“WITHOUT SPOT”

Many times in the descriptions of the various sacrifices and offerings in the Old Testament we read these words “without spot.” Here is one of many:

“And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot;” (Nu 28:11)

These offerings were all pictures and types of the Lord Jesus who was the one sacrifice for sins forever. (Heb. 10:12) He is not an offer to men but an offering for His people. By that one offering He perfected forever them that are sanctified, set apart in Him, by God’s sovereign choice of grace. (Heb. 10:14) This was all according to God’s will through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Heb. 10:10) Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. (Heb. 9:28) How could He do this and how could the thrice holy God accept His sacrifice? Because He offered Himself without spot to God. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14) One instant He is the Lamb without spot or blemish and the next instant He is the Lamb slain! Why? Because the wages of our sin is death! (Rom. 6:23) One minute He is the only One acceptable to pay that debt; the next minute He is the One who has paid it! The soul that sinneth shall surely die (Ezek. 18:4, 20) but a sinner cannot die for a sinner. Oh, but He who knew no sin can and He did. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (1Pe 1:18-19) It is because of His sinless offering offered to God in the place of sinners that Paul says to believing sinners that Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph. 5:27) “What a wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord…”

Gary Shepard

WE LOVE PREDESTINATION!

Oh! we love the sublime doctrine of eternal absolute predestination. Some have doubted whether predestination is consistent with the free agency of man. We believe that man does as he pleases, yet notwithstanding he always does as God decrees. Man does as he wills; but God makes him do as He wills, too. No, not only is the will of man under the absolute predestination of Jehovah; but all things, great or little, are of him. There is nothing great or little, that is not from him. The summer dust moves in its orbit, guided by the same hand which rolls the stars along. The dewdrops have their father, and trickle on the rose leaf as God bids them. Yes, the sear leaves of the forest, when hurled along by the tempest, have their allotted position where they shall fall, nor can they go beyond it. In the great, and in the little, there is God working all things according to the counsel of his own will. And though man seeks to go against his Maker, yet he cannot. Everything is ordained by God! Unto Him who guides the stars and sparrows, who rules planets and yet moves atoms, who speaks thunders and yet whispers zephyrs, unto Him be glory!

C. H. Spurgeon

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Ro 5:19)

To say that the just God would deal with one representative man in one way and the Other in another way is to begin down a slippery slope to great error. If Adam was made a sinner by a just God’s legally accounting him so, then Christ the Last Adam was made sin by God legally accounting Him so. In Adam all die, in Christ all are made alive. There is undoubtedly a great difference in the two representative men but a difference in Greek words used does not make a change in the principles of representation and substitution. Righteousness IS a matter of justice and we are made the righteousness of God in Christ. Thank God He is a just God and a Savior!

Gary Shepard

The death of death by a death? God said to the Hebrews in Egypt, “when I see the blood I will pass over you.” This is always the case! The blood of the passover Lamb represented the death of the Substitute for sinners, the Lord Jesus, who “through death” destroyed him who had the power of death, the devil.

Gary Shepard

HAIL SPOTLESS LAMB!

Hail Jesus, spotless Lamb of God

No fault without, within.

Hail Christ the perfect Sacrifice

Hail Him who knew no sin.

No other like Him ever was

No other’s blood will do

To make a sinful soul like me

Forever clean and new.

To God, the holy God, He gave

His sinless soul in place,

Of all the chosen ones in Him

To save them by His grace.

Unique He was, unique He is,

The One made sin to bless.

Without a blemish there He died

The Lord our Righteousness.

By justice dealt a deadly blow

As one with sin might be

Twas as the Substitute He fell

To save a sinful me.

Though holy, harmless, undefiled

Apart from sinners too

As Surety the Just One died

To make us spotless too!

8.6 8.6 O God Our Help