*Precious Blood* Facts

There is no substitute for human blood.  Blood gives you life everyday.  You should have a yearly blood test to help you determine your overall health.  The average adult has 10 pints of blood in their body.  Blood makes up about 7% of your body's weight.  A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in their body.  There are four main blood types:  A, B, AB and O.  AB is the universal recipient and O negative is the universal donor.  O+ is the most common blood type.  Blood banks often run short of type O and B blood.  Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body’s organs and tissue.  Red blood cells live about 120 days in the circulatory system.  There are about one billion red blood cells in two to three drops of blood.

The human heart is an unbelievably rugged organ:  a four-chamber, four-valve pump that handles 5,000 gallons of blood a day--almost enough to fill a railroad tank car. It supplies a circulatory system with 12,000 miles of vessels and, in the course of a lifetime, beats 2.5 billion times.  All the blood in your body is pumped through your heart every minute while your heart beats 100,800 times a day.

Approximately 32,000 pints of blood are used each day in the United States.  Every three seconds someone needs blood in America.  One out of every 10 people entering a hospital needs blood.  Just one pint of donated blood can help save as many as three people’s lives.  One unit of blood is roughly the equivalent of one pint.  The average red blood cell transfusion is 3.4 pints.

Some Common Blood Tests:  Remember to have your blood tested annually and more often if you have certain health risk factors.

* Blood Pressure:  Optimum level is 120/80 mmHG.  Blood pressure is the amount of force exerted by your blood on the walls of your arteries as it passes through. High blood pressure gouges holes in your arteries.  High blood pressure has no symptoms and is called the “silent killer.”

      - The systolic pressure (120) is the force of the blood when the heart beats.

      - The diastolic pressure (80) is the force of the blood when the heart relaxes.

* Blood Pressure Numbers and what they mean:

    Category                           Systolic         Diastolic
    Normal                             120 or less      80 or less
    Pre-hypertension             121–139         81–89
    Hypertension (Stage 1)    140–159        90–99
                            (Stage 2)    160 or higher   100 or higher

* Cholesterol:  Total levels should be below 200.

      - Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL):  Bad type (lousy) clog-forming

        LDL Levels:  Ideal is less than 100 mg/dl;
        Less than 100 mg/dL (Optimal);
        100 to 129 mg/dL (Near Optimal/ Above Optimal);
        130 to 159 mg/dL (Borderline High);
        160 to 189 mg/dL (High);
        190 mg/dL and above (Very High)

      - High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL):  Good type (healthy) clears clogs

         HDL Levels:  Greater than 40 is acceptable.
              Less than 40 means you're at higher risk for heart disease.
              60 or higher reduces your risk of heart disease.

* Blood Sugar:  Keep it lower than 100 mg/dl.  Excess sugar in the blood caused by ‘diabetes’ damages the arteries by inactivating a substance called “phosphokinase.” This substance makes it possible for your arteries to smoothly dilate and contract.  Without phosphokinase, the risk of holes or cracks appearing at junctions in the arterial walls increases dramatically.  If your fasting blood sugar level is 100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL, you have impaired fasting glucose.  A fasting blood sugar level of 126 mg/dL or higher is consistent with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes when accompanied by the classic symptoms of diabetes — increased thirst or hunger, frequent urination, weight loss or blurred vision.

* Homocysteine:  Keep it at 9mg/dl or less.  It is a by-product of the body’s digestion of protein, and it causes nicks and inflammation in arterial walls.  Homocysteine can be easily reduced by taking ‘folate’ (700 mcg/day).

* C-Reactive Protein (HsCRP):  Ideal level is 1 mg/dl.  It measures levels of inflammation in blood vessels and is a marker for many types of diseases.

* Triglycerides:  The desirable level is below 150 mg/dl.

The “Precious Blood” Facts:  There is no substitute for blood when it comes to human life.  And there is no substitute for blood when it comes to Eternal Life.  You need blood to live physically, and you need blood to live forever out in Eternity.  God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth; and there is One Blood by which all men on the face of the earth are saved from sin.  The only way your sin against God can be washed away and forgotten is through the Blood of God that flowed from the Lord Jesus Christ’s veins on the cross of Calvary.  The blood of Christ is man’s only safe way of approach to God.  God became a Jewish man 2,000 years ago and was manifested in the flesh – His name was Jesus of Nazareth.  Your sins against God and continual rejection of Christ has separated you from God and has stirred up His wrath toward you.  (See John 3:36; Romans 2:5)

Christ Jesus was virgin born without a sin nature, and then He lived a sinless life and obeyed the law of God perfectly in your place.  He lived a life of suffering and trial for 33 years, and lived in this world as a poor man who went about doing good.  At the end of His life, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane and sweat great drops of blood and submitted to the Father’s will to become Sin and to suffer for your sins.  The cup of Sin was put into His hand there, and He took it and drank it to its very dregs, especially for you.

Then Jesus was taken and falsely accused, scourged half to death, and then He was nailed upon the accursed cross of Calvary.  His hands and feet were pierced and His side was stabbed with a spear.  God’s Blood was shed there at Calvary for you personally, so you could be forgiven freely without works.  Christ planned, worked out, and finished the work of redemption for your soul.  Christ hung there in your stead.  Your sin deserves death and Christ died in your place.  Jesus was your Substitute.  You have nothing good in you.  Your acts cannot save you, only the acts of Christ alone.  Ye must be born again.  Without shedding of blood is no remission (forgiveness and pardon of sins).  The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanseth us from all sin.  (I John 1:7)    

As long as you cling to your vain works and religion, you are in the utmost danger and dwelling under the wrath of God; but when you give yourself up entirely to the mercy and blood of Christ, you are safe forever.  Try the blood, sinner, trust to it, that is all.  Abandon all dependence upon your own efforts to save yourself.  Right living is not enough to save you.  Cease to be your own keeper – give up your futile attempt to be your own saviour.  Relinquish all trust in self.  Step out of sin and self, and into Christ and His blood.  When Christ is your All, then you are safe.  All you have done that is good in life is worth nothing.  Your most holy acts are full of sin, and your most faithful service falls short of the demands of the law of God.  You have nothing in you that can assist Christ in redeeming you and taking you to Heaven.  You cannot be saved if you have one hand on self and the other hand on Christ.  Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)

The justice and vengeance of God is pursuing you at this moment.  Guilty sinners have only one refuge to run to – the bloody Cross of Christ.  Sinner, run to Christ now.  Do not procrastinate.  Death could seize you at any time.  Agree with God.  Trust in Jesus alone, trust your life into His hands, put your soul in His eternal care, drop into His arms, repose your all on Him, lay hold on Him by faith in His blood.  Believe only in His blood to protect you from God’s wrath, and you are safe and sound.  Will you now trust Him?  If so, rely entirely, simply, and implicitly upon Christ’s Precious Blood and His righteousness.  The Atonement of the blood of Jesus for your sin is the only thing that will appease the wrath of God on your behalf.  Christ was the ‘Lamb of God’ provided by God to pay for your sin’s penalty once forever freely.  Please accept the offer of God’s mercy in Christ Jesus.

Do you have a desire for Christ, and a longing for His free forgiveness of your sins?  Are you fed up with your sins?  Are you satisfied with being an enemy of God, a rebel, a criminal with the sentence of the law and wages of sin hanging over your head?  Right now, seek the Lord Jesus by Faith in His Precious Blood.  The only thing that will satisfy your troubled conscience and guilty heart is the Blood of God.  His Blood is available for you now.  Step out on God’s precious promises to save you.  Seek Him with all your heart:  “Lord Jesus, please save me, for I cannot save myself, I am relying upon Your blood and free love alone to save me.  I trust You only with my soul.  I need your blood now.  I receive You by faith, and on You I totally rely.  I give my soul up to You to be washed, cleansed, saved, and kept, and at last brought to Heaven.  Lord Jesus, please rescue me from the danger of my sins, freely forgive me for neglecting and rejecting you for so long, and thank you for saving my sinful soul.

The Door of Mercy

A man who was troubled in his soul fell asleep one night; He dreamed that he was out in the wilderness in a terrible storm.  The lightning flamed around him and the voice of the thunder made the earth rock beneath him, and a tornado was chasing him.  He looked eagerly around for a shelter.

He ran to the first house before him, but he was denied admittance. He that dwelt there was named Justice and he said in angry tones, “Get out of here—I cannot shelter a criminal, a traitor to his God and Creator.  The wrath of God abides on you! Away with you!”

He rushed to the next house and it turned out to be the mansion of Truth. Truth came to the door with a calm but stern countenance and said, “You are full of falsehood and lies, you cannot sojourn here.  All liars shall have their part in the lake of fire.  Get out of here!”

He scurried to the home of Peace, which stood near, and hoped that there, perhaps, he might be housed from the storm.  But Peace heatedly said, “Go away! There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.  Your carnal mind is enmity with God.  Depart!”

He could not, then, tell what to do, for the storm waxed yet more furious, when lo, he saw a door over which was written, “Mercy.” “Yes!” he said, “this is the place for me, for I am guilty.” The door was opened and he was welcomed there.

Dear Friend, to this “Door of Mercy” you are invited today!  Come in and be at rest.  You, who cannot be harbored by justice, or peace, or truth, may come to Mercy and receive abundant Grace!  But you may ask, “Where is this Door of Mercy?”  Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” (John 10:9) The lightning, thunder, and tornado in this story are the wrath of God seeking after a lost sinner.  Your sin against God deserves His wrath, but God became a man 2,000 years ago and suffered in your place.  Sinner, do you need forgiveness? Christ has worked it out!  Every sin that you have done shall be forgiven you for His name’s sake if you trust Jesus to do it.  Do you see your sins like a tornado pursuing you?  Your sins cost Jesus Christ His life.  What have you done with Jesus?

Here’s the Gospel Message:  God in Heaven looked down upon the sinful race of man; He beheld them lost and ruined.  Out of love to them He sent His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born of the virgin Mary, lived some 33 years a life of spotless, sinless innocence and perfect obedience to God.  Jesus Christ was God, and He was man.  God was manifest in the flesh to suffer in the place of sinners.  He went about doing good all the days of His life.  In due time, He was delivered up by the traitor Judas Iscariot.  Jesus was condemned as a criminal, scourged, mocked, and His head received a crown of thorns.  He did this for you.

The Lord Jehovah took all the sin of man, and deliberately laid it upon His dear Son.  His Son, willingly bearing that load of sin as the Substitute, went up to the Cross, and there He bore what was due for all that weight of sin, even the penalty of darkness, desertion, and death.  By bearing the chastisement, He put away sin.  He hung upon the Cross—His face was all stained with blood and bruises and with the spit of the rough soldiers.  God’s blood trickled down the Cross, the red drops of His blood poured from Immanuel’s veins for you

God Incarnate was crucified on a Cross for miserable sinners, and He bowed His head and gave up the ghost.  He was buried and after three days He rose again, and showed Himself to His disciples for 40 days.  When the 40 days were finished, He ascended up to Heaven in the sight of them all, where He now sits at the right hand of God, and shall also come again the second time to judge both the quick and the dead. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”  (I Tim 1:15)

You desperately need to flee to Jesus Christ, go through the “Door of Mercy” now.  You don’t have to bring your good feelings, good intentions, or good works—just come and take freely what God has done for you through the finished work of His Precious Son. You don’t even need to bring repentance and faith in order to obtain God’s Grace—you are to come and accept repentance and faith as the gifts of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.  What broad gates of mercy these are! How wide is the entrance which Love has prepared for your soul!

You are not asked to help Christ, or to work for Christ in order to earn salvation, but just to come to Christ.  He will in no wise cast you out.  A simple reliance upon the Lord Jesus is the one essential for eternal life!  Christ died for the ungodly.  (Rom 5:6)  Are you ungodly?

“Take,” is a grand word to express the Gospel.  The world’s gospel is, “make.”  Man tries to make his own way of salvation by his own good works, earthly wisdom, and religious efforts, and as a result, he damns himself.  Man’s carnal mind thinks his own self-righteousness can please God’s holiness and satisfy the demands of God’s law.  This is the epitome of pride.  Don’t let your love of sin and your own self-confidence damn you.  Remember, Christ’s Gospel is, “T-A-K-E.”  Man’s gospel is make.  You only have to take salvation freely as a sinner.  The very best ‘you can do’ will land you in hell. You can do nothing ‘in yourself’ to appease God’s wrath.

The way of salvation is summed up in four letters, “Take.” Do you desire Christ? Take Him.  Do you need free pardon from sin? Take Him.  Do you need a new heart? Take Him.  Do you want peace of mind? Take Him.  Do you want Heaven hereafter when you die?  Take Him—that is ALL.  “Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.”  The way to be saved is to come to Christ!  Christ is a Person, a living Person, full of power to save! Only Jesus Christ’s righteousness can save a man, and only self-righteousness can damn a man.  Self-righteousness is the greatest enemy of the cross.  Repent ye and believe the gospel.  Your good works are tainted with sin and are no good. God’s mercy is only found at the bloody cross.

Oh, I am pleading with you—lay hold on Jesus Christ this very moment!  Jesus is the Rock of Refuge—fly to Him.  He is the “Door of Mercy” – Enter now.  Life is short—time is running out for you.  Poor Sinner, run for your life to God’s Dear Son!  Good people die in their sins and go to Hell!  But, guilty and filthy sinners, who humble themselves under the shelter of Jesus’ most precious blood, are safe and sound forever.  Flee from the wrath to come on sin.

Do you really want to get rid of your sins today?  The love of sin damns a man.  Sin is like cancer in your soul.  Do you feel sin working in you now?  Come right away and trust the Savior—and obtain full forgiveness through His free grace and pure mercy!  You that have cursed His name—you that have stolen from others—you that have told lies—you that are dirty from every crime, come and welcome to Jesus!  Come to Christ and live at once!

Don’t procrastinate; your heart will only grow harder day by day.  Sin is deceitful and it will damn your soul to hell.  Come to Christ – There is nothing to prepare or be done, there is nothing to be felt!  There is nothing to be brought.  No preparation is needed.  Come just as you are (a lost sinner) and trust Christ to save you and this day you shall be saved! God’s word promises you this.  Do you have a burden of sin on your back?  This is the only condition that a man needs for trusting in Christ to save him!  Christ’s mercy is to be had for nothing! Your bribe of good works or purchase is out of the question!  God’s mercy is free only to lost sinners.

Mercy’s door is set wide open for you today on purpose so that the vilest of the vile may come—and they are called to come first!  Not merely those guilty of open sin are invited, but those guilty of secret sin—sins of the heart, sins of the imagination, sins which stain the inmost soul, you are invited to be saved!  Just as you are, come on, why do you wait?  Don’t try to cleanse or mend yourself, but, now, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”

To believe is to trust—simply trust in Christ alone.  Come to Him who is a real Savior for real sinners.  Come and hang the whole weight of your soul upon Jesus. Don't try to swim across the river of death alone, trust in the King's Bridge, the Cross of Calvary.  Quit your struggling and rest in the Lord Jesus: He is the bleeding Substitute for guilty sinners.

 Reach out to the Lord Jesus Christ today and make spiritual contact with Him.  With your mind, heart, and thoughts come to Christ, and with faith, like a hand, touch Him spiritually, grasp Him by believing upon Him and receive life and Grace freely from Him alone. Free Pardon of your sin debt by any other means is impossible.  Everything else fails, only Jesus satisfies the heart of man. Only trust Him! Only trust Him and you are pardoned at once.  "God be merciful to me a sinner" should be your cry to God for forgiveness.  Seek Jesus Christ now by forsaking your own righteousness and placing simple, childlike faith in His Precious Blood.

Only for Sinners

Do you know that all good people who trust in themselves will be lost, and that only bad people (sinners) that trust to Jesus will be saved and go to Heaven when they die?  Whether you know it or not, it is true.  The good (self-righteous) are to be lost and the bad saved by calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in truth.  Only the ungodly are welcome at the Cross.  If you come to the Cross with any of your merits, you will be turned away. This is the Good News.

But first of all let me say that there are no good people; they are all bad.  Listen closely to the testimony of Jesus Christ, "There is none good save One, that is, God." (Matthew 19:17)   Do you believe it?  I didn't say it, He did.  How then can there be any good people in the world, when Christ says there are none?

Paul had the same testimony.  He said, "There is none righteous, no, not one."  (Romans 3:10)  That includes you and your family members, and everybody you know, does it not?  If there are none righteous, no good people, not even one, then you, too, cannot be good.  Paul's statement is, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)   Well then, if all have sinned, all are bad and no one is good.  Isaiah the prophet likewise makes the same charge.  He says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way."  (Isaiah 53:6)  So if all have gone astray, then all are bad and none are good.

WHAT ABOUT INDIVIDUALS

But what about individuals?  Let us question some of the best men of all time.  Take Job, for instance, one of the most upright men that ever lived.  What does he say about himself?  Listen!  "I am vile." (Job 40:4)  If he was vile, what about you?  Now hear Peter the apostle:  "I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:8) And Paul said that he was the “chief of sinners.” (I Timothy 1:15)  Are you any better?

My friend, suppose an angel at the judgment flashes motion pictures of all your thoughts and acts on a screen and calls your family and friends to view them, tell me, how would you feel?  Be honest now.  Could you stand it?  Or would you want to hide your face in shame?  You who pride yourself on your goodness, you who think you are good enough to enter Heaven on your own, you who profess perfection, tell me, have you never indulged in one impure imagination, have you never committed a secret act of sin that you would not for all the world want to see portrayed on a screen?  Remember back into your past closely.  Think now.  God sees and hears your thought life at all times.  The thought of foolishness is sin.

Well then, if you cannot bear the thought of man knowing and seeing your innermost life, how do you propose to stand before a holy God that knows all about you from the time you were in the womb?  My friend, you know you are not good, for if you were, you would not hesitate to let the whole world see you as you are, your every thought, word, and act from childhood days to this present moment.  If you are not perfect, you are not good, but bad.  You are bad, I am bad, we are all bad.  There is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Besides, does not your own conscience condemn you?  You say you are living up to the light you have, and you think that if you do, all will be well.  Now be honest, you knew perfectly well what you should have done, and yet you didn't do it, and violated your conscience..  You deliberately turned from the light and went your own selfish way.  And if you did that just once, then you’ve sinned.  How then can you claim to be good?  Oh, you may have done better than others, and much better than the church members you know, but the fact remains, that you did not walk in the light you had, and, "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." (James 4:17)  So then, you are bad after all, for you have failed once at least.  And all unrighteousness is sin, and whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
         
But!" you exclaimed, "I only failed once, just once, in all my life."  Yes, and Eve in the Garden of Eden, too, only failed once, just once.  She ate but one bite of one piece of fruit, not even two bites - just one, but the one bite made her a sinner.  And so it is with you.  It only takes one sin in thought or act to make you a sinner.

THERE’S NO HOPE FOR THE GOOD

Now in the second place, I want to say that no provision has ever been made for the salvation of the good.  Jesus said, "I come not to call the righteous [the good], but sinners [the bad] to repentance." (Luke 5:32)  Paul said, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners [the bad]" (I Timothy 1:15), and that, Christ died for the ungodly [the bad]. (Romans 5:6)   There’s no hope for good people.

In other words, if you are good, there is no salvation for you, for you do not need it.  Jesus said,"They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." (Luke 5:31)  The Pharisees, righteous in their own eyes, were utterly unconscious of their need.  It is the lost who need to be saved, the sick who need a physician.  But it is so hard to get self-righteous men and women to realize their need, to admit their guilt.  Sin and unbelief blinds their minds to God’s grace.

GOD’S GRACE IS ONLY FOR SINNERS

In the third place, then, I would point out that abundant provision has been made for sinners.  Who was saved in Jericho?  Rahab.  And what kind of a woman was Rahab?  Bad; she was a harlot.  And why was she saved?  First, because she knew she was a sinner.  Second, because she believed the word of God.  Third, because she had faith to hang out the Scarlet Thread, typifying the blood.  But all the so called good people of Jericho perished.  God only saves real sinners.

Again and again, Jesus sought the bad and saved them.  He saved Mary Magdalene out of whom He cast seven devils.  Yes, and the woman in Simon's house who was a sinner.  Then, too, the woman taken in adultery was forgiven, and don't forget the woman of Samaria by Jacob's well that had five husbands.  And what about, Matthew and Zacchaeus the publicans, or Peter the cursing fisherman, and then there was the thief on the cross.  These were all saved, and all of them were bad.  Not that Christ places a premium on sin; by no means.  But they all knew that they were sinners and since it is for sinners that salvation is provided, Christ Jesus saved them.  For by grace are ye saved through faith.

Christ saved good people, too, but they were good people who knew they were sinners.  He saved Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Paul, and Cornelius.  Yes, my friend, and He will save you, too, but not until you admit that you, too, are a sinner, guilty before God, a sinner with no righteousness of your own.  "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,” God says in Isaiah 64:6.  But as long as you think you are good enough to save yourself, or help save yourself, Christ can do nothing for you.  He only came to save helpless sinners, and as for me, I'm only a sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all.  The chief reason any man goes to Hell is that he rejects the cure for his sin problem, the Blood of Jesus Christ.

The moral man came to the Judgment,
But his self-righteous rags would not do;
The men who had crucified Jesus
Had passed off as moral men, too;
The soul that had put off salvation, and said
“Not tonight; I’ll get saved by and by,
No time now to think of Jesus!”
At last he had found time to die.

There are absolutes.  There is a God, you have sinned against Him, God must punish your sin, you must die and enter into judgment.  God made you and feeds you every day, but you have rebelled against Him.  You have willfully sinned against God’s law and holiness.  The soul that sinneth it shall die; and the wages of sin is eternal death and separation from God in the lake of fire.   If you are without Christ, God's wrath is abiding upon you now (John 3:36).  You have denied there is a God and wished there was none at times.  You have denied God’s existence and despised His goodness.  You're an enemy to God in your mind by wicked works.  You have loved your sin.

All through your life you have went further and further off from God.  In time past you walked according to the course of this world, under the power of Satan and the children of disobedience, and you are walking in the lusts of your flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; you are without hope, by nature a child of wrath, out of Christ, condemned already, and in danger of eternal punishment.  Your understanding is darkened by your sinful rebellion, and your iniquity has alienated you from the life of God through the ignorance that is in you. Because of the blindness of your heart, you are past feeling and have given yourself over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.  You need to find peace with God, and the only one that can give you peace with God is the One that took the punishment that is due to your sins.

Christ Jesus Himself must get all the glory for saving you, and you must get none.  Your very best efforts are sinful and selfish, and will take you to hell.  The rich young ruler, you remember, boasted of his goodness.  The proud Pharisee prided himself on his righteousness, but both of them were lost.  But the publican cried out, "God be merciful to me a sinner."  The publican went home justified and saved to the uttermost, the Pharisee went home lost, all alone, and still in the darkness of his sin.  This man (Christ Jesus) receiveth sinners.  He loves to save the sinful, and heal the brokenhearted.  You need to quit worrying about what people may think about you, and be concerned about what God thinks about you.  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  Oh, then, my friend, come to Him, but come as a sinner, and receive the sinner's Savior.  Come just as you are, don't try to clean up at all, and He will save you now.  God be merciful to me a sinner through Jesus’ Blood.

Scot-Free

"Scot" is an old Scandinavian word for taxes dating back to the 13th century.  The term is an abbreviation of 'scot and lot'.  Scot was the tax, and lot, or allotment, was the amount given to the poor.  The phrase 'Scot-Free' just refers to someone who got away without paying their taxes.

Benjamin Franklin said this, “In this world, nothing is certain, but death and taxes.” Some escape their taxes, but no one escapes death.  Death comes to all of us because of our sins against God.  The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.  The soul that sinneth, it shall die.  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.  There is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

By nature, man prefers sin to purity.  Sin is your own choice, your own deliberate choice.  Man prefers the pleasures of sin, self-righteousness, and self-will to Christ’s way.  Your sin nature is hostile towards God and rebels continuously against His holy commandments.  You’re a sinner, and your sins (in thought, word, and deed) must be paid for.  Your sins must be dealt with, or they will damn your soul.  There is no way around this issue; you can't sidestep your sins against God.  Death and Judgment are before you.  Ye must be born again.  The self-righteous carnal mind hates the very mention of the free forgiveness of sins without any human merit.

For you Christ died and rose again from the dead.  Your sins, guilt and shame were laid on Him.  The Lord Jesus Christ bore your sins and gave His life to be a Substitute for you.  Christ's salvation may be yours "freely" now, without money and without price.  It is free for you, but it was not free for God.  God gave His All – He gave His precious Son to be crucified for you.  Jesus bled for your sins, so you could go 'Scot-Free' and escape the hell you deserve.  Only the Blood of Christ on your soul can cause God’s wrath to pass over you; your sin deserves God’s full vengeance.  Christ took your sin upon Himself by His Substitution.  Jesus loved you, and gave Himself for you.  
       
True saving faith is heart-trust in the living Christ’s Blood and Righteousness for personal forgiveness of sins and eternal life.  Religion cannot help save you from sin at all.  Your sin is so bad that it required a Sinless Person to be born, to live and die, and live again for you.  You cannot help save yourself, so stop trying, and trust in Christ alone.  Christ Jesus must get *all* the glory for your salvation, and you must get none, period.  Christ died for the ungodly, not the self-righteous.

The Gospel of God is the Good News that Christ died for your sins and rose again from the dead, and that whosoever trusts in Christ's Blood Atonement will receive eternal life as a free gift.  The moment you trust your soul and sins to Him, you are the immediate possessor of everlasting life by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by your own power.  Man is proud and wants to be his own savior by his own works.  He prefers himself before God, and wants to please himself before pleasing God.  Self-righteous man tries and tries to merit God's favor, but his best efforts are futile and fatal.  Christ’s Precious Blood alone provides safety from God's judgment.  The Gospel forever frees a soul from the bondage of sin, and provides the sinner confidence that the price for his sin is paid in full freely and that God's judgment can be avoided.

You have two choices:  You can choose to pay for your own sins in Hell, or you can simple let Jesus’ finished work (sinless blood atonement) pay for them freely, without your works.  If you just ignore your sin problem, Hell will be your eternal doom.  You cannot reject Christ, and get away with it.  To those who reject God’s Son, there will be no mercy.

If your heart is hungering for the forgiveness of sins, sinner friend, come now to Jesus Christ.  Your conscience is warning you that something is missing in your soul.  Trust right now, at once, in the ‘finished’ work of Jesus Christ, who as a Substitute was punished for your guilt.  Rely on Him totally, and your soul is safe forever.  Look away from yourself and your works; look totally to Christ’s blood and wounds.  Go to the Cross as a poor sinner and look to Christ alone and go Scot-Free.  God be merciful to me a sinner through the atoning blood of Christ, I receive your dear Son now!

Substitution 6

Let me, as plainly as I can, state the Gospel to you today:  It is hidden in one word - Substitution.  Christ Jesus voluntarily taking the place of sinful men.  I deserve to be lost and ruined; and the only reason why I should not be damned forever is this - that Christ Jesus, God manifest in the flesh, was punished for my sins in my place, and God cannot execute a sentence twice for the same sins.  I could never enter God's Heaven unless I have a perfect Righteousness, and I am certain that I shall never have one of my own, for I sin every day, but Jesus has a perfect Righteousness that He worked out for me here on Earth when He lived, loved, and died for me.

The whole substance of Salvation lies in the inestimable truth that God Incarnate laid down His life for sinful men like me.  God tells us in the Bible, that the Word, the second person of the Godhead, took upon Himself human form, and came down here among sinful men.  And while He was here, He lived the life of a poor servant, and then at the last, He took upon Himself man's sins, and as the Substitute for guilty men, He went up to the Cross, and there He bore the divine wrath due to our sins, there He died all alone in the place of the guilty, and then three days later, He rose from the dead, and now He is alive forever more. This is the only good news that can bring peace to your troubled spirit and mind - Christ died for me, that I should not die; He paid my sin debt in full with His own blood, I believe in Him; therefore, my sins are gone, and my record is clear before God for Jesus' sake.  That truth is so plain, even a child can understand it.

The prisoner is in the dock, he is facing judgment and in great fear; for he is about to be taken away to be executed; he deserves to die, for he has been a great criminal.  But before he is taken to his doom, the merciful Judge asks whether there is any possible way whereby the prisoner's life can be spared.  Then an Innocent bystander comes forth and steps into the dock by the criminal, and pleads with the Judge that He would have Mercy on the convict:  "Consider Me to be the criminal; pass his guilt and death sentence on Me, and let Me die instead of him.  Reckon the criminal to be myself.  I deserve to be rewarded for the Works which I have done, but reward the criminal as if he had done My good Works; reward him as if here were Me, and punish Me as if I had committed his crimes."

Jesus then takes off His garments and shows His scars and wounds to the Judge, and says, "This criminal doesn't deserve to enter Heaven, for he has not kept the Law, but I have kept the Law for him.  Let him have My Righteousness, and I will take his sins.  He deserves to die, but because of My wounds, stripes, and scars which I have suffered in his place, I beseech You, to have Mercy on him for My Blood's sake." This is what happens in God's court of Law when a sinner trusts in Jesus' Blood:  the Savior says, "The sinner deserves to die; but let Me die in his place, and let him be clothed in My Righteousness, and be set free forever for My sake."

Jesus said to me, "There sinner, take My garments of Righteousness, put them on; and you shall stand before God as if you were Me, and I will stand before God, as if I had been the sinner.  I will suffer in your place. and you shall be rewarded for works which you did not do, but for Works which I did for you.  You shall go free, and I shall be condemned."

Many sinners who are under the conviction of guilt and are cast down over their sins, they will try prayer, Bible-reading, church attendance, quitting addictions; they try to change their manner of life, but they can never find peace with God until they personally come to Christ Jesus by faith, and trust to His atoning work on the Cross. The great plan of redeeming mercy through the Precious Blood is the only way to obtain the forgiveness of your sins and free eternal life.  Jesus knew no sin; He was the perfect man and the perfect God in one person. The grandest of all Gospel truths is Substitution.

Jesus is the Christ of God; He has taken my sins, and carried away my sorrows.  I am a sinner, and I trust only to the sinner's Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  You are the very person Jesus came to save.  Jesus came to take the place of the guilty, not good people.  There is hope; there is lifting up.  Turn your face to the Cross, and behold the Lamb of God, the substitutionary Sacrifice, which taketh away the sin of the world.  Trust your immortal soul into the hands of the faithful Crucified Creator.  The moment you trust your sins with the Divine Substitute, your soul is saved, safe from the danger of being lost forever.  Trust your Eternity with the Son of God, never trust in yourself at all.  Take your troubles and cares directly to Jesus.  Trust Jesus with the little things, "Give this day our daily bread," and trust Him with the big things, "Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."

Come to Jesus by faith, your guilt must be transferred to Christ, and taken away by the sinner's Substitute.  Christ never gave Himself for my goodness, but He gave Himself for my sins, because there was no way for me to be saved except by a sinless blood sacrifice for my sins.  Christ has been punished for my sins, therefore God cannot punish me anymore for my sins; no one can lay anything to my charge.  My God is just in Christ Jesus, and the Justifier of the ungodly.

Once day Justice drew His fiery sword and came after me, and would have cast me into hell for sure.  Justice's sword sought me, because I had sinned against the Judge of the universe.  Divine Justice said, "That man is a sinner, and he must perish!"  Then said Jesus on my behalf, "That man was once a sinner, but he is righteous now in Me, for he is clothed in My Righteousness.  If you are seeking his sins, here am I, I have bore his sins in My own body. I am this sinner's Substitute; all of this sinner's guilt was imputed to Me on Calvary; all of his unrighteousness is Mine, and all My Righteousness is now his.  I am his Substitute, so punish Me instead of him, and let him go free for My sake."  Justice accepted and was perfectly satisfied with Jesus' Substitution; Justice then took the Savior and crucified Him on Calvary's Cross.  My curse was made to fall upon the head of Jesus.

If you deny the great truth of Atonement by Blood, the substitutionary Sacrifice of the Incarnate God of Calvary, your soul is in imminent peril.  Jesus is not just my Example; He is the Maker of my Propitiation and Reconciliation by His own Blood.  There is no way of you being accepted by God except through the Blood of Jesus.  Now understand - The only road to God is sprinkled with the blood of the substitutionary death of the Lamb of God.  Keep to the Precious Blood with unshaken resolve.  Stay at the foot of the Cross, looking only to the crucified Savior.

Substitution 5

Christ Jesus Himself is the essence of Christianity.  In the fulness of time, He was born of a woman. He came into this world as the Substitute for sinners.  The vengeance of God against human sin was poured out upon Him; He suffered death, so that those who would trust in Him might not die in their sins.  The Lamb of God was slain in my place, that He might render satisfaction to the injured and broken Law of God for my sake.  God's love and wisdom thought out the wondrous plan of free Salvation, by which Jesus came to be our Substitute, and suffer in our place, so that divine justice could be satisfied fully.

Now understand the great plan of free Salvation by the sinless Substitute - He gave His back to the smiters, His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair, and He hid not His face from the shame and spitting; He was nailed to the Cross, He suffered in body and was crushed in spirit, He was forsaken by God the Father, and died all alone, so I could be spared.  Believe now that all your sins were borne by Him, that He suffered what you ought to have suffered, as your Substitute; believe that He was wounded for your sins against God.

You are a real sinner, and you must have a real Atonement and real forgiveness of sins, or you shall really perish forever in the lake of fire.  Your chief need is the Substitution of the Lord Jesus Christ for guilty sinners. Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree.  Jesus came to Earth on purpose just to save you from your sins.  Jesus has expunged my death sentence through His bloody death.  Jesus bore all my trespasses by nailing them to the Cross.  Jesus occupied the sinner's place, He bore the sinner's curse, and suffered the sinner's wrath.

Jesus stood up and answered the summons of the divine Law in my place, and appeared before God for me, so I could be redeemed and go free from my penalty.  Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.  Jesus who was rich in true Holiness, for my sake became poor in bearing and paying for my sins.  Most men will not come to Christ and trust Him, because they not receive the truth of Substitution.  They will not have free salvation; they kick at it.

Your heart, soul, and mind will never have rest and peace until you personally receive Christ Jesus and His soul-saving truth of Substitution.  Jesus took my sins upon Himself, and therefore He has removed them from me.  He has forgiven my sins, because He took them upon Himself.  My free salvation was very costly to Him.  You have nothing to do right now but to look to the great Substitute by Faith for all your Salvation.  Jesus gave Himself for you when He became a Jewish man; He gave Himself for you through a lonely life of toil and righteousness.  He gave Himself for you when He died in your place - the scourging, the shame, the spitting, the bloody sweat, the Cross - He loved you, and gave Himself for you.

If you are troubled and in despair over your sins today, you can obtain peace with God right now by trusting to the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God.  If your guilt is perplexing you, fall down immediately at the feet of Jesus, and ask Him for mercy through His atoning blood, and all your anxiety will disappear instantly.  His wounds will heal your sin-sick soul; His death will deliver you from eternal death.  Jesus bore the consequences of all human sin; He bore my guilt and punishment, and was unto God a Sacrifice instead of me.

This is the Great Truth of Substitution:  Suppose you had committed a heinous murder, and you were to be executed for that crime, and should justly deserve death.  And then suppose someone, if the Law would allow it, should come forth and consent to die in your place, so you could be set free.  This would be a very kind act towards you.  If you accepted this man's substitution, and he were executed instead of you, would the prison guards still take you to the death chamber for the murder you committed?  Oh no! They couldn't touch you, for someone was already executed for you, and you are now clear before the bar of justice.  Likewise, every sinner who believes in Jesus Christ, that is, trusts to Him as their personal Substitute, may know without a doubt that Christ has set Him free and cleared his guilty record before God.

Religious men will take Jesus as a Teacher or as a moral Example, but not as the Lamb of God, as the Sacrifice for human sin.  If you will not have the Lamb of God, He will not have you.  If you disown His Atoning Sacrifice, He will disown you.  God Incarnate who know no sin was made to be Sin for us, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in Christ.  Christ Jesus the Lord has by Himself purged our sins, and has sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.   The man that says he cannot see this truth, that he cannot understand it:  what he really means is that he will not have it.  He will not be saved freely by the Atoning Sacrifice of God Incarnate, he would sooner trust in himself or some religious nonsense.

Substitution 4

There is no other Atonement under Heaven but the substitution of Christ Jesus in the place of the ungodly.  He died the Sinless for the sinful, that He might reconcile us to the living God.  The man that rejects Christ does so at peril of his own soul.  Christ died for the ungodly - this is the good news the Gospel brings to every sinner on Earth today.  The punishment due to my sins fell on Jesus, and now the wrath of God cannot fall on me for Jesus bore my wrath on the Cross.  The Substitute has already suffered divine justice for me.  Jesus has cleared my name before God; I am now innocent because the Innocent One bled and died for me.

Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, "If ye therefore seek Me, let these go their way." Christ my Ransom has paid it all.  They sought Jesus in the garden: they took Him, they crucified Him, my Substitute bore it all for me.  Jesus was delivered up for my offenses against my Maker.  The LORD hath laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all.  There is no way of salvation under Heaven but by childlike faith in the Substitutionary atoning Sacrifice of God Incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am now redeemed from eternal wrath though Christ's blood.  Keep your eye fixed on the Crucified Creator; fix your gaze on His five bleeding wounds.  Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.  The Precious Blood, the Atoning Sacrifice, the Great Substitution of the Lamb of God is my only Salvation.

Jesus was accused of my sins, but in Him was no sin.  He was made to be Sin for me, standing in my place, suffering what I should suffer, dying my death.  God the Father laid my sins upon the Son of God; the Father smote the Son as if He was the worst sinner ever, as if He was all the sinners in the world rolled into one; and then Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me.  In Jesus' blood lies my only Hope of eternal life.  If you will not have Jesus Christ as your Substitute, there is no hope for your poor soul.  Jesus did not die for your goodness, but for your sins; He bore what you ought to bear, and He paid for you what you could never pay.  Take Jesus now in the right way, by Faith in His Blood.

Some Coffee Facts

“Wake up and Smell the Coffee” is a common phrase used today to tell someone that they should try to understand the true facts of a situation, or that they should do something about the condition they are currently in.

According to one widely told legend, an East African goatherd discovered coffee, when his goats ate the red coffee berries from a wild coffee shrub and became frisky and were kept awake.  A coffee bean is actually a seed, but when dried, roasted, and ground, it is used to brew coffee.  There are 10 steps to making coffee:  the coffee bean is planted, harvested, processed, dried, milled, exported, tasted, roasted, ground, and finally brewed.  There are over 500 billion cups of coffee consumed in the world every year, and coffee makes up about a third of tap water consumption.  Brazil is responsible for 30-40% of total world coffee output.  It takes five years for a coffee tree to reach maturity.  Beethoven and Bach, the great composers, both loved coffee.

About 50% of Americans drink coffee every day.  In 1773, the Boston Tea Party made drinking coffee a patriotic duty in America.  The expression “Cuppa Joe” was first coined during WWII, when American servicemen (G.I. Joe) were identified as big coffee drinkers.  During WWII, ‘Maxwell House’ instant coffee was issued in American soldiers’ ration kits.  In the US Navy today, coffee is often referred to as “Lifer Juice,” because many of the old Chief Petty Officers who spend their ‘entire life’ in the Navy drink coffee continuously.

In 1860, J. A. Folger founded ‘Folgers Coffee’ in San Francisco, CA.  Folgers is the largest-selling coffee in America.  Leon and Joel Cheek in Nashville, TN developed the ‘Maxwell House’ blend in 1892.  Nescafe’ coffee was introduced in Switzerland in 1938 after being developed by Max Morgenthaler.  The original Starbucks Coffee shop opened in 1971 in Seattle, WA.  Juan Valdez is a fictional character, but the real name of the character in the coffee commercials is Carlos Sanchez, and the name of his donkey is “Conchita.”

Many Americans often use a cup of coffee to give them an early morning jump-start.  Just as coffee helps wake up our bodies, the Word of God wakes up the soul of man and shows him his true condition (sinful), and his deepest need (the forgiveness of sins).  The eternal destiny of your soul is something you need to “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee” about.  The Bible says, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” (Eph 5:14)   Every lost man is spiritually dead in his trespasses and sins (See Eph 2:1).  Only Christ Jesus can give you light and life.

There are 10 great Commandments of God, and it may be that you think you have never broken Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, but if you have broken 7, 8, 9, or 10, you have snapped the Golden Chain asunder and it is really as if you had broken all its links!  Every sin you commit breaks God’s holy law (lies, thefts, gossip, lustful thoughts, pride, hatred, guile, selfishness, greed).  Any one offense against God’s Law (in thought, word, or deed) breaks the whole Law and spoils any hope of you being saved by keeping it. (Galatians 3:10) If you fall short of God’s Commandments, or go beyond them in any point, God’s Law is then broken, and you are guilty. (James 2:10)  The Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)  The ‘glory of God’ is absolute, sinless perfection.  If you’re not perfect, you’re a sinner, and all sinners need a Savior.  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

There are only two religions in this world:  “DO” and “DONE.”  If you are trying to work your way to heaven, your religion is “DO.”  But if you come to your senses, and realize that God requires ‘absolute sinless perfection’ from you; you will then submit to God, and trust Christ Jesus’ finished work alone – this is “DONE” religion.  But the hardest thing for a self-righteous man to do is to give up all he has done or ever will do, and submit to Christ’s Righteousness alone.

First, the Law of God must convince a man that he is a hopeless and miserable sinner.  After that, He must understand by the Holy Spirit that he is ‘condemned already,’ because he has not believed on the Son of God (by neglecting Him and rejecting Him).  Next, the poor sinner must forsake all his hopes and efforts to save himself, totally give up his ‘DO’ religion, and look only to the bleeding Lamb of God that died as the sinner’s Substitute on Calvary’s Cross.  The lost sinner must receive the living Christ and rely only on His power to save Him.  The best you can ‘do’ just won’t do in the sight of God.

The Good News:  God came to earth in human form – His name was Jesus Christ.  In infinite compassion, He that possessed the throne and royalties of Heaven, laid aside His kingly robes and crown, and came down to dwell among us in human flesh.  Christ Jesus lived a sinless life, suffered, bled, and died, and then He rose again the third day; the Just for the unjust, the Righteous for the rebels.  Christ died for the ungodly, not for the self-righteous.

Your sin deserves the wrath of God.  But God in His rich mercy laid His wrath upon His only-begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; and, therefore, God is ready to forgive you freely for Christ’s sake, not because of anything good in you, or anything you ever can do, but ENTIRELY by God’s free mercy.

God asks you to trust yourself in the hands of Jesus that He may save you.  Come sinner friend, and rely merely upon what Christ has done, and is still doing, and believe in the mercy of God through Christ Jesus, and not in ‘yourself’ at all.  Salvation is free, but it is not cheap.  God had to become a man and suffer and bleed to death for your sins.  God’s love for your soul cost Jesus Christ His life.  For God made Christ to be Sin for you on Calvary’s Cross, that you might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.  Ye must be born again. The next time you reach for a cup of coffee think about these truths:  Coffee is black – so are our hearts without the blood of Jesus applied to them.  And coffee is hot – so is Hell where lost sinners end up without Christ as their Savior.  A life lived without Christ is a wasted life, and Hell is the end of a Christ-less life.

Nothing you can do can change God’s mind towards you, Christ has done all that needs to be done, or that ever can be done.  Repent of your ‘dead’ works that cannot save you, TRUST Christ now, submit to His righteousness, give your heart up to Him.  You may have sinned against Christ’s love in the past, but He is still willing to receive you and save you, if you will only LET HIM.  Turn your case totally over to Him, rest in His finished work.  Don’t look IN now, but look OUT to Christ’s precious blood alone for peace with God, and you are saved forever.  TRUST in the Blood of the living Christ and be saved ‘now’

Just be a Nobody 2

The Eternal God who sat on the throne of the universe came down to Earth "lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). Throughout His public ministry, He had "not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). Because He had no money to pay the tax, He had to catch a fish with the necessary coin in its mouth (Matthew 17:27). In His agony at Gethsemane, none of His friends would pray with Him, and when He was arrested they all "forsook him and fled" (Matthew 26:40, 56). He had no one to defend Him at His trial.

Before He was nailed to the Cross, the soldiers stripped away His only personal possessions—the clothes on His back—and then the soldiers, "when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take." (Mark 15:24). When He died, His body had to be buried in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:59-60). Jesus had no home, no money, no possessions, no defenders, not even a tomb of His own in which to lie after he was dead.

But He had a Cross on which to die, and that was because He became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross, "God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9). Through His poverty we become rich, through His homelessness we receive a mansion in heaven, and through His terrible bloody death on Calvary we have everlasting life.  Jesus became a nobody, so He could save nobodies like us.


Human nature wants to be Something and Somebody; human nature loves to be seen and wants to be significant; human nature dreads obscurity, being undervalued, and passed over. But the Gospel calls us to be a ‘nothing’, that is all. Whining and murmuring reveals self-love. Humility is nothing more than a just estimate of yourself according to the words of God. The worldling thinks a real Christian is a worthless fellow, a nothing and a curse. The world despises the declaration of the clear plain Gospel of Salvation by grace through Faith in the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. The religious world tries to decorate the Gospel, to make it palatable, to cramp it with tradition, and make it agreeable with men’s worldly tastes. Religion always trims the Gospel, cuts it down, and makes it suit human nature. Your sinful nature is at war with God; you must surrender unconditionally, and lower your flag to Jesus. *Galatians 6:3*

The Law must first come into a man’s heart and soul with its condemning power; the work of Law reveals to the man he is a sinful nothing in need of the merciful Crucified and Risen Savior. The Gospel destroys the dignity of human nature. The Gospel is very humbling. The Gospel says, “There is no such thing as human merit; you have no merit of your own, and you have no power to obtain merit in the future." You have broken God’s Law, you are condemned by it. *James 2:10* You must be saved as a sinner, or not at all. You must be saved by the merits of Another. Your own works cannot have a finger in your salvation, it must be by grace alone. The proud man is offended by the Gospel, for it goes against the grain of his self-righteous pride; he will not tolerate it.

There is nothing for a sinner to do but to accept what Another has already done. Human nature’s love for sin and detestable pride is at the bottom of the rejection of Christ and His free grace. The Gospel is only for sinful men. The Gospel proclaims that Jesus saves men from the love and dominion of sin. Human nature doesn’t want that. The impurity of your heart makes it hard for you to believe such a pure Gospel. Human nature is too filthy and deceitful to accept the Truth. The love of sin lies at the bottom of your unbelief. Salvation must be of grace alone. We must shrink into nothingness. We have nothing in ourselves to boast of, or to trust in. The Christian life begins by trusting in Christ’s merit alone.

Simply cast your guilty soul entirely upon Jesus. This is the root of the matter – a simple helpless dependence upon Jesus for immediate and eternal salvation. Men must be convinced of sin, delivered from self-confidence, enlightened by the grace of God, and condemned by the commandments. We don’t want anything so vulgar and commonplace. Do you expect us to believe just as common folks? The root of the matter is to believe on the Incarnate God and to simply rely upon His blood atonement. To leave everything in His hands, to commit to Him our sins, our soul, our hopes, fears, past-present-future, and from now throughout life to fix our entire confidence upon Him. A living faith in the living Redeemer. Commit yourself wholly and entirely to the Mediator, the Incarnate God who bled, died, and rose from the dead for unworthy sinners. Look alone to the living Advocate in life, death, and Eternity. Make Jesus Himself your sole and solid hope. Whosoever believeth in Jesus hath everlasting life. Faith in Jesus’ atoning blood is the essence, vitality, and sum of true godliness. Childlike confidence in Christ Jesus Himself.

If you are a Somebody, the Holy Ghost must turn you into a nobody with the Gospel. A nobody is the sort of person that Jesus saves. You must be nothing if God is to save you. You must come down from your high horse; you must give up your trust in works, ceremonies, natural goodness, and just be nothing; and when you are nothing, then Jesus Christ will take you in. Jesus gives Life to dead sinners, healing to sick sinners, clothing to naked sinners, riches to bankrupt sinners, and water to thirsty sinners. If you are full of yourself, you may go your way, for Jesus will have nothing to do with you. If you are nothing, empty, naked, and helpess, you are just the one for whom Jesus shed His precious blood on Calvary’s Cross. Come now, and trust to Jesus alone, close with His blood, lay hold on eternal life. *Psalm 39:5*

After a man is born again, he begins to experience his old nature struggling against the law of his mind, and he lives in daily conflict with his inward evil nature. We must be thorough and brave soldiers of Jesus, following Him closely every day. The genuine Christian will suffer slander and detraction. We need grace and the backbone to be estimated fools in the eyes of the world. We must care less about the ridicule of the worldly wise. Be loyal to Christ and willing to be despised for His sake. Do not care one iota about what man thinks, fear God and care about what He thinks. Cheerfully consent to be nothing for Jesus’ sake, and to be bear shame and contempt for Him who made Himself of no reputation for your sake. We look only to Jesus daily for strength and guidance.

I am only strong in the Lord when He makes me strong. There is nothing within my nature to trust in. Christ’s kingdom will go on without me; souls will be won without me. Jesus may use me, but if He doesn’t, He will use somebody else. Only let Jesus be glorified. Never dream that you are essential to God’s cause. We do not look for man’s praise, for we do not expect people to talk much about a ‘nothing’. We must be glad to get out of the way, out of sight. Be content to work for the Lord in secret and quietness. No man looks for honor when he realizes he is nothing. Humility will also prevent us from slandering others. A nothing and a nobody shouldn’t be finding fault with other people. *Psalm 62:9*

A nothing will always avoid fault finding, for he understands what he is in God’s sight. A nothing avoids all self-seeking. Never seek your own, keep your motives clear; seek the glory of God, not your own glory. A nothing is content to be unknown. If you are a nothing, self-denial will become very easy for you. *Galatians 6:3* A nothing is easily contented. A nothing thanks God for what he has, and blesses God that he has all that. It would be foolish to think too much about a nothing. Mr. Somebody wants more and more, more money, more stuff, he is never satisfied. A nothing is a giver, not a taker. A nothing is a steward and faithfully uses his Lord’s goods. A nothing is full of gratitude. He marvels that God would ever love him, for he is such a sinful nobody. He wonders how Jesus shed His precious blood, and how God is so longsuffering toward him. A nothing is amazed that there is free forgiveness of sins, infinite grace, a heaven and eternal life for him. How can all this be freely given to a nobody and a nothing?

Just be a Nobody 1

Jesus made Himself of no reputation. So if you want to be like Jesus, you must become a nobody. *Philippians 2:7* Be willing to be nobody, to be nothing but what Jesus wants you to be. We shall never be anything until we are willing to be nothing. Be perfectly content to be a nobody. God only uses nobodies that realize they are nothing. *Galatians 6:3* He who must be Somebody shall be nothing. Human nature wants to be Somebody; it wants to do something, or be something, to strut, to be noticed, and show off.  Be nothing, and let Christ be Everything.

Put yourself down, and put Jesus Christ first. God is Everything, man is nothing; God is the Great Creator, man is a sinful wretch. Realize your own nothingness, and be conscious of the greatness of God. Christ, He is everything, He is Perfection. Acknowledge that you're a wretched, bankrupt beggar in abject poverty and in dire need of the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ. Communion with Christ will make a man quit his sinning, or else a man's sinning will make him quit his communing with Christ. Bless Jesus for who He is, and for all that He does for sinners. Love Jesus best. Just shrink into nothingness. *John 3:30*

Keep to this one point — “I am nothing: Christ Jesus is Everything. I am sin: He is my Righteousness. I am death: He is my Life. I am empty in myself, but full in Him; weak in myself, but strong in Him. I look to Him for everything. I trust not in my doings, or feelings, or attainments, but I simply rely on JESUS only.” God is looking for nothings and nobodies that He can use in His vineyard today.

A man cannot delight in sin while he walks with Christ. Plead with God for mercy through Jesus' Atoning Blood. For the next 24 hours at least, just try to leave off thinking about yourself, and think only of Christ, and you will encounter a struggle and conflict. Have done with self, cast all your cares upon Christ.  I'm a poor sinner, and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my All in All. Make Christ your Substitute and your King, a Christ to trust and to obey.  I am nothing, but Christ is everything; a mass of sin in myself, but nevertheless accepted in the Beloved. Seek the glory of God, to be Christ-like, to increase His kingdom. Seek not your own greatness, but labor to make Jesus great, and you will live. Have nothing, and you shall have all things. Try to be something, and you shall be nothing. Be dead to everything, but Christ's glory and service. *Psalm 39:5*

Come to Christ as nothing. Be nothing and Christ will be everything to you. Cease to believe in your own merits for you have none, put away all trust in yourself. *Luke 1:53* You must be nothing and nobody before Christ Jesus will ever help you. Be nothing but God's go-between. A ship's captain may carry a rich cargo, but he doesn't own a penny of all the cargo onboard. Christ liveth in me. Realize your poverty, sinfulness, pollution, emptiness, and nothingness. Come on to the Cross, and shrink to nothing there before the Lamb of God.

Know your own nothingness, and see the Savior's Greatness. *John 6:63* Outward appearance is everything with men, but nothing with God. This is true ambition - to be more and more subservient to Christ's divine will. This is true gain - to be nothing for Christ's sake. When a soul gets near to Jesus, it perceives Christ's Perfection, and becomes conscious of its own imperfection; the soul sees Christ's glory, and becomes aware of its own nothingness. The soul sees Christ's love, and its selfishness.

A man gets to feeling that he is something when others honor him; this is dangerous and deceptive thinking. A man will never truly believe in Jesus till he knows himself to be nothing. As long as a man has anything to boast of, there is no Christ for him, but the moment he has nothing of his own, Christ is his. When you are nothing, Christ is Everything. Have you anything of your own to boast of? Have you done anything that you can bring before God and claim as your own?

The Holy Spirit makes us sensible of our emptiness, poverty, and conscious of misery, He leads us to groaning and sighing over our sin and points us to the Crucified Creator. To be nothing and to accept Christ as everything, this is only worked in us by the Holy Ghost. *John 15:5* We must acknowledge our wisdom to be nothing, and our ignorance to be all. Your weakness is your strength, your strength is your weakness. Be nothing, for only then can you be anything. Follow Christ, not the crowd.

Grow downward into Humility. It is so hard to grow down spiritually. Seek to grow as trees grow downward into the soil with their roots; pray to grow downward; learn more of your nothingness, and be rooted in humility. *Colossians 2:7* We must get a deeper sense of our own nothingness and unworthiness, and a higher sense of Christ's fullness and goodness. The nearer we get to Jesus, the smaller self will be. Self and Christ can never be close together. Read the Scriptures more, seek the influence of the Holy Spirit, spend more time in worship, adore the Savior, admire His mercy, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a fresh sight of Calvary's Lamb.

Live with Jesus, desire to be near to Him. Jesus must be everything, or He will be nothing. Leave off doing, and let Christ do all for you. Christ died for sinners, cast yourself wholly upon Him. Jesus is intrinsically Good. *Philippians 2:3* You must be saved wholly by mercy, or else not at all. Don't think, say, or do things which are offensive to God. Be content to be a nothing. Help the helpless, care for those who cannot repay you. Thoroughly give up your self-righteousness. God wants not our power, but our weakness; not our greatness, but our nothingness.

Come to Jesus' feet in all your emptiness, need, and loathsomeness. Take the Lord Jesus Christ to be everything to you. Believe in Christ Crucified, accepting His finished salvation, being nothing, and letting Him be everything, doing nothing, but trusting to what He has done. Glad to be nothing, to be last, as long as I have communion with my Lord and Savior. Quit sin and self by a determined resolve. Take Christ to be everything you need. *Romans 12:3* Bring nothing to the Savior but your nothingness. Plead your emptiness. Jesus hears the sinner's cry who is groaning and sighing over his sins. God looks for emptiness to show His grace.

The Gospel set Jesus up high, and puts men down low. The Gospel says, you must be nothing, and Jesus must be everything. The Gospel says that you must give up the idol god that you have concocted in your own thoughts. You must give up your sins, the world, and Jesus must be your Master, not your own will. You must take up your cross of self-denial and reproach and follow Jesus without the camp, and leave the world's religion and lusts. Be no longer conformed to this world, you can't fit in anymore, you must refuse to conform to this world's vanities, customs, rudiments and sins. If you want to sense your nothingness, just try to do some work for Jesus, and you will feel how utterly powerless you are apart from the living God. *I Corinthians 3:7*

John Newton said, "Young Christians think themselves to be little; growing Christians think themselves to be nothing; full-grown Christians think themselves less than nothing." As we grow up, we grow down. As Christ increases, we decrease. We must learn to depend on Jesus for all things, and on self for nothing. See the rottenness and emptiness of all human merit. Lord Jesus, please humble me, bring me down, teach me those things that will make me abhor myself, show me my nothingness, teach me my emptiness and unworthiness, reveal to me my filthiness, don't let me wander away from You. Your only qualification is your emptiness. *I Corinthians 3:18* The leaving of your needy soul in the hands of Jesus is the very essence of Faith. Faith is receiving Christ into your emptiness. Cease to stand by your own strength, lean your whole weight upon the Cross. Forsake the hollowness of sinful pleasure and the emptiness of worldly vanity.

Oh to be nothing, and just lie down at Jesus' feet. Christ is everything to me at all times. There is everything in Christ that you need. Turn your attention wholly to Jesus Christ. Rest wholly and alone on Christ. Stay yourself wholly upon the Rock. Look entirely to Christ. Jesus came to save sinners; let Him save you. Believe in Jesus immediately. Leave yourself in His hands, and He will save you. It is His business to save sinners, not yours. Trusting wholly to Christ Crucified, resting in His Precious Blood, daily seeking His presence and smile. Helplessly dependent on Christ Jesus - that is all. Christ is Everything - take Him, trust Him.

Be a diligent reader and student of the word of God. Give yourself wholly to divine truth. Wholly and entirely Christ's forever. Depend upon His blood for cleansing, His Righteousness for clothing, His death to be the death of your sins, and His life to be your life unto God. Lean hard on Christ with all your soul. *Proverbs 26:12* Don't try to hold yourself up, throw yourself right on Him, let Him bear the whole weight of your being. Trust Him and you have everlasting life. Saving faith is trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ - trusting Him truly, solely, constantly, trusting Him now. Bow down before God, and feel your own nothingness. *Ephesians 3:8*

If you have nothing, Christ has Everything. You are by nature without anything, and God by the Holy Spirit must teach you your nothingness. Learn your own nothingness by contemplating God's greatness. Christ must be All, and you must be nothing at all. Christ is the Foundation, and we repose on Him. *II Corinthians 3:5* Depend wholly upon the Holy Spirit, keep close to the truth. Jesus is the Christ, sent from God to save sinners, trust Him alone. Give yourself to the glory of God and thanksgiving; yield yourself to Christ's guidance, ask for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit carefully and believingly. Depart from evil, abhor that which is evil, and abstain from all appearance of evil. Accept Christ's Righteousness, adore Him, trust in HIs infinite compassion. I take the Lord Jesus Christ to be everything to me.

God's terms of grace are that you are nothing, and Christ is Everything. Your nothingness can never help Christ. Leave the emptiness and worthlessness of the pleasures of sin. Admit your fickleness and nothingness. *Luke 18:11* You are only asked to do nothing, and to be nothing. Cease from yourself, and begin with God in Christ. Leave off now to do, and feel, and be, and come and trust in Jesus who did, and was, and felt for you. To live to Christ, you must first die to your self-righteousness. Believe Christ; trust His Blood; take Him to be Everything, and your soul is safe forever, your sins are washed away; you are an heir of God.

You can do nothing and be nothing, unless God makes you something and enables you to do something in His cause. So you have nothing to be proud of at all - To God be all the glory - Great things He hath done, not you. Rely more and more upon Christ. Come to be nothing in all your esteem, just vanish away into Christ. This is the one way of life - acknowledge yourself to be nothing, and take Christ to be Everything. The simple act of faith in Jesus' Blood, take Christ to be your Righteousness.

You must be saved wholly by Mercy, or else not at all. Christ is Everything, and every sinner is nothing. Only the Holy Spirit can apply the Precious Blood of Jesus to your soul. None can keep alive his own soul. Realize your nothingness in the presence of God. Nothing to say, nothing to claim, nothing to boast of, but Christ Jesus my Lord. Just be a nobody and try to tell everybody about Somebody who died for sinners. Make this your place till you die - you nothing, and Christ Jesus the Lord Everything.

The Matchless Message 1

Here's the sweet and blessed story of the Christ who came from glory just to rescue you from sin and misery.  Take a break and sit still for a few minutes and read the Matchless Message of the Lamb of God. Think about your sins and your soul; then think much of Jesus' blood which was shed for your sins and your soul.  Think in your mind, "Did I ever break the law of God, yes or no?  Have I ever in all my lifetime had one sinful thought pass through my mind since I was born?  yes or no?" One sinful thought or imagination is all it takes to condemn you before a thrice-holy God.

If you are guilty, and there is no doubt you are, then you need God's atoning blood to wash away your sins, once and for all.  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.  *Romans 3:23*  There are a thousand flaws in your very best works.  You could never earn God's love and mercy.  Even at your very best, you are unworthy of His lovingkindness.  You are a sinner indeed, and you need the Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ.  God Himself became a human being only one time in history.  God sent you a personal pardon from Heaven through the merits and blood of Christ Jesus, the one Mediator between God and sinful men.  Your sins that you commit on a daily basis made Jesus bleed on Calvary's Cross.  Christ died for the ungodly, not for 'good' people.

Two thousand years ago in the days of Caesar Augustus, Christ Jesus was born of a Jewish virgin named Mary in the small Judaean town of Bethlehem.  He was rich, yet He became poor, for your soul's sake.  He lived and labored in this sinful world for some 33 years, and afterwards, He was scourged and nailed to a Roman cross.  His sinless blood was spilt for thankless sinners, He was buried in a borrowed tomb, and then three days later, He rose from the dead victoriously.  After He rose from the dead, He dwelt here 40 days with His disciples, and then He ascended into heaven, and now He lives there to make intercession for all them that trust in Him.  He will come again to receive His born-again saints to Himself, and then He will judge the world in the last day.  JESUS is the very Christ of God.  Jesus' virgin birth, sinless life, precious blood, atoning death, resurrection, ascension, intercession, and personal second coming is all for your sins.  Only bad people that are guilty can be saved from the wrath to come.

God Himself descended from Heaven's glory and took on a body of flesh to pay your sin-debt through His only begotten Son.  Christ suffered shame, agony, humiliation, and death for your sake.  He became Sin personified upon the Cross; the wrath of God was poured out on His soul while He was bearing your sins in His own body.  Christ became a Curse and drank the cup of the wrath of God for you personally.  Jesus left everything behind and became nothing here on Earth, so you could be freely forgiven of all your sins and go to Heaven to live with Him when you die.  Human evil, divine justice, bleeding love, and free forgiveness all converged at one place called Calvary's Cross where God manifest in the flesh bore in His own body all of human sin; where He suffered the divine justice due to our sins; where He loved us to death with His own blood; and where now He offers us the free forgiveness of sins through simple faith in His atoning blood.

Salvation was dearly purchased by the Righteousness and Blood of God's dear Son, but it is only freely given to poor, guilty sinners.  His atoning blood paid the Ransom that is demanded by your sins.  You must simply place your faith in the substitutionary work of the Lamb of God.  The atoning work of God's Son paid the final, once and for all, sacrifice for your personal sins against your Creator.  Jesus Himself is all your hungering spirit needs.  He is waiting and longing to save you freely by His grace.  Utter dependence upon the Precious Blood of God Incarnate is key to the forgiveness of your sins.

Many people today know about Jesus, but few know Him personally as their Sin-Bearer and Savior from the love of sin.  Without faith in Christ Jesus' blood alone, your soul will not be able to stand, neither in death or Judgment.  The Love of God is only conveyed to a lost soul through the bleeding, dying, risen, interceding Christ of God.  You soul will only find peace and mercy with God through the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ.  His blood alone can speak peace to your conscience and soul, and take away the guilt and filth of your sins.  Jesus was a sinless man, and He completely fulfilled all the conditions and demands of God's holy Law, because He knew you could not do that at all.  The pardoning grace of God is only available to you through Christ Jesus Himself.  Jesus really bled and died for your real sins.

Come now to the Cross, behold the bleeding Incarnate God, see Him dying in your place with your sins upon Him.  Come now, Jesus waits for you there.  Burdens are lifted at Calvary.  Kneel down with your sin burden, and let Jesus save you freely.  Jesus' bleeding love is gently calling to you now.  There is nothing good in you at all, look completely away from yourself, and look only to the Blood of the Lamb of God.  From Christ only can you receive the free forgiveness of sins.

Whosoever believeth in Him hath everlasting life.  H-A-T-H means you can have a perfect and permanent pardon freely now through simple faith in Jesus' finished work.  Abandon all your self-effort, for that will only help damn you.  By faith in His blood, receive Christ Himself into your inner being - your heart, soul and mind.  Come to Jesus through faith in His Blood.  This very moment, depend and rest only upon Jesus' blood and righteousness, and God will forever pardon you for Jesus' sake.  Jesus is alive now, and He is very near to you.  Come unto Him just as you are - lost, lonely and hopeless.  Trust to His Promises, seek His mercy, rely on His blood, and you will be born again and granted eternal life freely on the spot.

Substitution 3

Redemption by Substitution is the center of the Gospel Message and the choicest truth you will ever hear. You won't hear this message on TV, the radio, or even at church anymore. This truth is 'buried' under the smooth words and fair speeches of today's religion. The story of God's love and blood is heavenly music to the 'real' sinner's ears. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a fact: God came to earth and dwelt in human flesh – He was the Son of God and the Son of Mary - He lived, loved, suffered, died, and rose again for sinful man. His sinless sacrifice once offered has forever put away sin. Christ is able to save the vilest sinner to the uttermost. This is not fiction, a dream, or a parable, but literal facts. You have real sin and real guilt - you need a real atonement - sure forgiveness - Christ has opened the way to God.

You will soon enter the real dire straits of life and death - and your only Friend who can really and actually help you in your hour of need is the Crucified and Risen God. Death and judgment are not fiction – you must seek God's grace and cast your sinful soul on the Bleeding Substitute in true and real faith. The Lord Jesus must be believingly received - a sinful soul can only rest at the foot of the Cross.

The Holy Spirit through the Law of God first makes the sinner know that he is guilty before God, and then makes him realize and feel the justice of God must punish his sin. Only the Holy Spirit can convince you of your sin. It takes a miracle to make a man know he is in very deed a sinner. Human nature kicks against this truth. The Law of God must show you your outward sins and then reveal to you your inward rebellion and guilt. The Holy Ghost will show you plainly your rebellion against the holiness of God. The killing sentence of the law bruises, breaks, and crushes all your self-righteousness. The Holy Spirit will then show you that eternal punishment must follow your sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall die eternally in the lake of fire. It is a miracle that you are not already in Hell right now. You are on the very brink of eternity.

The Law of God will make you speechless, without excuse, and stop all your self-justification. You cannot offer anything that will turn back God’s justice and wrath. You are shut up under the sentence of the law. It is impossible for you to clear yourself of your crimes against God Himself. The Holy Spirit must wean you from all your vain thoughts of self-goodness and make you abhor the notion of self-justification in the sight of the pure and holy God by your own works, feelings, or prayers. The Holy Spirit also shows you your sins against the law of God, light and knowledge, your conscience, and the love and blood of God. Remember - Only the Holy Ghost can apply the Blood of Christ to your filthy soul, not baptism or works. The Bleeding Substitute opens the gate of faith to the guilty sinner. Jesus was absolutely and literally the Substitute for sinners.

Redemption by Substitution is the grandest truth in Heaven and earth. Christ's atoning substitution is where justice and mercy embraced each other at Calvary’s Cross. Christ finished a perfect righteousness and an infinite substitution. Hallelujah for the blood of God - the sin-cleansing fountain. The Lamb of God has been slain, the Ransom price and has been paid in full. The sin debt has been cancelled, and all the sin of the world was laid on JESUS at Calvary. Praise God for the sin-cleansing blood of the Crucified One. He is mighty to save, and strong to deliver. Christ Jesus came down from Heaven’s glory and the redemption is done, pardon is now free for all, perfect salvation is available, free grace through the sin-pardoning blood of the pierced Prince of Peace.

True faith only believes Bible facts. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. True faith stakes its eternal destiny upon trust on the Bleeding Substitute. The Savior bore all your sins in His own body on the tree. Only the Substitute can secure your soul from God's vengeance, justice, and wrath. He was absolutely and literally a substitute for sinners. He bore our sins, He was made to be SIN for us. Here's the truth of Substitution pure and simple - Christ was divine, Christ was human, Christ living and loving, Christ suffering and dying, Christ risen and ascended, Christ coming again and reigning. Let your eternal confidence be in the blood of Christ alone.

Receive the Substitute and you are no longer under judgment and condemnation. In Christ we are judged, condemned, punished, clear of the law and all its penalties, Christ's atonement has answered all the demands of God's justice. The soul that sinneth it shall die, there is eternal death demanded by God for your personal sins, life for life is rendered, infinitely precious life of Christ. The lightning of God's vengeance has struch the substitute, it will not strike the cross again, sinner friend - flee to the Cross. Death has already been there. Place your undivided faith in the Bleeding Mediator.

You've sinned long and hard against God's law and His love and blood. God's Justice has been satisfied through the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ alone. The way of safety for doomed and guilty sinners is to be found only inthe sacrifice of Another on their behalf. View the flowing of the Savior's blood - only His wounds can make your peace with God. Christ died for the sinner's gain. His sacrifice is the death-blow to all your self-sufficiency. Flee from your own nothingness and trust His all-sufficient substitutionary work. Enlightenment, not head-knowledge; Faith, not imagination; the Scriptures, not tradition; the Gospel, not philosophy; Redemption, not religion; the Person, not the story; the Blood, not baptism; Grace, not works; the Cross, not the crucifix; the Savior, not the Church.

Christ's precious blood will end your fears and doubts. He came to save lost and wretched sinners. Bring your sinful soul to Him; He will never cast you out. The blood atonement of Christ gives rest to the conscience and glory to God. Consider the Bleeding Substitute. Come up close to the Cross and look into His marred face, thorn-crowned brow, bleeding shoulders, pierced side, nailed hands and feet, Give the Suffering Christ your faith-look with the eyes of your heart. Jesus bled to death on your behalf - for your personal sins. He loved you and gave Himself for you. He offered up Himself and died for you. He is the only Substitute for guilty sinners. Trust simply in the Substitutionary Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and rest wholly and only there. Trust your soul in the hands of Christ Himself - He took your sins upon Himself by His sinless and infinite substitution.

Jesus is the 'real' sinner's only Friend. Your best works are evil works. Christ died to ransom you from sin's damning power. Only the Holy Spirit can make you feel your sins and the eternal danger you face without Christ. Trust Christ now, trust Him altogether, and trust HIM alone. Rest in Christ; believe that He died for you personally. Your soul's one and only hope for time and eternity is Christ Jesus, only Jesus, Jesus Crucified and Risen Again from the dead. Trust only in Christ's works, not yours. Come to the SUBSTITUTE and receive ALL for NOTHING, or you will receive nothing at all. This is the central doctrine, the greath truth, the center of the Gospel - REDEMPTION BY SUBSTITUTION.

The Substitute opens the gate of hope wide. Christ's redeeming work is the center of the target at which faith aims. This is the point where saving faith mainly fixes itself. (II Cor 5:19; Gal 3:13) The substitutionary work of Christ is the sweetest comfort to the guilty sinner. Jesus took all your sins upon Himself; He bore all your sins in His own body on the tree. Christ took your sins – public and private, all your sins, upon Himself and died for your personal sins against God. God in the flesh suffered for your sins. Jesus bled to death to save your soul. Come now and believe in Him, and you are saved on the spot. Look to Jesus’ bleeding wounds and live.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived and died and rose again for sinners, and you are bidden to come and trust Him. Rely upon Him; depend upon Him; hang your whole weight upon Him; Come unto Him, and He will give your soul rest. Call out to JESUS – Plead Guilty - Plead for God’s mercy to save you – Plead for Christ’s blood to cleanse you – Plead for the Holy Spirit to help you to truly believe and trust in God’s Son right now. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved.

Substitution 2

Who is going to answer for all your sins against God? That is the main question. You must have a Substitute to take your sin’s punishment before you die, or you must suffer for all your sins for all Eternity in Hell and the Lake of Fire. You have offended God by your open and secret sins and rejection of Christ; God must punish sin, He could not be a just God unless He did; it is a fixed eternal law that all sin must be punished. Your own conscience tells you that God must punish your sins; that is why you dread death. You’re a sinner, the Bible says you are; you know it, and you sense it. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. There is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. Just face it - you're no good (Romans 3:12).

You’ve sinned and violated God’s laws and spurned His love and shed blood. You’re always sinning in thought, word, and deed, and if you die in your sins, you shall die an eternal death for it. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. There is but a step between you and death; and even if your life is prolonged for a little season, it will soon be over. You will die physically before long – it is inescapable, but the second death is eternal death in Hell, separation from God forever and ever. Human sin is a devilish thing, which God’s justice must punish.

Your lies, lusts, greediness, and envy transgress God’s law daily. Outside of Christ, your sin is on your soul right now and the wrath of God abides on you – and unless you repent, you must die in your sins and perish forever. Be sure your sin will find you out – God will bring every secret work of yours into judgment, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His Righteousness - Jesus Christ.

God has made a way for every sinner to escape the damnation of Hell. There is a way for sins to be forgiven, only one way – Substitution – that is the way! And there is only One Substitute for an ungodly sinner: The Lamb of God that was sent from Heaven. God became a human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and suffered for sinners what they ought to have suffered. Christ Jesus came into the world to seek and save lost sinners just like you. He is the one and only Substitute for your guilt. Jesus Christ, the God-Man, lived a sinless life and glorified the Law of God.

The Lord of glory kept the Law of God perfectly for you; that Law of God that you have broken all your life. Christ Jesus went to the Cross of Calvary, and offered up Himself as a sinless blood sacrifice in your place. “The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanseth us from all sin.” God laid your sins on Jesus, and He suffered for them and bled to death for you. Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body and suffered the wrath of God that you have coming to you. Christ died for the ungodly, not the good and respectable. Be wise - acknowledge that your good works are good-for-nothing.

This is the most beautiful thing you’ll ever hear: One day 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem’s manger, God became a Jewish man, Christ Jesus was His name. Christ also hath once suffered for sins. He was bruised, beaten, and then spilt His most precious blood for your sins. Jesus sweat in Gethsemane until His soul was so full of agony that His blood ran from the pores of His skin. His head, His hair, His garments were all bloody there. He wrestled and His soul was burdened, and “sorrowful even unto death.” Jesus was suffering the wrath of God for sins. He rose from His place of prayer and went forth to meet His doom.

Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples. They hurried the Savior away to Annas, to Caiaphas, to Pilate, to Herod, then back again to Pilate, without any breathing time, without any relief. Pontius Pilate falsely condemned Him. On His precious head was placed a crown of thorns that you deserved. The lips of the angry mob cursed Him and cried out in their scorn as He bore the Cross through the streets of Jerusalem. They accused Him of sedition. They accused Him of blasphemy. They could find no true witnesses against Him. He was accused and slandered and spit upon.

They condemned the innocent One, they mocked Him, laughed at Him, jeered at His majesty, and tormented His heart. They tore His back with scourges till His bones were showing. Then, they set Him in an old chair as though it were a throne. They crowned Him with thorns. They cast an old purple robe on His blood raw shoulders. They mocked and derided Him, as though He were a fake king. For a scepter, they gave Him a reed. For honor, they gave Him spit. For the kiss of reverence, they gave Him lips of mockery and blasphemy. Instead of bowing before Him as their King, they blindfolded Him, and smote Him in the face. The Roman soldier's spit ran down His blessed face. He was despised and afflicted because of your sins.

Then Jesus is led forth to Calvary’s cross. He is nailed to the Cross by cruel and wicked hands. The crude mob heckled and taunted Him as He suffers. His soul was suffering the wrath of God. The wrath of the Almighty against our sins covered His soul. He cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me.” His griefs, sorrows, sufferings, and woes were unfathomable. At last, He cries, “It is finished!” He then bows His head, and gives up the ghost. He suffered all that we ought to have suffered. He finished the Atonement and payment for human sin. He satisfied God's wrath for us. Jesus is our Atonement. He obeyed every jot and tittle of the Law of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ has made an “end of the Law for righteousness” – not half-way, but all the way, not near to the boundary, but to its end. Jesus didn’t merely sip from the cup of God’s wrath, He had drained it to the very dregs, He turned the cup of wrath bottom upwards, His soul swallowed all it contained, there was not a single drop left. Then He cried out, “It is Finished!” He has drunk the whole wrath of God for us. The sufferings are finished. The debt is paid. Divine Justice is satisfied. The Law is honored and magnified. True Righteousness is established for our Justification. The complete Atonement for human sin is made - "It is Finished!" The Propitiation for sinners is entirely done.

JESUS was the Holy Sacrifice required for your sins. His Divine Blood Sacrifice alone pleased the justice and vengeance of God. The weight of your sin bowed Him down on Calvary's tree. Your sins were the nails in His hands and feet. The unbelief of your rebellious heart was the spear in His side. Christ cried out in anguish as He bled there for you. The wrath of Almighty God was poured out that day on the Sinless Lamb of God, God's dear Son. God the Father turned His face away and forsook Jesus that day because of your sins. Christ was made to be Sin for you, and suffered untold agony in your place. He was God's Sacrifice of Love for you personally. Then He was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Ye must be born again.

Don’t try and put your last touches on the finished work of Christ. Your fingers are defiled with sin and your self-righteous efforts insult and anger the Lord. Jesus Christ is the apple of God’s eye. For a sinner to try to put his finishing touches on Christ’s Atonement is a stab in the eye of God. Poor sinner, what do say to this? Will you now rest on Christ's Blood Atonement? God is satisfied with His Son’s atoning Sacrifice, are you? God thinks Jesus’ Sacrifice is enough, do you? You can only be saved by faith in Christ, and in Christ alone. Not your own works, or feelings, or experience. Christ wants no preparation from you. Simply cast yourself down on Christ's promise, blood, and merits. Submit to Christ now and let Him save you by free grace and pure mercy. Look to Jesus now whose Blood can cleanse and save your soul. Cast yourself down in the dust before Him, and once for all have done with your wretched self. Rely not on anything you can do, or think, or say, or know; rest alone on Jesus only, and your soul is saved forever.

Dear Sinner Friend, you may be thinking, “My sins are too many”? His Atonement is miraculous and can cover all your sins. Do you say, “My heart is too hard”? Jesus can soften it with His Blood. Do you cry, “I am so unworthy”? Jesus loves the unworthy. Do you feel, “I am so vile and sinful?” It is the sinful who Jesus came to save. Down in the dust, sinner; down, down with yourself and up with Christ, who suffered for your sins on Calvary’s cross. Turn your eyes there, see Jesus only. He suffers, He bleeds, He dies. He is buried; He rises again. He ascends on high. Trust Him, and you are safe. Give up all other trusts, and rely on Jesus alone, and you shall pass from death unto life (John 5:24). Simply and wholly rest and trust in Jesus Christ Himself.

If you take Christ, He’ll take you. Natural human goodness, good morals, and trying to clean up your act can never help save you. You have transgressed God’s Law – you need the Substitute. Don’t toy with your sin – repent and trust Christ’s Precious Blood before it’s too late. You must have the Substitute before you die – nothing else will do. Jesus is God, but He is man, He is the Substitute for real sinners; He is willing to receive all who trust Him. He will save you right now, if you will simply rely on *Him*. Now, you can never be saved from your sins until you first come to the Cross, and see Jesus Christ dying there for you, as your Substitute. You must trust Him alone — the moment you do, all your sins are laid on Him, you are eternally saved and clear of the penalty for your sin. The sinner who rejects the Bleeding Substitute who died upon the Cross will bring eternal ruin and damnation to his soul. Please don’t reject the Bleeding Substitute, for if you do, you must perish in your sins without hope.

You can only come to know Christ personally through trusting, that is, simply believing like a little child. Simply rest on Christ’s Blood Atonement alone. Stake your soul's eternal safety on His Finished Work; leave your sins with Him for time and eternity. God’s way of salvation is for you to rest and rely on Christ alone. There is a way for your sins to be forgiven - Christ's Blood is the way. Fix your faith on His blood now. Christ offered Himself to God as your Substitute: through faith you receive Him: and from that moment on forever, God accepts you. Believe on the Finished Cross-work of Christ alone for yourself. The Blood of God will certainly save you if you place a simple childlike trust in the sinner's Substitute. Plead God’s Precious Blood Now and you are delivered from your sins' penalty! You have God’s word on it. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. God be merciful to me a sinner for Jesus’ sake.