Charles Stanley takes us on a deep journey into the heart of Christian theology—the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. From understanding the symbolism in the Old Testament’s sacrificial system to acknowledging Christ’s unique role as the ultimate high priest, this episode discusses God’s unwavering holiness and the dire need for atonement through Jesus. A conversation that promises to illuminate the listener’s understanding of salvation, grace, and reconciliation with God.
Welcome to the InTouch Podcast with Charles Stanley. Have you ever thought much about why Jesus had to die? Prepare yourself for Easter by hearing biblical answers to that very question.
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The message of the blood of Christ is the message that God is holy and cannot in any way connect with sin. So I want you to turn, if you will, to Romans chapter 3. In verse 21, Paul says, Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. For there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Being justified, declared no longer guilty that is, as a gift. By his grace, his unmerited favor through the redemption that is the purchase. that God has done in our behalf, which is in Christ Jesus. That is, we have been forgiven of our sins. We have been purchased from our sinfulness by the grace of God. He says, “…whom God displayed,” speaking of Christ, “…whom God displayed publicly as a sacrifice in His blood through faith.” This was to demonstrate His righteousness. “…because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.” For the demonstration, I say, of his righteousness at the present time, that he might be just in the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Now, I can tell you there have been volumes and volumes written on those verses because those verses are the heart of the whole Bible. And in essence, here’s what it means. That no one… can be declared a child of God or righteous in any fashion apart from the cross of Jesus Christ and his atoning death at Calvary. Because God said, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. How can God remain a just God, true to his own laws, unless the penalty for man’s sin is paid for in a fashion that is acceptable to God and in keeping with his law? So therefore, God had to provide A life that was absolutely sinless, spotless, without blemish, who could atone for, pay the debt of all of mankind in order for God to declare any single one of us no longer guilty of our sins and be freed from its penalty. Now, that’s what all that really says. Well, I want you to go back, if you will, to Leviticus 17, and I think here’s the reason. In verse 11, now remember this or you forget everything else in Leviticus. For the life of the flesh is in the what? In the blood. And I have given it to you on the altar, that is the blood, to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement. Now what he’s saying is that word atonement, you could divide up into three words, at-one-ment. And what he’s really saying is this. In order to bring a sinner into oneness with God, to be reconciled to God, there must be the shedding of blood. That is, life must be given for sin. And so when he says here, the life of the flesh is in the blood. This is the reason God chose blood, because that’s where the life is. And what God is declaring to mankind is that he is so holy, he absolutely cannot in any way, under any condition, look upon the sinner and accept him or have any relationship with him without that sin being covered. And the only thing that covers sin is the blood of Christ. And so the whole message of the blood is Isn’t it that it’s simply a sacrificial system? The message of the blood is the holiness of God. And so God set apart the nation of Israel to be a holy people. in order to declare his holiness. They were to represent his holiness, to symbolize his holiness. So what did he do? You recall that he had a tabernacle where they met. They had a holy place and a holy of holies. They had a whole system of priests. There was the high priest, the ordinary priest, and the Levites. The high priest had the awesome responsibility of one day each year to go into this holy of holies, I’m sure with great dread, And at that particular time, he was to carry blood. And there was the Ark of the Covenant where the Ten Commandments were and the rod of Aaron and the shoe bread, I believe, was there. And on the top of this Ark of the Covenant was what was called a mercy seat. And so the high priest was to bring the blood once a year and place it at the mercy seat, which represented the presence of God. And the bringing of the blood atoned for the sin of the nation of Israel. And so let’s say that here’s a person who came because he sinned. And so he brings a lamb and he says to the priest, I’ve come to atone for my sin. And he places his hands upon the head of that lamb and confesses his sins to God. Then the priest takes the lamb, cuts his throat, sheds the blood. And the Hebrew, seeing the blood, knew that his sins had been forgiven, had been atoned for because the blood had been shed. You say, no, wait a minute. How in the world could God forgive sin simply by cutting the throat of a lamb? The blood said forgiveness. The blood was God’s way of saying sin has been atoned for, sin has been forgiven. And so anyone who wanted their sins confessed, that’s the way they did it. They put their hands on the head of that sheep, confessed their sin to God, and listen, not just confessed their sin, but with faith to believe that upon the shedding of that blood, their sin was forgiven. Now, God instituted this awesome sense of sacrificial system. Think about this. The high priest, for example, dressed in a certain fashion, very beautiful and elaborate, and he had the names of all the 12 tribes of the nation on his breast. And when he went into the Holy of Holies, he went in there… with all of these tribes’ names on his breast, which symbolized the fact that he was atoning for the sin of the whole nation. And all of these priests were dressed in a very elaborate fashion because they were reminders that they were a holy nation and God was committed to teaching them that he was holy and that they were holy and that there was only one way to approach God. And so we will look back over all that system and we think of all that blood and all the shedding of the blood and all this whole system of the priesthood and all the things that were going on. Why? And you’ll recall also that when they anointed the high priest, for example, he was known with oil on his head and they sprinkle oil on the priest or the ordinary priest. And then they would take a ram’s blood and put it on his ear, his thumb and his right toe. which symbolized his complete consecration. Now, all of those things may appear foolish to us, but what was God saying? He was saying in such a form and such a way that they could all see it and understand it and be reminded of it, that God is holy. And those who carry out the work of God also ought to be separated and holy unto the Lord. The message was the holiness of God. Now, this is oftentimes a question that people ask. They say, well, no, wait a minute. If these people in the Old Testament… could be forgiven of their sin by the shedding of blood by lambs. You know, why did Christ have to die? Well, remember this. The book of Hebrews says that all of that whole entire sacrificial system, all the way back from the Garden of Eden when God initiated it with Adam and Eve, all of that was a foreshadowing, was a symbol of that which was to come. So that while they had to look forward to to the cross not understanding any of that i’m sure we look back and we see what god did they just knew that god had made a promise and that promise of forgiveness was based on the shedding of the blood of those lambs and so when jesus christ came he came to fulfill what they had been foreshadowing and what they had been practicing all those years but those people say the same way we are by the shedding of blood and faith in god now In the Old Testament, in the New Testament today, it is the same message. The message of the blood is this, that God is holy and there is absolutely no access to him apart from the shedding of blood. And that’s why Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man, no woman, no one under any condition comes to the Father except by me. Why? Well, simply because it was Jesus who was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world that God predestined and chose to execute in order to atone for your sin and mine. So if you are saved, it is because and only because you have acknowledged that Jesus Christ died at Calvary for your sin. And when you accepted him as your personal savior, what you said is, I do believe that he bore my sin and the shedding of his blood took care of my penalty of sin. Just like the Hebrew who placed his hands upon the head of the lamb and said, I’m confessing my sin. And I do believe that I am forgiven of my sin. And of course, God’s Messiah was coming. And it was not the shedding of the blood of bulls and goats that brought about forgiveness. That didn’t bring about forgiveness. That was a foreshadowing. And you see, when you think about being forgiven of all of your sin, that ought to humble every single one of us. When we talk about grace, God’s unmerited favor, undeserved favor, what you and I deserve is what? We deserve death. We deserve spiritual death. And the only access to God is through the blood. Otherwise, that whole sacrificial system was a hoax. I mean, what a waste. If a person could be saved any other way except by the blood of Christ, that was all a hoax. I mean, you can just throw away that part of the Bible. Well, the same thing is true in the New Testament. If you can be saved, if you can be forgiven of your sins, if you can be made acceptable in the eyes of God any other way than through the atoning death of Jesus Christ, what’s it all about? You see, this is why the unbeliever absolutely cannot understand why his works aren’t sufficient. He says, now, wait a minute. Look, you mean to tell me that if I’m a good husband and a good dad, and if I behave myself in life and I take care of my family and I do a good job and I treat others well and I’m benevolent in my giving and I live a good life and I’m a moral clean person, you mean to tell me that God isn’t going to accept me? No. Why not? Because you’re forgetting something. You’re forgetting that you are a sinner. You’re forgetting that you have sinned against God. You’re forgetting that your sins have separated you from God. You’re forgetting the fact that God is so holy that your righteousness, he says, think about this, he says your good works He says, the smell of your good works is like stench in my nostrils. Now you say, well, God isn’t very kind. Yes, he is. Because you see, what we don’t understand is the holiness of God. Now, here’s what mankind does. Man says, but look, look what I’ve done and all the things I just named. Now, when a person says that, what are they comparing themselves to? They’re comparing themselves to other folks. They’re comparing their sense of self-righteousness with other people. Well, look, if I want to look real good, I just find me somebody looks real bad. The worse they look, the better I look. Now, the difficult thing for lost man today is to think that he’s got to trust God to do something about his condition, when as far as he’s concerned, his condition looks pretty good. Pretty good compared to what? Not the holiness of God, but the unholiness of all the rest of us. You can find anybody somewhere that can make you look pretty good. But it is the holiness of God that we have to deal with. And isn’t it strange today, not so strange maybe, there’s not a whole lot of fear of God today. There’s not a whole lot of fear of God. You don’t hear much about the holiness of God, the righteousness of God. We talk about mercy and love and God answering prayer and all these wonderful things, which is true. But what about the holiness of God? I think because God is holy, that reverence is a part of my recognition of the holiness of God. Reverence is a part of our recognition of the holiness of God. And so, I just want you to think about this, that you and I are serving a holy God, and because He’s holy, He deserves my reverence. I don’t mean being quiet and not speaking in church and don’t talk because reverence for him, I can shout and praise the Lord and lift my hands and holler glory, hallelujah to God in reverence. But I can also be very, very quiet in reverence. If I reverence him, it’s going to affect every single solitary thing about me because I realize I walk in the presence of God. We walk in the presence of God every moment of every day. We are the sons and daughters of God, purchased, bought, cleansed, justified, reconciled by the blood of Christ. Friend, it didn’t come cheap. You’re saved and forgiven of your sins at the awesome expense of the life of God, God the Son. That isn’t cheap. And it’s interesting that God dressed up those priests, And all of these garments, continuous reminders that Israel was to be a holy nation. So all of that system’s gone. So what do we have now? Well, Jesus Christ came on the scene and you recall that all this sacrificial system was going on. But isn’t it interesting when the New Testament period starts, all that’s over. Because, listen, in verse 26 of Hebrews chapter 7, For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, that’s Christ, look at this now, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Who does not need daily, like those high priests in the Old Testament, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, because the priest had to do that, and then for the sins of the people, because this he did once for all when he offered up home. Himself, Jesus was the lamb slain. Chapter 9. Look, if you will, beginning in verse 11. He says, but when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, look at that now. What’s that? A high priest of the good things to come. He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle into heaven, the presence of the Father. Not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves like in the Old Testament, but through what? His own blood, he entered the holy place how many times? Once for all, having obtained what? Eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. So what happened? What happened was that the crucifixion, when the devil tried his best to wipe Jesus out totally, and the Pharisees and Sadducees thought they’d taken care of him, he arose from the dead. The temple curtain that separated from the Holy of Holies, everything else was rent, what? Top to bottom. God is the one who split it wide open. And what he was saying is this, that no longer does man have to go through a priest to get to God. But because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ once and for all, the door is wide open. You don’t need a pastor to get to God. You don’t need a priest to get to God. There is one mediator between God and man, and it’s the person Jesus Christ. He’s the only one worthy of it. He’s the only one who can because he shed his blood in our behalf, sits at the Father’s right hand as the atoning sacrificial lamb. And everyone who comes covered under that blood is absolutely, totally forgiven. The message of the blood is that God’s holy. He’s so holy, he absolutely cannot relate to sinful human beings under any other way except by shed blood. Because that is his nature. And the whole message of the Old Testament, the whole sacrificial system, isn’t blood, blood, blood. It is holy, holy, holy. Remember in Isaiah, when he saw the vision of God, he said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. In the book of the Revelation, the shouts of holy, holy, holy around the throne, they don’t say love, love, love. Justice, justice, justice, mercy, mercy, mercy, but holy, holy, holy. From the very beginning chapters of the Bible to the last book of the Bible, God’s most prominent attribute is that He is holy. Look in the 11th chapter of Leviticus. Verse 44 of Leviticus 11. For I am the Lord your God, consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. For I am the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt to be your God, thus you shall be holy, for I am holy. And in the New Testament, Peter says the same thing. We’re to be holy even as he is holy. Amen. And so holiness is not something that God has simply isolated for himself. But not only is the nation of Israel, were they to be a holy nation, but you and I are the holy children of God, which means we have been set apart by God for God. None of us has an authoritative right to do anything with our lives apart from God. You don’t have the right to make choices about what you’re going to do with your life apart from God. He said, be ye therefore holy even as I am holy. It is a holy God whose holiness is so important to him, he absolutely cannot tolerate sinfulness. And the only reason in this world your name and mine is written in the Lamb’s book of life is that God died at Calvary and shed his blood for you and me. I simply say all that to say the message of the blood is holiness and our forgiveness is not cheap.
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Thank you for listening to The Blood of Christ, The Message. If you’d like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
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