Join Pastor Skip Heitzig as he delves into the profound biblical truths surrounding the concept of true redemption and how it differs vastly from human traditions. This episode explores the journey from Solomon’s realization of life’s vanity to understanding the precious value of Jesus’ sacrifice. Through engaging narratives and personal reflections, Pastor Skip illustrates the contrast between a life rooted in human achievement and one anchored in divine accomplishment. Discover why the blood of Jesus Christ holds an unparalleled position in the salvation story and how it can radically transform your life. Pastor Skip expertly aligns ancient biblical teachings
This is Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Thanks for joining us today. Here at Connect with Skip, our mission is to help you know God’s Word and apply it to your life through clear, practical Bible teaching and real encouragement every day. And if you’d like to keep growing in your walk with Jesus, sign up for Pastor Skip’s free weekly devotional. You’ll receive biblical insight, teaching highlights and exclusive resource offers straight to your inbox. Plus, when you sign up today, we’ll send you a free digital download of a chapter of Skip’s book, Biography of God. It only takes a minute to sign up. Go to connectwithskip.com and join the list today. That’s connectwithskip.com. Now, let’s dive into today’s teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig.
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There was another king named Solomon who summed up his whole life by saying, vanity, vanity, all is vanity, or emptiness, emptiness, everything I’ve tried in life is empty and tasteless. That’s aimless living. That’s exactly what Peter is writing about here. Jesus said, what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world? and loses his own soul. Solomon did that. That’s the futility of an unredeemed life. But look closer. Your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers. When I first read this, I was around 18 or 19 when I first remember reading this passage. And it was as though Peter was writing directly about my life. I came from a very traditional church background. I received a tradition from my father’s. a church tradition. I wasn’t saved, but I had a tradition. And since then, I’ve met many people who say, I was raised in the same tradition, or these are the traditions I was raised with, so that when we were younger, we would ask things like, Dad, Mom, why do we do this? It’s our tradition. Yeah, but is it right? But it’s our tradition. Now, you might say, well, what’s wrong with people’s traditions? Nothing, unless… you are trusting in those traditions to save you, then it’s wrong. They may be good, but a good thing can become a bad thing if it keeps you from the best thing. That’s what Peter’s writing about here. You know, basically there are only two approaches to God. You might say there are only two religions in the world. If you studied world religions in college and you studied all the different nuances between this country and that country and this belief system and that, you might leave that class and think, boy, there are so many different ways people have to believe. I beg to differ. Let me give you the cliff notes to that class. Let me give you the irreducible minimum to that religions class. There are only two religions in the world. Only two ways to get to God, two approaches. Number one, the religion of human achievement. Number two, the religion of divine accomplishment. You could take every single world religion and place it in the first category, human achievement. People believing that by their traditions, their practices, their sincerity, their good works, they’re going to make it to God. That’s the religion, the approach of human achievement. But the only way that God says he will be approached is the second category. And that’s the approach, or if you will, religion, for lack of a better term, the religion of divine accomplishment. It’s not what you do, it’s what he’s done. It’s not what you work towards, it’s the work he has given and done on the cross. It’s not what you earn, it’s what you receive. That’s how you get redeemed. Now that takes us to the third aspect of this plan, and it’s your price. What did you cost? What is the price tag that God was willing to pay to get you to heaven? Look at verse 19. With the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. That’s how valuable you were. If a young man walks into a jewelry store with his fiance and he wants to buy a diamond ring, which is always a mistake to do it together, and here’s why. Because the first question the jeweler is gonna ask the young man is what? How much are you willing to spend? That’s a trick question. Because she’s standing there and she’s going, yeah, how much are you willing to spend? How much am I worth to you? Because he’s thinking in his mind, that Cracker Jack ring looks mighty fine. And she’s saying, not gonna happen. The Hope Diamond is the most expensive diamond in the world. $250 million it’s estimated at. 45 carats of a blue-hued gemstone. Well, he might feel, that’s what she’s worth to me. Dude, you’ll never be able to even come close. Don’t even think about it. But you do have to set a price. You know what you cost? Everything. You cost, we cost the very lifeblood of the Son of God, and God was willing to pay it, and Jesus was willing to go through it. That’s why Vance Havner, the one-time Senate to the United States chaplain, said, salvation is free, but it is not cheap. God gave his very best. Years ago, Alan Shepard, one of America’s great astronauts who walked on the moon, one of the few men who did, was interviewed and he was asked, when you were up in space looking back at the earth, what thoughts were going through your mind? Listen to his response. It’s a sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that your safety is determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract. Whoa, that’s a whole different way of looking at a space travel. I am here and will get back based upon the lowest bidder on a government contract. Listen, when God purchased your soul, he didn’t go for the lowest bid. He paid the highest price. The precious blood of Jesus Christ. Why is it so precious? Why is it so precious? It’s so precious because Jesus Christ is the only person who never sinned. Never sinned. Lived a perfect life. Never committed a sin. Notice what it says. He is without blemish and without spot. Blemish is an inherent defect. A spot is an acquired defect. That’s imagery to simply say he was not born in sin. He did not commit a sin. Without spot. Without blemish. Now most of you know that In the Bible, in the Old Testament especially, lambs were used for redemption. Lambs were used for substitute. So that you wouldn’t die, a lamb would die. It goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 4. When Adam and Eve blew it, God took the skins of animals and covered them. And most scholars believe it was the skin of a lamb. It would feel good, lamb skin. In that case, it was one lamb for one person. As time goes on, in the exodus of Egypt, in the Passover, they were to take the blood of a lamb and put it on the lintels and doorposts of their homes. In that case, it was one lamb for one family. As time went on, in the book of Leviticus chapter 23, on the day of atonement, the high priest would dip the hyssop in blood of a lamb and sprinkle it on the mercy seat, and the whole nation would be atoned for. So you have one lamb for one person, one lamb for one family, one lamb for one nation. Then you get to the New Testament. John the Baptist sees Jesus coming to the Jordan and says, check it out. Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now it’s one lamb for one world. And the reason his blood is so precious is it is the only antidote to the sin virus for the whole world. The precious blood of Jesus Christ. Joseph Parker said, an extreme condition demands an extreme remedy. Until you see that you are doomed and damned apart from Jesus Christ, you will never truly count his blood precious in your sight. It’s precious in God’s sight. Is it precious in your sight? Consumer Reports, you’ve all heard of that. They put out a great little book called, How to Clean Practically Anything. Very practical book. How to clean practical anything. And solvents are given for different substances. For example, glycerin will remove ballpoint pen stains. Boiling water is all you need for berry stains. Vinegar will take care of crayon stains. Ammonia will handle blood stains. Alcohol will take away grass stains. Hydrogen peroxide will remove magic marker stains. Bleach, mildew stains, and lemon juice will eradicate rust stains. But there is nothing in the book of how to get rid of sin stains. But there is in this book. There is in this book. In 1 John 1, the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses a man, a woman, from all sin. That’s how you get rid of sin stains. The precious blood of Christ. Now, folks, something on my heart, and I’ve noticed it for years. The blood of Jesus Christ is being depreciated by many people, and many churches will want to make it absolute. They don’t want to mention the blood of Christ. They want lots of happy songs, you’re okay, I’m okay. But even seeking to remove any reference to the blood, there are churches to have a concerted effort to remove from their hymnology, their songbooks, any reference to the blood of Christ. Because for a long time now, people are saying, we don’t want another bloody religion. We don’t want this old-fashioned gospel blood dripping places. One female theologian by the name of Dolores Williams said, and I quote, I don’t think we need a theory of atonement at all. I don’t think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping down and weird stuff like that, close quote. Ah. She is so wrong.
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You’re listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Every day, the generosity of friends like you helps reach more people with clear, practical Bible teaching, changing lives as they discover who God really is. And this month, we want to thank you with a powerful resource bundle designed to help you know God more deeply and walk in the freedom He offers. It features Skip’s book, Biography of God, a thoughtful, approachable look at God’s character, His attributes, and the hope we gain when we understand who He truly is. You’ll also receive Skip’s six-message CD series, Expound, Galatians, a verse-by-verse journey through Paul’s call to spiritual freedom—freedom from legalism, shame, and striving. We’ll send you both resources as our thanks when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash offer. Now, let’s return to today’s teaching.
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I’ll give you an example. I’ll give you an illustration. True story. Years ago, two trains collided that took the lives of several people. One was a commuter train. filled with people. The commuter train stalled on the railroad tracks. A ways off, but coming toward the commuter train was a high-speed freight train. Because the first train stalled, a conductor was sent out with a flag to wave the second train down to get it to stop. The train came around the bend, but was still moving at a pretty good rate, though it had slowed down It did not stop. And just before impact, the conductor in the freight train jumped out and saved himself. The trains collided, body parts strewn everywhere, people died, trains like pretzels were spread all around the countryside. High impact. The investigation that followed brought a court case In the courtroom, the conductor of the freight train was brought in to ask why he would jump out of the train to save himself, but didn’t stop the train. And he said simply, I saw the flag, but the flag that was waved was a yellow flag, which in the train business means slow down. It does not mean stop. I saw a yellow flag. I slowed down. I didn’t have enough time. I bailed out last minute, and there was a collision. So they brought the flag in that he wove, and that was exhibit A. Indeed, this flag that was one time bright red had faded due to sun damage over time and now had turned a dirty yellow. The church that at one time had a bright red gospel, that gospel has faded and it saves no one. And we do people a disservice. In fact, a worse disservice than waving the wrong kind of a flag for a commuter train when we don’t tell people the truth about hell and heaven and how to get to heaven. That kind of a gospel will save no one. The blood of Jesus Christ needs to be front and center because it is in the Bible over 300 times the word blood is mentioned. If you don’t like a bloody book, get a different one than this. It is mentioned 300 times. Blood atonement is centerpiece in this book. We need to get back to that truth of the great old hymn written by Robert Lowry in the 1800s. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. That’s the price. Look at the next verse. Verse 20 tells us a fourth factor in this plan, and that is your predestination. He indeed was foreordained. There it is. He, Jesus, was foreordained, preplanned before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. Let me paraphrase it. You were never an afterthought to God. It’s not like you came along and God said, oh yeah, what am I going to do with you? You were never an afterthought. You were a forethought. A lot of people think that God was first the creator and then he became a redeemer because things changed. So he created the heavens and the earth and it’s like, oh, this is cool. This is good. And then Adam and Eve came along and they botched it up so bad that God said, oops, I didn’t see that coming. I got to do something now. And then he became a redeemer. Not so. God’s redemption is as eternal as his power. Jesus Christ in Revelation 13 is called the lamb that was slain from the foundations of the world. It was always God’s plan. You were always God’s plan. You were never an afterthought. He thought about you in advance. And he sent Jesus in the nick of time to save you. Somewhere in the councils of eternity, God the Father said to God the Son, you need to go down there. You’re going to have to save them. It was all part of the plan. And for you to be here right now and hear this message is also part of God’s plan for your life. Which leads us to the fifth and final part of God’s plan, and that is your part in it. Your part, verse 21 tells us, who through him, that is you, you who through him believe in God, that is through Jesus Christ, you have come into a relationship with God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God. In other words, your part is the believing part. It’s the faith part. You can’t work for it. You can’t buy it. It didn’t come from silver or gold. You can’t work for it. It didn’t come from the tradition of your forefathers. But you can believe it. You can receive it. You don’t have to clean up your life. You know, so many people that I meet with, and I’ve heard this for years. Have you ever heard this? Yeah, I know I need to come to God, or they’ll say things like, I know I should come to church, but I got to work on some things first. I got to clean up my act first. What part of redemption are we not getting here? You don’t clean up anything first. First of all, you can’t clean up your life enough to be good enough for God. So give it up. Don’t come and clean up your act first. You come as you are and let God clean up your act. He’s in that business. He catches the fish, then he cleans them. He didn’t say, fish, clean up first and then I’ll catch you. Most fishermen know that. You get the fish, then you clean it. You come as you are. You believe. Now, if you’re thinking, oh, good, good, good, good, because I believe. Well, let me ask you how you believe and what you believe. Because a lot of people will say, I believe God exists out there somewhere. Okay. But that’s not what we’re talking about. The idea here is believing in God, believing in Jesus. Do you lean on him? Are you trusting him? Now, that’s personal because he’s a person. Not do you believe a God lives out there. You know, it’s one thing to talk about the greatness of a parachute. It’s another thing to jump out of the airplane. Parachutes are great. I love parachutes. They’re wonderful things. I believe parachutes exist. Cool. Will you take one on your back and jump? You know, in that business, by the way, there’s a saying that says, always pack your own parachute. That’s the same because, you know, you don’t know if anybody else is going to pack it like you are. But that’s true, but they don’t live by that. The very first time you jump, you do not pack your own parachute. You cannot pack your own parachute. You don’t know how to pack your own parachute. When you first jump, you hold on to an instructor who has packed a parachute. Why would you do that? Because you trust that he knows how to pack a parachute. Will you trust Jesus to pack a parachute for you? That’s faith. That’s faith. Redemption is appropriated by faith, and some of the basic things for you to believe in are implied in this text. You must believe in his death, you must believe in his resurrection, and you must believe that he is Lord, his ascended glory. He died, he rose, he’s Lord of all. That’s faith in Christ, that’s personal. So whether you think you’re pretty or handsome or ugly, you are valuable to God. In all the gyrations you go through life in, am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Am I handsome enough? Just know that behind the scenes, you’ve got a God who says, you are worth everything. And I gave everything to purchase you to myself. And no sin is too great. No life is too evil. And no one is too good to We all come exactly the same way. We all must be redeemed. And religion can’t redeem you, tradition can’t redeem you, money can’t redeem you, sincerity can’t redeem you, but blood can. His blood. A woman lied dying in her home and a parish priest came to visit her. And he thought this woman needs the last rites. that everybody who dies in my parish needs the last rites. And so she saw the priest come into the room, not knowing him. She said, what are you doing here? He said, I have come to give you absolution. I have come to forgive you. And she said, show me your hands. And she looked at his hands and said, you, sir, are an imposter. For the one who forgave my sins has nail prints in his hands. I’m redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish and without spot. Are you? Is that who you trust in? My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. Father, we close this time together with that thought. with that truth ringing in our ears. The plan that Peter has so beautifully and simply laid out includes the fact that we are valued by you, but we’re messed up. Our lives without you are aimless, wrong direction. But you were willing to pay the ultimate price because we’re that valuable to you. She would give your very best, the precious blood of Jesus. You were willing to pay that price. And it was something you planned long before we ever showed up. And our part is to latch on to that plan, to believe, to put our faith and hope, our trust in the living God who can raise the dead
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Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember, your generosity helps share God’s Word around the world, bringing truth and hope to people who need Jesus. And this month, we’d love to thank you for your support by sending you a special resource bundle, Skip’s book, Biography of God, along with his six-message CD series, Expound Galatians. Together, these resources help you explore who God really is and how to live in the spiritual freedom He offers. Give today at connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time on Connect with Skip. We’ll see you next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God’s Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition.
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Make a connection Make a connection at the foot of the crossing
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Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God’s never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
