THE BLOOD OF CHRIST STILL WORKS

Proclamation:

"In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.  It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.  Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.  Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.  But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.  Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him."  Hebrews 9:22-28 (NIV)

Explanation:

The unknown human author of The Bible Book of Hebrews wrote these words under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin. (Hebrews 9:22)  The author wanted the people of God to know that The Old Testament ritual of annual animal sacrifices by the High Priest for the atonement of human sin was no longer necessary. (Leviticus 14:19)  The blood shed by Jesus, The Christ, on that cross at Calvary as He sacrificed Himself, as The Lamb of God once and for all, was all that was needed to take away the sins of the world. (John 1:29)

Application:

The blood that Christ shed, as He sacrificed Himself in our place, cleansed us from all of our sins.  God, The Father, sees us only through the blood of Jesus.  His blood covers all of our sins.  Our salvation is only possible because Christ paid the price for us with His blood. (Ephesians 1:7)  Jesus, who was without sin, shed His blood for us and for the remission of our sins.  He did for us something that we could not do for ourselves and we should be eternally grateful.

JESUS PAID IT ALL

Proclamation:

"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."  Isaiah 53:5-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

By the aid of The Holy Spirit of God the Prophet Isaiah wrote to the people of God, first, to warn them about their sinful behavior, and then secondly to tell them about the coming Messiah, Jesus, The Christ.  Here Isaiah stated that Jesus took upon Himself all of our iniquities, and by His physical injuries we were healed.  His punishment paid for our peace and made our salvation possible.

Application:

Jesus, who never sinned, paid the price for all of our sins. (Romans 6:23)  He was the sacrificial lamb who shed His blood for the remission of our sins. (Hebrews 9:22)  Jesus, The Son of God, endured the wrath of God, The Father, for our sins as our substitute. (John 1:29 and Revelation 14:10)  We had gone our own sinful way instead of following His way.  In fact, He is the way. (John 14:6)  Because He was hurt, we can be healed.  Because He was pierced, we can be protected.  Because He was crushed, we can be cured.  Because He was flogged, we can be forgiven.  Because He was punished, we can have peace.  Because He was wounded, we can be washed in His blood.  Because He took our sins, we can be saved.  Jesus paid it all and He did it for us.

THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST WAS PREDICTED

Proclamation:

“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."  Isaiah 53:5-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

This Holy Spirit of God inspired prophesy of the prophet Isaiah was regarding the crucifixion of Jesus.  It foretold of His suffering and punishment as a substitute for us.  He paid the price for our sins and iniquities so that we might be saved, because, like sheep, we had gone astray and were lost.

Application:

Just as he had predicted the birth of Christ, more than four hundred years beforehand, (Isaiah 7:14), the prophet Isaiah also predicted the crucifixion of Christ for our sins.  He predicted that Christ would b wounded so that we could be healed.  The suffering that Christ endured, the verbal and physical abuse, being spat upon and beaten, being wiped and scourged, the crown of thorns, being nailed to the cross, being pierced in His side, and dying upon the cross was all done for our sins, transgressions, and iniquities. (Matthew 27:27-35 and Mark 15:15-26)  We had turned away from God and each of us was doing what was right in our own eyes. (Proverbs 12:15)  We were lost, and He came to save the lost. (Matthew 18:11 and Luke 19:10)  Christ bore the sins of the world upon Himself and paid the price our sins so that we could have a chance at salvation. (John 1:29, John 12:27, John 18:37, and 1 John 2:2)  He suffered the chastisement of God for our sins in order to procure our salvation.  This is what Isaiah predicted would happen, and he predicted this long before Christ was born.  However, before we can receive the gift of salvation from the penalty of sin we must confess and believe in Jesus, The Christ. (Romans 10:9-10)

The Crucifixion Of Christ Predicted

"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."  Isaiah 53:5-6 (NIV)

This prophesy of the prophet Isaiah was regarding the crucifixion of Jesus.  It foretold of His suffering and punishment as a substitute for us.  He paid the price for our sins and iniquities so that we might be saved, because, like sheep, we had gone astray and were lost. 

Just as he had predicted the birth of Christ, more than four hundred years beforehand, (Isaiah 7:14), the prophet Isaiah also predicted the crucifixion of Christ for our sins.  The suffering that Christ endured, the verbal and physical abuse, being spat upon and beaten, being wiped and scourged, the crown of thorns, being nailed to the cross, being pierced in His side, and dying upon the cross was all done for our sins, transgressions, and iniquities. (Matthew 27:27-35 and Mark 15:15-26 )  We had turned away from God and each of us was doing what was right in our own eyes. (Proverbs 12:15)  We were lost, and He came to save the lost. (Matthew 18:11 and Luke 19:10)  Christ bore the sins of the world upon Himself and paid the price our sins so that we could have a chance at salvation. (John 1:29, John 12:27, John 18:37, and 1 John 2:2)  He suffered the chastisement of God for our sins in order to procure our salvation.  This is what Isaiah predicted would happen, and he predicted this long before Christ was born.  However, salvation from the penalty of sin is only available if we confess and believe. (Romans 10:9-10)

There Is No Condemnation For Those Who Are In Christ

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of The Spirit of Life set me free from the law of sin and death."  Romans 8:1-2 (NIV)

In his letter to the believers in The Church at Rome, the Apostle Paul told them that all believers were set free from the penalty of sin.  He said they were no longer condemned because Jesus died as a sin offering and He condemned the sin in sinful man who believes. (Romans 8:3)  

Those of us who believe are free from the penalty of sin through Jesus, The Christ, but are not free from sinning.  Since all unrighteousness is sin, anything that we do which does not give glory to God is a sin. (1 John 5:17)  However, if we live our lives according to The Spirit of God, we will think more often about the things that God desires. (Romans 8:6)  The unsaved person has a sinful mind, is controlled by their sinful nature, and frequently thinks about sinful things.  Their sinful thoughts and actions are hostile towards God and they cannot please God. (Romans 8:7-8)  Believers are not controlled by a sinful nature, they are controlled by The Spirit of God and their desire is to do that which is pleasing to God. (Romans 8:9-10)  If we are not trying to please God, then who are we trying to please?  If The Spirit of God is within us, then we will live, as best we can, by The Word of God. (Romans 8:11)  When we mess up, we will fess up, we will get up, and we will pray for His help continue to walk the Christian walk.

While We Run This Race Let Us Focus On Jesus

"... Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

This text by the author of Hebrews could be restated to allow ease of understanding. Let us Christians put aside all of our unprofitable beliefs and sins, and let us endure our challenging faith-filled lives with our eyes fixed on Jesus who endured the suffering of the cross to satisfy His Father and pay the price for our salvation.

Our Christian lives can be compared to a race which is similar to a combination of a marathon and a steeplechase, it requires perseverance and endurance, in addition to the negotiation of frequent obstacles, some more challenging than others. In order to complete this race, we must focus on the prize and the satisfaction that comes at the end when we finish and know that our effort resulted in hearing "well done" from "He who made it possible" for us to run the race.