The Precious Blood

I Peter 1:17-21

INTRODUCTION One time many years ago, the king of Hungary found himself depressed and unhappy. He sent for his brother, a good-natured but rather indifferent prince. The king said to him, "I am a great sinner; I fear to meet God." But the prince only laughed at him. This didn't help the king's disposition any. Though he was a believer, the king had gotten a glimpse of his guilt for the way he'd been living lately, and he seriously wanted help. In those days it was customary if the executioner sounded a trumpet before a man's door at any hour, it was a signal that he was to be led to his execution. The king sent the executioner in the dead of night to sound the fateful blast at his brother's door. The prince realized with horror what was happening. Quickly dressing, he stepped to the door and was seized by the executioner, and dragged pale and trembling into the king's presence. In an agony of terror he fell on his knees before his brother and begged to know how he had offended him. "My brother," answered the king, "if the sight of a human executioner is so terrible to you, shall not I, having grievously offended God, fear to be brought before the judgment seat of Christ?" Walk Through Rewards.

We tend to have much too trivial concern about facing the living God.

THESIS Profound respect and love of Christ should keep us from a sinful lifestyle.

TEXT

· Verse 17 calls upon us to “Fear” phobos, (to be put in fear); alarm or fright in light of the fact that we call God father….in light of the fact that we are aliens.

· Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

· Philip. 2:12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

· Psalm 112:1-10 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.

· The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…

· The biblical fear of God involves more than the dread of God’s judgment. Includes awe, reverence, and adoration in response to God’s majesty and holiness (Ps. 2:11, 12).

WHAT IS IT TO FEAR?

Dread - To fear in a great degree; to regard, or look forward to, with terrific apprehension. ANX

Awe - A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might:

Reverence - Profound respect and esteem mingled with fear and affection

Adoration - Homage paid to one in high esteem; profound veneration; intense regard and love; fervent devotion.

· Peter gives us two reasons for such fear – (1) In view of the impartial judgement of our Father…No one will receive special favors…

· In view of the precious blood of Jesus Christ shed for our sins.

· Christ was the perfect Passover lamb…

· Exodus 12:1-6 God gave Moses instructions for the first Passover dinner (on the night He would deliver the children of Israel from bondage to Egypt), He told Moses to have each household take a lamb from their flocks and keep it for several days. The lamb was to be without spot or blemish, and they were to examine it for three days, then kill it at twilight. This was to be their Passover meal.

· In God’s instructions to Moses, He said the people should drain the blood of the lamb in a basin at the foot of the door, and place some blood on the two doorposts and the top of the door, then go inside and eat the Passover lamb. He promised, “When I see the blood, I will cover over your door, so the death angel will not come near your house, when he passes over to destroy the firstborn of every house in Egypt.”If you think about where the blood was placed on the doorposts, top and foot of the door, you’ll realize that they were making a form of a cross over their doors.

· WE ARE REDEEMED THROUGH THE BLOOD – FREED – BROUGHT OUT OF BOUNDAGE….SPARED THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEATH ANGEL.

· Chosen before the foundation of the world – Raised from the dead…

· Now fear…

If we would conduct our lives in fear Let us remember the wrath of God….

My God, how wonderful thou art, Frederick W. Faber
My God, how wonderful thou art,
Thy majesty how bright!
How beautiful thy mercy-seat,
In depths of burning light!

How dread are thine eternal years,
O everlasting Lord,
By holy angels, day and night,
Incessantly adored!

O how I fear thee, living God,
With deepest, tenderest fears;
And worship thee with trembling hope,
And penitential tears.

Albert Camus, the French existentialist philosopher and novelist, maintained that the God of whom Jews and Christians speak, the God who towers over the world infinitely can only dwarf and diminish human beings until they are obliterated before him as thoroughly and as thoughtlessly as tigers devour cattle heads unthinkingly. Although he is wrong in his neglect of the love of God, he is right in his appraisal of the power of God.

ILLUSTRATION: Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen.” — Zechariah 11:2

The demise of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia, so horrible. These were among the brightest and strongest that we had on plant earth. And yet, they are gone in a moment in a few seconds…This should remind us that our time is limited on earth…

We ought to fear God because he will send a large proportion of humanity to hell. IT is the Lord’s peroragative as sovereign Lord to bless our lives our to cruse our existence.

.Secondly, if we would conduct our lives in the fear of God let us remember Calvary

· Precious because - He is absolutely perfect, inwardly and outwardly.

· Precious because – His blood alone can deliver us from the wrath of God

· I. The blood of Jesus Christ is so precious is because the blood of Jesus Christ redeems us.(I Peter 1:18-19)

II. The blood of Jesus Christ is so precious is because the blood of Jesus Christ brings us near to God. (Ephes. 2:11-13 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- [12] remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.)

III. The blood of Jesus Christ is so precious is because the blood of Jesus Christ washes all our sins away. (Rev. 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

· IV. The blood of Jesus Christ is so precious is because the blood of Jesus Christ gives us peace with God.( Col. 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

· V. The blood of Jesus Christ is so precious is because the blood of Jesus Christ justifies us. (Romans 5:8-9 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

Application: We should be afraid to go back to a sinful way of life in light of the awesome price paid to deliver us from ungodliness.

CONCLUSION- Profound respect and love of Christ should keep us from a sinful lifestyle.

Consider God’s fearful wrath which is coming for so many…

Consider the precious blood of Christ….