As we look at the issue of the blood of Jesus, we must be sure that we are not talking about traditions and practices found in many church denominations. In my last post, we looked at the Cross as a reality and also a symbol of God’s great love for us. It is so amazing that the Lord would give His beloved Son to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
In the same way, the blood of Jesus is also a reality and a symbol of something that many Christians miss and that is the New Covenant. Jesus said in Matthew 26:28, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.” As believers and followers of Jesus, we are graced by a New Covenant purchased through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.Show More
The Cross and the Blood have forever transformed our relationship with the Lord. The evidence of that new relationship is the fact of the New Covenant. The New Covenant is an unconditional covenant of Grace established between Jesus and the Father and extended to anyone who would put their faith and trust in Jesus alone. We may fail but the covenant cannot fail, because neither the Lord nor Jesus can fail!
Because of the New Covenant the Old Covenant of the Law no longer applies to us! No longer is our heavenly relationship based upon obeying legalistic rules and regulations, but the focus on our relationship with our heavenly Father is based upon what Jesus has done for us.
The shedding of blood is a characteristic of all covenant relationships with the Lord. Even under the Covenant of the Law (the Mosaic Law or Torah), blood was essential to make atonement. Therefore, it says in Leviticus 17:1, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” And then again in Hebrews 9:22, “And according to the law, almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission(forgiveness).”
Under the Old Covenant, the blood of animals was shed to cover sin and renew a relationship with God. In the New Covenant, as was accurately said by John the Baptist in John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus became the sacrifice once and for all.
To fully understand the significance of the New Covenant I want to take something from my book about grace and the New Covenant, Seeing the Forest For the Trees, which by the way is available as a free download on my website.
New Covenant Grace (Chapter 21)
Grace is an attribute of God that is foreign to our natural experience because God’s grace is perfectly selfless and motivated by love. The trials and tribulations of life can make us wary of expressions of perfect love. We may not know how to react or respond to this expression of grace.
- Some people feel unworthy of God’s grace and try to run away and hide from God.
- Others try to understand God’s grace by attempting to intellectually comprehend Him; the result is a very small concept of God.
- Still others try to earn the right to “deserve” God’s grace by being “good”, but who can ever be good enough?
- Finally, there are those who set up rules and regulations, and make legalistic sacrifices, so that they might try to“earn” God’s grace. A true gift cannot be earned.
God’s grace is an unconditional promise.
It is His free-will gift motivated by pure love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
The availability of this kind of grace depends entirely on the one who offers it. God offers His grace to all of mankind (the world), the just and the unjust alike. Grace is not offered on the basis of merit or deeds, but only upon God’s divine decision and invitation to love and bless His creation.
We cannot gain salvation or eternal life by our works (or the Law), or by a combination of works and grace. It is by grace alone that we receive eternal life and salvation (Acts 13:39; Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16; 3:21). Jesus did it all for us! The only thing we can do is to put our faith (belief and trust) in Jesus Christ: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:8, 9). There is nothing and no one who can add to or replace what Jesus has already done and provided (Rom 4:1-5).
As has been stated, the New Covenant was ushered in by the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary and His shed blood for the New Covenant: “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). Jesus fully completed what He was sent to earth to do (John3:16). As a result of His work, He accomplished the following for each of us:
- Jesus replaced the Old Covenant (Law) with a New Covenant (Grace); “In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ Hehas made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Heb 8:13).
- He provided a way to the Father who is holy and righteous. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).
- Jesus cleansed us from our sins. Sin is what has kept us apart from God the Father. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
- He has prepared an eternal place in Heaven for us. “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
- Jesus exchanged our old sinful nature for a new nature able to resist sin. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is anew creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor 5:17).
- He sent the Holy Spirit to empower us to live for Christ. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantagethat I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you”(John 16:7).
- Jesus destroyed the works of the devil; “… For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
What Jesus accomplished on the Cross of Calvary, in obedience to the Father, was something totally new. He guaranteed salvation to all who would put their trust in Him (Rom 10:13). He also gave the Holy Spirit to every believer as a sign, or seal, of being born again (2 Cor 1:21, 22).
The Holy Spirit makes it possible for believers to live the life they are called to by God. The Holy Spirit gives power and help for a believer to be both willing and obedient (Phil 2:13). It is the person of the Holy Spirit that makes the difference in the life of a New Covenant believer (Acts 1:8).
The Holy Spirit is also given as a “guarantee” of God’s full redemption of our lives; spirit, soul, and body (2 Cor 5:1-5; Eph 1;13,14). Those who believe in Christ for salvation can be assured of that salvation and live with great faith. We can know that we are empowered to live the life here on earth and that we have a place reserved for us in Heaven.
No Condemnation
Sin always has consequences; sin always places obstacles in our relationship with God. A significant change between Law and Grace is that the condemnation for sin has been removed by the work of Jesus’ shed blood. When we, as believers, stumble and sin, we are not cast away or rejected by God. We are still His sons and daughters! “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, butaccording to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death”(Rom 8:1, 2).
Jesus’ shed blood has made us holy and righteous, but obedience is a process that will continue throughout our lifetime. When children are learning to walk, they stumble and fall. As parents, we do not reject or abandon our children because they fall down! In the same way, God will not abandon you if you fall as you are learning to walk with Him. God’s expectation is that you repent, learn from the experience, and endeavor to do better.
Grace is a wonderful gift from God, it is never to become an excuse to live a fleshly (carnal) life or ignore the teachings of Scripture. Our goal should always be to do our best to live in a manner that is obedient and pleasing to God. We might fall into a pit along the way, but we should not return to or stay in that sinful pit!
God expects us to mature as Christians. As we learn and grow in the Word of God, and mature in following Christ, we should no longer be stumbling or falling into temptations or sin. “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Cor 13:11). Immature children may stumble. However, the things we stumble over in our immaturity should not still cause us to stumble when we are more mature.
Now, as a Christian, if we sin, the Holy Spirit will convict us of our sin. We will feel “a godly sorrow” and a need to repent. If instead, we feel like running away from God and trying to hide our sin, that is “worldly sorrow” (2 Cor 7:8-10) and leads only to shame, guilt and condemnation. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our confession and genuine repentance is the process to receive God’s forgiveness when we stumble. When we repent (turn around), and ask God to forgive us, three things happen:
- We face our sin and take responsibility for it, no excuses.
- The feelings of guilt, shame or fear are removed as we confess our sin to God.
- Our open relationship with God can continue, and the sin no longer creates a sense of separation from Him.
Repentance has the added benefit of helping us admit our weaknesses to ourselves and to God. This will teach us to ask for God’s help and to rely on the Holy Spirit for the strength to avoid that sin in the future.
Grace Is God’s Idea
If you have any ideas about what grace is (or is not), and those ideas are contrary to what is in God’s Word, you must abandon those ideas! Embrace God’s Word, embrace His grace: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth… For the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:14, 17).