The_Blood_Of

The Blood of Christ
8/24/2005
George Poulo

In whom we have redemption through His blood, the
Forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Ephes.1:7

We are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Our sins are forgiven according to the riches of His grace. So what? What does that mean? What has Christ done for us that no one else could accomplish? This is what we will try to demonstrate in this paper.
The blood of Christ is not the same as the blood of goats and calves shed in the Old Testament. The blood of calves and goats could only atone for sins. It could only cover the sins of the people. The blood of goats and calves was temporary. The blood had to be shed every year for sins. The blood of Christ is different. The blood of Christ remits sin. It wipes it clean and blots it out completely. The blood of Christ is eternal. His blood was shed once, for all and for all time. After Christ shed His blood He sat down at the right hand of the Father ever making intercession for us. His sacrifice is an eternal priesthood after the order of Melchisedec. The priesthood of Aaron in the old covenant was temporary. The priesthood of Christ is eternal.
The blood of calves and of goats could not bring the people into the very presence of God. There was ever a veil between the people and the dwelling of God. The blood of Christ rent the veil separating a holy God from a sinful people and entrance into heaven was accomplished for everyone who entered covenant with Christ. As a result heaven is now no longer separate from us. There is no distance between us and God.
The blood of calves and goats could only atone for the sin of the Jewish people. It was not a remedy for the Gentiles. The blood of Christ not only remits the sin of the Jew but it also remits the sin of the Gentile. "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." (Ephes.2:13) All of the blessings of God given to the Jewish people are now made available to the Gentile. The blood is universal. It is for every person who will receive the free gift of grace from God through Jesus.
The blood of Christ establishes a new covenant with the people of God. The old covenant was written on tablets of stone. It was an external covenant which could not bring people to the Promised Land. Though the blood of calves and goats was shed with this covenant, it could not make the people holy. "The law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did." (Heb.7:19) With Christ, Jesus becomes the mediator of a new covenant not written on stone but on the heart. The blood gives us access to the Holy Spirit who writes God's law on hearts and in our minds. (Heb. 10:16) The Holy Spirit who was only available to few in the Old Testament is now available to everyone in Christ and all of the benefits of the anointing are now made available to us. Healing, prosperity, dominion and power, authority over demons and evil spirits are all part of this new covenant. The fruit of love, peace, joy, meekness, faith, temperance, patience, and kindness are a product of this new relationship with Christ. The baptism of the Spirit is ours to receive through faith.
The blood of Christ also redeems us from the curse of the law. Gal.3:13   By the law is the knowledge of sin. And the strength of sin is the law. Jesus made the law obsolete. The blood purges our conscience from dead works to serve a living God. (Heb.9:14) Consequently, our conscience is made free and we now do not have to live in condemnation nor remember the sins of our past. (Rom.8:1) The blood is a continuous healing for our memory and emotions and we can walk in newness of life. When the Adversary puts thoughts into our heads concerning the sins of our past, we can plead the blood to purge our conscience to walk free and victorious. Now if our conscience is free, "whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him." (1John3:22) and we gain maturity and authority in the world. By faith, confession, and patience we inherit all the blessings of Abraham and receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Finally through the blood of the new covenant we as the people of God can enter into rest. There is a rest for the people of God who through faith move from victory to victory and glory to glory. The blood of Christ is the guarantee of eternal life, the power of an endless life. Through the work of Christ we who were sinners are now made perfect. We gain eternal life and we can rest in the power of the blood. Maturity is realizing our position in Christ as we grow from babes to those able to discern both good and evil. The new covenant provides better promises and a better provision for entering into the Promised Land and gaining access to heaven. When we receive the forgiveness of sins, we know we have entered into a new kingdom. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we have the earnest of our inheritance. When we enter into rest, we have become mature Christians able to move in victory and power. All this Christ accomplished for us with the shedding of His blood. What good is the forgiveness of sins? It is the only good that will endure for eternity. Amen
No Blood in Hell
9/10/05
George Poulo

There is no blood in Hell. All that the blood of Jesus provides the believer is absent in Hell. Therefore, Hell is torment. Hell has intense suffering. There is no relief ever. Let us try to fathom Hell.
If the blood of Christ remits sin, then in Hell our sin is ever before us. We are tormented by every evil act we have ever performed. We suffer from fear and guilt, anxiety and depression, and loneliness and despair because our conscience is not purged from dead works. Every evil act will haunt our memories forever and ever and ever.
If the blood of Christ removes the veil between us and a holy God, then in Hell, God is not present, only the Devil and his cohorts. The Devil comes only to steal and kill and destroy, so in Hell, we are tormented by the Devil relentlessly. Not only will he bring to our minds what we lost by rejecting the Son, he will abuse, frighten, and cause severe pain to our spirit and soul creating ceaseless havoc.
If the blood of Christ gives us access to eternal life, then without the blood, time is endless. It seems that each moment is forever. There is no eternal life in Hell. There is no mercy, no forgiveness, no reprieve, no love, no hope, and no end to the misery that awaits us. Without the blood of Christ, Hell is complete hell.
If the blood of Christ gives us access to the Father, and the Father is light, then Hell is pure darkness. It is all that is evil, bleak, and empty. We will only see torment, hear anguish, bemoan the Devil and all of his imps in an environment of heat, dryness, and utter darkness.
If the blood of Christ allows us to enter into a rest with God by which we move from victory to victory and glory to glory, then in Hell, without the blood, we are forever restless and move from one defeat to another and one agony to another. There is no peace in Hell. No victory is forthcoming, not even a glimmer of hope for a minor triumph.   No enjoyment of the blessings of God, only an anticipation of the next onslaught of the Devil. We are abused mercilessly, completely alone, forever in anguish. Each moment will seem to last forever.
It doesn't have to come to this however. Jesus has prepared a sanctuary completely washed in His precious blood. We can be free from the sin of our past, remembering nothing of our sins which have been completely blotted out and wiped away together with any guilt attached to those sins. Heaven will be a place without lack, no unfulfilled expectations and dreams, no longing for what we do not have, no prisoner of time and space. There will be no sin nature in Heaven so our acts will proceed from the spirit and not from the flesh. We will be free and totally fearless, living in love and light and peace and solitude. Because there is the blood of Christ in Heaven, we will live in God and God will live in us. We will live in the eternal now and time will be no more. And because Christ is an eternal priest, we can never lose what we have gained because the blood will never lose its efficacy.
Given the contrast between Heaven and Hell, could you possibly choose to reject the blood? Could you be willing to reject Jesus as Savior and Lord? Could you want to die in your sin? Receive Jesus today. Amen.