1Peter 1:18-19
Because of the Blood
\\#1\\ Peter told us to whom he was writing.
\\#2-12\\ Peter described the condition of the people to whom he
was writing. (heavy but rejoicing)
\\#13-17\\ Peter challenged the people he was writing.
\\#18-19\\ Peter reminds them why they need to continue on.
We know the Christians were being lied against, hunted, imprisoned,
beaten, and killed. Why would anyone continue to "be" a Christian
with that kind of punishment being directed at you?
I. \\#18-19\\ There is really just one reason.
A. It was the blood.
1. If you do not immediately see that in these verses, just
put the first words of verse 18 and 19 together:
1Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know ye were not
redeemed with corruptible things…
19 But with the precious blood of Christ….
a. They were standing because they knew they had been
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.
b. We could search for other reasons, but this is really
the only one that would begin to justify what they
were enduring.
c. What other reason would justify a human being
standing, uffering, and dying other than the blood of
Jesus Christ.
d. We need to get this in our hearts:
(1) If we appreciate the blood of Jesus, we will
stand for Him regardless.
(2) If we do not stand, we do not appreciate the
blood of Jesus Christ.
2. Some minimize the blood of Jesus, saying it is not the
blood that saves but the death of Jesus.
a. I understand that the gospel is the death, burial,
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
b. But others need to understand is that the Bible
places great importance on the BLOOD.
(1) The first blood shed was because of Adam and
Eve’s sins \\#Ge 3:21\\. (An animal was killed
and its skin was used to make clothes for them.)
(2) When God confronted Cain about killing his
brother, He said, "the voice of thy brother’s
blood cried unto me from the ground."
\\#Ge 4:10\\
(3) God declared that life is in the blood
\\#Ge 9:4\\ then immediately declared that if a
man shed blood, men were required to shed his
blood \\#Ge 9:5-6\\.
(4) In Exodus, one of the first major signs done in
Egypt was to turn the Nile River into BLOOD.
(5) \\#Exe 12:13\\ By applying blood on the door
posts, a family would be spared from the death
angel.
(6) In Leviticus, God established the major
offerings. Four out of five were blood
offerings.
(a) As a result, through the Old Testament era,
thousands, probably millions, of animals
were sacrificed so that their blood could
make atonement for sin.
(b) So many, that some historians wrote that the
blood flowed like a river from under the
altar of God on holy days.
(7) From the time that the Law was ratified at Mount
Sinai until the Jewish temple was destroyed, I
do not suppose there was a single day when a
blood sacrifice was not made to Jehovah God.
c. What did all of this blood mean? What did it point
to? It pointed to Jesus Christ and the precious blood
that He would shed for our sins.
(1) There is life in THAT blood.
(2) There is atonement and forgiveness in THAT blood.
(3) The death angel of hell passes over those who
have been marked in THAT blood.
3. Friend, it was the precious blood of Jesus that made those
people stand firm in persecution and in death.
a. That was their reason for standing.
b. That was their only reason for standing.
B. Peter does give a couple of other details concerning the
blood.
1. \\#18\\ It is the incorruptible blood.
a. Incorruptible means incapable of corrupting or
ruining.
b. The blood of Jesus will never go bad. What it is
doing for us today, it will still be doing a
thousand years from now, a hundred thousand years,
forever!
2. It is the precious blood.
a. To call the blood incorruptible is a verifiable fact.
(1) You could call it a scientific fact.
(2) It can be observed and studied by anyone and
everyone to see if it is true.
(3) In fact, it will be. We will all get to see
if the blood of Jesus goes bad or not.
b. But to call the blood precious is to give to it a
personal value, something that cannot be observed
or verified by science.
(1) What may be precious to you may not be precious
to me.
(2) You have heard the saying, "One man’s junk is
another man’s treasure."
(3) Peter was asserting that in his opinion and in
God’s opinion (the book is inspired), the
blood of Jesus was precious.
(a) That blood is precious in God’s sight…
i. …because it was His Son’s blood.
ii. …because it is accomplishing
something God desires—the salvation
of sinners.
iii. …because He loves the people that
the blood is saving.
(b) I suspect the blood was precious in Peter’s
sight because he was one of those who had
been saved!
i. He was one whose soul had been rescued,
cleansed, set upon the rock of good
sense and judgment, and given a new
life with a glorious eternity.
ii. That is why I think the blood of Jesus
is precious.
(c) Is it precious in your sight?
i. If it is, you will stand for Jesus—no
matter what.
ii. If it is not, you will not stand for
Jesus.
iii. Do not make it hard. It is as simple
as that!
3. \\#19\\ It is the blood without blemish and spot.
a. To be incorruptible refers to the quality of this
blood in the future.
b. To say that it is without spot or blemish, is a
reference to the blood of Jesus right now.
(1) When working with paint, you want to keep
trash out of the paint bucket.
(2) If you are painting something that is old, you
need to clean the area.
(3) Just because the paint has no spot or blemish
in it right now does not mean that is the way
it will be a few minutes.
c. In just a few words, Peter declares this blood both
now and forever is the pure blood of Jesus Christ.
4. \\#18\\ It is that blood that has redeemed you!
a. If we were not redeemed by the corruptible, then we
had to be redeemed by something incorruptible.
b. Among the things that will not redeem us…
(1) silver and gold
(2) vain conversation (lifestyle)
(3) traditions of your fathers
c. Only the pure, precious, and incorruptible blood of
Jesus Christ could purchase the dark souls of wicked
men!
C. That’s it. That is the reason to keep on going, but he had
additional thoughts on Jesus.
II. Additional
A. \\#20\\ This glorious plan of salvation was planned before the
world began.
1Peter 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest
in these last times for you,
1. It may have only recently been made manifest to us, but
God ordained salvation’s plan before He ever created the
first man!
2. My only regret is that this plan has not yet been made to
everyone!
B. \\#21\\ By believing on Him, we get to God.
1Peter 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that
raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory;
that your faith and hope might be in God.
1. The verse says "by him, we do believe in God."
2. It is faith in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection,
that brings us to God.
3. Without this faith, no one will see God!
C. \\#22\\ By obeying Him, we purified our souls.
1Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls
in obeying the truth through the Spirit….
1. Peter worded this truth very carefully.
a. He did not say that the Word purified our souls.
b. He said we purified our souls by the Word.
c. Now we could not do it without the Spirit, but the
Spirit will not do it unless we obey.
(1) This wording does not put in glory on us.
(2) It puts the glory of God who lets us have a part
in our salvation.
(3) In fact, Who demands that we have a part in our
own salvation or there will be no salvation!
e. What a God that can give a salvation that lets the
sinner have a part in it!
f. Anyone who will choose to obey the Word will be saved.
2. But Peter told us another result that comes with obeying
the Word. It produces:
1Peter 1:22 …unto unfeigned love of the
brethren, see that ye love one another with a
pure heart fervently:
a. I find it interesting that of all the OTHER things
that the blood of Jesus and faith in that blood will
accomplish he chose to mention love of the brethren.
b. For a moment, it sounds like John might be writing
this line, but then we remember:
(1) These Christians are being hunted, tortured, and
persecuted.
(2) What information would the hunters be desiring
from those they found? Possibly the names and
locations of other Christians.
(3) I imagine so much goes into denying Jesus that
most of us would never think about.
(4) Would these cruel Christian haters be content if
they could get you to deny your Jesus or would
they also want you to lead them to some other
Christians? I think the latter.
c. Peter selected the love of the brethren because it was
not just Jesus who was being betrayed but the other
brethren as well.
D. \\#23\\ And all this truth is contained in the Word of God.
1Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever.
1. As the blood of Jesus is incorruptible, so in the Word of
God. It is pure and cannot be corrupted.
2. Not only so, but it is alive and will abide forever as the
next two verses go on to proclaim.
3. Where do the sinners of all ages find the message of
salvation?
a. You cannot find it in very many schools, or books, or
libraries.
b. Sadly, you cannot find it in many churches.
c. Even sadder, you cannot find it in many pulpits.
d. And still sadder, you cannot find it in many who
profess Christianity.
e. But you can find it in the Bible, God’s holy Word.
4. That is the reason why it is so important for us to keep
the Bible as the Bible.
a. There are no many translations and they do not all say
the SAME thing.
b. They could. Someone actually could take the better
manuscripts and give us a more modern translation of
the Bible, but they are not trying.
c. And what is worse is that Christians are not caring.
d. You be careful that you do not get beguiled into
thinking someone’s commentary is a Bible.
e. If you look for an English word-to-word translation
of the longest accepted manuscripts, you will come
back to the King James Bible every time.
Why? Why go through what these saints went through? There is only
one reason. It is because of the blood. It is the only reasons that
has ever justified any thing a Christian might do including standing
for Jesus, leaving your home and family, enduring persecution, and
even dying for Him. It is because of the BLOOD.
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