Sovereignty of God

The Blood of Jesus Christ

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

But ye are come unto mount Sion…and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling… – Hebrews 12:22,24

The text does not merely speak of the blood shed but of “the blood of sprinkling.” This is the atonement applied for divine purposes and especially applied to our own hearts and consciences by faith. In the Old Testament the blood of sprinkling meant a great many things; in fact, I cannot just now tell you all that it signified. We meet with it in the Book of Exodus, at the time when the Lord smote all the first-born of Egypt. Then the blood of sprinkling meant preservation. The basin filled with blood was taken, a bunch of hyssop was dipped into it, and the lintel and the two side posts of every house tenanted by Israelites were smeared with the blood, and when God saw the blood upon the house of the Israelite, He bade the destroyer pass that family by and leave their first-born unharmed. The sprinkled blood meant preservation; it was Israel’s Passover and safeguard. The blood of sprinkling means the blood of ratification or confirmation of the covenant, which God has been pleased to make with men in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since Jesus died, the promises are Yes and Amen to all believers and must assuredly be fulfilled. The covenant of grace had but one condition, and that condition Jesus has fulfilled by His death, so that it has now become a covenant of pure and unconditional promise to all the seed. In many cases the sprinkling of the blood meant purification. If a person had been defiled, he could not come into the sanctuary of God without being sprinkled with blood. This sprinkling was used in the case of recovery from infectious disease, such as leprosy; before such persons could mingle in the solemn assemblies, they were sprinkled with the blood and thus were made ceremonially pure. In a higher sense this is the work of the blood of Christ. It preserves us, it ratifies the covenant, and wherever it is applied it makes us pure, for “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” We have our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, for we have come unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1888.cfm

Your Sin or Christ?

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, repentance, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. – Matthew 27:16,17,20

Barabbas-a thief, a felon, a murderer, a traitor, had been captured; he was probably one of a band of murderers who were accustomed to come up to Jerusalem at the time of the feast, carrying daggers under their cloaks to stab persons in the crowd, and rob them, and then he would be gone again; besides that, he had tried to stir up sedition, setting himself up possibly as a leader of banditti. Christ was put into competition with this villain; the two were presented before the popular eye, and to the shame of manhood, to the disgrace of Adam’s race, let it be remembered that the perfect, loving, tender, sympathizing, disinterested Savior was met with the word, “Crucify Him!” and Barabbas, the thief, was preferred. “Well,” says one, “that was atrocious.” The same thing is put before you -the very same thing; and every unregenerate man will make the same choice that the Jews did, and only men renewed by grace will act upon the contrary principle. I say, friend, this day I put before you Christ Jesus, or your sins. The reason why many come not to Christ is because they cannot give up their lusts, their pleasures, their profits. Sin is Barabbas; sin is a thief; it will rob your soul of its life; it will rob God of His glory. Sin is a murderer; it stabbed our father, Adam; it slew our purity. Sin is a traitor; it rebels against the king of heaven and earth. If you prefer sin to Christ, Christ has stood at your tribunal, and you have given in your verdict that sin is better than Christ. 

You cannot be willing to come to Christ, and yet Christ reject you. God forbid we should suppose the possibility of any sinner crying after the Savior, and the Savior saying, “No, I will not have you.” Blessed be His name! “Him that cometh to Me,” He says, “I will in no wise cast out.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

The Doctrine of the Cross Must Be True

Sherry Character of Jesus, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us… – John 1:14

And some began to spit on Him, and to cover His face, and to buffet Him, and to say unto Him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike Him with the palms of their hands. – Mark 14:65

We have pictures drawn from imagination; we have been enchanted along romantic pages, and we have marvelled at the creative flights of human genius; but where did you ever read such a thought as this? “God was made flesh and dwelt among us”-He was despised, scourged, mocked, treated as though He were the offscouring of all things, brutally treated, worse than a dog, and all out of pure love to His enemies. Why, the thought is such a great one, so God-like, the compassion in it is so divine, that it must be true. None but God could have thought of such a thing as this stoop from the highest throne in glory to the cross of deepest shame and woe. And do you think that if the doctrine of the cross were not true, such effects would follow from it? Would those South Sea Islands, once red with the blood of cannibalism, be now the abode of sacred song and peace? Would this island, once itself the place of naked savages, be what it is, through the influence of the benign gospel of God, if that gospel were a lie? Ah! hallowed mistake, indeed, to produce such peaceful, such blessed, such lasting, such divine results! Ah! He is God. The thing is not false. And that He is Messiah, who shall doubt? If God should send a prophet, what better prophet could you desire? What character would you seek to have exhibited more completely human and divine? What sort of a Savior would you wish for? What could better satisfy the cravings of conscience? Who could commend himself more fully to the affections of the heart? He must be, we feel at once, as we see Him, one alone by Himself, with no competitor; He must be the Messiah of God. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

The Day Shall Come

Sherry Character of Jesus, promises, prophecy, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

And they that had laid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. – Matthew 26:57

Come we to the hall of Caiaphas. After the mob had dragged our Lord from the house of Annas, they reached the palace of Caiaphas, and there a brief interval occurred before the High Priest came forth to question the prisoner. Luke shall tell the pitiful story: “And the men that held Jesus mocked Him and smote Him. And when they had blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face, and asked Him, saying, “‘Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?’ And many other things blasphemously spake they against Him.” Observe how they insult His claim to the Messiahship! In effect, they mock Him thus: “Thou claimest to be a prophet like unto Moses; Thou knowest things to come; if Thou be sent of God, prove it by discovering Thy foes; we will put Thee on trial, and test Thee, O Thou man of Nazareth.” They bind His eyes, and then, smiting Him one after another, they bid Him exercise His prophetic gift for their amusement, and prophesy who it was that smote Him. Oh, shameful question! How gracious was the silence, for an answer might have withered them for ever. The day shall come when all that smite Christ, shall find that He has seen them, though they thought His eyes were blinded. The day shall come, blasphemer, worldling, careless man, when everything that you have done against Christ’s cause and Christ’s people, shall be published before the eyes of men and angels, and Christ shall answer your question, and shall tell you who it is that smote Him. I speak to some this morning who have forgotten that Christ sees them; and they have ill-treated His people; they have spoken ill of His holy cause, saying, “How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?” I tell you, the Judge of men shall ere long, point you out, and make you, to your shame and confusion of face, confess that you smote the Savior when you smote His Church. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

Treasured Sacrifice

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, prophecy, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

And led Him away to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year…Now Annas had sent Him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. – John 18:13,24

The brook Kedron was that into which all the filth of the sacrifices of the temple was cast, and Christ, as though He were a foul and filthy thing, must be led to the black stream. He was led into Jerusalem by the sheep-gate, the gate through which the lambs of the Passover and the sheep for sacrifice were always driven. Little did they understand, that in so doing they were again following out to the very letter the significant types which God had ordained in the law of Moses. They led this Lamb of God through the sheep-gate, and they hastened Him on to the house of Annas, the ex-high priest, who, either from his relationship to Caiaphas, from his natural ability, or his prominence in opposing the Savior, stood high in the opinion of the rulers. Here they made a temporary call, to gratify the bloodthirsty Annas with the sight of his victim; and then, hastening on, they brought Him to the house of Caiaphas, some little distance off; where, though it was but a little past the dead of night, many members of the Sanhedrim were assembled… Brethren, as the Lord gave commandment concerning even the ashes and offal of the sacrifices, we ought to think no matter trivial which stands in connection with our great burnt offering. My admonition is, “Gather up the fragments which remain, that nothing be lost.” As goldsmiths sweep their shops, to save even the filings of the gold, so every word of Jesus should be treasured up as very precious…Things which were purposed of old, prophesied by seers, witnessed by apostles, written by evangelists, and published by the ambassadors of God, are not matters of secondary interest, but deserve our solemn and devout attention. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

The Very Core of Christianity

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

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 soul. – Leviticus 17:11

“For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” – Matthew 26:28

Beloved, we know from Holy Scripture that the death of Christ is the very core of Christianity. Leave out the cross, and you have killed the religion of Jesus. Atonement by the blood of Jesus is not an arm of Christian truth; it is the heart of it. “Even as the Lord said of the animal, ‘The blood is its life,’ so it is true of the gospel, the sacrificial death of Jesus is the vital point of our profession. I know nothing of Christianity without the blood of Christ. No teaching is healthy which throws the cross into the background. The doctrine of Christ crucified is always with me. As the Roman sentinel in Pompeii stood to his post even when the city was destroyed, so do I stand to the truth of the atonement though the church is being buried beneath the boiling mud-showers of modern heresy. Everything else can wait, but this one truth must be proclaimed with a voice of thunder.

If the light of the atonement is put under a bushel, the darkness will be dense. In omitting the cross you have cut the Achilles’ tendon of the church: it cannot move, nor even stand, when this is gone. Holy work falls to the ground: it faints and dies when the blood of Jesus is taken away. The cross must be put into the forefront more than ever by the faithful, because so many are unfaithful. Let us endeavour to make amends for the dishonour done to our divine Master by those who deny or dishonour His vicarious sacrifice. Let us remain steadfast in this faith while others waver, and preach Christ crucified if all others forbear. Grace, mercy, and peace be to all who exalt Christ crucified! ~ Charles H. Spurgeon

Source

A Sweet Perfume

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, sermon, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

“Let my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.” – Psalm 141:2

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ… – 2 Corinthians 2:15

Be much in prayer. Prayer casts a chain about Him. He never leaves the heart that prays. There is a sweet perfume about prayer that always attracts the Lord; wherever He perceives it rising up to heaven there will He be. Hold Him, too, by your obedience to Him. Never quarrel with Him. Let Him have His way. He will stop in any house where He can be master; He will stay nowhere where some other will lords it over His. Watch His words; be careful to obey them all. Be very tender in your conduct, so that nothing grieves Him. Show to Him that you are ready to suffer for His sake. I believe that where there is a prayerful, careful, holy, loving, believing walk towards Jesus, the fellowship of the saint with his Lord will not be broken, but it may continue for months and years. There is no reason, except in ourselves, why fellowship with Jesus should not continue throughout an entire life and oh, if it did, it would make earth into heaven, and lift us up to the condition of angels, if not beyond them, and we should be the men who would bring Christ into the church, and through the church into the world. The church would be blest, and God would be glorified, and souls would be saved, if there were some among us who thus held Him and would not let Him go.

Ah, Lord, I may be mistaken about doctrine, but I am not mistaken about Thee. I may, perhaps, be staggered in my belief of some dogma which I thought was truth, but I am not staggered about Thee. Thou Son of God made flesh for me, Thou art all my salvation and all my desire: I rest on Thee only, without a shadow of mixture of any other hope, and I love thee supremely, desiring to honor Thee and to obey Thee in life and until death. I hold Thee, Thou Covenant Angel, and I will not let Thee go. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1035.cfm