Unser Herr lebt, Issue 52, 2019
Gotthold Beck
The Bible is not trying to convey some theories or teachings to us; rather, it is telling us the truth.
The most important truth written in the Bible is the salvation accomplished by the Lord Jesus. It is not enough for us to have this fact merely as knowledge stored in our heads, but our daily lives need to be filled with this knowledge and we need to understand this fact as our personal experience. This kind of knowledge is completely different from what we have in our heads; it is penetrated so deep within us that it cannot be separated from our personality.
Now, we are living in the dark age of the end time. We need a solid foundation that is as stable as a rock. I am convinced that this foundation is the knowledge embedded deep into our lives, as I just mentioned and the eternal fact about God that is conveyed in the Bible.
So, what is the plan God has for us that will remain forever? I would like to discuss it with you in this sermon.
1. Plan of God
Let us begin with two verses from the Bible.
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son and believes on him, may have everlasting life. (John 6:40)
It is written in the Word of God that, “Anyone who sees the Son (Jesus Christ), and believes in Him will have everlasting life.” It is not written that anyone who participates in good deeds and strives very hard will have everlasting life. Jesus has clearly promised that everyone who sees and accepts the work of salvation of Jesus Christ on the Cross will have eternal life without exception. He stated that it was “the will of the Father” God. In addition to this, there is another aspect of God's plan we need to think of. Paul wrote to Christians living in Galatea:
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. (Galatians 4:19)
The plan that God has for us is for us to be saved from our sins and those who were made the children of God be renewed after the image of the only Son of God, the Lord Jesus.
Each of us is aware of our own strong points and weak points. Since you became a believer of the Lord, you must have desired to live a life of victory that fulfills the will of the Lord and you have been praying for such life. However, such prayer ended in miserable defeat, didn't it? Why did it have to be that way? Was it because you did not have the true foundation? Was it because your knowledge of the Bible was not enough?
We all have various troubles and sufferings. God's provision or solution for them is always His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus. It is as is expressed in the famous English phrase, “Christ is the answer.” You might say that you are aware of that, but if you truly do, why do you try to live a life of victory on your own strength? It is only the Lord Jesus who can make us live a life of victory.
Paul testified that in his life of faith, he has been triumphantly victorious.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Romans 8:37)
Paul knew the secret of victory. It can be found in his epistle to the Galatians.
I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. yet not I, but Christ lives in me. (Galatians 2:20)
We cannot live a life of victory on our own. Only Jesus who dwells within us can let us live a life of victory. Therefore, it is extremely important for us that the image of Jesus is formed within us.
You might have been wondering why the Lord has to deal with me under such severe circumstances, why I have to suffer and be ailed so much. It is because God has been guiding you so that you can believe the true knowledge that the Lord Jesus dwells within you.
We all have various desires and every time the Lord God answers them, He shows us “Jesus.” He never takes any other measure. Therefore, in order to understand what kind of Man Jesus is, I would like to discuss briefly, “the three aspects of humans’ sins” and ”the three meaning of the blood that Jesus shed.” Needless to say, in understanding these things, theories or doctrines are not important at all. The truth is the only thing that matters here. Our sins and the value of the blood of the Lord Jesus is clearly stated in the Word of God as follows:
Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare. I say, at this time his righteousness. That he might be just, and the justifier of him which believes in Jesus. (Romans 3:25-26)
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:8-9)
2. Three Aspects of Humans' sins
To begin with, as we look at the nature of our sins, we realize that the sins of humans have three aspects. These three aspects correspond to the fact that God, man and the devil, recognize the sins of humans from their own viewpoints.
Because the first man, Adam, was so disobedient to God, a separation arose between God and humans. That is to say, the unrighteousness and sins of humans separated them from God. It is clearly stated in the Bible:
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)
As in this verse, God Himself is saying that mankind is under sin. It is written in the Epistle to the Romans, chapter 3:
What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise. for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable. There is none that does good, no, not one. (Romans 3:9-12)
This is the judgment of God on humans, who is alive and is completely aware of what is at the bottom of our hearts. Not only was the wall built by the sin that separated us from God, “guilty conscience” arose inside the human's heart. Because humans committed sin, which separated them from God, they came to suffer from their guilty conscience. God, as the Holy Spirit works on humans' hearts, we realize that we are all under sin and admit that we too have sinned just like other people. Let us look at the confession of the prodigal son from the Bible:
I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father. I have sinned against heaven, and before you. (Luke 15:18)
We all have a guilty conscience. The devil takes advantage of it; he tells humans that they have sinned and tries to convince them of how bad and horrible they are as sinners.
The devil is described as the accuser, the one who accuses us in Revelation to John.
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Revelation 12:10)
As we have seen, God, humans and the devil all acknowledge the fact about the sin of humans. Therefore, in order for us to obtain true freedom, all these problems need to be solved; “the sin against God,” “guilty conscience within ourselves,” and “the accusation of the devil.”
Now, how can these problems be solved? The solution resides in Jesus.
3. The Value of the Blood of the Lord Jesus.
I mentioned at the beginning that God's answer to all troubles and sufferings of human is always through one means and that is through His begotten son, Jesus Christ, the Lord God. The three problems I mentioned above have been solved already by the Lord Jesus, actually by the sacrifice He made.
The wall that is called sin, which separated humans and God has already been removed by the blood of the Lord Jesus. The wall of separation has been taken down; this made it possible for us to come into the presence of God. Communion with God has been restored, which made it possible for humans to come into intimate fellowship with God again. Therefore, if we truly understand the value of the blood that Jesus shed on the Cross, our guilty conscience will disappear and we will be filled with the joy and peace of receiving the forgiveness of our sin. Furthermore, if we recognize the value of the blood of the Lord Jesus deep enough, the accusation of the devil will lose its influence, because God is completely satisfied now. This way, the power of the blood that the Lord Jesus shed on the Cross has limitless strength. It has the power that is far more than enough for God, to the guilty conscience within us and against the accusation of the devil.
If we want to make spiritual progress and achieve spiritual growth, we definitely need to understand the infinite power of the blood of the Lord Jesus. We need to know the tremendous value of the blood that was shed when the Lord Jesus was crucified. It is because we cannot follow Jesus without the deep knowledge of these Words of God. Now, let us begin to learn about these three facts in further detail.
The Blood Was Shed for the Satisfaction of God.
To begin with, we need to realize that the blood that Jesus shed was for the sake of the Lord God more than anything else.
Of course, the shed blood of the Lord Jesus has redeemed us. It was shed so that our sin can be forgiven and so that we may begin to serve our Lord God. For us sinners, to avoid the judgment of God, the forgiveness of our sin and redemption was absolutely necessary. This forgiveness of our sin can never be attained by any man-made religions, any reasoning or teachings, or good moral practices. The forgiveness of our sin can only be accomplished by the fact that the blood of the Lord Jesus has been shed.
However, the blood of the Lord Jesus was shed for the Lord God in the first place and not for us humans. If we want to truly know the value of the blood of the Lord Jesus, we first need to understand how the Lord God thinks of the blood of Jesus Christ.
If we fail to understand how God perceives the value of Jesus' blood, we would neither be able to understand what Jesus' blood means for us too. It is not until the Holy Spirit tells us what God thinks of His Son's blood that we can truly appreciate the preciousness of Jesus' blood.
In the Old Testament, the word “blood (of offering)” appeared more than one hundred times, at each of which it is mentioned, this blood of redemption was offered to God alone.
Now, the most important day in the era of the Old Testament was presumably the Day of Atonement. This Day of Atonement is detailed in Leviticus, chapter 16:
Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins. And so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. (Leviticus 16:15-17)
On the Day of Atonement, all Israelites gathered in front of the tabernacle and slaughtered a lamb of sacrifice for their sins. The high priest carried their blood to the most holy place where God was present and sprinkled it on and before “the mercy seat” seven times as it is recorded. (Because “the mercy seat” was where God appeared in the cloud above it, they were not allowed to approach it for no reason.) The sacrificial lamb was slaughtered in the front yard of the tabernacle as everyone watched. However, it was only the high priest who was allowed to carry the blood into the most holy place. The high priest brought the blood into the Lord for the atonement of the sin of the people.
This high priest was a predicted form of the Lord Jesus. It can be seen from the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 9, verses 11 and 12:
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:11-12)
Just as the high priest entered by into the most holy place where God was present, our Savior, Jesus was also alone when He was crucified and shed His blood, He resurrected after three days and went back to His Father God in heaven carrying the blood of the atonement. The high priest carried the blood of cleansing away from the entire congregation into the presence of God. God was satisfied when He saw the blood. This indicates that the blood was primarily for God. Another prediction of the Lord's atonement can be found in the Exodus, chapter 12, verse 13:
And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood. I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:13)
Before they left Egypt, all the people of Israel were ordered to kill a lamb without blemish and strike its blood on the two side posts and on the upper door of their houses. God told them that if He saw the blood, He would pass over that house with no plague to destroy them. The people of Israel stroke the blood at the entrance of their houses which can be seen from outside so that the Lord God could see it as He passed by. Until the judgment of God ended, people stayed inside the house roasting the meat of the slain lamb and eating it. The blood could not be seen by the people in the house. This lamb without blemish and without spot which the people of Israel slaughtered at this time of pass over as described in the Exodus, it was a prediction of the Lord Jesus.
The Lord God is as holy and righteous as anything can be, that in order to save sinful humans, it was necessary for Him to punish the One who had no sin. To shed blood is to give life because it was considered that life was in the blood.
It is stated in the Epistle to the Hebrews that “without the shedding of the blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.” When the Lord Jesus sacrificed His own life and shed His blood, the intention of God was fulfilled. “I would pass over without destroying you if I see the blood. I would be satisfied if I see the blood of my Son, Jesus Christ,” says the Lord God. This is the everlasting truth of the Lord God that we all need to understand.
The Blood Erases our Guilty Conscience
Before we were saved by believing in the Lord Jesus, our conscience was clouded and almost dead. However, after we were made Christians, if we are to be disobedient to God, it instantly raises an alert inside us and our conscience senses it as sin. When it happens, we tend to care only about ourselves and forget the value of the blood of the Lord Jesus, which results in total despair. It happens because we place our sin higher than Jesus' blood.
How have we become like this? We desire to feel something on our bodies. And we are trying to judge the value of the blood of the Lord Jesus by what we feel. This is a horrible mistake. The blood was shed for the Lord God. We need to understand the perfect value of Jesus' blood for the Lord God. It is not important at all what we feel, what is important for us is to believe the Word of God from the bottom of our hearts.
We must believe in the preciousness of the blood of the Lord Jesus. Because it is stated in the Bible:
Since you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
It is written that “you were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.” It is very important for us to understand that the Lord God has judged that the blood of His Son Jesus was enough to cleanse all the sins of humans. When we do, we can believe the fact that the wall of sin which has separated God from His creation has been completely removed. We can believe that because most important of all, it was what God Himself has stated.
The foundation of our faith is the Word that God has spoken. It is the promise of God. Our Lord God is holy and righteous. And God is telling us that the blood of Jesus is enough to cover all the sins of humans. By the value of this blood, it was made possible for all believers to come into the presence of God. When we understand the real value of the blood of the Lord Jesus better, our guilty conscience will disappear. God was satisfied with the blood of the Lord Jesus from the heart. Therefore, the blood of Jesus should be sufficient for us too. The Bible says:
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)
What is this Word of God telling us? Until now, there has always been a wall called sin that separates Lord God from humans. Because of this, we have been constantly pricked by our conscience and suffering, but now, when the blood of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was shed, this wall of sin was taken down, we were redeemed and our guilty conscience disappeared. If we stand firm on this everlasting truth, our guilty conscience will disappear without a trace.
In our life of faith, two things must continue to exist in parallel with each other. They are the heart that is filled with faith and the conscience that is free from guilt. If we cannot continuously live with a conscience that is free from guilt, our life of faith cannot progress. Therefore, we need to taste and realize the infinite preciousness of Jesus' blood day by day, hour by hour.
When we pray, what foundation do we pray on? Is it the blood of Jesus? Or something else? Do we always keep in our mind that we are in serious need of holiness and that it is not until we walk under the blood of the Lord Jesus that we can begin to come boldly into the presence of the Lord God? Or, at the end of the day, do we feel happy for having another peaceful day and feel satisfied believing that we did something on behalf of the Lord, which makes you feel like praying? Do we always pray based on such personal satisfaction or feeling? If you pray based on your mood, I must tell you that it is the first step heading towards despair. You cannot end all days of a week with such a blessed feeling. The true peace of conscience cannot be attained by what you feel. The peace of your conscience can be found only when you accept the shed blood of the Lord Jesus. It is extremely important for us to understand this. As it is written in the Epistle to Hebrews, chapter 10, verse 19: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” By this blood, we can boldly come close to the Lord.
Or on some other day, you might have deliberately tried to live faithfully and you actually prayed and read the Bible more than usual, you had a long time to meditate before the Lord, which makes you believe that you can come closer to the Lord with joy. Or, it might be that you had some bad argument with your family member at breakfast, you had some unpleasant experience during the daytime, or you woke up with a depressed feeling, which made you feel that your relationship with the Lord Jesus was not right and it made it very difficult to pray at the end of that day.
Beloved brothers and sisters, on what reasons, with what kind of excuse do we approach God? Do we approach the Lord based on our wavering and unstable emotions? Or, do we approach God based on the foundation that is as firm as a rock, that is to say, based on the everlasting fact that the Lord Jesus shed the blood for our sin and that God has accepted that blood sincerely and was satisfied by the blood?
No matter how much and how desperately we pray, it does not make the Lord listen to us. Only when we come close to God by passing through the blood of the Lord Jesus, will the Lord hear our prayers. The blood of the Lord Jesus will never lose its power forever. Therefore, we are allowed to come close to God anytime by the blood of the Lord without hesitation and by being filled with joy. Not because we have accomplished something, but because of the blood that the Lord Jesus shed for us, we can come before the Lord God.
Even though we had some wonderful experience a day before yesterday, yesterday or today, it does not help us to come close to God. It is by passing through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus that we can come before the Lord God. We will not truly come close to God by appreciating that you have a blessed day today or you had a wonderful day yesterday. We can come close to God by nothing but the blood of redemption of the Lord Jesus.
The wall of sin that had been separating God from us was removed, when we accepted the Lord Jesus, when we believed in the blood of the Lord; it was taken down completely by the blood of the Lord Jesus. It is written in the Bible, “But now in Christ Jesus, you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13) By the blood of Christ, you have been brought near. However, even now, after becoming a Christian, you are still allowed to come close to God for only one reason, which is because of the blood of Jesus.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19, 22)
As we can see from the Word from the Epistle to the Ephesians and the Epistle to the Hebrews, while the very first step of our life of faith was taken with the blood of Jesus, we should keep in mind all the time that each step we take every day in our life of faith can only be taken by nothing but the blood of Jesus.
In this sermon, I have repeatedly spoken of Jesus' blood, but you might want to say that it is the very first step of your life of faith and it is already understood well; it is the ABC's of faith so to speak. However, the problem is that humans easily forget this basic fact.
My beloved brothers and sisters, what I sincerely want you to remember is that, until death, until the day you are called to heaven, you must keep walking by the blood of Jesus.
The blood of the Lord Jesus has been shed. The Father God was totally satisfied with this blood. This means that this blood is valuable enough for us too.
We are weak beings; we have so many weaknesses. However, we can never overcome that weakness and become stronger just by staring at that weakness. Or, we may feel that our flock is too poor in prayers. However, just worrying about it does not help us at all. Let us come near to the throne without hesitation. And let us tell the Lord, “Jesus, I may not have understood the true value of the blood You shed, but I know that it satisfied the Father God. Now, I believe that the blood is simply enough for me too. I will pass through this blood and come closer to you.” When you approach the Lord this way, your guilty conscience disappears. When our guilty conscience disappears, we feel that boldness rising within us.
It is written in the Epistle to the Hebrews, “Otherwise (if the law could make people perfect), would they not have stopped offering them, because the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer be aware of any sins?” (10:2) It is written that they “would no longer be aware of any sins,” which actually is only true to those who have experienced the value of the blood of the Lord Jesus deeply. For these people, the knowledge of the blood of the Lord Jesus has become the personal life that they live. It is not a knowledge stored in their head. Joining with Paul and David, people can say, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Romans 4:8) Finally, let us discuss briefly the third point of Jesus' blood.
The Blood Invalidates the Accusation of the Devil.
By the blood of the Lord Jesus, not only that the wall called sin has been taken down and our guilty conscience disappeared, but when you profoundly understand the true value of the blood of the Lord Jesus, the accusation of the devil loses its effect on us. I would like to conclude this sermon with a discussion about the victory of the blood of the Lord Jesus over the one who accuses our brothers, which is the devil.
Accusing the ones who belong to Jesus is one of the tasks that the devil engages in today. What do we do to overcome the devil?
Only by the blood of the Lord Jesus, the devil can be defeated. The blood of the Lord Jesus has already been shed and the wall that separated God and humans has been taken down. And now, God is standing on the side of humans as our friend. Therefore, no matter how hard the devil tries to accuse us, the accusation has absolutely no power to hurt us. The only thing we need to do is to believe firmly in the blood of the Lord Jesus. It is written in the First Epistle of John:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
What a precious Word of God it is for our everyday life of faith! It is written that the blood cleanses us “from all sin”; we are cleansed from each and every sin. If “as God is in the light,” we walk in the light too, our sins, regardless of its size, regardless of whether we are conscious of them or not, will all be cleansed as it is written here. When we do, the accusation of the devil has no power at all. No matter how hard Satan tries to accuse us, he can never touch us. Because of the blood of the Lord Jesus, God is standing on our side. Let us read some verses from the Epistle to the Romans, chapter 8:
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. (Romans 8:31-34)
What a wonderful truth! My dear brothers and sisters, the only thing we need now is the knowledge that God is fully and completely satisfied with the blood!
The devil comes and accuses us, saying, “You have sinned and the Lord would never use you again.” When he does, if we listen to what he says, we would end in miserable defeat. Why do we always believe the word of the devil? It is because we believe that there is still something good remaining in us. Everything that comes out from us is sin. We cannot do anything that is completely free from sin. We need to understand this fact and keep it deep in our hearts. If we admit this fact and keep it deep in our hearts, when Satan comes and accuses us saying, “Look, you have sinned again!” you can reply him by saying, “I am already aware of it, there is nothing good inside me and that is fine. However, there is the blood of the Lord Jesus shed for me. God is satisfied with this blood. So, I do not have to hesitate before I pray to God.”
When we forget the value of this blood of the Lord, it gives the devil a chance to win and step into our way. Only the Lord can defeat the devil who is the accuser. The Lord has already won the victory by the sacrificial death of Jesus. If we truly understand the value of the Lord's blood, then it leaves no room for the devil to sneak in. Do not do anything that may drive out the Lord's blood from our lives. The blood of the Lord Jesus has already satisfied God and the blood of the Lord Jesus is the source of our peace. This very fact dismisses the accusation of the devil.
Beloved brothers and sisters, the source of our power, peace and joy is all contained in the blood of the Lord Jesus. If we want to rejoice deeply in the blood of the Lord Jesus, let us give our heartfelt appreciation to the blood of the Lord and move one step further.
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