"The precious blood of Christ" - by John Zuidema

Scripture Reading: Mat 10:17-31;1 Pet 1:13-25; (Heidelberg Catechism - LD 1 Q&A1)

Singing: "By His Grace" BOW 136a; "How deep the Father's Love for us" REJ: 440; BOW: 535; BOW: 533

Beloved people of God,

The longer I live and the more pain I see in this world around me, the more I am convinced that there is only one thing that matters in this life. And the thing that matters is not whether you have the ideal family, or ideal career, or the nicest home or grandest car, but whether you belong to Jesus Christ. There is nothing more important than that!

When one is younger and full of energy and beans and thinking he is invincible, one may not always consider what really matters in life. However as you get older and you see your parents aging and your own friends aging and becoming more frail, you think about eternity much more.

Just this last year I have had two friends die from illnesses. One was younger and other slightly older. And these things effect me. I'm sure they also effect you when it happens to you. So it is great to be able to say that I belong to Jesus Christ as my Saviour! It's even greater when I can say that about my family and friends.

For me, life would be pretty miserable if this were not true! Where would my hope be, where would my comfort be, if I didn't know I belonged to Jesus Christ as my Saviour! Then I would be like so many people and would grieve as a person without hope when a loved one died without the Lord. I would have no purpose in living. But as it is, I have been bought, not with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ and hence I belong to him! Therefore I no longer do what I want to do, but I do what my Saviour would have me do because I belong to Him. That is what Peter writes in our text this morning.

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" [1 Pet 1:18-19].

So in other words, something that is far more precious than gold and silver has bought you. Something without spot or blemish, without defect, has been sacrificed to give you eternal life with our Father in glory and to all who would believe in his Son. And the Apostle Peter is writing these things to Christians, to the elect as it says in verse 1, to those who were being persecuted for their faith. They have been scattered throughout various provinces. And Peter reminds them, not to take their Christian faith lightly, as though it were not important. Far too often, especially in today's world, to many Christians think far to lightly about their most privileged position in Christ.

This morning I want to impress it on you how privileged you are that you belong to Christ! Who else can forgive you of your sins? Who else can impute his righteousness onto you? Who else gave himself up to die on a cross for you? Having Christ and knowing that you belong to him in life and death, is the best news. Should you be afflicted with persecution, or illness, or scattered to all other regions, the one thing that matters more than any other thing is that you know you belong to Christ.

I emphasize it, for not only is the sacrifice paid for your eternal salvation immeasurably precious, that without it, you would be lost! So many people in the world think that gold and silver is the most precious commodity to be accumulating – but it is a nothing more than a clever lie of the devil! For the reality is that a chasing after gold and silver only weighs us down and can never, never help us avoid the ultimate question about life after death. I say, the greatest news is that we may know that whatever happens this side of the grave, we belong to our faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.

Whether you have a fortune or whether you are as poor as house mice, it all pales into insignificance when compared to our relationship with Christ. The rich young ruler couldn't get into heaven with all his money, and neither could the disciples for all their lack of money! (Matthew 19)

The Apostle Peter wants to leave his persecuted readers in no doubt, that a great salvation has been won for them, a salvation with which the Father in heaven is perfectly satisfied. So are you comforted by the reality that you belong to Christ? I ask because every human being is going to be asked that one day. This is going to be the determining factor of whether you enter eternal life in glory or an eternity away from God and where the Bible says there is only gnashing of teeth.

By all means ask the serious questions of life! "Why am I here? What is the purpose of my existence? Where am I going? Is there life after death? Is there a God? We ask these questions because God has set eternity in the hearts of man. We cannot get away from these soul-searching questions. And the wonder of it is that God the Father in heaven has given us the answer to all these questions. And the answer is found in no one else but his Son, Jesus Christ! But this raises the question, "Why was it necessary to be redeemed?" Because says Peter, "without redemption we would still be living in our empty way of life which we received by default from our forefathers."

Now the empty way of life that Peter is referring to is a living a life without Jesus as your Saviour! And without Jesus as you Saviour, you are still in your sins! So it was necessary to be redeemed, for without it we would all be heading for an eternity without the glorious presence God!

Now you can blindly carry on as though your sin doesn't matter before a Holy God, but that would be a silly thing to do, especially since God's word clearly teaches that no one receives eternal life without a payment for their sin. You can be the most righteous and upstanding community member, but it won't get you to glory. You can raise thousands of dollars for charity - all good - but it won't get you to glory!

So instead of going blindly down that dead end street, trust in Jesus Christ whom God has sent to pay for your sin. Realize that you are not saved by good works or perishable things such as gold and silver, but with the precious blood of Christ!

That is also what Paul states in 1 Cor. 6. "You are not your own, you were bought at a price." And that price brothers and sisters is the very life and blood of Jesus Christ. He is the one who has paid for our sin, our wrongdoing; our dirt, and who has made us right with God. And in a nutshell, that is the gospel.

We belong to Christ, both body and soul, and for all time, in life and in death. And that one fact makes all the difference, and it is what makes us different and it is what makes funerals different and indeed what makes life worth living! That is also why we profess with Paul that we consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

In fact we say with Paul that we would gladly forsake all other things so long as we may gain Christ. And so it is a total package. In life and death, both body and soul, we belong to Christ! That means we don't agree with the pro choice groups who say its their body and they will do with it whatever they like! We don't agree with indiscriminate abortion, or euthanasia, or recklessly placing our life in danger or someone else's life in danger! Why, because we are not our own we belong to Christ!

Jesus has bought us with his precious blood we belong to him. How precious was that blood you ask? It was priceless. It was worth more than all the blood of the OT animal sacrifices put together. It was worth more than all the indulgencies that were paid during the Middle Ages. It is worth more than all our righteous acts put together. The precious blood of God's Son was priceless because it belonged to God's One and Only Son. It was the only blood that could fully pay for our sin for it was sinless itself!

And that does not only have eternal consequences for which we are very grateful, it also affects our lives now. Our text comes in a context where Peter calls on these persecuted and scattered Christians to live holy lives. Don't react like people in the world would under similar circumstances, be self-controlled. In other words, be obedient and holy just as your God is holy!

Because you belong to Christ, Satan no longer has a hold over you. No longer can you let sin reign in your life for God through his Son has provided the victory over sin and death. And that must have an impact in one's life! That is also what the Apostle John makes clear in 1 John 3:6; "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him."

In other words, if you know something is sinful, then you don't deliberately continue in the same sin for that would show you do not know the Lord Jesus. And we need to be honest with ourselves. Sometimes we need to make a conscious decision, "Hey I belong to Christ, therefore I will not continue with this sinful action"

What's more, knowing that we belong to Christ we know that He watches over us in such a way, that nothing can happen to me without the knowledge of God. We understand as Christians that God is sovereign. He continues to sustain this universe. We do not agree with the deists who insist that God wound up this universe like you would an alarm clock and no longer has any impact over its affairs.

On the contrary, we say with Scripture that God watches over us every moment of every day! Indeed, "not a sparrow can fall to the ground or a single hair from our heads apart from the will of the Father in heaven."

We are worth much more than sparrows. And if the Lord said that of us before his death and payment for our very lives, how infinitely more is it worth now! All things that happen to us are so designed and used by God that they will lead to our ultimate salvation and make us more and more Christ like.

Now I do not wish to make that sound simplistic, for it isn't. I have met people who rattle off Rom 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" as though that is the answer to all our troubles.

But we need to ask, "To what end?" So that we "may be conformed to the likeness of his Son and be made ready for glory!" That is God's ultimate aim for our lives and he will do whatever it takes to get us there.

Now the question is, "Why doesn't everyone believe this teaching in Scripture?" Two answers.

One is that these people have not received the gift to believe. Remember, faith is a gift of God. A person cannot believe these wonderful truths about Jesus Christ unless the Spirit of Christ changes that person's heart and makes them receptive to the marvellous gospel. The Holy Spirit, sent from the Father and the Son, makes our hearts willing to receive the glorious news of Jesus Christ.

If it were up to us, we would never believe. The Scripture's teach us that left on our own we are enemies of God [Rom 5]. So pray that the Lord will overcome their resistance.

Second, they haven't heard the wonderful news of Christ. "And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?" That doesn't mean an elect person will miss out on salvation – that is impossible. For all God has chosen will surely be saved. But we do have a role and that is to bring the good news of Christ to the world. Start with your family and your neighbour, for who knows, the Lord may have already their hearts to be receptive to the gospel this very week.

In closing let me say this. We are most privileged! Why you, why me? "Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer, but this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom." Those of us who are saved could not imagine what it would be like to live without this wonderful comfort.

Today, we have heard the message of the gospel. God's answer to life's most fundamental questions is his Son! "Do you believe with your heart of hearts, that you belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to your faithful Saviour Jesus Christ?" May we all be able to say, "Yes" and unreservedly so!

Amen.