Listen:  127.4

We just cannot say enough about the importance of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Peter 1:18-19tells us, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, 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.”  Where nothing else in the world could save, or redeem us, the precious blood of Christ has redeemed us completely.  He is that Lamb of God who is without blemish or spot.  Christ was without blemish, which means He had no sin in Him.  Christ was without spot, which means He never sinned.  He was, and is, the perfect Son of God. 

We are told of the requirement of a blood sacrifice in Hebrews 9:22, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”  Why blood?  Why does the Lord desire blood to be shed for the remission of our sins?  In Leviticus 17:11the Lord tells us, “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: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”  Blood is the sustainer of life in all of us.  Without blood, we cannot live.  Notice here that it is blood upon the altar that gives atonement.  Blood running through the veins does not offer any redemption.  It is blood, the sustainer of life, poured out in sacrifice upon the altar that gives us salvation.  Was the blood of animals sufficient to take away sin?  Absolutely not!  Let’s read Hebrews 10:4, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”  The shed blood of all the animals that were sacrificed for the atonement of sins could never take away even one sin of one person.  These were only types of the One who could remove our sins by the sacrifice of Himself.  Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, Hebrews 10:14  tells us, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”  It was the offering of the Lord Jesus Himself that completely satisfied God’s righteous demands for the putting away of sin.  By the one offering of Himself, the Lord has perfected forever them that are sanctified, or made holy through faith in Christ.

Revelation 1:5speaks of Christ who, “…is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”  We read in Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”  The precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ: what a blessed theme to all of us who have trusted Him as our Lord and savior.  Scripture just speaks too much about the blood of Christ for us to mention here.  I’m reminded of the old hymn that says:

Precious, precious blood of Jesus, shed on Calvary,

Shed for rebels, shed for sinners, shed for me.

The precious shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ has saved us from our sins.  However, it is the Lord’s work as our High Priest that preserves our relationship with the Father.  Let’s read Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”  The death and shed blood of the Lord Jesus on the cross is His finished work.  Now as our High Priest, seated at His Father’s right hand, He has the continuing work of ministering to our continuing needs.  Many people today have developed the habit of ‘pleading the blood’ of Jesus.  They do this for needed strength or protection.  Is this Biblical?  No, there is not one instance in the scriptures where anyone ‘pled the blood’ of Jesus.  As believers on the Lord Jesus, it is the blood of Jesus that has redeemed us.  It is the Word of God that strengthens and protects us.  It is when we are continually in God’s Word that the Lord gives us the wisdom to overcome the temptation and power of Satan.  We are made strong by putting on the whole armor of God as we are taught in Ephesians 6:13-17.  We can effectively defeat our enemy when we obey the words of James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” 

It is the shed blood of the Lord Jesus that has saved us.  We are kept by the Lord when we read and obey His Word.  We are strengthened when we submit ourselves to Him and resist the devil.  It is our living High Priest, “…that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” as we read in Jude 1:24.  (127.4)