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.

SIGNED SEALED AND AWAITING DELIVERY

Proclamation:

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins ... and you also …When you believed you were marked in Him with a seal, the promise of The Holy Spirit, … until the redemption of those who are God’s possession ..." Ephesians 1:7 and 13-14 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Ephesus.  Paul wanted them to know that they were only acceptable to God because they had been redeemed and purchased by the blood of Christ who paid the price for their sins to be forgiven by His death on the cross.  Paul also wanted them to know that the moment they first believed in Christ, The Holy Spirit of God marked and sealed them as belonging to Christ.  They would be kept and protected until they were redeemed and repossessed by The Lord Jesus.

Application:

As believers we were purchased by the blood of Christ.  We were sealed by The Holy Spirit the moment we believed.  We belong to Jesus, The Christ, and we are just waiting to be delivered to Him.  That is some very good news which is worth shouting about.  So, as Christians, to paraphrase the song by Stevie Wonder, we are "signed, sealed, (and waiting to be) delivered, (because) we're His".  We are just waiting for the rapture. (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

"Father Forgive Them"

"Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."  Luke 23:34 (NIV)

According to the record of Luke, the physician companion of the Apostle Paul, one of the last things that Jesus did as He hung on the cross at Calvary was to pray for the people who were responsible for His suffering and crucifixion.

There are those who believe that Jesus prayed that prayer for the forgiveness of those Roman solders who were involved in His physical crucifixion.  However, most of us know that Jesus was actually praying for all of us, all of humanity, because it was for the remission of our sins that the shedding of His blood, His crucifixion, His death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection was necessary. (Galatians 1:4 & 1 John 2:2)  The price He paid, He paid for all of us. (Romans 5:8 & 14:9)  We should remember that as we celebrate the period of Passover, the Passion Week, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday.  

His Blood For Our Forgiveness

"Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you.  This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."  Matthew 26:27-28 (NIV)

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, to His disciples at the last supper before they left the upper room and went to the garden at Gethsemane.  He made it clear that only by the shedding of His blood would the sins of the many be forgiven.

The cup of wine represents and signifies the blood of Christ.  The blood of Jesus was shed for the remission of our sins.  He who was without sin, took on the sins of the world, and paid the penalty for our sins, so that we might be saved.  When God, The Father, looks at us now, He sees the blood of His Son.  We are redeemed from our sins, purchased by the blood of Christ.  For without the shedding of His blood, there would be no remission of sin.  (Hebrews 9:22)  It is through His blood that we are cleansed from our sins.

The Blood Of Christ Still Works

"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)

Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin. The unknown author relates the Old Testament animal sacrifices for the atonement of sin repeated annually by the High Priest with the sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of sin once and for all.

For believers, the blood of Jesus covers all of our sins. Our salvation is only possible because of the blood of Jesus, who was without sin, was shed for the remission of our sins.

Don't Be Like Eli's Sons

"Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for The Lord ... Now Eli (the priest), who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among The Lord's people. If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against The Lord, who will intercede for him?" His sons, however, did not listen to their father's rebuke ... Therefore The Lord, The God of Israel, declares: ... Those who honor Me I will honor, but those who despise Me will be disdained." 1 Samuel 2:12-30 (NIV)

The point here, according to John Mac Arthur, was that if God would judge when one sinned against another man, how much more would He bring judgement against those who sinned against Him. There is a price to pay for flagrant disobedience. F J Dake states "Christ is the One who can mediate man's cause with God and He is the covering for the sins of all men should they avail themselves of such services of reconciliation." (Matthew 26:28)

Willful disregard for and rejection of The Lord Jesus, The Christ, will result in eternal damnation. Don't be like Eli's sons. When you mess up, "fess up", and get right with God. You cannot be saved from the penalty of sin without accepting the covering of the blood of Jesus.
Do not invite the wrath of God on your life.