Introducing himself to the young people, Roger Higginson, brought up in Lisburn and more recently of Coleraine, began by turning to Hebrews chapter 9. The types and shadows referred to in this chapter, and seen throughout the Old Testament in the sacrifice, the washing, the priestly office and the holy place, are all fulfilled in the person and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is through the shedding of His blood alone that we can be redeemed (bought back) from our sins.
Verse 19 of the chapter refers back to Moses, on Mount Sinai, as he received the 10 commandments. Once Moses had related the law to the people of God, the children of Israel, the blood of a sacrifice was taken and sprinkled over the book and upon all the people. This is significant as it speaks of the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. The Bible presents the doctrine of 'The Blood' from Genesis to Revelation, and the people of God are people that have been blood-sprinkled: we have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb.
Taking the letters of the word 'BLOOD', Roger then began to teach the principle of the precious blood of Christ, from the origins of the sacrifice to the redemption purchased on the cross of Calvary.
BASIS for the blood
The significance of the blood, and more specifically of the sacrifice, goes right back to the early chapters of Genesis. Cain and Abel, the children of Adam and Eve, had been clearly taught of the need to bring a blood offering to God as an appeasement for their sins. Abel obeyed the requirement, but Cain did not, rather he brought an offering of the fruit of the ground. As we read later in Hebrew 9, there is no remission for sins without the shedding of the blood. Cain's offering was not accepted. And throughout the Old Testament this foundation is set down. It is a representation of the covenant between God and man that where the blood of an innocent creature is shed on behalf a guilty man, that guilty man can go free.
LIFE in the blood
So why blood? Why is it not enough that the innocent animal, in the case of Old Testament types, or Christ, in the case of New Testament fulfilment, just died rather than having to shed blood? In the book of Leviticus we read that the life of the flesh is in the blood. The life is in the blood. There is not a single part of the body that could function without blood. Not only does the blood keep the body alive, but it cleanses, it heals, it provides warmth and it fights disease. Not only is the life in the blood, but the very principle behind life itself are found only in the blood. The outpouring of the blood of Jesus Christ was a demonstration of Christ laying down absolutely everything for us.
OBLATION of the blood
The blood is an Oblation, a 'sacrificial offering'. Christ's offering was a sacrifice. The high priest, entering the tabernacle every year, with blood, sought the forgiveness of the sins of the people. This was a sign of what was to come. The Lord Jesus Christ, in laying down His life for us, shedding His precious blood, fulfilled all of the types and signs in Himself. He became the perfect sacrifice, the final sacrifice. He became the ultimate sacrifice for sins, as He presented His own blood before the Father in Heaven, seeking the forgiveness for our sins. He claimed the promise of the covenant between God and man, the shedding of the blood of an innocent creature so that a guilty man or woman could be go free.But this was different, in that this was a one-time offering. It was a sacrifice for all time, for all ages and for all people. Hebrews 10:12: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.
OFFENCE of the blood
The blood causes offence. That is without doubt, but why are so many opposed to the truth of this doctrine in Scripture? Why do so many deem it necessary to exclude the blood from their teachings? The doctrine of the blood tells us in clear terms that we cannot deal with our own sins. Salavtion is obtained only through the blood. The high-priest, approaching the holy place, had to come with blood or the sacrifice for the people would not be accepted. In the same way, we must come by the cross, washed and cleansed by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, shed for us at Calvary. There is no other way to have sins forgiven, than through the 'once for all' sacrifice of the blood of Jesus Christ.
DELIVERANCE by the blood
Not only does salvation, through the blood, deliver sinners from the penalty of sin, it also delivers Believers, who have trusted in the blood, from the pollution of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ saves from both the punishment of sin and the effects of the evil one in every aspect of our lives.
As the children of Israel prepared to leave Egypt in Exodus 12, knowing that the presence of the death angel was near, they spread the blood of innocent lamb on the doors of their homes. They claimed of promise of God that He, seeing the blood applied, would pass over them. The death angel is a reality for every person in this world. Death will come upon all of us, and after this, the judgement. However, with the blood of Christ applied, death holds no fear for the Believer. The judgement of God holds no fear the Believer. For when He sees the blood of Christ applied, His judgement will pass over us.
Be sure you are under the blood.