Redemption Through His Blood
Bible Study Time 8-5-07
Bible Study Time 8-5-07
When the Apostle Paul got saved on the road to Damascus, he could not have imagined the change in direction his life was about to take. Up to that time, he had no doubt assumed that a man’s relationship with God would be determined exclusively by his ability to keep the Law of Moses. He probably thought every day about the verses in Deuteronomy which say:
Deuteronomy 28:2 (NKJ)
2 " . . . all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
Deuteronomy 28:15 (NKJ)
15 "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God . . . that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
When you think about it, it is a good thing to meditate upon the Law of God. After all, it is God’s revelation of His own standard of righteousness. King David said:
Psalms 1:1-3 (NKJ)
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
What better way to start the day than to remind ourselves of the path of righteousness. To remind ourselves of the fact that God wants us to be honest and truthful. He wants us to honor our parents, and He wants us to be satisfied with the fruit of our own labor without coveting what belongs to someone else. As true believers in Jesus Christ, we should all rejoice in these things.
But what Paul had to learn was that apart from faith in Jesus Christ, one can not have a relationship with God. Jesus Christ is Jehovah God, and apart from a relationship with Him, one has no power to walk in the righteousness of the Law.
After Paul met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he became acquainted with a little verse in Habakkuk that says:
Habakkuk 2:4 (NKJ)
4 "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.
As Paul contemplated the significance of this verse, he began to realize that Abel had by faith offered a better sacrifice that Cain. He realized that Noah built the ark by faith and became the heir of the righteousness which is by faith. And what about Abraham? Doesn’t the Bible say that Abraham believed the Lord, and it was counted to him for righteousness?
Without faith in Christ, it is impossible to have a relationship with God, and without a relationship with God, it is impossible to walk in the righteousness of the Law.
When Paul put his faith in the Lord Jesus, he was amazed at the change that took place within himself. He didn’t need anyone to tell him that he was different. The change was obvious. Before, He would try to keep the Law but without success. He said:
Romans 7:14,19 (NKJ)
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Romans 7:9-11 (NKJ)
9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
Romans 8:1-4 (NKJ)
1 (But) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh . . . He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:12-14 (NKJ)
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors-- not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
The Apostle Paul did not need anyone to tell him that a tremendous change had taken place in his life, but he did need someone to tell him how and why that change had taken place. And so the Holy Spirit revealed to him that it’s through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ that one can become a new creation in Christ. This mystery had been hidden in the scriptures all through the Old Testament times. Isaiah said:
Isaiah 53:3-5 (NKJ)
3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; he was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
David prophesied of the Lord’s death, saying:
Psalms 22:1 (NKJ)
1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? . . .
Psalms 22:15-18 (NKJ)
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; you have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.
When Paul saw these verses, how his heart must have rejoiced to see that the just shall live by faith in the work of Christ upon the cross. Paul wrote to the Romans, saying:
Romans 1:16-17 (NKJ)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Then Paul said:
Romans 3:21-26 (NKJ)
21 . . . now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith . . .
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
The Apostle Paul laid it all out for us. Why do we feel so different after we accept Jesus Christ by faith? It’s because the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. We are washed in the blood of the Lamb of God.
We all know what a wonderful feeling it is to feel clean on the outside, but only those who have put their faith in Christ can know the joy of feeling clean on the inside. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said:
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NKJ)
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
This mystery concerning the cleansing of the soul and the new creation was a mystery which as I mentioned earlier had been hidden in the scriptures up until it was revealed to Paul. It was something that Paul had the privilege of revealing to the saints as a minister of the New Covenant during the Acts period. The book of Romans was the last letter that Paul wrote during the Acts period, and in the last verses of that book, he said:
Romans 16:25-26 (NKJ)
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began
26 but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith--
It was by the commandment of God that the Apostle Paul was revealing these hidden truths of the Old Testament prophetic writings, but it was not long after Paul wrote to the Romans that Paul was arrested in Jerusalem by the Jews. He was sent to Rome to stand trial, and on his way to Rome, he got the opportunity to speak to King Agrippa. As he stood there before this powerful king, he said:
Acts 26:2, 5-7 (NKJ)
2 "I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews,
5 "They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
6 "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.
7 "To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.
Shortly, after Paul got to Rome, Paul wrote to the Ephesians and the Colossians, and in those two letters, we see a total change of direction in Paul’s ministry. In these letters, Paul never mentioned the hope of Israel except to say that Gentiles today are no longer separated from the Jews by the promises which were made to Israel. Instead, Paul taught that believers today belong to the one new man that God is building in heaven. He said that this one new man is called the Church which is the Body of Christ. In Ephesians, chapter 1, Paul said that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead by His mighty power:
Ephesians 1:22-23 (NKJ)
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
But Paul still maintained that:
Ephesians 1:7 (NKJ)
7 In (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
In Colossians, Chapter 1, Paul said:
Colossians 1:13-18 (NKJ)
13 (God) has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in 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 may have the preeminence.
Whether we speak of the church of the Acts period or the church to which we belong today, it is the same blood that provides for the redemption of the believer. It is the same blood that cleanses the believer from all sin and generates the power behind the new creation. As we rightly divide the word of truth, we see that some things change from one program to another, but some things stay the same.
There are those who resist the idea of dividing up the scriptures into different programs for different groups of people. They quote II Timothy 3:16, saying that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is therefore profitable, but the fact is that in that very same book of II Timothy, Paul says:
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
The profitability of studying all scripture can only be realized when we rightly divide the word of truth. Only then can we distinguish those things that change from program to program from those things that stay the same. I pray that today God will bless you as you worship the Lord and that you will continue to be blessed by the preaching of God’s word.
Thank you for studying with me this morning. It’s been a pleasure studying with you, and I’ll look forward to studying with you next week at this same time.
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Deuteronomy 28:2 (NKJ)
2 " . . . all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
Deuteronomy 28:15 (NKJ)
15 "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God . . . that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
When you think about it, it is a good thing to meditate upon the Law of God. After all, it is God’s revelation of His own standard of righteousness. King David said:
Psalms 1:1-3 (NKJ)
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
What better way to start the day than to remind ourselves of the path of righteousness. To remind ourselves of the fact that God wants us to be honest and truthful. He wants us to honor our parents, and He wants us to be satisfied with the fruit of our own labor without coveting what belongs to someone else. As true believers in Jesus Christ, we should all rejoice in these things.
But what Paul had to learn was that apart from faith in Jesus Christ, one can not have a relationship with God. Jesus Christ is Jehovah God, and apart from a relationship with Him, one has no power to walk in the righteousness of the Law.
After Paul met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he became acquainted with a little verse in Habakkuk that says:
Habakkuk 2:4 (NKJ)
4 "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.
As Paul contemplated the significance of this verse, he began to realize that Abel had by faith offered a better sacrifice that Cain. He realized that Noah built the ark by faith and became the heir of the righteousness which is by faith. And what about Abraham? Doesn’t the Bible say that Abraham believed the Lord, and it was counted to him for righteousness?
Without faith in Christ, it is impossible to have a relationship with God, and without a relationship with God, it is impossible to walk in the righteousness of the Law.
When Paul put his faith in the Lord Jesus, he was amazed at the change that took place within himself. He didn’t need anyone to tell him that he was different. The change was obvious. Before, He would try to keep the Law but without success. He said:
Romans 7:14,19 (NKJ)
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Romans 7:9-11 (NKJ)
9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
Romans 8:1-4 (NKJ)
1 (But) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh . . . He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:12-14 (NKJ)
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors-- not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
The Apostle Paul did not need anyone to tell him that a tremendous change had taken place in his life, but he did need someone to tell him how and why that change had taken place. And so the Holy Spirit revealed to him that it’s through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ that one can become a new creation in Christ. This mystery had been hidden in the scriptures all through the Old Testament times. Isaiah said:
Isaiah 53:3-5 (NKJ)
3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; he was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
David prophesied of the Lord’s death, saying:
Psalms 22:1 (NKJ)
1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? . . .
Psalms 22:15-18 (NKJ)
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; you have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.
When Paul saw these verses, how his heart must have rejoiced to see that the just shall live by faith in the work of Christ upon the cross. Paul wrote to the Romans, saying:
Romans 1:16-17 (NKJ)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Then Paul said:
Romans 3:21-26 (NKJ)
21 . . . now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith . . .
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
The Apostle Paul laid it all out for us. Why do we feel so different after we accept Jesus Christ by faith? It’s because the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. We are washed in the blood of the Lamb of God.
We all know what a wonderful feeling it is to feel clean on the outside, but only those who have put their faith in Christ can know the joy of feeling clean on the inside. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said:
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NKJ)
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
This mystery concerning the cleansing of the soul and the new creation was a mystery which as I mentioned earlier had been hidden in the scriptures up until it was revealed to Paul. It was something that Paul had the privilege of revealing to the saints as a minister of the New Covenant during the Acts period. The book of Romans was the last letter that Paul wrote during the Acts period, and in the last verses of that book, he said:
Romans 16:25-26 (NKJ)
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began
26 but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith--
It was by the commandment of God that the Apostle Paul was revealing these hidden truths of the Old Testament prophetic writings, but it was not long after Paul wrote to the Romans that Paul was arrested in Jerusalem by the Jews. He was sent to Rome to stand trial, and on his way to Rome, he got the opportunity to speak to King Agrippa. As he stood there before this powerful king, he said:
Acts 26:2, 5-7 (NKJ)
2 "I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews,
5 "They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
6 "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.
7 "To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.
Shortly, after Paul got to Rome, Paul wrote to the Ephesians and the Colossians, and in those two letters, we see a total change of direction in Paul’s ministry. In these letters, Paul never mentioned the hope of Israel except to say that Gentiles today are no longer separated from the Jews by the promises which were made to Israel. Instead, Paul taught that believers today belong to the one new man that God is building in heaven. He said that this one new man is called the Church which is the Body of Christ. In Ephesians, chapter 1, Paul said that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead by His mighty power:
Ephesians 1:22-23 (NKJ)
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
But Paul still maintained that:
Ephesians 1:7 (NKJ)
7 In (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
In Colossians, Chapter 1, Paul said:
Colossians 1:13-18 (NKJ)
13 (God) has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in 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 may have the preeminence.
Whether we speak of the church of the Acts period or the church to which we belong today, it is the same blood that provides for the redemption of the believer. It is the same blood that cleanses the believer from all sin and generates the power behind the new creation. As we rightly divide the word of truth, we see that some things change from one program to another, but some things stay the same.
There are those who resist the idea of dividing up the scriptures into different programs for different groups of people. They quote II Timothy 3:16, saying that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is therefore profitable, but the fact is that in that very same book of II Timothy, Paul says:
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
The profitability of studying all scripture can only be realized when we rightly divide the word of truth. Only then can we distinguish those things that change from program to program from those things that stay the same. I pray that today God will bless you as you worship the Lord and that you will continue to be blessed by the preaching of God’s word.
Thank you for studying with me this morning. It’s been a pleasure studying with you, and I’ll look forward to studying with you next week at this same time.
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
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