A Clean Slate Text: Topical Expository, Selected Scriptures Series: The Blood Of Christ, #1 Pastor Lyle L. Wahl March 26, 2017 Theme: The blood of Christ provides forgiveness of sins. Introduction As we come to God s Word this morning, we are taking a break from our series in James for a series to help us prepare for Easter. Easter and Christmas are the two high points of the church year. Christmas celebrates Christ s coming to be our Savior. Easter celebrates Christ s completion of His work: salvation provided through His death and resurrection. For these next few weeks our focus will be on truth from God s Word which will help us enter into Jesus suffering, sacrifice and victory. This title of this series is The Blood Of Christ. I know that phrase is uncomfortable to some people. Some think it is a throw back to old fashioned, outdated, insensitive views of Judaism and Christianity being a bloody religion. Others shy away from it for fear it will turn people away. The late Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus, told about his own experience of this. I had been a believer in Jesus for just a few weeks when a church member asked me, Since the Temple has been destroyed and the priesthood has been dispersed, what do Jews do for a blood sacrifice? I didn t know how to answer that question. I thought it was motivated by a rather morbid kind of curiosity, and I didn t like the term blood sacrifice. I had only recently become acquainted with it, and I shrank from the imagery. Besides, I was astounded that anyone would expect modern Jews to have any form of sacrifice, and I wondered if someone had lied to that Christian about the Jewish religion. That spurred him on to look at the Scriptures, where he found, as he wrote, that the blood of Christ is one of the most important elements of Christian doctrine. 1
So as we look at the Bible, what is the meaning, the message of this phrase the blood of Christ? Why is it so important? What is it all about? Early in the Bible we see that blood is equated with life. Genesis chapter 9 tells us. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image (v. 6, ESV). Then in Leviticus chapter 17 we read, as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life (v. 14). In the New Testament, the apostle Peter states the importance of the blood of Christ. He writes, For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God (NLT). 2 Jesus told us of its importance clearly as He spelled out the symbolism of the cup in communion when He said, this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins (italics added). 3 As we will see in more detail in these next weeks, the blood of Christ is one of the most important and wonderful elements of Christian truth. Without Jesus death and resurrection, without the actual shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary, there is no salvation, there is no Christian faith. We will look at a few foundational truths flowing from the blood of Christ. Today we begin with forgiveness, forgiveness of our sins by God. The Bible tells us that the blood of Christ provides forgiveness of sins. The blood of Christ applied to our hearts gives us a clean slate with God. Why do we need God s forgiveness? We will look at this from three questions. The first one is Why? Why do we need God s forgiveness? The starting point is to realize that God is holy. The Bible tells us about God s unique character. He is eternal, righteous, love, faithful, good, gracious, true, wise, allknowing, all-powerful, constant, and holy. 2
When we think about why we need God s forgiveness the starting place is God s holiness. God is holy. What does that mean? It means that God is totally pure, totally free from any contamination of sin. He is completely separate from it. It tells us God is infinitely different and separate from us as the eternal Creator, while we are His creatures. God is totally separate from all evil, all sin. As God set out how Israel was to live and worship in relationship to Him He repeatedly told them you shall be holy for [because] I am holy. 4 Moses sang to God, Who is like You, majestic in in holiness. 5 Hannah prayed, There is no one holy like the LORD. 6 Isaiah saw a vision of angels above the throne of God who call out to one another in loud chorus, Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory. 7 The Psalmist calls us to sing, Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy hill, for holy is the LORD our God. 8 God is holy! In contrast, we are sinners. No one likes to be called a sinner. But it doesn t change the fact that everyone of us is a sinner we fall short of, we don t measure up to God s holy, perfect character and standards. Many of us know the words of Romans chapter 3 verse 23, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And yet at times we don t like to accept that, we try to excuse ourselves or ignore this truth. We do that because our hearts, the Bible tells us are sinful and more deceitful than all else and desperately sick. We can t understand our own hearts. 9 We are sinners by our nature and our actions. To make matters worse, we cannot overcome our sinfulness on our own. Any sin disqualifies us from being able to pay for or change our condition to being holy, being acceptable to God. We can try to think good thoughts, do good things, do religious things. But it can never be good enough, because sin is part of our nature. The short book How Good is Good Enough? opens with the story of a Sunday school teacher explaining to six-year-olds what people have to do to go to heaven. He asked them, If I sold my house and car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the church would that get me into heaven? NO! the children answered. If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven? Again the kids said NO! If I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children and loved my wife, would that get me into heaven? The kids shouted NO! Well then, how can I get into heaven? A boy in the back shouted, You gotta be dead! 10 3
Even though those kids shouted NO! to his questions on being good enough to get to heaven, many people, many more than you may think, actually think and believe that good people will go to heaven. And so the author asks the question How good is good enough?, and shows that no one is or can be good enough to earn their way into heaven. What does God have to say about this? He tells us in His Word that good, righteous deeds by themselves cannot do it they are like filthy rags. 11 He tells us through the apostle Paul that salvation is by God s grace through faith in Jesus, not of yourself, not as a result of works. 12 And that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord 13 (italics added). Again Paul wrote, people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners (NLT). 14 Yes, we cannot overcome our sinfulness on our own. We cannot change our spiritual DNA and make ourselves new creatures. Only God can do that. But that is not all. God must judge sin, all sin. Because God is holy, righteous and just, He can not excuse or overlook any sin. That would violate His character. So God judges each and every sin. The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes closes with these words, God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. 15 Jesus said I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 16 What is this judgment? What is it like? Romans chapter 6 verse 23, the wages of sin is death. That death, beyond physical death, is being separated from God, having no spiritual life, no relationship with Him. The book of The Revelation tells us that at the final judgment everyone whose name is not written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire. 17 That is, they will experience separation from God and everlasting, rightful punishment for their sin. Why do we need God s forgiveness? God is holy. We are sinners. We cannot overcome our sinfulness on our own. God must and will judge sin. 4
What does it mean to be forgiven? We need God s forgiveness, but what does it mean to be forgiven? This is the second question. One of the first things to nail down is the cost of God s forgiveness. God s forgiveness is free it is the gift of His grace. It is free, but, as it is often said, it is not cheap! The cost of our forgiveness included God the Son entering human history as one of us and as the only perfect, sinless one, taking our sin to Himself, shedding his blood, dying on the cross for us and our sin. It is blood of Jesus Christ, God the Son, which provides forgiveness. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 18 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 tells us that God the Father made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus died, His precious blood like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (ESV) 19 was poured out for us. This was the cost! A cost beyond our ability to comprehend. The blood of Christ provides forgiveness of sins. In His forgiveness God wipes the slate clean. He forgives all of our sin not just some of it. All of our sin past, present, future! 1 John chapter 1 verse 9, If we confess our sins He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God wipes the slate clean. Think about some of the Bible s beautiful statements about this. Psalm 103 verse 12, As far as the east is form the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. In Isaiah chapter 43 verse 25, God says, I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins. He tells us through Jeremiah, I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more (31:34). The prophet Micah wrote, [God] will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (7:19). A young boy was at the shopping mall with his mother. It wasn t one of his better days. He behaved badly. He wanted this, he wanted that, he wanted everything. He ran ahead and all over the place. As they were driving home, he knew his mom was not happy with him. He asked, When we ask God to forgive us when we ve been bad, He does, doesn t He? Yes, she said. And when He forgives, He buries our sins in the deepest sea, doesn t He? Yes, that s what the 5
Bible says, she told him. There was silence for a while. Finally he said, I ve asked God to forgive me, but I bet when we get home, you re going fishing for those sins, aren t you! 20 Unlike us, when God forgives our sins He never goes fishing for those sins. He wipes the slate clean! There are some beautiful pictures of forgiveness in the words for it in the New Testament. For example, one word for forgiveness has the meaning to cancel, release. 21 Jesus used this word. He teaches us to pray forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 22 Cancel, release, mark paid in full. When He was on the cross Jesus asked the Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. 23 Cancel, release them from this sin. The apostle Paul used this word as he cited King David from Psalm 32, Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven (sent away, cancelled), and whose sins have been covered. 24 This is what God does when He forgives us. He releases, sends away, cancels our sin and its penalty from us because it was paid in full by the blood of Christ. Another word for forgiveness means to give freely, graciously, as a favor. 25 Paul wrote, When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions. 26 He used it in Romans chapter 4 verse 32 of both our forgiving others and God forgiving us. We are to [forgive] each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven [us]. God freely, graciously has forgiven us all our sins. Yet another word for forgiveness means to let go, to dismiss, to pardon. 27 It was frequently used in legal settings, such as being released from jail or pardoning a sentence. We are guilty, but God pardons us, sets us free. In Luke chapter 6 verse 37 Jesus tells us, pardon, and you will be pardoned. When God forgives He releases, pardons the guilty sinner, you and me, because of the blood of Christ. All of this and more is what God does for us when He forgives us on the basis of the blood of Christ. 6
How should we respond to God s forgiveness? This brings us to the last question, how should we respond to God s forgiveness? The starting place is to accept it, to accept God s forgiveness. Accept the reality that God is holy; we are sinful. We can not work hard enough to even begin to do it on our own. We cannot overcome our sinfulness on our own. We cannot bridge the great gap between ourselves and God which our sin creates. The church and its ceremonies cannot do it for us. Good and godly parents and families cannot do it for us. The blood of Christ provides forgiveness of sins. It is God s free gift of grace. John chapter 3 verse 16, the most familiar verse of the Bible, clearly states this. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. But it goes on. He who believes in [Jesus] is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (v. 18). The starting place is to face the truth squarely, and to reach out and accept God s free gift of forgiveness made possible by the blood of Christ. The Revelation chapter 7 includes a description of a great multitude of people clothed in white from all peoples and languages before the throne of Jesus, worshiping Him. Who are they? We are told they are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, of Jesus (verse 14). And so the hymn asks, Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? 28 The starting place is to accept it. Accept God s forgiveness in Jesus. Having done that, we begin an ongoing journey of walking with Jesus, walking in the light. When we accepted God s free gift of forgiveness in Jesus, we were changed forever. We still live in this imperfect, sinful world. We still have a natural, sinful human nature. We 7
still are in conflict with the spiritual forces of Satan. God, by the Holy Spirit, will keep working in us to make us more and more like Jesus. The apostle John describes a main part of our responsibility in this. He writes, This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (NLT). 29 Learn and live in the light of God s truth it will keep your life pure, your fellowship with God and others close and encouraging. John goes on to tell us what to do when we fail, when we sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts (NLT). 30 Walk in the light. Keep current with God, and so enjoy the fulness of His forgiveness. Conclusion How do we get and keep a clean slate? The blood of Christ provides forgiveness of sins. If you have not yet accepted God s gift of forgiveness, everlasting life through Jesus, you can do that here and now. Tell God you realize He is holy and just and must judge you and your sin; that you also realize that even your best cannot overcome your sin; that forgiveness is in Jesus, His blood poured out for you. Ask Him to forgive you and give you life forever with Him. If you do this, we would like to know and celebrate with you. Talk with me or someone you know is a believer before you leave. If you have accepted God s gift of forgiveness and have His everlasting life in Jesus, thank God again, anew for this gift beyond any, every earthly value. 8
Ask yourself, Am I really living in the light? Am I really learning, growing and living God s truth, in Christ s likeness? Clear up anything with God that is outstanding so you can truly live in the light of God s truth and keep your life pure, your fellowship with God and others close and encouraging. 1 Moishe Rosen. Blood Sacrifice. The Jews for Jesus Newsletter, Vol. 11:5746, 1986, pages 1-2. 2 1 Peter 1:18-19, NLT. 3 Matthew 26:28. 4 Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:26. 5 Exodus 15:11. 6 1 Samuel 2:2. 7 Isaiah 6:3. 8 Psalm 99:9. 9 Jeremiah 17:9. 10 Andy Stanley. How Good is Good Enough? New York: Multnomah Books, 2003, pages 1-2. 11 Isaiah 64:6. 12 Ephesians 2:8-10. 13 Romans 6:23. 14 Romans 4:5, NLT. 15 Ecclesiastes 12:14. 16 Matthew 12:36. 17 Revelation 20:15. 18 John 3:16. 19 1 Peter 1:19, ESV. 20 Old story. Original source not known. 21 aphiemi 22 Matthew 6:12. 9
23 Luke 23:34. 24 Romans 4:7, cf. Psalm 32:1. 25 xarizomai 26 Colossians 2:13. 27 apoluo 28 Elishah A. Hoffman. Are You Washed in the Blood? 1878, Public Domain. 29 1 John 1:5-7, NLT. 30 1 John 1:8-10, NLT. 2017 Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 10