The Precious Love of Christ

 •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 7
 
As there is a scarlet thread running through every bit of rope made for the British navy, and it is seen wherever the rope is cut, so from Genesis to Revelation is to be found the great truth of atonement by blood. From the coats of skin wherewith the Lord clothed Adam and Eve after their fall, until it is said, in Rev. 7:1414And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:14), they "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb," and "they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony," the doctrine of atonement by blood has been proclaimed by God.
When Sir Isaac Newton was living, a gentleman said to him, "I do not see the atonement in the Scriptures.”
"Sir," said Newton, "sometimes, in my absent-mindedness, I try to light my candle with the extinguisher on. You take the extinguisher off, and you will see the atonement.”
Yes; when you are freed from the base influence of unbelief, then you see the atonement all through the Scriptures. It is like the scarlet thread in the rope,—it is seen everywhere. Take the "extinguisher" off and all is clear.
To refuse the doctrine of atonement by blood is to quarrel with God, for He says: "Without shedding of blood is no remission." Heb. 9:2222And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22). And again, "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." Lev. 17:1111For 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).
God who knows sin's demerit and its just deserts has ordained a way by which it can be put away, and its judgment borne. Thus God's holy character and glory are satisfied, and the need of the sinner is met. To refuse this is to remain in the guilty condition of the sinner, exposed to sin's deserts—the just judgment of a holy God. To such, there is nothing "but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Heb. 10:2727But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:27).
For God says, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." One thing alone sheltered the firstborn in the land of Egypt 3500 years ago, and one thing only will shelter the sinner today from the impending judgment of God. It is the blood of Christ! The blood of the paschal lamb then was but a type of "the precious blood of Christ," that redeems and shelters now. Read 1 Peter 1:18-2018Forasmuch 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; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (1 Peter 1:18‑20).
Reader, stop and ask yourself the important question: "Amos 1 sheltered and redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb of God?" God says, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." Does He see the blood of Christ sprinkled on you? He says nothing else can redeem but the "precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
A woman who was a known sinner in the village where she lived confidently affirmed, when dying, that she was going to heaven. "You going to heaven?" said someone. "Don't you know what a sinner you have been?”
"Yes," said the dying woman, "I know I have been a sinner, but Jesus shed His blood to save me. It is the blood, it is the blood, IT IS THE BLOOD!”
It is the blood that answers every question, satisfies God, and silences Satan.
"Though the restless foe accuses,
Sins recounting like a flood;
Every charge our God refuses:
Christ has answered with His blood.”
"God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”