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Sermon #8 1 John Series
Title: Cleansing Blood
Text: 1 John 1:7 Subject: Cleansing by the Blood of Christ Date: Sunday Evening — February 26, 2012 Tape # 1 John #8 Readings: Bob Poncer and Ron Wood Introduction:
My subject tonight is — Cleansing Blood. Our text will be the last part of 1st John 1:7. But before we look at our text, I want to talk to you for a few minutes about blood.
This Book, the Word of God, the Bible is a bloody book. From Genesis to Revelation, a stream of blood flows through these pages. Its importance is seen by the testimony of God Himself. — “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” (Leviticus 17:11). — “For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off” (Leviticus 17:14).
This is a Book about redemption: redemption from sin and the curse of the law. Redemption, not by the blood of animals, but by the blood of Christ. — “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” (1 Peter 1:18-19). God tells us in His Word that forgiveness is through the blood of Christ Jesus, His dear Son. — “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
The Word of God declares that justification is through the blood. — “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:9). And this Book declares that we are sanctified by the precious blood of Christ. — “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12; 10:10-14).
(Hebrews 10:10-14) “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
God pronounces peace to sinners by the blood. — “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20). The love of God is revealed and manifested by the blood. — “And from Jesus 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” (Revelation 1:5). We have access to God through Christ’s blood. — “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19). We have victory through His blood. — “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11) The Bible declares everlasting glory to be though the blood of the Lamb. — “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them” (Revelation 7:14-15).
“Oh precious is the flow That makes me white as snow! No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Then, we read in our text that all cleansing from sin is in, through, and by the precious, sin-atoning blood of the Lamb, God’s dear Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). That is my subject tonight. — Cleansing Blood.
“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” — There’s a painful fact glaring in this text — Sin! — Our sin! — Your sin! — My sin! And our sin must be cleansed. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses “us” from all sin!
There is a tendency today to forget just how horribly wretched sin is. We’ve dulled our spiritual senses so much that we cease to see sin as being what the Bible says it is, “exceeding sinful” (Romans 7:13). What a choice of words! “Exceeding Sinful!” God, wanting to call sin by the worst of words, could have called it vile or wretched or any number of names yet he chose to call it by its own name “sin”. Literally, sin is heinous beyond all measure.
When we begin to see how ruinous and awful sin is and at the same time to see just how holy God is, we begin to wonder whether or not we, as polluted sinners, can ever meet the all holy God in peace. It is only when we see these two things, our utter pollution by sin and the absolute holiness of God that the gospel begins to makes any sense. Indeed, unless we see these things we will have a very low notions of the Lord Jesus and His saving work.
Proposition: The more clearly we see our sin and our cleansing from all sin by the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the more our lives will be filled with gospel wonder and astonishment concerning Him.
Through sin we lost the image of God, lost God’s presence and lost God’s fellowship. Sin has brought upon us God’s wrath, God’s disfavor, God’s displeasure, and gained God’s curse. God’s holy justice is incensed against sin and cries out against us because of sin. Heaven’s gates are shut tight and hell’s gates yawn wide open for the unsaved sinner. Sin must be cleansed.
So listen again to John’s sweet, sweet, indescribably sweet words: — “The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin!” This is good news. This tells us something of mercy and power for the blood cleanses us from the entire defilement of our sin. Our pollution is no match for the blood of Christ. Through the blood of Christ every sinner who trusts him has been made clean and pronounced clean. We know for a certainty, based on the Word, that we have been truly and really cleansed from all sin by the blood!
This is not something to be felt before it is believed, but something to be believed before it is felt. We receive our sight by faith and not the reverse. Since Christ was “manifested to take away our sins,” we know that “in him is no sin”. Since he took our sins away, in him, in God’s eyes, we no longer have any sin. We no longer have it because the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
Our sin cannot be in two places at the one time. If Christ Jesus as the Lamb of God has taken our sins away (John 1:29 ), then we no longer have them. If Christ has already been punished for our sin, our sin cannot be punished again unless God is unjust. And for God to be unjust He would have to cease to be God.
“If Thou hast my discharge procured, And freely in my place endured The whole of wrath divine, Payment God will not twice demand, First at my bleeding Surety’s hand, And then again at mine.”
Whose Blood?
Whose blood are we talking about? We are talking about “the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son.”
One of the most wonderful statements in all the Bible concerning the unique character of our Lord Jesus Christ, is found in this first chapter of Colossians, in verses fourteen to twenty, and, if you examine them, you will see that they begin and close with a reference to the redeeming Blood of His Cross, because the basis of His glorious pre-eminence.
(Colossians 1:9-20) “For this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;”
“12 ¶ Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven
Sin and death were linked together as cause and effect at the very beginning. — “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” When Adam sinned, death at once appeared. Adam died and we died in him. Sin drove him out of the Garden. And sin drove Cain “out from the presence of the Lord.” — “The wages of sin is death.” You who have not been reconciled to God through the death of His Son are dead in trespasses and in sins. It is my prayer that God will graciously give you life and faith in Christ, reconciling you to himself by the blood of his cross this hour.
All that the God-man, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ was in His holy humanity, in His Divine dignity, glory, and honor, was sacrificed upon the cursed tree for us. — “The life is in the blood,” and what a life this was! All the preciousness and immeasurable worth of the life of God is here represented in the Blood of Christ. The pouring out of that Blood on the Cross was the pouring out of his soul, with all its infinite wealth of purity, love, and power, with all its infinite merit, worth, and efficacy! He gave Himself for us!
This is easily said. But how can finite minds grasp all that Himself means to the eye and heart of God. Only the Eternal Father can understand and fully appreciate the value of the soul of the Eternal Son. The Blood of Christ then, shed for our sins, is that which stands for all that Christ Himself is before God in our behalf. Who will dare to say the price was not enough? It is not a question of the value we may be able to set on the Blood of His Cross, but the value God sets on it.
Is the blood of Christ effectual blood? Did our Savior actually accomplish anything by the shedding of his blood. He did indeed! What has the Blood of His Cross Secured? It has laid the foundation upon which God can righteously justify the ungodly. It has opened a channel through which the saving mercy of God can righteously flow out to sinners unto the uttermost ends of the earth, and into the uttermost depths of human need. Through the Blood of His Cross there is…
1. PROPITIATION.
He, Himself, is an atoning Sacrifice or Covering for our sins (1 John 2:2). It was at the cost of the sacrifice of life that God at first clothed Adam and Eve with “coats of skin.” Now, at the cost of the life of His Son, there is a suitable covering for fallen sons of Adam. The covering provided by the Blood of Christ is long enough and broad enough to cover the sins of all God’s elect throughout the world. He that covereth his own sins shall not prosper. No man-made covering is long enough or strong enough to hide an unforgiven sin from the eye of Him who, as Judge of all the earth, shalt sit upon the Great White Throne.
2. REDEMPTION.
The Blood of Christ is not only a covering for sin, but it is also a ransom price paid for the sinner. Peter puts it…
(1 Peter 1:18-20) “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; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”
“Our great God and Savior, “ says Paul, in writing to Titus, “gave Himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity” (2:14). There is no Church of God, apart from the purchasing Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28). To deny the ransoming power of Christ’s shed blood, is to deny the very existence of the Church as a people called out for Himself. — “Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price.” Sin is more than a debt. It is a crime for which Christ was made a curse. His Blood was poured out to put it away and to redeem chosen sinners from all iniquity. The price was his own life’s blood, and it is all-sufficient, enough, in the estimation of God for the sins of the all his people (Ephesians 1:7).
(Ephesians 1:3-7) “Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
3. FORGIVENESS.
The Blood of Christ has not only made a covering for sin (as the mercy-seat covered the tables of a broken law), and a price sufficient to ransom the sinner, but also the forgiveness of sin.— In Him, and through the shedding of His Blood, we have our deliverance — “the forgiveness of sins.”
The wages of our sin was the death of the Son of God! The wage, of sin has been paid! Justice is satisfied! Sin is forgiven by the blood of his cross!
The freeness and fullness of this forgiveness is according to the freeness and fullness of the sacrifice of Christ; not according to any merit or works of our own, but according to His mercy He saves us
4. Access.
(Hebrews 10:18-22) “18 Now where remission of these [is, there is] no more offering for sin.”
“19 ¶ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And [having] an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
5. CLEANSING.
So perfect is the wondrous work of grace on our behalf, that the very defilement, caused by sin now forgiven, is purged.
(Hebrews 9:1-14) “Then verily the first [covenant] had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. 2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein [was] the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. 3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein [was] the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; 5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. 6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service [of God]. 7 But into the second [went] the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and [for] the errors of the people:”
“8 ¶ The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9 Which [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 [Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed [on them] until the time of reformation. 11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 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]. 13 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: 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?”
(Hebrews 10:1-9) “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those [sacrifices there is] a remembrance again [made] of sins every year. 4 For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou hast had no pleasure.”
“7 ¶ Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and [offering] for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure [therein]; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.”
(Hebrews 10:10-14) “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
Blood of Christ keeps continually purging away everything that would mar our fellowship with our God and our fitness for His approval and delight. Oh, how I love these words! — “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin!” — Did you hear that? — “All sin!” Is it true? Will he forgive us of all sin? Will he cleanse us from all sin? — Every sin that we have committed? Do we not sin with every breath that we draw? · Is not every lustful desire sin? · And is not every proud thought sin? · And is not every wicked imagination sin? · And is not every unkind suspicion sin? · Every act of unbelief sin? · And every working of a depraved nature sin?
We committed sin as soon as we were able to stammer out a word. And as we grew in body, we grew in sinfulness.
Will He forgive… · sins of thought, · sins of look, · sins of action, · sins of omission, · sins of commission, · sins in infancy, · sins in childhood, · sins in youth, · sins in old age?
Will He forgive… · all my base lusts, · all the filthy workings of my flesh, · all my vile actions, · all my pride, · all my hypocrisy, · all my covetousness, · all my envy, hatred, and malice, · all my abounding inward iniquity?
“The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin!”
Amen.
Don Fortner
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