INNOCENT BLOOD

I remember how unpleasant it was to scrub blood from my field gear, my rifle and my ammo magazines when I was serving in the Army in Viet Nam. I had been transferred from one unit to another which had suffered a devastating ground attack and several of the young men in that outfit had been killed and wounded. When I received my standard issue from the supply clerk it was covered in dried blood. My first task was to clean it up. My already difficult task was made even more deplorable by the fact that this was human blood, American blood. The relative safety of the past weeks had been purchased at the expenditure of the life's blood of those young men. Similarly, the freedom and safety of free men everywhere was purchased with the life's blood of still others.

Nothing as precious as freedom can be obtained apart from the shedding of blood. The most precious freedom a person can have is the freedom of soul and spirit, freedom from sin. And this, too can not be had without the shedding of blood, innocent blood. The blood required to atone for sin must be from a spotless lamb, without blemish, according to Old Testament Law.

The One Who came as "the Lamb of God, to take away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), the only One worth to shed His blood to free lost and hopeless man from his sin was the Lord Jesus Christ. He enjoyed the fellowship of heaven with God His Father, but came to earth as a man to die a sinner's death, to pour out His life's blood to demonstrate the love of God before a sinful race.

"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us:" (1 John 3:16).

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:8-9).

This was the whole purpose He left the glory of heaven and came to earth as a man. A man has a body and a body has blood. Blood from a perfect sacrifice is what God required. No man is sinless and, therefore, not able to be a sin bearer for anyone. That meant that in order to meet the demand He set up as a requirement for atonement, God would have to supply His own sacrifice if man was ever to be saved. He did. He sent His own beloved Son.

That's why the writer of Hebrews quotes Jesus in a preincarnate speech as saying; "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared for me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God" (Hebrews 10:5-8).

Why was that important? Because "without the shedding of blood is no remission [for sin](Hebrews 9:22).

There is no purer sacrifice than "the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, [to] purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews9:14); "For it is the bloood that maketh atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11).

All who trust Him are free from past sin "being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past" (Romans 3:24-25).

He is the Savior Who redeemed all true believers "with his blood" (Acts 20:28). And all praise rises "unto him who loves us and washed [literally, loosed] us from our sins in his own blood" (Revelation 1:5).

All who humbly come to Him, in faith for salvation receive forgiveness, everlasting life and "we have redemption through his blood, for the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7).

Ask Jesus Christ, Who loves you unconditionally, Who died for your sins to forgive and save you, to give you a new heart and life and He will; "and the blood of Jesus Christ [God's] Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).