September
2007
REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD
Hebrews 9:7-12
There’s an old song that goes:
“I’ve been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb,
Filled with the Holy Ghost I am.
All my sins are washed away.
I’ve been redeemed. ”
What does it mean to be redeemed? The dictionary gives this definition: “To recover ownership of by paying a specified sum.” It means to buy back with a price.
You pay a ransom to set someone free from captivity – like a hostage or a kidnapping victim. Usually it is money exchanged, or meeting the demands of the kidnapper. Sometimes you will hear of a person trading places with the hostage and becoming the victim Himself. This is great love Christ bought us back from sin and eternal captivity with His blood, taking our place. He was not a victim. He chose to do this even from the foundation of the world. No one took His life. He laid it down for all of us held in captivity by sin. He paid the ransom price, which was his life.
The Apostle Peter writes that we “were not redeemed with corruptible things…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot.” I Peter 1:18-19
Our text today gives a wonderful theological picture of redemption in the Bible through three short phrases.
1. First Phrase: “Not without blood” Verse 7
There is power to redeem a soul from sin only through the blood of Christ.
You might ask, “Where does the power of the blood lie?” What gives the blood power to save that nothing else can give? The answer is revealed in an obscure passage in Leviticus 17:11 in which God explains to his people why the blood is different from everything else, “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 makes an atonement for the soul.”
The value of the blood of any living thing is based upon the value of the life that is in it. Leviticus 4 makes the comparison between a sheep or a goat and an ox. If you kill an ox, you have made a greater sacrifice than if you had killed a sheep or goat. The ox is more valuable and costs you more to give, so his blood is a great sacrifice.
We make the same comparison. You value a horse more than a rabbit. You might kill a mouse in your house, but it would be harder for you to kill a cow. If you had a valuable, rare breed of a dog, you might expect to get more money for it than for a stray mutt. But if your rare breed had the mange and was sick all the time, you would lose value.
There is power in the blood that corresponds to the value of the life. That is why God commands the first and the best of animals to be sacrificed. If you gave only your mangy and sick sheep to the priest, you have not really given much. So, who can imagine the power that is in the blood of Jesus? He is called the perfect sacrifice, without spot or blemish. Since Jesus is part of the Holy Godhead and is God Himself, the power in His blood is nothing less than the power of God Himself.
2. Second Phrase: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves.” Verse 12
The power of the blood of any other creature is not adequate to save.
Verses 8-10 describe the problem with the old system of sacrifice, referred here as the old tabernacle or first tabernacle. This was the first place of sacrifice. An animal was brought to be sacrificed. The blood of that animal was laid on a second goat, which was run out of the camp carrying the sins of the people. The priest entered into a special place in the tabernacle called the Holiest of Holies. Only the high priest could enter here into the very presence of God one time a year on the Day of Atonement to offer sacrifice for, as verse 7 tells us, “for his own sins and the errors of His people”.
No matter how sorry you were for your sins and no matter how good a life you lived, if the blood did not spill to pay the ransom for your sin, you could not be forgiven. Why? If God simply overlooked your sin, you would still be unclean. No sin will enter into the presence of God. If you are not redeemed by the blood, your sins cannot be forgiven. God states it plainly in Hebrews 9:22, “Without the shedding of blood is no remission (for sin)”.
The old system worked. An animal had to die and give its blood. But the problem with the old system is that the blood of goats and calves, or any other creature, could not forgive sin eternally. It had to be repeated. The animals were good sacrifices. They were the best the person could give. They were the most valuable sacrifice they could make. But it was not enough. Five minutes later, if you thought a bad thought or lusted or lied, you were on your way to eternal damnation again.
Verse 9 tells us that even making the sacrifice himself, the priest was unable to make his own self perfect. Verse 10 tells us that this old system became only a bunch of rites and rituals that could not change a person’s heart or eternal destination. Today, many people practice religion. They go through the services and even participate. It might even make them feel good. They may seek forgiveness and try to live right. But if they are not redeemed by the blood of Jesus, they are still in bondage to sin and just as far from God.
3. Third Phrase: “But by His own blood.”
Jesus shed His own blood to redeem us eternally. Verse 12
Jesus is the great High Priest. He too entered into the Holy of Holies. Instead of once each year, he went once and for all. Look at verses 24-26 as a comparison of the roles of Jesus and the earthly priests. Jesus did not offer sacrifice for Himself, because He is the perfect priest. The Bible describes Jesus as, “He who knew no sin.” He was both priest and the sacrifice. John the Baptist, upon seeing Jesus for the first time, declared in John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
Verse 9 tells us that the old priests could not make themselves perfect. His conscience or soul could not be radically changed by the blood of animals. But Jesus, the Son of God, is perfect. By His blood he obtained eternal redemption for us. He paid the price, His own life, one time. For that was adequate, more than adequate to pay the price of sin.
What is the price of sin? When you hear the word sacrifice and the shedding of blood, you think of death. Romans 3:23 alerts us to the wages of sin – it is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Because we are sinners, we deserve to die. Verse 27, “And it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.” We can try to make sacrifices, live the best we can, ask forgiveness, attend all the rituals and services we can, but since we are not perfect, we cannot deliver ourselves from the bondage of sin. We will die and face the judgment.
As the great High Priest, Jesus intercedes for us. His desire is that, “Where I am, there you may be also.” He leads the way. He is our Mediator. Look at verses 14-15, “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? And for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
Conclusion: How do we receive this power in our lives? How are we redeemed? By Faith. There is nothing else you can do. You are not the perfect lamb. You cannot obtain eternal redemption by any means. We receive by faith that Jesus is the perfect Son of God who died on the cross and rose again. Believe that you are a sinner and face eternal death and separation from God. Believe that there is power in the blood of Jesus to save. Call on Him in prayer.
1 John 5:4-13, “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood… And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one… And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
The water refers to baptism. Not simply being baptized, but baptism that follows genuine repentance. The blood refers to the power of Jesus’ life and death that redeems us. The Spirit is He who supplies the power to accomplish this miracle called salvation. Today, if you are a believer, thank God for His precious blood. Thank Him for His love and mercy show to you. If you are not yet a believer, call upon Jesus in prayer, believing that He has the power to save. The Bible says that “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13. If you have called upon the Lord, follow through with believer’s baptism. Baptism is an outward sign of what has taken place on the inside. God commands baptism.
I will continue this four part series on the blood of Christ by preaching next Sunday on reconciliation through the blood. God saves us with the power of His blood, but He does not stop there. He continues to keep us saved through His blood and gives us power to live through the Holy Spirit.