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 Applying the Blood of Christ (April 17, 2024)

 “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:12)

A cornerstone of Christian doctrine is the necessity of bloodshed for the release from guilt and penalty of sin. “Without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22) This biblical principle dates back to the dawn of creation when an innocent animal’s shed blood, in which is the life, was required to obtain skins by which God made garments for Adam and Eve when they became aware of their nakedness after sinfully eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God’s act of mercy and love despite mankind’s rebelliousness against Him predated the system of animal sacrifices for the temporary atonement of sin that was deeply ingrained in the culture of ancient Israel, pointing to the Cross and the ultimate, sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ! The crucifixion of Christ was not a tragedy; it was a triumph over sin and death!

The Old Testament animal sacrifices were routine rituals that only temporarily covered the Israelites’ sins and had to be continually repeated. However, the precious divine blood that Jesus shed at Calvary for the redemption of mankind’s sins constituted the perfect, one-time sacrifice that fully cleanses every repentant sinner who chooses to receive God’s grace and His gift of everlasting life. Salvation is offered to all believers exclusively through God’s Son Jesus, our risen LORD and righteous Savior. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:14) No sin that we have or will ever commit is beyond the forgiveness and the grace of God through the blood of Christ. But the only way to apply this life-giving blood is through faith in the Lamb of God who victoriously shed it for you and me!

 “Being justified freely (declared innocent) by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation (payment) by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness…that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:24-26)



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