The Blood
Hebrews 9:13-17
The Word of God has a scarlet thread running through it, like the cord Rahab hung out of her window. That scarlet thread, by which the 66 Books of Inspiration is bound together, which unifies everything written upon the pages of Inspiration, is the blood, the precious blood of Christ
The Scriptures speak constantly about the blood. It is written in the books of the law, “The life of the flesh is in the blood.” God told Moses, “The blood shall be to you for a token.” He said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” When the high priest went into the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement, he went in with blood. No man can come to God without blood atonement.
When our Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper, he took the cup of wine, held it before his disciples and said, “This is the blood of the New Testament, shed for many for the remission of sins.” In Hebrews 9:22, we read, “Without shedding of blood is no remission.” That makes the blood[1] a matter of immense, infinite importance.
These days, it is common for preachers, churches, theologians, and hymn writers to say as little as possible about the blood. We have become so educated, refined, and sophisticated that talking about blood is considered improper, unsophisticated, and rude. But it is still true that “without shedding of blood is no remission.” Nothing is more important and nothing more precious than the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:12; 1 Pet. 18-21). The shedding of his precious blood was and is absolutely essential to the saving of our souls. Let us ever cherish the blood of Christ as that which is precious above all things.
Verses 13-14 -- "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 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?"
The blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin (Heb. 10:4). That was never God’s purpose. The animal sacrifices were given as types and pictures to illustrate and point to the great, sin-atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. However those Old Testament sacrifices did purify the people in an external, ceremonial way. How much more shall the blood of Christ, God's own dear Son, spotless, sinless blood of infinite value offered to God by the Holy Spirit, cleanse us, purify our souls, and deliver us from seeking acceptance through our dead works! The blood of Christ is effectual. It has satisfied the wrath and justice of God. By it our sins have been put away. Therefore the believer’s conscience condemns him no more (Rom. 8:1, 33-34; 1 John 1:7-10; 3:5).
There was a cause, a necessity for the great sacrifice of Christ. The cause was just this: God’s covenant grace could not come to sinful men without blood atonement. We could not be made righteous apart from the sacrifice of God’s own Son in our room and stead at Calvary (Gal. 2:21; 3:21).
Verses 15-17 "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. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."
Here the Holy Spirit shows us that Old Testament believers were redeemed by the death of Christ in exactly the same way we are, and for the same reasons. Justice must be satisfied before mercy can be given; and the only One by whom redemption could come is the God-man Mediator, Christ Jesus, of whom all the prophets spoke (Acts 10:43). The promise of eternal inheritance was made to God’s elect in and by Christ, the Mediator of the covenant (testament) (1 Cor. 10:4; Luke 24:44-47).
However, that promise could not come without the death of Christ, the Testator, the Mediator of the covenant. Wherever there is a testament, there must be the death of the testator. No claim can be made by the heirs of the testament until the Testator dies (John 3:14-16; Rom. 3:19-26). There was an absolute necessity for the death of God’s Son as our Substitute and the Testator of the covenant. Christ must suffer and die if we are to be redeemed (1 Peter 1:18-21).
Promise Received
Those who are called (v. 15) receive the promise of eternal salvation, our eternal inheritance of grace in Christ by faith. Our faith does not in any way secure the inheritance. It simply receives what God our Father secured for us by his purpose and promise in eternity and Christ secured for us by his death. In fact, faith in Christ is itself a part of the inheritance. We believe because God the Holy Spirit, “the Blessing” of the covenant has been sent into our hearts in saving power and grace (Gal. 3:13-14; 4:6).
August 19, 2001
The very heart of
the gospel is the finished work of Christ at Calvary, – particular, effectual
redemption, -- limited atonement. We believe, according to Holy Scripture, that
the sin-atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ is of infinite merit, value and
efficacy, and that the blessings and benefits of our Savior’s great sacrifice
are limited by the purpose of God to his elect. I know that this glorious
gospel doctrine is offensive to unbelieving men, offensive to all who wish to
make man a co-savior with Christ; but that only demonstrates the fact that “the
offense of the cross” has not ceased.