Many non-Christians look upon Christians as having a “bloody religion” and want no part of it. We are considered to be out of step with modern thought and therefore ignorant in our beliefs. Unfortunately, many who “claim” they are Christians echo the same attitude.

It isn’t that Christians do anything that is bloody. Christians are peace loving. No animal sacrifices are made, nor even thought of. But we do believe in the Word of God, and in the following verse it cannot be more clear concerning the blood.

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22)

The very first sin against God resulted in an innocent animal being slain by God to provide covering for the naked bodies of Adam and Eve. God has said that this is what must be done, and there is no other way. An innocent life must pay for the guilty. Why you ask? The Lord provides the answer in the following verse.

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11)

I have read of several churches who have removed every song from their worship service that speaks of the blood. I must ask, “How can you call it a “worship” service and not mention the blood?” How can you refuse to acknowledge the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for our sins and call yourself a Christian? I will say very emphatically that to refuse Christ’ offering of His shed blood for our sins is more than clear that you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Regardless of anything else you say, your father is Satan, not God. You do not know Jesus Christ.

Following are church hymns that I recall from my childhood that were faithfully sung in our worship services: Are You Washed in the Blood, At Calvary, At the Cross, Because He Lives, Christ Arose, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Glory to His Name, He Lives, Jesus Paid It All, Near the Cross, Nothing But the Blood, Onward Christian Soldiers, Redeemed, The Old Rugged Cross, There is a Fountain, There is Power in the Blood, The Way of the Cross Leads Home, and When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. There are more, but every one of these hymns refers to the blood of Jesus that was shed for us.

Many churches have replaced these hymns and others with what they call “praise music.” Explain to me, “How can you praise God in song, but remove every song from your repertoire that speaks of the blood of Jesus?” You cannot. It is a farce. It is a lie. You are singing to the wind, and the Spirit of God does not exist in your assembly. You are not a Church. You are just a group of people playing church.

Good luck, by the way, if you can find a church in your community that still faithfully sings these, and other, great old hymns. Most of us have gotten too “sophisticated” for them.

Now before some of you start hyperventilating, I am not saying that all “praise music” is bad. I am referring to those who use “praise music,” but refuse any song that mentions Christ’s blood. If you like praise music, I recall a wonderful old hymn called “Praise Him, Praise Him.” What’s wrong with that one?

Those who ignore the blood are refusing to accept what it represents. What does it represent you ask? As the animal had to die by God’s hands to clothe Adam and Eve, Jesus Christ had to die to clothe all of us in righteousness. To refuse the greatest gift God could give mankind is to remain in our separated condition from God and leave this world spiritually naked, facing judgment in hell.

The blood tells us that something or someone died. In this case, that someone is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He freely died upon a Roman cross and took our penalty upon Himself. Let’s not leave it there though. Three days later, as He said would happen He rose from the grave. Without His death, shedding of His blood, we cannot be saved. Without His resurrection from the dead, on the third day, we cannot be saved.

Consider the lyrics to the following hymns.

THE OLD RUGGED CROSS

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suffering and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

Has a wondrous attraction for me;

For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above

To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,

A wondrous beauty I see,

For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,

To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;

Its shame and reproach gladly bear;

Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,

Where His glory forever I’ll share.

CHORUS

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,

Till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

And exchange it some day for a crown.

 

CHRIST AROSE!

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus, my Savior

Waiting the coming day, Jesus, is my Lord!…

Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus, my Savior

Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus, my Lord!…

Death cannot keep his prey, Jesus, my Savior

He tore the bars away, Jesus, my Lord!…

CHORUS

Up from the grave He arose

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes

He arose a Victor from the dark domain

And He lives forever with His saints to reign

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

 

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?

Jesus is standing in Pilate’s hall,

Friendless, forsaken, betrayed by all;

Hearken! what meaneth the sudden call?

What will you do with Jesus?

Jesus is standing on trial still,

You can be false to Him if you will,

You can be faithful through good or ill:

What will you do with Jesus?

Will you evade him as Pilate tried?

Or will you choose Him, whate’er betide?

Vainly you struggle from Him to hide:

What will you do with Jesus?

Will you, like Peter, your Lord deny?

Or will you scorn from His foes to fly,

Daring for Jesus to live or die?

What will you do with Jesus?

“Jesus, I give Thee my heart today!

Jesus, I’ll follow Thee all the way,

Gladly obeying Thee!” will you say:

“This I will do with Jesus!”

CHORUS

What will you do with Jesus?

Neutral you cannot be;

Some day your heart will be asking,

“What will He do with me?”

To deny the blood is to deny the sacrifice. To deny the sacrifice is to deny the Savior. To deny the Savior is to deny the most precious Gift the world has ever known. To deny the Gift is to deny the salvation offered by God’s grace. To deny salvation is to choose judgment in hell.

I often ask myself, “Why is it that so many people cannot realize that God is directly involved in the affairs of man?” This question has turned out to be a real “head-scratcher.” Of course the obvious answer immediately comes to mind, and that is they do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

However, that presents another problem. It is understandable that those who don’t know God will not recognize this truth, but why are so many true Christians skeptical about this issue? The only answer I can come up with for that is that they are spiritually weak, which could be partially explained by being “Biblically” ignorant but strongly influenced by worldly opinions.

Now if we could look up toward the heavens and actually see God point his finger in one direction and a hurricane occurs, or point it toward another direction and an earthquake jolts us, or yet another direction and fires break out, we would all probably believe that God is involved in earth’s activities. Of course there would still be doubters even among those who see with their very eyes.

Let me say up front that I believe God causes some circumstances and that He allows and is in control of all circumstances. He is always in charge, and nothing can happen or not happen without His permission. He is in control, and that is a most comforting thought. The Apostle Paul said,

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Paul is referring to Satan and all of his angelic followers. We cannot see them. We cannot see the battle that is going on all around us, but they are there no less and the battle rages all around us.

If any true Christian would just take the time and go back to May 14, 1948 to the present and compare what God has said in His Word to what has happened over this period of time, there can only be one conclusion. God is active in the affairs of man. God is conducting the orchestra. God has set the stage, and is in complete charge of the production. Everything is coming together exactly as He has told us it would. So what is the problem?

If we go to the Old Testament and compare the prophecies of the Messiah coming to earth as a Lamb, there again, we can come to only one conclusion. Jesus Christ is God the Son and He is the Messiah that fulfilled every prophecy of His first advent. Likewise, He is fulfilling and will complete every prophecy of His second advent, to the letter I might add.

We, you and I, see tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, perfect storms, flooding, drought, corruption, immorality, lukewarm religiosity, wars and rumors of wars, hate, lying, theft, murders, perversion, and the list goes on and on. These activities, and more, are increasing exponentially and leading up to a culmination of Daniel’s seventieth week, commonly known as the seven years of Tribulation on earth after the Church is removed via the Rapture.

But few believe it. Why? They cannot see with their eyes what is going on behind the scenes. Those with true faith don’t have to see with their naked eyes, because they know God does not lie. There is no doubt that there is a spiritual battle going on.

Actually, if you want to get technical about it, we can see the signs. They are all around us. Therefore, we can see, unless we think God is a liar.

When I enter our house and flip the light switch upwards, the lights come on. When I look around me, I see the light. I don’t have to prove that there is a light switch that I must flip up to cause this to happen. I don’t have to prove that there is power coming to the light switch. I don’t have to prove that my wife and I paid the electric bill. I know this is all true, because the lights came on.

Folks, the lights are on. They’re shining all around us on a daily basis, and they are getting brighter. (By the way, I’m referring to the signs that God has provided us.) We don’t have to see what is going on behind the scenes, because the lights (signs) are on. Jesus said,

“54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. 55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. 56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?” (Luke 12:54-56)

“29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye,when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. [emphasis mine] 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:29-36)

Keeping in mind that Christ will remove His Church first, we are already seeing much come to pass that is for a period that follows the Rapture, the Tribulation. Read again, the last verse in Luke 21:29-36. We need to “watch” and “pray always that we may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

As bad as everything is getting now, this is a picnic compared to the seven years that will follow the removal of the Church. I will be standing behind the scenes with the Son of man, Jesus. Will you stand there with me?