Some years ago, at the Great World Fair, held in the city of Chicago, there was said to be a meeting of people representing the various religions of the world.
At that meeting was an old-fashioned Bible believing preacher who set out to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity. To do so, he began to quote Shakespeare’s LADY MACBETH. He recited the famous piece of literature and brought out, as it were, Lady Macbeth onto the stage and had them listen to her as she looked at her hands stained with the blood of a murderess. “Out damned spot, out damned spot, out, out I say!”
Then the old preacher said, “Is there anyone here today representing a religion that can cleanse the hands of Lady Macbeth? Cleanse her from her murderous blood? From her guilt…who has a religion that could cleanse her hands of this damnable spot?”
It is said that one stood to his feet and said, “I have no remedy for cleansing, but had I been able to talk to Lady Macbeth before she had sinned, I might have been able to keep her from sinning.”
Another stood to his feet and said, “I have no remedy for cleansing, but if I could have talked to Lady Macbeth, I could have helped her have peace of mind in spite of the fact that her hands were stained with blood.”
The old preacher said again, “Is there anyone here who has a remedy for cleansing this spot from the hands of Lady Macbeth? Who can remove it? Who can get it off her hands?”
No one had a remedy. Finally, the preacher said, “Only Christianity has a remedy. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin!”
“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus?”
A bedrock of the Christian faith from the beginning has been, is and always will be its belief in the absolute necessity of the shed blood! No man from Adam on has ever been saved apart from the blood!
The preaching of the blood has become distasteful to many; some consider it out of date, unsophisticated. But to the believer, it is precious. Basic, blessed and bold is this doctrine concerning the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Basic: The blood was basic before the Revelation of the Old Testament ritual. It was basic at the time of man’s fall into sin. Gen.3:21: “And unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skin, and clothed them.” The coats covered their nakedness, but the blood covered their sins.
The blood was also basic after the fall. Gen.4:4: “And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.” Exodus 12:13: “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you.”
The blood was basic under the Old Testament economy of a ritualistic system. Lev. 4:4-6: “And he (the priest) shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord and shall lay his hand upon the bullock’s head and kill the bullock before the Lord. And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle of the blood several times before the Lord before the veil of the sanctuary.” Lev. 17:11: “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.”
And, the blood is basic for the believer today. Romans 3:24,25: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (covering) through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins….” Eph.1:7: “In whom we have redemption through His blood-the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Eph. 2:13: “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Col.1:14: “In whom we have redemption through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things to Himself.”
So, the blood is basic, but it is also blessed! Heb.9:12: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood he entered in once into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” The song asks “Would you be free from your burden of sin? There’s power in the blood!”
We are saved, therefore, by the blood, but the blood is also blessed to us because it is by His blood that we are given the opportunity of serving our Redeemer. Heb.9:14: “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?” John 1:7 says that it is the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses us from all sin.
Then, too, it is His blood by which we have obtained sanctification in all its aspects, positionally (past), experientially (present) and eternally (future). Hebs.10:10: “By the which we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Our natural birth was messy and bloody, yet was a blessed event; even so, our spiritual, new birth was by blood and through a “messy” crucifixion, but so blessed indeed!
The blood is basic and blessed and it is also boldness to the believer. Hebs. 10:19: “Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” God made a path, through the rent veil, through our High Priest who is a “High priest over the house of God,” (Hebs 10:21) so that now we have a profession enabling us to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from and evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering….” (Hebs. 10:22,23)
“Christ has for sin atonement made, what a wonderful Savior; We are redeemed, the price is paid, what a wonderful Savior!”
Ever give thanks to our Great God and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ for His precious blood which has always been and will ever be, Basic, Blessed and Boldness to every believer!
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (I Pet. 1:18,19)
YOU and GOD 