Cross Road
Baptist Church
© 2017
Sermon Text
The Precious Blood of Christ
Series: The Blood Covenant
17. And if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
18. For as much as you know that you 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 fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.
21. Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1 Peter 1:17-21
What You Don’t Value – we cease to use
There is not a doubt in anyone’s mind that the Church has lost something very dear. Some would say that we have more of everything except God. We have more comfort. We have more technology. We have musical instruments. We have more this and more that and yet the power is missing. The power is missing because the fuel source is missing. The fuel source of the Church is not the praise music. The fuel source of the Church is not our stand on Christian doctrine. The fuel source of the Church is not to be found in the preaching. The fuel source and the energy of the Church is found in the precious Blood of Jesus. It is the Blood that supplies power to the Body of Christ. In the same way that natural bodies receive nutrients through the blood, the spiritual body must have spiritual blood in order to survive. That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do we value the blood in our body? If we value the blood in our natural body how can we ignore the precious Blood of Jesus?
What you don’t value – we cease to use. Show me a person that is careless with his possessions and I will show you someone who will lose those possessions. My fear and grave concern is that the Church of God has not valued the Blood of Jesus. You no longer hear songs about the Blood. You rarely hear sermons about the Blood. What you value you talk about. You sing about the things you value. To value your treasure is to anticipate a present and future use.
We do not value the Blood of Jesus because we have been distracted and deceived by the things of this world. Yes, we have a very distracted Church. As Eve was deceived by the serpent, we too have been deceived by the serpent’s message of fulfillment through sin.
We cannot help but recognize the impact of devaluing the Blood of Jesus Christ. Not only do we see evidence of no attention devoted to obeying God’s Word, we see the Church devoting all its attention to becoming like the world. The Church is quickly shifting from its foundation and is destined for failure unless we return from following the world. I am beginning to sense God’s Spirit upon us preachers to deliver a prophet’s message. We must not preach only encouraging pastoral messages; we must preach repentance and call the people back to God.
Today, the challenge and the call is for believers to recognize that there is still power in the Blood. Apostle Peter wrote some truly revealing words in his letter regarding the Blood of Jesus Christ. We notice that those who value the Blood of Jesus also value their redemption. This Word is for the Church to value their redemption and the Source of their redemption more than anything else.
The Value of Christ
Let us observe what we call riches. Peter gives the results or impact of the true value of the Blood of Jesus by stating that we should live our lives in fear or respect for God while we sojourn or make our pilgrimage through life. That’s how we should live. Yet the opposite is seen in the lives of many so called Christians. It is sad to see some arrogant, while others are attention seekers, and even more are simply non-participants in God’s program. Is that paying respect and homage to the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin? Absolutely not! It leads me to question if people even understand the essence of redemption. That is not a religious term it is an eternal life term. To redeem something means to loose it; we sometime use the word deliver or rescue. Our redemption required more than anything this world could afford. Notice how Peter describes the things that could not redeem or set us free. For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. Silver and gold are the most precious metals on our planet and yet they were powerless in our redemption. First, we would not have enough silver and gold if that were what it took for our redemption. Second, silver and gold was not what it would take to redeem us from the empty and wrecked lives that we inherited from our fore fathers. What can wash away my sin; nothing but the Blood of Jesus. So Peter is teaching us how to value the Blood of Jesus above all else.
First, we are to value redemption above riches. Now that we understand the magnitude of our redemption, we can then understand the meaning of our redemption. Our redemption is certain not based on corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. It was God giving His best for the worst conditions of man. We were empty, we were broken, and we were without value. Notice however, that once a value has been paid, then something worthless becomes valuable because of the price that was paid. Some people assume that God saw something in us worth redeeming; that was not the case. We were empty because that is all we inherited from our empty and broken fore-parents. The redemption of the Blood of Jesus caused our stock to go from zero to priceless. Now, in Christ we are somebody. Now with the Blood on and in our lives, we have value to God. It is the Blood that gives us value.
The second thing that is important is that we value our redemption above our recreation. It is sad that some view their faith only as an escape hatch from the trials of life. They are missing the point. Being a Christian does not mean that we live a problem free life. Valuing our redemption means we count the struggles and the suffering as the precious testing of our faith. If you notice, people believe in taking a vacation to get away from the cares. This is the recreational view of Christian living. We actually value getting out of problems more than overcoming the problems by faith. Some would even say, “if you are having problems in life – you must not be a real Christian.” Those are people who value recreation or “getting away” more than redemption. They even view going to Heaven as the final escape from a messed up world. “Yes – your loved one has gone to a better place.” How do you know that, better yet, why say that? We hate suffering and think that it is not a part of God’s redemption. But if we would see the brighter side of suffering we must go through it rather than attempt to avoid it. Peter said in verses 6-7, wherein we greatly rejoice though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations… that the trial of your faith, being more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried by fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The fact that we are redeemed and trials cannot change our security in Christ proves that going through a struggle has more value than escaping it.
Lastly, we see that our redemption is more valuable than the rituals that attempt to represent our redemption. There is no way that any ceremony can ever fully represent the Suffering of our Lord Jesus. Peter 2:7-8 points to the sad fact that many reject the Blood of Jesus and hold on to their religious practices as their redemption. Notice the distinction between those who love the Lord Jesus. Unto you He is precious … but to them which are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected … a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence. To those that love Jesus, He is a Rock in a weary land. To those that love Jesus, He is a Rock of refuge from the fiery trials. That is because we value our Redeemer and His Redemption. We value the Blood. It is an insult to Grace when we replace the Blood of Jesus with religious ceremony or worse yet, Church practices.
That is what many have done. They have replaced the Rock of our Redemption with public image, prosperity, and popular consent. This grieves the Holy Spirit and stifles our power. The Stone has been rejected and the Church is left without an anchor. It is no wonder that we see fewer lives being changed.
What you don’t value – you will ultimately lose
If we are to restore the value of our Redemption and of our Redeemer, we must remind ourselves of the Blood of Jesus. The world’s value system is corrupt and destructive to all who follow it. Peter reminds Christians that their value system is based on the Blood of Christ. Follow Christ in order to have a consistent walk of faith.
Our confession of the Blood must be forceful, genuine, and to God. Father we confess that the Blood of Jesus sanctifies. It is the Blood that Makes us holy. God has called us to be Holy as He is Holy. It is the Blood. Think about it; your blood is a certain type. If you mix it with any other blood type, you could become ill or die. If you had a transfusion, only the blood that matched yours would work properly in your body. The Blood of Jesus is the only blood type that makes us children of God. The blood type of good works will destroy us. The blood type of ancestor worship will destroy. The only Blood Type is that of Jesus Christ. The precious Blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot is our only source. This was God’s plan before the foundation of the world. Peter makes it clear, who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. The Blood that sanctifies me is manifest in these last times and I accept it as the Only Blood that sets me apart as God’s child.
My second confession is this. Father I acknowledge that the Blood of Jesus strengthens. It gives us power. The Holy Spirit, according to 1 Peter 1:2, has sanctified us unto a life of obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus. I don’t need to concern myself that the Blood will become weak or begin losing its energy and strength. The Blood will never lose its Power. The Blood of Jesus Christ is the Only Holy Offering that continues. As for other offerings of blood; they had to be repeated over and over because they would lose their power. They were rendered powerless because transgressors kept sinning. The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Oh the Blood of Jesus – will never lose its Power.
Then, I confess to God the Father, the Blood satisfies. While we may think that other offerings please God, but there is only One that truly Pleases God. It is the Offering of the Blood of Jesus. When I enter God’s Presence, the Blood of Sprinkling by the Holy Spirit must be ever present upon my heart and soul. If it is missing or if I refuse to rely upon His Blood, I will be rejected because I have rejected the Stone of my Redemption. Think about this. If the blood of righteous Abel cried out from the ground, how much more the Blood of Jesus Christ. When His Blood dropped to the ground from that Cross, what was the message. Was not the message, forgiven? Was not the message freedom? Was not the message, you are now accepted before God? What ever you do and where ever you go, always remember it was the Blood of Jesus that purchased your Redemption.