check to see if it was done. It's done His sins
are gone. My sins are gone, gone, gone,
gone. My sins are gone. They're under
the blood. It's well with my soul. That's
right. Because He, by one offering, He died one time. That's what
makes it so precious. And His blood is precious because
it's going to be the song in glory. Well, they're singing
up there, unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sins
in His own blood. To Him be the glory, both now
and forever. All right, watch verse 20. Another
thing I know, that the death of Christ and the sacrifice of
His blood was no afterthought of God. God didn't discover that
He needed a Savior now that He had a sinner on His hands. Who verse 20 was verily, who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world. Foreordained. Foreordained. Before the need arose, actually. Before man fell in reality. Foreordained. For what? For the world. before the foundation of the
world. He's the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
I tell you this, you'll have no genuine understanding of and
you'll have no real appreciation for redemptive work of Christ
until you can see the eternality of it. You'll have no genuine understanding
of, nor will you have any appreciation for, or any confidence in, the
full redemptive work of Jesus Christ until you can see the
eternality of it, from before the foundation of the world to
the eons of the future. That God has but one Savior,
one Son to redeem, one Redeemer, one Mediator, one sacrifice for
Dispensationalism becomes the enemy of the sinner when it starts
dividing the work of Christ into different dispensations, ages
and days. That's right. There are dispensations
of revelation, but no dispensations of redemption. Is that right?
That's right. Oh, he's the great shepherd of
the everlasting covenant. The Lamb's book is the book of the Lamb slain
before the foundation of the world. God chose us in Christ
before the world began. Oh, isn't that good? One dear old lady said, upon
being asked, do you think the Lord loved you before you was
born? Why, she said, certainly, sonny. If he hadn't loved me
before I was born, he'd never love me after I was born. "'Tis
not that I did choose thee, for, Lord, that could never be. This
wicked heart would refuse thee, but thou hast chosen me.'" Ah, he said, you know, verse
18, for as much as you know, what do you know? What do you
know? I don't suspect. I know something. It's not even up for debate.
I know these preachers run around debating one another. I've got
nothing to debate. If I was in the debating business,
I'd back up and find out what I really believed. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. without controversy, without
debate, without question. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of the angels, believed on in
the world, and received up into glory. That's not up for debate.
I know, I know, for as much as you know, that you're redeemed. And we weren't redeemed with
silver and gold. from our vain conversation, but we were redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ. And he's no afterthought. He's
no Savior God found along the way. He was a Lamb chosen, slain,
foreordained before the world began. For whom? For you! I looked here, it says for you! For you, verse 21, number one,
who believe. For you who believe. It's not
for you who are preachers. It's not for you who are holier
than others. It's not for you who work a little
harder or give a little more. It's for you who believe. It's
for you who by Him do believe. By His grace. By His grace. By Him you believe. What do you
believe? You believe that God raised him
from the dead. You believe he died and you believe
his sacrifice was accepted of the Father and God raised him
as proof of it and evidence that Jesus Christ was the approved,
appointed Savior and accepted Savior. God raised him from the
dead. And not only that, but gave him glory and gave glory
to all in him. That's what we believe. that your faith and hope might
be in God. And verse 22, for you, for you
who have by the Spirit been able to lay hold of Christ and your
souls have been purified, your souls are purified by the sprinkling
of the blood of Christ in obeying the truth through the Spirit,
for you who have unfeigned genuine love of the brethren. Verse 23,
for you who are born again, not a corruptible seed. What's
that corruptible seed? That's the seed of a human father. That's the seed of a human father. D'Arcy and I have four children.
We didn't, by conception and begetting, impute any spiritual
value, life, or truth to them. how we're born again, by corruptible
seed. But we're born again by what?
By incorruptible seed. Unsinning seed. Pure, perfect
seed. Precious seed. Which is the Word
of God. We're born again, not of corruptible
seed. My children are Christians because
God saved me. God saved them because He would
save them. The same way He saves anybody.
But we're born again by the Word of God, by the incorruptible
seed of the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever, which
is a powerful seed, which is a life-giving seed. The incarnate
Word and the written Word are the same Word, and it's unstoppable. I tell you, when the corruptible
seed of a man germinates or something takes place with the egg of a
woman, there's no stopping it. There's a child. And I'll tell
you this, when this incorruptible seed, the Word of God, in the
hands of the Holy Ghost, the agent, is planted in a heart,
there ain't no stopping it. And you can't start that operation
by any means or methods of your own. It's not by corruptible
seed. It's not hopes a preacher will say something that will
convince my boy. Forget it. I hope the spirit preacher will
say something the Holy Spirit will use to convince my boy,
because he's the one that plants the seed and gives life. That's
right. That's right. That's who it's for. It's for
folks who are born again. It's for you. It's for you who
believe. It's for you who have been purified.
It's for you who love the brethren. It's for you who have been born
again by the incorruptible Word of God. It's for you who know,
verse 24, that all flesh is grace. And all the goodness and glory
of man is as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower
fadeth away. But praise God, the word of God
endureth forever. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. Isn't that good? Remember now, if you'll turn
in your Bibles to Luke chapter 22, and you know I can come, as Bob prayed
a moment ago, we've been here before, but it never gets old,
it never gets repetitious, it never gets commonplace, does
it? It's as fresh and new, maybe more today than ever before.
Because I know it's by His precious blood that I am what I am, know
what I know, have what I have, and will be what He's determined
for me to be by His blood.

The Precious Blood of Christ

What does the Bible say about redemption through Christ's blood?

How do we know Christ's sacrifice was sufficient for our sins?

Why is the blood of Christ considered precious?

How does understanding the blood of Christ impact a believer's faith?

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The Precious Blood of Christ

What does the Bible say about redemption through Christ's blood?

How do we know Christ's sacrifice was sufficient for our sins?

Why is the blood of Christ considered precious?

How does understanding the blood of Christ impact a believer's faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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