The Blood And Why It Is Precious

By Charles S. Price

It is true that it takes the power of the Holy Ghost to make men see the tremendous spiritual value in the blood of Jesus Christ. Unsaved men cannot understand it. By the word "unsaved," I not only mean men who are out in the world of open sin, but also that man who is lost in the highways and byways of his own unbelief. He might even be a minister. If he does not believe in the blood of Jesus Christ he is not a saved man. I am going to give you a few reasons why the blood of Jesus is very wonderful and precious.

The Blood Makes Atonement

Leviticus 17:11, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the souls. " In the heavens above--in the water beneath--in the world in which we live--there is no atonement for sin except through the blood. From the time when our fore parents in the Garden of Eden were told to make skins with which to cover themselves, unto this day, there has never been ONE SINGLE CASE of atonement for sin without the shedding of blood. The sacrifice of Cain was rejected while the sacrifice of Abel was acceptable to the Lord. In all of the types of priesthood that we discover in Old Testament scripture, there was never any system or method of atonement offered to them except the shedding of blood. Type and antitype must correspond. The life of the body is in the blood--and Jesus shed his precious blood upon Calvary--and thereby gave His life for the atonement of all of our sins.

We Have Peace Through His Blood

Colossians 1:20,

"And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."

The world of sin is at war with God. The Bible distinctly tells us that we have been at enmity with God. We were aliens: strangers--enemies of the Lord and of His truth. But when Jesus completed and finished his marvelous work of reconciliation, we became, like Abraham, friends of God. There was an armistice between the souls of men and an indignant God. The marching hosts of heaven proclaimed the glorious truth that at last we had peace with God, and it was such a beautiful peace that it passed all human understanding. We became reconciled to God. He became our propitiation and through the blood of Calvary's Lamb, the garments of warfare were lifted from us and our wonderful Saviour put around us the robes of His righteousness and peace. There is not a theologian in the world who can tell me how that can be done except through the blood of Jesus. Remember, it is only THROUGH THE BLOOD that we become reconciled to God and that we have peace.

We Were Purchased By The Blood

Acts 20:28,

"Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

This is a Pauline warning to the elders. It is a charge to the ministers of the gospel, given with all of the authority and power of the Holy Spirit. The flock that is entrusted to the care of the minister is not HIS flock at all. I once interrupted a preacher who began to talk a great deal about "my flock" and "my people." "But they are not your people," I declared, "and that is not your flock." I told him that they were God's people and that they were the flock of the Good Shepherd of the sheep. Such a thought should make us feel our responsibility. In the passage of scripture I have just given you, Paul is reminding the ministers that in the providence of God, the Holy Ghost has made them overseers of the flock that belongs to Jesus Christ. Did the minister purchase them? If so, what did he pay for them? Such a thought is outside the bounds of reason. My brother minister--the next time you enter your pulpit look into the faces of the people of your church and say to yourself: "These are the people that Jesus purchased with His own precious blood." That ought to make you feel the tremendous responsibility of your position.

The Blood Redeemed Us

Revelation 5:9,

"And they sung a new song, saying Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God BY THY BLOOD out of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation."

To redeem means to buy back--to purchase once again. In this text we have a glorious and marvelous vision of the four beasts and the four and twenty elders that were prostrate on their faces before the Lamb of Heaven, who is none other than the Lamb of Calvary. They played their harps of gold and offered before the Lord the golden vials, which were filled with the prayers of the saints. The scripture says that these prayers were as sweet odors and incense before the Lord. Then, because of the ecstasy of their redeemed hearts, they commenced to sing. In that glorious anthem they declared that the Lord alone was worthy because it was He that had been slain. They asserted that it was THE BLOOD that was shed at the time of His sacrificial death that had redeemed them--and not only them--but the saints of God of all ages and from every land. How many men can dare proclaim that we do not need a BLOOD ATONEMENT today, after reading this passage, is beyond my comprehension. Blind is that poor wandering soul who fails to see the truth of redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! He has redeemed us BY HIS BLOOD!

We Are Justified By His Blood

Romans 5:9,

"Much more then, being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

Men cannot be made just until they are justified. No man can stand justified in the sight of God by any act of his own or by any deed of morality or of righteousness. Preachers talk about justification by faith--but fail to make much of the power of the blood. When we speak of justification by faith what do we mean? Faith in what? Faith in whom? The only answer that can possibly be is the faith in Christ, but the scriptures lead us to a much deeper conclusion than that. It must be faith in the CRUCIFIED Christ. Not until Jesus died on Calvary's cross did we stand justified in the sight of God. That is an integral doctrine of the ministry of our blessed Lord. The average congregation goes away from the modern church with the statement, "We are justified by faith," ringing in their ears; but comparatively few ever experience the result of the exercise of faith. If Christ had lived and had not died a sacrificial death, we never could have been justified in the sight of God. It was because we were already justified that he arose from the dead. If we have not been justified, then Christ would have failed in the work that God sent Him into the world to do. But Hallelujah, the precious blood was acceptable in the sight of God--the atonement for sin--and men stood justified before the Father because of the SHED BLOOD of Jesus Christ the Son.

The Blood Is Our Admission And Entrance To The Glory World

Exodus 12:13,

"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye 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."

Cast your mind back for a moment or two to that scene on the eventful night in far-away Egypt. Can you picture that slain lamb lying dead right in front of the door of the hut where dwelt the slave? Not far away was the blood that had been shed. The lamb had done everything that it possibly could do--its work was finished. The blood was sprinkled upon the doorposts and upon the lintel above the door. Very soon the avenging angel was to pass with the sword of death down every street and alley in Egypt. He did not only visit the palace of Pharaoh, but he would look in the doorway of every slave. The scriptures do not tell us that when the avenging angel passed by he looked at those slaves and said, "I will not stop here. I see you are an Israelite." He did not look for them at all-- he looked FOR THE BLOOD. When traveling days are over and you knock at the portals of the glory world, the angel who stands guard at the gates will not look for you. He will look for the blood. No sin will enter there--and the only thing that can wash away our sin is the PRECIOUS BLOOD of Calvary's cross.

We Are Sanctified Through His Blood

Hebrews 13:12,

"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate."

Once again we find that the type merges into the anti-type, and thereby presents to us a beautiful and marvelous picture of God's great redemptive plan. After the sacrifice had been offered in the days of old--the body of the lamb that was slain was taken outside the gate and burned. That body was flesh. It was typical that flesh should be consumed--that it should be destroyed. Sanctification means death to sin and fleshly desires. It means complete separation from the world and the things of the world. But how can man be sanctified? How can we ever climb the steps that lead from total depravity to the heights of holiness and purity? Like a drowning man in the midst of the sea, we can find nothing to assist us in our struggle. We can search in vain; for the manner in which this much-to-be desired experience could be obtained can never, never be ours until we see the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. Our Lord suffered without the gate. No man can ever walk the highway of sanctification until he has passed through the PORTALS OF THE BLOOD. That is another great reason why the blood of Jesus is so marvelously precious.

The Blood Cleanseth Us From All Sin

I John 1:7,

"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 Cleanseth Us From All Sin."

To me this is a very precious truth. There are two tenses in which this text should be read. I refer to the past tense and to the present tense. If we live tomorrow--then tomorrow becomes our present--which is why I did not say we could read it in the future tense. The blood that cleanseth today will not avail for tomorrow until we continue to live under its cleansing. It is a mistaken idea--and a terrible one at that--that because the blood of Jesus cleansed you many, many years ago, that having been cleansed, you are forever cleansed. The truth is that the blood of Jesus cleanseth your heart from sin when you give yourself to Christ and accept him as your Saviour. But that blood CONTINUES TO CLEANSE--it cleanseth you today--it cleanseth you now. Have you noticed the words of the text? It is only as "we walk in the light" that the blood cleanseth. But what light shall we walk in? Will any light do? Will the light of spiritualism, the light of New Thought, or the light of Modernism bring about the desired result? Read the Word of the Lord carefully and you will find that it is only as we walk in light as HE IS IN THE LIGHT that two wonderful things happen. First we have fellowship one with another, and second, THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST cleanseth us from sin. That is—it is continuous in its operation. The blood that Jesus shed on Calvary's cross for me was applied the day I found Him as my Saviour, but it also justifies me today.

The Blood Brings Us Nigh To God

Ephesians 2:13,

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."

I know that this scripture was written for the Gentiles. Paul was writing to the church at Ephesus, and he was referring to them as people whose lives had been very, very far away from God. But now, because Jesus died upon Calvary for them, they had been brought nigh unto the Lord. Were we not once very far away? Were we not once lost in the vales of sin?

... until the day came when the Good Shepherd carried us back to the fold again? A little girl climbed on her father's knee and threw her chubby little arms around his neck and said: "Daddy, I am so glad that God lets us call him 'Our Father,' because it makes us feel so much closer to Him." Oh, the wonderful blood of Je-sus--the precious shed blood of the Lamb of Calvary! It has drawn us by the cords of power divine until the sweet and beautiful relationship has been established in the grace of God. No longer are we wandering around in the distant mountains, lost in darkness and despair. Through the blood of Jesus we have been brought nigh. The Holy Spirit is our guide. Jesus is our elder brother, and God is our heavenly Father. These are a few of the reasons why the blood of Jesus Christ is so precious.

Table of Contents

The Blood And Why It Is Precious

The Blood Makes Atonement

We Have Peace Through His Blood

We Were Purchased By The Blood

The Blood Redeemed Us

We Are Justified By His Blood

The Blood Is Our Admission And Entrance To The Glory World

We Are Sanctified Through His Blood

The Blood Cleanseth Us From All Sin

The Blood Brings Us Nigh To God

Table of Contents

The Blood And Why It Is Precious

The Blood Makes Atonement

We Have Peace Through His Blood

We Were Purchased By The Blood

The Blood Redeemed Us

We Are Justified By His Blood

The Blood Is Our Admission And Entrance To The Glory World

We Are Sanctified Through His Blood

The Blood Cleanseth Us From All Sin

The Blood Brings Us Nigh To God