The Blood
Preface
Neither repentance, nor baptism, nor faith in Christ provides for the remission of sins. Only the shed Blood of Yahoshua provides for the remission of sins. The Blood is not an after-thought. Repentance does not come first, then later one gets washed in the Blood, and then later one gets washed again in water. It is His Blood that takes away your sin and the sins of the whole world. Without the Blood, your repentance would be an exercise in futility.
1. Romans 6:23 KJV, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through [Yahoshua the] Christ our Lord." God made the rules, not man. This is a quote from God’s word, the Bible. If you do not like this rule, then please take it up with God. You can choose not to believe in God and therefore you can disregard His words as unimportant. Or, you can choose to believe in God, but choose only to believe those words of His that you like, or that you believe He actually said. Personally, I cannot take any path that leads away from the truth. The truth is that God exists, and His words, all of His words, are true. Numbers 23:19 KJV, "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" 2 Timothy 3:16 KJV, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."
2. If you need a reason to believe in God then read Romans 1:19-20 KJV, "19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." In other words, all you have to do is look at the beauty and complexity of a flower, or look upward at the stars and contemplate the immenseness of the heavens and the power of our sun, or study the complexities of an eye and you know in your heart that there must be an intelligent God. If you do not, then God says you are without excuse.
3. For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23 in paragraph one above). To put this quote another way, it is saying that if a person chooses to sin, then the end result will be death, not life. If you believe in God, if you believe He does not lie, and if you believe the Bible is His word to mankind, and if you are interested in living forever and not dying, then an understanding of what sin is and how to avoid it suddenly becomes very important.
4. There are many examples of sin. Here are a few scriptures that one can use to get a fairly quick understanding of it. James 4:17 KJV, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." 1 John 3:4 KJV, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 5:17 KJV, "All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death."
5. How do we avoid sin? Psalm 53:3 KJV, "Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Proverbs 20:9 KJV, "Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" Ecclesiastes 7:20 KJV, "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." Romans 3:23 KJV, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." 1 John 1:8 KJV, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." As you can see, God has said that there is no way to avoid sin. You might be thinking at this point that the rules are stacking up against you. If you sin, and you have and will again, then you must be punished with death, the shedding of your own blood. Is this fair?
6. God made the rules, this is not only fair, it is just. God wants everyone to see and understand the seriousness of sin. God hates sin. He wants you to live and not die. The natural consequences of sin is death. Since God cannot give you a free will and keep you from sinning at the same time, then He must have provided another way to save you from your sins. Hebrews 9:22 KJV, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
7. God has taught man, throughout the Bible, beginning with the sin of Adam and Eve, that innocent blood must be shed to atone for sin. Genesis 3:21 KJV, "Unto Adam also and to his wife did [Yahowah] God make coats of skins, and clothed them." A man cannot shed his own blood to atone for his own sin, or for the sin of another, because he is not innocent. He is already sinful. See paragraph five above. God taught us to sacrifice, to kill and shed the blood of innocent animals, to atone for our sins. Animals do not have the capacity to sin, they do not know the difference between good and evil. He always taught us to pick an animal without blemish or defect. A lamb was the epitome of an innocent animal that would allow itself to be slaughtered with no resistance. Can you imagine a lamb committing a sin? I cannot.
8. Why can we not continue to shed the blood of innocent animals to atone for our sins? Because the blood of animals was never sufficient for the covering or washing away of our sins. Hebrews 10:4-6 KJV, "4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure."
9. Why can we not sacrifice new born human babies to atone for our sins? Surely they are still innocent and have not yet sinned. No where in the Bible has God ever taught or condoned human sacrifice. In fact, he considers it a grievous sin. Constantly we are taught that it is Satan who teaches and uses human sacrifice. And of course, it accomplishes nothing in regards to salvation. Deuteronomy 18:10 KJV, "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch." 2 Kings 17:17 KJV, "And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of [Yahowah], to provoke him to anger." Jeremiah 7:31 KJV, "And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart." Jeremiah 19:5 KJV, "They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind." Jeremiah 32:35 KJV, "And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin." Ezekiel 20:26 KJV, "And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am [Yahowah]."
10.a. Are we left with no where to go? We are going to sin, we are going to die, and there is no innocent blood made available to us that can be shed to take our sins away, except one place and one person. That place and person is the execution stake on which Yahoshua the Christ, the Son of the living God, and God Himself, was killed. Only His shed blood can wash away your sins. Hebrews 9:11-14 KJV, "11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Revelation 5:9-10 KJV, "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; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
10.b. 1 Peter 1:18-19 KJV, "18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 2:24 KJV, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." 1 Peter 3:18 KJV, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." When speaking of Yahoshua the Christ, Peter said in Acts 4:12 KJV, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
11. It is only by the shed Blood of Christ that we can be saved from our sins. There is no other way. Christ died to atone for our sins because he loves us. John 3:16 KJV, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This atonement was given to us as grace. Grace is an unmerited gift. We did nothing to earn Christ’s sacrifice for us. He chose to do it for us even though we were sinners. Romans 5:8 KJV, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." And we must have faith in Christ that His sacrifice will atone for our sins. Hebrews 11:6 KJV, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." John 6:29 KJV, "[Yahoshua] answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV, "8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
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