 I simply have no idea why Christians don't understand this. There is no way that you can overestimate and certainly do you ever want to underestimate the importance of the blood. I don't know why Christians neglect to think about this. We think about Jesus Christ dying. We think about him on the cross. Let's just be clear. There are a lot of people that have died. A lot of people have also been on the cross. None have ever shed their blood for us and it's this blood that makes the whole thing important. The blood is what makes our salvation secure. It's the only way we have salvation. Remember God is one that tells us how important the blood is. Let's start in Genesis 9 verse 4. He says only you shall not eat flesh with this life that is the blood. The blood is the life of the flesh. Without blood there is no life. Surely I will require your life blood. From every beast I will require it and from every man. In other words the importance of the blood cannot be overstated. He says from every man's brother I will require the life of the man and so understand the life of a man is the blood and so what's required for us for salvation our life but not just us dying but really the shed blood and how are we purchased how are we saved by that very same blood. Remember under the old covenant in the Old Testament for the day of atonement what was required. It had to be this shedding of blood and then God would accept it. Blood is vitally important. I know it might sound kind of gory and and for some people might turn their stomach but listen this is what God requires and how we are saved. God determines what his price is going to be. God is the offended party and he has determined that blood will be the payment. Now maybe you or I would have chose something else. Maybe we've chose money maybe we chose something else but he chose the offended party that being God chose that it would be blood and the thing is our blood is insufficient. As a matter of fact so too is the blood of bulls and goats. However in this system then the blood of bulls and goats was sufficient but it could never take away sins. What it would do though was was offer a temporary atonement. You would be justified for one year temporarily and you would have to go through this same ceremony year after year after year and if you trust that God accepts it and he does then you shall be saved. So it's the faith in the payment to satisfy God. Understand this is important. God's payment is satisfied by the blood. You trust that God accepts what he asks for because it would make any sense that if God says to give me this as payment and then it was given to him and he says you know what never mind on second thought I don't want that. God is not like us in terms that he's going to change his mind or move the goalpost. No God is determined that blood would be what pays the cost. The problem is though that this is something that requires a yearly sacrifice and so what we don't see is God's remedy for that. In Leviticus 17 it comes before I love covering this passage because it's so vitally important and too few people go to this passage and recognize this for our salvation. He says for the life of the flesh is in the blood. We've covered that in Genesis nine and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls. For it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement. So he's saying it's the blood that makes atonement. Real quickly though what is atonement? It's kind of three things you need to remember about the atonement. There's this covering, this canceling that brings about a reconciliation. The covering the blood covers it, the blood cancels it and it brings about a reconciliation. What do I mean by covering canceling? Well the covering means that the sin is no longer there before us and so remember the day of atonement that this scapegoat would have all the sins confessed on the head of the scapegoat and then sent away. So therefore the sins are no longer in the camp before the Lord. The canceling is brought about by the blood. The blood is a payment. It cancels a debt. Then after that you can have this reconciliation. If you trust, if you have faith in that then that's what happens. Now so going back to Leviticus 17, notice what he says. He says the life of the flesh is in the blood and he says I have given it. We've covered before this Hebrew word. There's two words wa ani and wa ani I and the natatine I have given. So it literally says I I have given. Why the I I have given when in Hebrew you just simply said the natatine simply say the I have given but you give the I to give emphasis to say who it is that's given. So he's saying I myself am giving and we understand this to be that he is the one that's supplying the blood but he didn't have blood. Well that would be strange if that's the case if God didn't have blood because if we go to Acts 2028 notice what he says. Speaking to the to the shepherd he says be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseas. See yours and here it is to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. The church of God the anisean of purchased with his own blood whose blood God's blood. So here we have Paul saying that the flock was purchased by God's own blood. How is it possible that God can have blood and I'm not making this up again. It says the the church of God which he purchased with his own blood and we know the Bible tells us in Hebrews 10 5 speaking of Jesus that he prepared a body for him sacrificing offerings he did not desire but a body he prepared why to shed this blood the payment that is required. I simply do not understand why people neglect the efficiency and the efficacy of his blood. What I mean by that is to think that God requires a debt. The debt is paid and then you place your faith in that and there and there is reconciliation. So there's a covering a canceling and a reconciliation and then someone would have the audacity the unmitigated gall to come back and say that the blood that was paid the redemption that was given for us all is insufficient. There's a reason why Paul makes this statement in Colossians 2 14 he says having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us he has taken it out of the way taking taking what out of the way these decrees that were against us this debt it's gone away has he has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross. So what cross what Christ did on the cross was to nail that debt to the cross there is no longer a debt for those that have placed their faith in Christ there is no longer a debt. So when someone comes back and says and yes I'm going there then you can be saved today and not be saved tomorrow that means that there is now incurred a debt that's the only way you don't make it to heaven if you find yourself in hell it's because there is a debt an outstanding debt between you and God though it's been paid you haven't taken advantage of it you have not placed your faith in Christ that's the whole point and Paul is saying this debt has been canceled whatever decrees that were against us he says that he has wiped them out of the way having nailed them to the cross Paul also says in Ephesians 1.70 he says in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of grace and notice this isn't just a general generic redemption the reason why it has this apah prefix to it it is a redemption it means for us to be redeemed never to be enslaved again and so it says in him we have this very same redemption as Apollotrosan through his blood the importance of his blood the forgiveness of our sin which says which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight now I understand this there's even more to this story just so someone would want to say that this was temporary no because again notice how the debt was paid Paul says that in him verse 13 you also after listening to the message of truth that is the gospel of your salvation having also believed so we have believed and notice that this is a participle of believing and so us being believing ones you were what past tense sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise and that's what he says speaking of a debt this financial transactions if you will who is given as a pledge of our inheritance in view of the redemption and there it is again this apollotrosan in view of the redemption that was given because of the blood but it's important to see what's said here notice what he says he says that this pledge that was given this our bond our bond is an earnest money deposit God gave this deposit well what's the deposit that was given the Holy Spirit and when you put down a deposit there's an expectation to receive what the deposit is for somebody's going to come back and say and this is the problem that I have a lot of people when they come back and say all of us can forfeit a deposit we can put a positive down on a house we can put a deposit down on a rental car we can put a deposit down on anything but it's up to us to make sure that's fulfilled I get that point but notice who we're talking about and who we who it is that we're cheapening we're saying that God has given this our bond this deposit what's the deposit the deposit is the Holy Spirit think about that in order for someone to come back and say that the deposit can be forfeited we're talking about the Holy Spirit being forfeited as the deposit also is God that gives it and this was done why because as we read it by the blood this blood allows for this deposit to happen and is God that does so and he says he is given as a pledge of our inheritance in view to the redemption of God's own possessions in other words we are going to have this no matter what anyone wants to tell you you are going to have this salvation because of your faith brought by the payment of blood whereby we have been given this our bond this deposit of the Holy Spirit in us by God who is going to come back and say that it's going to be forfeited remember again the bible tells us that the debt is paid I wish people would stop cheapening the blood ultimately that's what you're doing if you think that Jesus paid the price he shed his blood on the cross he nailed a debt God accepted the debt and now it's up to you to maintain all of this is now it's up to you to make sure that there's no more debt incurred question who is going to require a debt against you remember Paul says it's God who justifies who is going to bring a charge against you is God who justifies in other words who cares what anyone says no even what you say God is the one who justifies how does he justify because the debt is paid just be justified means that you are declared right you're in right standing and treated as such maybe not by other people but certainly by God the debt has been nailed so the question is where would this new debt come from and if the debt that Christ gave was a sufficient to cover that payment if the debt that Christ paid on the cross if his blood was insufficient to cover your future debts well where's this new debt this new payment going to come from there's a reason why the writer of Hebrews is trying to comfort these Jews who understand the day of atonement who believe that you have to do this over and over and over and over again year after year after year which is why he says listen guys it's not the same understand that the blood that was given by Christ is not the same as the blood that was given then that blood of bulls and goats is insufficient not this but look what he says but when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come he entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is to say not of this creation and look what he says here it is and not through the blood of goats and calves but through his own blood he entered the holy place once for all having obtained eternal redemption look what he just said and even look at the tense of the birth he says he did it once for all with his own blood doing what having obtained guys this is past tense eternal redemption so he obtained for us eternal redemption he could not have obtained it if we could then lose it and it would not be eternal redemption if we could also lose it this redemption is complete for if the blood of bulls and goats and the ash of heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctified for the cleansing of the flesh how much more will the blood of Christ so if in that sense under the old covenant if the bloods of bulls if the blood of bulls and goats would do this how much more would Christ blood the blood of bulls and goat was good for one year was temporary are we're going to say the blood of Christ is the same thing it's only good temporarily who through verse 14 completing it through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God cleanses your conscious from dead works to serve a living god and his whole point is we go in and see that this whole test mode this whole issue is now ratified by his blood no one is going to undo that guys stop letting people tell you especially if you know the fourth fact that you place your faith in Christ though you might have these struggles doesn't mean that you have lost your salvation there's not a person on the planet including the person that's telling you that you lost your salvation or you could lose your salvation it's not a person on the planet that can take away what Christ has paid that is if indeed you have placed your faith in Christ the only time that this blood is not sufficient is if it's not applied to you the only time this blood is not sufficient and not applied to you is if you did not place your faith in Christ if you did place your faith in Christ things are going to change because you've got that down payment which the Holy Spirit is going to cause you to start walking in his statue perfectly from day one. No, there's going to be this progress, there's going to be this sanctification progress where you get better at things year after year as time goes on. You won't be sinless, but you will sin less and you'll look back and realize something in me has changed. Well, what's changed? Well, you've been bought and because you've been bought, there's been a down payment put on you by God with the Holy Spirit who is now working in you. That's why the Bible says, him who began that's got a good work in you is faithful to complete it till the day of what? Redemption. He, over the day of the Lord, he is going to make sure what he put his money down on is going to bring about a return, which is why Ezekiel 11, Jeremiah 32. Ezekiel 36 tells us that he'll put his spirit in us, the Holy Spirit, and cause us to walk in his statue, which is why in verse 39 of chapter 32 of Jeremiah says, and I will give them one heart, that's this regenerated heart, and cause and make them fear me always for their own good. Look at me says, I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from them, nor will they turn away from me. And somebody's going to want to say, but that's speaking of Israel. It's speaking of Israel, but then we'll see it's also applied to us as Gentiles, because in John one, what does Jesus say about those who are born of the spirit or from above having the spirit in them? What does Jesus say about that? In verse 12 of chapter one, he says, but as many, and this word that is the Greek word, hasoi means whoever, all of those that happened to be who have received him, to them he gave past tense the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in this word, piste usen. This is a present active part of simple. And so this is what we're doing. We are believing his name, who were born not of blood, born not of the will of flesh, born not of the will of man, but born of God. And I can say born of God because it says, ekafeu ekinethesen, which is of God. They were born. They have been born. And so this applies to not just Jews and Israel, but it applies to Gentiles. So whoever it is that was born of God, they were purchased by the blood, have the Holy Spirit in them, and they have eternal redemption that was purchased by Christ according to the rise of Hebrew. Do not let someone come and tell you that the blood is now cheapen. It was only temporary. It was only worthy until you began to sin. And how much sin? Well, certainly not the sin that they do, because they've never lost their salvation or can they lose their salvation, but you can because of your sin. Don't let someone come and cheapen the blood. That is indeed, that's why we have these warning passages, to make sure you are a believer in Christ. If you're not, well, then all of this is for not. But if you are, then you are sealed when until the day of redemption. And you're sealed only because of how precious and wonderful and how magnificent and mighty the blood is, the blood not of a bull, the blood not of some goat, but the blood of the Lamb of God, the only one who can take away sins. That's why John makes a statement, the blood of Jesus. Do not let anyone in your mind cause you to think less of the blood of Christ. Amen.