ARE YOU WASHED
IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB?
MIKE
CUNNINGHAM
OCTOBER 21,
2007
Most of you folks know the reunion with my
family from Alaska after a separation of a year or two, is something my wife
and I have been looking forward to very much. Regardless of the fact that
things would be somewhat hectic in our two bedroom home with four adults and
six grandchildren ranging in age from two months to ten and a half years, our
family knew the love everyone has for each other would make the housing
arrangement nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
Although staunch baseball fans don’t
ordinarily spend their time living in such close proximity, everyone also knew
the love my grandson’s Zac and Michael and their parents have for the Alaskans
would pale in comparison to their intense feelings of admiration towards the
Red Sox, and that they would be eager to share their much larger home with a
mess of Yankee fans on weekends. This promised to be interesting because fans
of these two teams not only love watching and cheering for their favorite, but
they also love to root against and boo the other one. A good case in point was
last night when I asked my Yankee grandson Jake who was watching the Red
Sox/Cleveland game which team he was rooting for and he quickly answered,
I’m glad they shortened the word to fan as
opposed to using the whole word fanatic. Fan sounds nicer and I love each of
the fans I have been speaking about. I’m a little league fan, and I root for whatever team
my grandchildren are on. I also hope the Lord never allows me to be tempted by
having to watch any of them play on opposing teams, especially if one of them
is a pitcher. As for the major leagues, I’m really not all that interested in
watching a bunch of millionaire businessman doing their thing in those multi-million
dollar playgrounds which were built all or in part with tax payer money. But I
sure do love and enjoy watching the game of baseball.
I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with
being passionate and enthusiastic about whatever it is which is close to your
heart. If fact I love it, unless it is something evil such as a religion other
than Christianity. And I can’t remind you folks often enough; any religious
conviction which rejects the cross of Christ and His Gospel is leading its
followers straight into Hell and eternal torment. It is an evil faith which
must be lovingly and passionately exposed regardless of how nice many of their
adherent’s are. It’s sad that lots of these folks are quick to tell you how
wonderful their belief is, while many Christians don’t.
I’m also embarrassed and disgusted by those fanatical
TV “evangelist’s” ranting and raving about how people or nations which oppose the
State of Israel for anything including its well documented human rights
violations; how such people or countries will incur the “wrath of God,” or an
enthusiastic crowd of misguided “worshippers” hooting and hollering in response
to another “evangelist” tapping one by one a long row of big bruiser’s and
grinning from ear to ear as they watch each guy fall down like a stack of dominos,
or some other silly antic.
At this time of year I can’t help wondering
what our Creator God thinks about all that enthusiastic energy being generated
at a major league ball game, especially by the followers of His beloved Son who
are sprinkled throughout the huge crowd. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not
suggesting that it’s wrong for Christians to attend sporting events and cheer
for their favorite team. But I often wonder what God thinks about all those
fans and their eagerness to speak about their love of a favorite team or a
hobby or some cause they passionately believe in, compared to how he or she
responds to what His beloved Son’s incomprehensible love has accomplished for
them on Calvary. And I can assure you Jesus agonizing sacrifice was not a minor
inconvenience such as having my Alaskan family crammed into our home for a few
weeks.
Why do you suppose some people are enthusiastic
about telling non-Christians about their faith, and love looking forward to
seizing every God given opportunity to let them know what Christ has done for
them, while others appear to be indifferent and hardly say a word? Of course
someone afflicted with a judgmental spirit will be quick to conclude the seemingly
apathetic person is a phony Christian. To anyone with this kind of demonically deceived
mind set it’s as simple as that. Case closed! Sometimes they hit the nail on
the head, but very often they miss the mark completely.
Nevertheless, the fact is that some Christians
genuinely enjoy sharing their appreciation for their faith and speaking
passionately about the humiliation and agony Jesus had to suffer on their behalf, and
others are somewhat reluctant to and so they don’t. I’m not referring those
laid back Christians I spoke about in a previous sermon whose God given
temperament is such that they feel uncomfortable speaking about their faith.”[i]
On the contrary, the ones who are often like this have not added very much knowledge to their gift of faith.
They may also have been handicapped by being exposed to erroneous Christian
teaching during their childhood. Allow me to explain. One day while
Jesus was teaching He was confronted by a certain man.
Luke
10:25-28 (AMP) 25 And then a certain
lawyer arose to try (test, tempt) Him, saying, Teacher, what am I to do to
inherit everlasting life [that is, to partake of eternal salvation in the
Messiah’s kingdom]? 26
Jesus said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it?
27 And he
replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as
yourself. 28 And
Jesus said to him, You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live
[enjoy active, blessed, endless life in the
Now ask yourselves this question: Can I
honestly say that I continually love God with all of my heart, and with all of
my soul; and with all of my strength and with all of my mind? If you can’t, you
are constantly breaking the first commandment of our Creators holy law. You are
what the Bible calls a sinner and you stand condemned to eternal death (Romans
6:23). In the Old Covenant times our Creator God reminded people of this fact.
Consider the following verse. Ezekiel
18:4 (AMP) 4 Behold, all souls are
Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine; the soul that sins, it shall die. Starting with the Apostle Paul and continuing throughout this
New Covenant age we live in, faithful pastors and teachers have echoed these
eternal truths.
1
Corinthians 6:9-10 (AMP) 9 Do you not know that
the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the
Galatians
5:19-21 (AMP) 19 Now the doings
(practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity,
indecency, 20 Idolatry,
sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions
(dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),
21 Envy,
drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did
previously, that those who
do such things shall not inherit the
Ephesians
5:5 (AMP) 5 For be sure of this:
that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life, or one
who is covetous [who has lustful desire for the property of others and is
greedy for gain]—for he [in effect] is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of
God.
Do any of you folks know people who break
these kinds of laws of the Lord God? Of course you do, they are in and outside
of Christian churches. These kinds of lawbreakers are all over the place. Our
society is infested with them. In fact they are so common that unless we are
personally affected, we are apt to become desensitized as to their gravity. And
self serving politicians, much of the media and entertainment industry together
with our educational system do their utmost to keep us this way.
Although Bible believing Christians correctly
view the deviant behavior I quoted earlier as sinful, and all sin is deviant
behavior; and because it is so common; then when it is coupled with enormous
societal pressures, many Christians are tempted to “live and let live,” and not
lovingly confront non- Christians the Lord has brought into their life with
their perilous condition.
Christians who are seemingly reluctant to
speak enthusiastically about their faith are also apt to insist they never committed
any of those big sins I quoted earlier. After all, they never murdered or
swindled anyone or done anything like that. Besides they are quick to point out
many of the good things they have unselfishly done and the sacrifices they have
made over the years for other people. Suppose you folks are sitting in a
courtroom right now instead of this sanctuary. Each of you are members of the
jury. The defendant is charged with beating up a blind man who accidently
bumped into him and knocked his tray of food to the ground in McDonalds. There
were lots of witnesses and the crime was videotaped on a surveillance camera. In
spite of all this evidence the guy insists he isn’t guilty. Sure I beat up the
clumsy guy, but look at this list I’m holding in my hand of all the good things
I’ve done in my lifetime. You have to be an idiot not to see that they far
outweigh what I did that one time in McDonalds. If you juror’s are going to be fair
you have to let me go because that’s what justice demands. I demand that you
don’t punish me.
Now allow me to ask you folks this question, what
would you do if you were a member of that jury? Raise your hand if you would
vote not to punish the guy. Well, it looks like we have a unanimous verdict;
guilty as charged. Remember what I said
earlier that many church’s handicap people at a very early age into believing
that being baptized and attending church regularly and doing good things is
going to get them into God’s Heaven. And this is often the reason some folks
are not all that interested in telling others about their deep appreciation for
their faith and speaking passionately about the humiliation and agony Jesus had to suffer on their behalf or warning other people
of the eternal consequences of their sinful behavior. They don’t think
they or those other people sins are all that bad, and that their good points will
far outweigh the bad on “Judgment Day.” Surely God will let them into Heaven.
At the end of this sermon my son Mike and his
wife Veronica are going to dedicate their six children to the Lord Jesus
Christ. These parents are about to make a public commitment, that with God’s help;
they will raise their children in a Christ honoring environment and do
everything they possibly can to lead each of them to a saving faith in the
Risen Savior. And I know they will continue to do everything possible not to
handicap these precious children who are on loan from God by exposing them to
erroneous teaching concerning good deeds such as I mentioned a moment ago.
James
2:10-11 (AMP) 10 For whosoever keeps the Law [as a]
whole but stumbles and offends in one [single instance] has
become guilty of [breaking] all of it. 11 For He Who said, You shall not
commit adultery, also said, You shall not kill. If you do not commit adultery
but do kill, you have become guilty of transgressing the [whole] Law.
Romans
3:28 (AMP) 28
For we hold that a man is justified and
made upright by faith independent of and distinctly apart from good
deeds (works of the Law). [The observance of the Law has nothing to do with
justification.]
Romans
11:6 (AMP) 6 But if it is by grace (His unmerited favor and
graciousness), it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done. Otherwise, grace
would no longer be grace [it would be meaningless].
Galatians
2:16 (AMP) 16 Yet we know that a man
is justified or reckoned righteous and in right standing with God
not by works of the Law, but [only] through faith and [absolute]
reliance on and adherence to and trust in Jesus Christ (the
Messiah, the Anointed One). [Therefore] even we [ourselves] have believed on
Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of
the Law [for we cannot be justified by any observance of the ritual of the Law
given by Moses], because by keeping legal rituals and by works no human
being can ever be justified (declared righteous and put in right standing with
God).
John 5:24
(AMP) 24 I assure you, most
solemnly I tell you, the person whose ears are open to My words [who listens to
My message] and believes and trusts in and clings to and
relies on Him Who sent Me has (possesses now) eternal life. And he does not
come into judgment [does not incur sentence of judgment, will not come under
condemnation], but he has already passed over out of death into life.
Acts 13:39
(AMP) 39 And that through Him
everyone who believes [who acknowledges Jesus as his Savior and devotes himself
to Him] is absolved (cleared and freed) from every charge from which he could
not be justified and freed by the Law of Moses and given right
standing with God.
Romans
3:20 (AMP) 20 For no person will be
justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by
observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law
is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not mere perception,
but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy
character].
Romans 5:1
(AMP) 1 THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared
righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the
fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Sinners must be washed in the Blood of Jesus
Christ the Lamb of God if they are to escape eternal punishment.
Matthew
26:28 (AMP) 28 For this is My blood of the new
covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many for
the forgiveness of sins.
Acts 20:28
(AMP) 28 Take care and
be on guard for yourselves and the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has
appointed you bishops and guardians, to shepherd (tend and feed and guide) the church of the Lord or
of God which He obtained for Himself [buying it and saving it for
Himself] with His own blood.
John 19:34
(AMP) 34 But one of the
soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came (flowed) out.
Romans 5:9
(AMP) 9 Therefore, since we
are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right
relationship with God) by
Christ’s blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by
Him from the indignation and wrath of God.
Colossians
1:20 (AMP) 20 And God purposed that
through (by the service, the intervention of) Him [the Son] all things should
be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as
through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross.
Hebrews
9:14 (AMP) 14 How much more surely
shall the blood of Christ, Who by
virtue of [His] eternal Spirit [His own preexistent divine personality] has
offered Himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, purify our consciences from
dead works and lifeless observances to serve the [ever] living God?
Hebrews
9:22 (AMP) 22 [In fact] under the
Law almost everything is purified by means of blood, and without the shedding of blood
there is neither release from sin and its guilt nor the remission
of the due and merited punishment for sins.
1 Peter
1:18-19 (AMP) 18 You must know
(recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless (fruitless) way
of living inherited by tradition from [your] forefathers, not with corruptible
things [such as] silver and gold, 19 But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah),
like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot.
1 John 1:7
(AMP) 7 But if we [really] are
living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we
have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin
in all its forms and manifestations].
Romans
3:21-29 (AMP) 21 But now the
righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether
apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the
Prophets, 22 Namely,
the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and
confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who
believe. For there is no distinction, 23 Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and
glory which God bestows and receives. 24 [All] are justified and made
upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously
by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is
[provided] in Christ Jesus, 25 Whom God put forward [before the eyes of all] as a mercy
seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and
reconciliation, to be received] through faith.
In closing I urge each of you folks to
seriously ponder the following vital life and death question and be absolutely
certain of your answer. Are you covered by the Blood of
the Lamb?
[i] See my sermon: “Is She or Isn’t she?” http://s128601634.onlinehome.us/sermons/is_she.htm
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