Nothing but the Blood

Nothing but the blood of Christ can save guilty sinners! I care not how orthodox the DOCTRINE, how exact the ORDINANCE, how true the FORM, how scriptural the PRACTICE, it is all vain and empty if you rely upon it for acceptance with God.

God forbid that we should at any time say a word against these holy and precious things; but, KEEP THEM IN THEIR PLACE! If you make anything but the person and work of Christ to be the basis of your soul’s salvation, you shall be disappointed and ashamed in that day. There is no saving power anywhere except in THE BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin article 1984)

HIS BLOOD ALONE

The vital thing to understand about the blood of Christ is this: IT IS ENOUGH! Nothing else is needed to accomplish the salvation of all for whom His blood was shed. Not His blood plus my works; not His blood plus my “decision,” not His blood plus the ordinances; not His blood plus church membership; not even His blood plus my faith; His blood purchased my faith. HIS BLOOD ALONE paid the price required by His justice; and His blood alone can make a sinner clean. “By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having OBTAINED (not made possible) eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12).

Pastor Donnie Bell

Bringing us to God

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (I Pet. 3:18).

What an astounding truth--sinners being brought to God. We are given in this verse who brings us to God; Christ. How He accomplished this; by His suffering for our sins, even unto death. His substitutionary work in living and dying for those He brings to God; the Just One dying for the unjust ones, “being put to death in the flesh…” Christ really died that He might bring us to God.

Not only did he die but was “quickened by the Spirit.” He did not stay dead. A dead Christ cannot save anyone, but a risen Lord can and does. Jesus Christ is gone back into the heavens and is seated at God’s right hand where angels, authorities and powers are being made subject unto him, and where He is and His people are. Oh how this ought to make us want to set our hearts on things above where our Lord sits at God’s right hand!

Pastor John Chapman

"HE SAID A LOT OF GOOD THINGS BUT"

How many times have we heard someone make this statement after listening to a preacher or reading an article? I was reading an article in our local newspaper this morning in which a person made some statements concerning God and how good he is and how people should depend on him and seek him etc. This person finished their article with this sentence; "I can only pray and hope that people will come to know God and EARN THEIR SALVATION."

You and I could have lived with all the other things this person said concerning God. But then came the poison! Then came the words that will kill you dead! "Earn their salvation!" That last sentence was not only poison but it poisoned everything else that person said. 2% poison in rat bait makes the whole batch poison. Would any of us sit down to eat a little bowl of rat bait and try to carefully divide the 2% from the 98%? We would never think of doing such a thing. If there is one sentence of deadly heresy in a message or article or a conversation etc., refuse it all. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

We have heard people say, "there are some things good about Catholicism." There is nothing good about it. There is poison in that pot. Go and eat at the table of Catholicism and you will die. Do we expect the Holy Spirit to put his blessing upon heresy? He is the SPIRIT OF TRUTH. God is truth. Jesus Christ is Truth. Add a little damnable heresy to truth and the whole is poisoned. If you and I eat of it, we will die. Salvation is not earned, it is the sovereign and free gift of God. It comes to any believer freely by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ the Lord and only Savior (Rom. 3:24). I am certain the person who wrote the newspaper article felt like they were really encouraging people to trust in God. They had little or no idea they were poisoning to death the poor, miserable souls of those who believed what they were saying.