RESOLVED TO TRUST GOD IN SALVATION

Dr. Jim Bohrer

RESOLVED • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Exodus 12:1–13

The first Passover is celebrated

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RESOLVED TO TRUST GOD IN SALVATION

Exodus 12:1–13 NASB95

Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. ‘Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. ‘Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ‘They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ‘Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. ‘And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. ‘Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover. ‘For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. ‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Now open your Bibles tonight to Exodus the twelfth chapter. Somebody says, “Brother Rogers, why do you preach from the Old Testament?” I’ll tell you why I preach from the Old Testament: because I like to preach about Jesus. And the Old Testament as well as the New Testament is full of Jesus. You know, Jesus said, in , verse 46, “Moses wrote of me” (). Did you now that? Moses wrote of Jesus. And we say this again and again: When you understand the Bible, you’re going to understand that the entire Bible is about the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you read anything in the Bible, and somewhere there in type, or shadow, figure, form, or prophecy you don’t read something about Jesus, you go back and read it again, because you misread it. Too many people go to the Bible to try to read something into the Bible, to put their ideas into it. Or they go to the Bible to get some point to back up their argument, some ramification for some pet hobby that they have. Friend, when you go to the Bible, say, “Lord Jesus, speak to my heart. Holy Spirit, reveal the things of Christ to me.” And you’ll find out that you’ll get a great spiritual blessing when you read the Bible this way.

Adrian Rogers, “Families under the Blood,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), .Human sacrifices

Human sacrifice is today, a part of urban legends or the serial murders of a few, craven madmen. But dig deeper into history and you’ll find that it was a part of many societies and took place in most regions around the world. These include the South Pacific, ancient Japan, early Southeast Asian societies, ancient Europe, certain Native American cultures, in Mesoamerica, and among the great civilizations of the ancient world. Babylon, Egypt, China, Greece, and even the precursor to the Romans, all took part in ritualized killings. In ancient Egypt and China, for instance, slaves were often buried alive, along with the body of their sovereign, to serve him in the afterlife.From prehistory to the 21st century, human sacrifice has been practiced around the world by numerous cultures. Live Science takes a look at 25 cultures that practiced, or still practice, human sacrifice.2 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Researchers Discover a New Reason Why Ancient Societies Practiced Human Sacrifice

Over a year ago by PHILIP PERRY

Watts and colleagues found anecdotal evidence that human sacrifice was a power grab, and a way to maintain social control. Researchers employed a technique called phylogenetic analysis in the study. This is usually used to follow the twists and turns of evolution in a species. Sociologists adopted the technique to study language development. Here, it was used to plot relationships among the different cultures being studied. This helped recognize whether certain traits in one culture were present in another, and determine what relationship human sacrifice might have on social stratification.

Data was derived from historical and ethnographic records. Though the methods differed and a variety of reasons were used to justify the heinous act, the results were always the same, the solidification of power. What’s more, victims tended to be the same, someone of low social status, such as a slave or prisoner of war. Phylogenetic analysis showed that human sacrifice started in egalitarian societies, but after it was introduced, these tended to become social hierarchies. Once in place, ritualized killings helped leaders assume greater control.

Now do you remember that God from the beginning taught people that once we sin the correct judgment on us would be death, blood spilt. God’s holiness demands a sacrifice.

The Egyptian Pharaohs would kill all their workers in the Pyramid, sacrifice humans to help them through the underworld. They believed in preparing for the next world on the backs and blood of others. They used their position to take life.

See before the flood, all their hearts set on evil. Take a life to get ahead. In all the world there was an awareness of the need for sacrifice to be right and have a stable society. The Diagnosis was correct! But their prognosis literally killed people. It got bad again with Nimrod, he built a Ziggurat, a stairway to heaven. What do you think he did on top of the Ziggurat.

Today Western Culture rejects the idea of sacrifice. The idea that the wages of sin is death is OFFENSIVE to the world

Do you realize Judaism and Christianity

China sacrifice

Human sacrifice was practiced in China for thousands of years. At a 4,000-year-old cemetery near modern-day Mogou village in northwestern China, archaeologists found hundreds of tombs, some of which held human sacrifices. One sacrificed victim was around 13 years old. Archaeologists have also found thousands of human sacrifices at Shang Dynasty (1600 – 1040 B.C.) sites in the modern-day city of Anyang.

The practice of human sacrifice seems to have stopped or become very rare by the time China was unified in 221 B.C. by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. The first emperor's Terracotta army, made up of thousands of life-size clay warriors, allowed him to take an army with him to the afterlife without sacrificing real-life warriors.

3 of 27📷Credit: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

City of Ur

The Great Death Pit at the ancient city of Ur, in modern-day Iraq, contains the remains of 68 women and six men, many of which appear to have been sacrificed. Dating back about 4,600 years, a variety of fantastic treasures, including a statuette known as the Ram in the Thicket, which is made of silver, shell, gold, lapis lazuli and carnelian, were found in the death pit. Archaeologists believe that the pit was used to bury Ur's rulers.

4 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Mound 72

A 10-foot (3 meters) mound called Mound 72 by modern-day archaeologists holds the remains of 272 people, many of them sacrificed. It is located at Cahokia, a city located near modern-day St. Louis that flourished from A.D. 1050 to 1200.

The archaeology of the mound is complex, but it appears as if people were sacrificed gradually in a series of episodes. In one episode, 52 malnourished women ages 18 to 23, along with a woman in her 30s, were sacrificed at the same time. In another episode, it appears that 39 men and women were clubbed to death. The mound also holds the remains of two individuals who were buried with 20,000 shell beads. It's possible that some or all of the sacrifices were dedicated to the two individuals.

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Inca child mummies

The Inca flourished during the 15th ccentury A.D., conquering large swaths of territory in the Andes and connecting it with a vast system of roads. The Inca also practiced child sacrifice; their mummies have been found by archaeologists, often near the summit of mountains or volcanoes.

In one famous example, three child mummies were found near the remains of a shrine at Mount Llullaillaco — a 22,100-foot-tall (6,740 meters) active volcano on the border of Chile and Argentina. Researchers found that in the year before they died they were "fattened up" with a diet of maize and dried llama meat; and before their death, they were given maize beer and coca leaves. How exactly they were killed is unknown.

6 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Maya sacrifice

The ancient Maya practiced human sacrifice on special occasions. These sacrifices were sometimes conducted in their temples, and many of the victims may have been prisoners of war. At the ancient city of Chichen Itza, victims were painted blue, in honor of the rain god Chaak, before being sacrificed and thrown into a well.

Some archaeologists believe that Maya ball games would, on rare occasions, end with members of the losing or winning team being sacrificed. Evidence for these sacrifices is mainly found in depictions of Maya art, and not all archaeologists interpret the images as representing the sacrifice of a ball team.

7 of 27📷Credit: Charles Foster

Ancient Israel

The Hebrew Bible mentions human sacrifice being carried out by Israelites several times; however, researchers do not agree on how often the practice occurred or whether it took place at all. Perhaps the most famous biblical story is that of Abraham who, in the book of Genesis, was told by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. Before the deed is done, God stops him and tells Abraham that he was only testing him.

Whether the stories in the Hebrew Bible indicate that human sacrifice actually occurred in ancient Israel is a source of debate among researchers. Unless clear archaeological evidence is found it's unlikely that the debate will ever be resolved.

8 of 27📷Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Aztec civilization

The Aztec civilization in Mexico was centered at the ancient city of Tenochtitlán, in what is now Mexico City, and flourished during the 14th and 15th centuries A.D. Artistic, archaeological and textual records indicate that human sacrifices occurred with some regularity at Tenochtitlán, particularly at the Templo Mayor, one of the largest temples in the city, where the remains of Tzompantli (skull racks) have been found.

The Spanish conquered the Aztecs during the 16th century, bringing with them diseases that decimated the population. The Spanish sometimes used the Aztec practice of human sacrifice to try to justify their conquest of the Aztecs.

9 of 27📷Credit: Bilwissedition Ltd. & C. KG/Alamy

Ancient Egypt

Human sacrifice occurred around 5,000 years ago during Egypt's early history. Human sacrifices have been found by the graves of early pharaohs at Abydos, a city in southern Egypt that served at times as Egypt's capital and was the cult center for Osiris, the god of the underworld. The practice appears to have become less common or completely phased out by the time the Giza pyramids were built around 4,500 years ago.

10 of 27📷Credit: Chris Wood/Express/Getty Images

Stonehenge

The skeleton of a man found buried in a ditch at Stonehenge has been interpreted by Jacqueline McKinley, an osteoarchaeologist with Wessex Archaeology, as a sacrificial victim. The man, who McKinley said was 5 foot 10 inches and had a robust muscular build, was shot repeatedly with arrows. McKinley interprets the location of his burial and nature of his execution as indicating that he was killed as part of a human sacrifice. Her research was featured in 2014 in a Smithsonian channel documentary showing a re-creation of his sacrificial execution.

Stonehenge was constructed between roughly 5,000 and 4,000 years ago, and was part of a sacred landscape that included shrines, burials and additional circles made of stone or wood. Not all archaeologists are convinced that human sacrifice took place at Stonehenge, but future research into the nearby landscape and its burials may help resolve the debate.

11 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Hitobashira

Depending on how the term human sacrifice is defined, the kamikaze pilots who tried to crash their planes into Allied ships during World War II could be defined as human sacrifices. Their planes sometimes had images of cherry blossoms, which historically symbolized a samurai who gave his life for the emperor.

Another examples of human sacrifice can be found in the stories of Hitobashira — human sacrifices found within the walls or floors of important structures like castles. How often this practice occurred and which structures actually had human sacrifices built within them is a matter of debate. According to legend, Maruoka Castle (constructed in 1576) contains the sacrifice of a peasant woman named Oshizu, who agreed to be sacrificed so that her son could become a member of the samurai class.

12 of 27📷Credit: Jacques Arago

Hawaii clubbing?

Human sacrifices were performed in Hawaii as late as the 19th century. It may have served as a way for elite members of the island to help maintain their control over the population. Europeans who visited the island recorded the practice, with one famous painting showing a person being clubbed to death while lying on a rock. It's possible, however, that these accounts were exaggerated as a way to depict Hawaiian culture as savage and justify desires by Europeans and Americans to control the island.

Archaeologists have found that, as early as A.C. 1300, temples in Hawaii were being built with altars where sacrifices, either of humans or animals, could be made.

13 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Ancient Romans

Ancient Roman writers claimed that human sacrifices were made during Rome's early history. After the Romans were defeated at the Battle of Cannae in 216 B.C., a battle that allowed an army from Carthage to temporarily occupy a large part of Italy, the Romans resorted to human sacrifice. "A Gaulish man and a Gaulish woman and a Greek man and a Greek woman were buried alive under the Forum Boarium," wrote the Roman writer Titus Livius (died A.D. 17) in his book "History of Rome" (translation by Canon Roberts).14 of 27📷Credit: Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs

Greeks sacrificed to Zeus

Textual references and archaeological remains indicate that the ancient Greeks, at times, practiced human sacrifice. In 2016, a 3,000-year-old skeleton of a male teenager was found at an altar dedicated to Zeus at Mount Lykaion in Greece. Archaeologists believe that the teen may have been sacrificed to Zeus, an idea supported by ancient texts that tell of child sacrifices that were made on the mountain.

15 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Moche sacrifice

The Moche, who flourished in Peru between roughly the first and eighth centuries A.D., frequently practiced human sacrifice. They placed the victims in tombs and temples. At a temple now called Huaca de la Luna (Shrine of the Moon), the remains of dozens of sacrificed individuals have been discovered.16 of 27📷Credit: Archibald Dalzel/NYPL

Dahomey kingdom

Human sacrifice was practiced by the rulers of the West African kingdom of Dahomey, which flourished between roughly A.D. 1600 and 1894, when the French conquered it and incorporated it into their empire. How widely human sacrifice was practiced is a matter of debate. Nineteenth-century European and American accounts sometimes claimed that more than 1,000 people could be sacrificed at any one time. Modern-day researchers believe that the actual number was quite a bit lower.17 of 27📷Credit: Thomas Pennant/National Library of Wales

Celtic sacrifices?

The Celts are a name for a variety of groups who thrived throughout Europe, and parts of the Middle East, during ancient and modern times. Celtic groups gradually converted to Christianity after the first century A.D. Ancient Roman writers claimed that the Celts practiced human sacrifice on a large scale before they converted to Christianity and that their human sacrifices were sometimes carried out by the Druids, a people who served a variety of roles, sometimes performing religious functions in Celtic groups.

Modern-day archaeologists doubt that human sacrifice was practiced on a large scale by the Celts, if it was performed at all. Researchers point out that the Gauls, one of the largest Celtic groups, was conquered by the Romans, giving them an incentive to portray the Gauls as savages who would benefit under Roman rule. In 2015, a large 2,500-year-old Celtic tomb, possibly of a prince, was discovered that yielded many fantastic treasures; however, no human sacrifices were found.

18 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

The Nazca

The Nazca culture flourished in Peru between roughly 100 B.C. and A.D. 800. They are famous for constructing the Nazca Lines, thousands of geoglyphs scratched on the desert floor that show geometric designs as well as images from the natural world and human imagination. While most famous for their geoglyphs, the Nazca also practiced human sacrifice; Archaeologists have found the remains of trophy heads, as they call them, at several Nazca sites. Archaeologists believe that many of these trophy heads come from prisoners, who were executed and then had their heads chopped off.

19 of 27📷Credit: PBS

Vikings sacrificed slaves

The Vikings occasionally sacrificed slaves after their owner had died. In Flakstad, Norway, archaeologists found the burial of 10 people, some of whom were beheaded. Analysis of their diet revealed that the beheaded individuals consumed more fish-based protein and those with their heads on consumed more protein from dairy and land-based animals. The team believes that the beheaded individuals were likely sacrificed after the death of their owners.

The remains of five human sacrifices, four of them young children, have also been discovered at the Viking fortress at Trelleborg in Denmark. The fortress dates back about 1,000 years; however archaeologists with the National Museum of Denmark believe that at least some of the victims were sacrificed sometime before the fort was constructed.

20 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Carthage infants

Carthage is an ancient city in modern Tunis, in North Africa. Founded by the Phoenicians, a seafaring people who originated in the Eastern Mediterranean, the city contains a controversial burial ground known as the Tophet (the name comes from the Hebrew Bible), which has thousands of urns containing the cremated remains of infants. Some researchers believe that many of the infants were sacrificed, a claim supported by writings from ancient Greek and Roman historians. However, in 2012, a study of the skeletal remains found that few if any of the infants were sacrificed, a finding that some researchers dispute.

21 of 27📷Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Mongol invaders

At their peak around 700 years ago, the Mongols controlled a vast amount of territory that stretched from East Asia to Europe. Most of the surviving accounts of the Mongols come from people the Mongols conquered, fought against or otherwise had hostilities with. Some of these accounts claim that the Mongols practiced human sacrifice. How often the Mongols undertook human sacrifice, or if it was practiced at all, is a matter of debate among researchers.

22 of 27📷Credit: Bohuslav Klim

Prehistoric Europe

In a study published in 2007 in the journal Current Anthropology, researchers described evidence that human sacrifice may have been practiced by hunter-gatherers in Europe as far back as the Upper Paleolithic (26,000 to 8,000 B.C.). The researchers found that the rate of multiple burials (two or more people buried at the same time) was unusually high during the Upper Paleolithic, about one in five.

Some of these multiple burials were unusual, raising questions as to whether the individuals died naturally or in an accident. For instance, in the Czech Republic, three children were found buried together in a bizarre arrangement. One child was buried with its face down while another was buried with its hand touching the public region of another child, an unusual treatment that raises the question of whether the children died naturally or were sacrificed as part of a ritual, archaeologists said.

23 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Ancient Korea

Human sacrifice was practiced in some ancient Korean kingdoms. In May 2017, archaeologists found the remains of two skeletons beneath the walls of Moon Castle in Gyeongju, the capital of the kingdom of Silla. The sacrifices date back about 1,500 years. Archaeologists are not sure exactly how they were killed; however, they believe that they were sacrificed before construction of the castle in order to ensure that the castle functioned well. Additionally, human sacrifices have been found in the tombs of ancient Korean kings and nobility.24 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Indus Valley civilization

The Indus Valley Civilization (sometimes called the Harappan civilization) was centred in modern-day Pakistan and flourished for centuries before succumbing to climate change about 4,000 years ago. The civilization had a writing system that is undeciphered, but the images left beside their texts can provide a great deal of information. At Mohenjo-Daro, one of the civilization's largest cities, a seal found about 80 years ago contains text and numerous images including of a person kneeling before what may be a deity. Next to the kneeling person there is a human head on a stool, evidence that this civilization may have practiced human sacrifice.

Not all archaeologists agree that the seal shows a human head but, if the identification is correct, it would provide evidence that human sacrifice was practiced by this civilization. Future excavations of remains of the Indus Valley civilization and the decipherment of their writing system may provide more evidence.

25 of 27📷Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

India funeral pyres

Sati is an ancient Hindu ritual where a woman chooses (or is coerced) to leap onto the funeral pyre of her husband after he has died. Today the practice is outlawed, but on very rare occasions, it still occurs. In 2006, BBC news reported that a woman, reportedly in her 40s, leapt onto the funeral pyre of her husband.

26 of 27📷Credit: Shutterstock

Tanzania

The ritual sacrifice of people with albinism, a condition that leaves someone without pigment in their skin or hair, has been an ongoing problem in the east African nation of Tanzania.

Some individuals in the country believe that rituals that involve the sacrifice of albinos, or use of their body parts, can bring good fortune. The Guardian reported in 2015 that Tanzanian officials had arrested 32 "witch doctors" who were allegedly involved in the rituals or trade in body parts.

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LiveScience Author BioOwen Jarus, Live Science Contributor

Owen Jarus writes about archaeology and all things about humans' past for Live Science. Owen has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto and a journalism degree from Ryerson University. He enjoys reading about new research and is always looking for a new historical tale.

Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor on Science Newsletter: SubscribesubmitFollow Us

In Mesoamerican culture human sacrifices were viewed as a repayment for the sacrifices the gods had themselves made in creating the world and the sun. This idea of repayment was especially true regarding the myth of the reptilian monster Cipactli (or Tlaltecuhtli). The great gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipocaripped the creature into pieces to create the earth and sky and all other things such as mountains, rivers and springs came from her various body parts. To console the spirit of Cipactli the gods promised her human hearts and blood in appeasement. From another point of view sacrifices were a compensation to the gods for the crime which brought about mankind in Aztec mythology. In the story Ehecatl-Quetzalcóatl stole bones from the Underworld and with them made the first humans so that sacrifices were a necessary apology to the gods.

Gods then were ‘fed’ and ‘nourished’ with the sacrificed blood and flesh which ensured the continued balance and prosperity of Aztec society. In Nahuatl the word for sacrifice is vemana which derives from ventli (offering) and mana ‘to spread out’ representing the belief that sacrifices helped in the cycle of growth and death in food, life and energy.

According to Roman and Greek sources, Phoenicians and Carthaginians sacrificed infants to their gods. The bones of numerous infants have been found in Carthaginian archaeological sites in modern times but the subject of child sacrifice is controversial.[20] In a single child cemetery called the Tophet by archaeologists, an estimated 20,000 urns were deposited.

Judaism[edit]

Judaism explicitly forbids human sacrifice, regarding it as murder. Jews view the Akedah as central to the abolition of human sacrifice. Some Talmudic scholars assert that its replacement is the sacrificial offering of animals at the Temple —using ; ; ; Numeri 3:1ff; 18:15; —others view that as being superseded by the symbolic pars-pro-toto sacrifice of the covenant of circumcision. and specifically outlaw the giving of children to Moloch, making it punishable by stoning; the Tanakh subsequently denounces human sacrifice as barbaric customs of Moloch worshippers (e.g. ).

Judges chapter 11 features a Judge named Jephthah vowing that "whatsoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to meet me shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up as a burnt-offering" in gratitude for God's help with a military battle against the Ammonites.[105] Much to Jephthah's dismay, his only daughter greeted him upon his triumphant return. states that Jephthah did as he had vowed, but "shies away from explicitly depicting her sacrifice, which leads some ancient and modern interpreters (e.g., Radak) to suggest that she was not actually killed."[106]

According to the Mishnah he was under no obligation to keep the ill-phrased, illegal vow. According to Rabbi Jochanan, in his commentary on the Mishnah, it was Jephthah's obligation to pay the vow in money.[105] According to the commentators of the rabbinic Jewish tradition, Jepthah's daughter was not sacrificed, but was forbidden to marry and remained a spinster her entire life.[19]

The 1st-century CE Jewish-Hellenistic historian Flavius Josephus, however, stated that Jephthah "sacrificed his child as a burnt-offering—a sacrifice neither sanctioned by the law nor well-pleasing to God; for he had not by reflection probed what might befall or in what aspect the deed would appear to them that heard of it".[107] Latin philosopher pseudo-Philo, late first century CE, wrote that Jephthah burnt his daughter because he could find no sage in Israel who would cancel his vow. In other words, in the opinion of the Latin philosopher, this story of an ill-phrased vow consolidates that human sacrifice is not an order or requirement by God, but the punishment for those who illegally vowed to sacrifice humans.[108][109]

📷An angel ends the Binding of Isaacby Abraham - believed to be a foreshadowing of the human sacrificeof Christ (The Offering of Abraham,3, workshop of Rembrandt, 1636; Christian art)

Christianity[edit]

Christianity developed the belief that the story of Isaac's binding was a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ, whose death and resurrection enabled the salvation and atonement for man from its sins, including original sin. There is a tradition that the site of Isaac's binding, Moriah, later became Jerusalem, the city of Jesus's future crucifixion.[110] The beliefs of most Christian denominations hinge upon the substitutionary atonement of the sacrifice of God the Son, which was necessary for salvation in the afterlife. According to Christian doctrine, each individual person on earth must participate in, and/or receive the benefits of, this divine human sacrifice for the atonement of their sins. Early Christian sources explicitly described this event as a sacrificial offering, with Christ in the role of both priest and human sacrifice, although starting with the Enlightenment, some writers, such as John Locke, have disputed the model of Jesus' death as a propitiatory sacrifice.[111] Rene Girard has demonstrated that the Gospels are a radical subversion of pagan notions of sacrifice. Instead of humans offering victims to angry deities (as is always the case with pagan sacrifice), Jesus, as the incarnate presence of God (YHWH), offers himself into the hands of violent humans to reveal what the Hebrew prophets meant when they said that "the Lord" (YHWH) rejects sacrifice and desires justice and mercy instead. The "self-sacrifice" of Christ is, therefore, a revelation that violent sacrifice has nothing to do with God. It is simply murder—which the story of Cain and Abel showed at the very dawn of civilisation (Cain is called "father of cities"). Saint Paul calls on Christians in his Letter to the Romans (12:1) to do the very opposite of conventional religious sacrifice: "offer your own bodies as a living sacrifice", he says, instead of the dead bodies of others. In other words, the only kind of "sacrifice" acceptable to God is to give one's life for others, which means to live one's life for others, even unto death, just as Jesus did. It is in that sense that Christ "sacrificed" himself; and in that sense that his "pure sacrifice" is celebrated in the sacrament of the eucharist.

I. Only the Blood of the Lamb will make you safe!

People want to create their own religion. At one time the basic conclusion, sacrificing another person from among us or our slaves will make us safe from the gods. Now people think their sweat will make them safe from judgment. If I do more good than harm, the world will be a better place and I will be a good person. There are only two religions in the world. All the other religions that say do something, offer a sacrifice, give away money, travel to Mecca, stand on one foot, don’t eat cows. It’s pointing to works. Something good I have done. But a liar can tell 100 truths, it does not do away with the lie. Truth is good, but doing good does not negate the need to confess and find forgiveness for the lie. A murderer can repent, but she cannot restore that life. No we can’t save ourselves. And that’s the problem with modern religion.

If being good enough would solve our problem than Jesus would have just had to live the good and wonderful life He did. He would have simply said, “Follow my example and you will be OK.” But His life did not save us. His death saves us. Only by His blood.

Exodus 12:13 NASB95

‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Hebrews 9:22 NASB95

And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

1 John 1:7 NASB95

but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive I. The Blood Will Make You Safe

There are those today who don’t like for you to preach about the blood of Jesus, because it ruins their sensibilities; it’s not refined enough. They say, “It’s too gory.” Some denominations have gone through the hymnals and have taken out the songs that deal with the blood. It’s repulsive to them that we would sing,

There’s a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

—WILLIAM COWPER

Very few congregations anymore sing, Brother Jim,

There is power, power, wonder working power

In the precious blood of the Lamb.

—LEWIS E. JONES

Billy Graham said, when he first started preaching, a Cornell University professor came to him and said, “Young man, you could have a good future, because God has given you certain gifts and abilities; but if you want to be accepted in this day and in this age, you’re going to have to leave out that blood stuff.” And Billy Graham said, “I’m sorry, sir, but, ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation’ (Romans 1:16), and ‘The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:18).”

Dwight Moody had the same experience. Dwight L. Moody, one of the greatest evangelists who ever lived, told how a woman wrote him, asking him to stop preaching on the blood. He said, “When I read that letter, I began to preach on the blood of Jesus Christ more than ever.”

Satan hates the blood, because it is the precious blood of Jesus that is the power of God unto salvation. God has no power to save anybody apart from the shed blood of Jesus. This is the reason Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation.” That means that God has no power to save anybody apart from the cross. God is impotent and powerless to save without the cross

Hebrews 10:4 NASB95

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive I. The Blood Will Make You Safe

Now, mister, you may say that you’re not a Christian because of the way some Christians live, and you may find fault with the church, and you may criticize this preacher, and you may criticize many things; but I defy you to find any fault in the blessed Son of God. I’m not asking you to accept churchianity. I want you to receive Jesus Christ the Son of God. I’m not asking you to receive me. I’m not asking you to believe in these deacons. I’m not asking you to believe in Sunday School teachers. They are nothing but sinners saved by grace. And a church is nothing but a society of sinners who have finally realized that they are, and who have banded themselves together to work together to help themselves to be better people through the grace of Almighty God. That’s all a church is, is a society of sinners. But I want to ask you a question: What fault find you in Jesus Christ? Oh, Jesus, isn’t He wonderful, a lamb without spot and without blemish?

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive I. The Blood Will Make You Safe

Now many of you know that the Lord Jesus Christ was perfect, and many of you know that the Lord Jesus Christ died upon the cross, but you’re not saved, and if you were to die tonight, you would go straight to hell and burn forever. Why? Because you have not applied the blood. God says, “When I see the blood applied, then I’m going to pass over.” Notice the progression here in chapter 12. Notice in verse 3: “a lamb” (Exodus 12:3). Notice in verse 4, the last part of that verse: “the lamb” (Exodus 12:4). Notice in verse 5: “Your lamb” (Exodus 12:5). Do you see the progression?

There are a lot of people who talk about Jesus Christ as a savior. Oh, yes, He’s a savior. My friend, listen. If that’s all you know of Him, is a savior, you don’t know enough—you don’t know enough. Jesus Christ is not one of the ways to heaven. He’s not the best way to heaven. Dear friend, He’s the only way to heaven. There is no other way. And some think of Him as a lamb, a savior, but then even more specifically they speak of Him as the Savior; and that’s better: not just a but the. The Savior, the Lamb of God, the only One: but that’s still not enough. There’s still a further step. Not a savior; not a lamb; not the lamb; but your lamb. Is He yours? Is He? Can you say, “I am His, and He is mine forever and forever.” Can you say with the Psalmist, in Psalm 23, “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1), personally? Has the blood been applied personally to your heart? Has there been a time when you saw that He was a savior, that He was the Savior, and then that He is my Savior?

II. GOD’S PROMISE MAKES YOUR SALVATION CERTAIN

1 John 5:13 NASB95

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 JOHN

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive II. The Word Will Make You Sure

Let’s go to the land of Egypt. Go back with me through the millennium, go back with me through the century: we imagine ourselves tonight in the home of a humble Jewish man. The firstborn son is there. He knows he’s the firstborn in that family. He knows what Moses has said through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that the death angel is coming. And he knows that the death angel is coming this night, and, frankly, he’s worried. And he comes to his dad, and he says, “Dad, listen, Dad. Isn’t tonight the night the death angel is coming?” “Yes, son.” “Well, Dad, you know, I’m the firstborn son. And, Dad, if we haven’t done things right, you know what’s going to happen to me? I’m going to die.” “That’s right, son.” “Well, Dad, let’s go over the game. Let’s make sure that we’ve done it right.” “Well, son, we’ve done it right.” “But, Dad, let’s make sure.”

“All right, son. God said take a lamb, a lamb without spot, without blemish. Now, son, we took a lamb. You remember, every day we went out and inspected that lamb. He was a perfect lamb without spot, without blemish. Now, son, we killed the lamb. You remember.” “Yes, Daddy, I remember. It was a gory sight.” “And then, son, you remember we applied the blood to the doorposts. Come, let’s look. There’s the blood, here and here and here. Now, son, we’ve done everything that God told us to do.” “Yes, Dad, I understand that, Dad. But, Dad, how do we know it’s going to work? How do we know it, Dad? I’ve got to know. I’ve got to know, Dad.” “Well, son, God said it would work. God said it.” “Well, if God said it, it must be so. If God said it, that’s good enough for me. If God said it, I believe it; that’s settles it. God said it. Thank you, Dad. Thank you.” And he goes off that night and goes to sleep like a little baby.

How do I know I’m saved? Because I have funny feelings? Because I’m so good? No. How do I have the blessed assurance of my salvation? Just one way: God said it. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). God didn’t give us goose bumps and feelings and strange music and angel wings tickling our backbone, but God gave us His Word, something sure. God said it. “When I see the blood, I’ll pass over you.” I know I’m saved tonight, not because of my feelings, not even because of my good life, not because of my emotions, but because of the eternal, immutable, irrefutable Word of God. God said it. The blood will make you safe. The Word will make you sure.

Now I want you to imagine tonight another son. He’s worried too. He lives in the land of Egypt. He comes to his dad, and he says, “Dad, listen. Tonight, the death angel’s coming. Dad, you know what Moses has said. You know what the Word of God has said. And, Dad, we’ve got to be sure. Dad, listen, there’s a lot hanging on this. I want to grow up. I’ve got plans. I don’t want to be destroyed. I’ve already seen God bring these other plagues. It’s terrible. Dad, I want to know—I want to know.” But the dad goes through the same thing: “All right, son. Here’s the lamb. You know, we’ve got the perfect lamb. You know, we killed it just on the day God said we should; in the evening, just like God said. Look, son, here’s the blood, and here’s the blood, and here’s the blood. And God said, ‘When I see the blood, I’ll pass over you.’ ” He says, “Yes, Dad, I know. I know that’s what God said. But, Dad, I’ll tell you, this is scary business. And I just, I don’t know, Dad. I sure hope it works.” All night long he’s afraid. He doesn’t sleep a wink. His heart is beating like a trip hammer. It gets to be 11:30, 11:45, 11:50, 11:55, 56, 57, 58, 59, almost midnight. He pulls the covers over his head. Midnight! He pinches himself. He’s alive! He’s still there! “Oh, wonderful!” he says. “It worked! It worked!”

What was the difference between those two boys? One enjoyed his salvation. The other endured it. Oh, one had the blessed, wonderful assurance that God will keep His word. Oh, there are a lot of people who have truly trusted the Lord, but they are living beneath their privileges. They don’t have the grand, wonderful, glorious assurance that God will keep His word. Isn’t it great to be saved and to know it? Amen? To know it! It doesn’t depend on me. Oh, if it depended on me, I’d burst hell wide open! But I’m glad to know that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son makes the vilest sinner clean—His blood availed for me.

I want you to notice a third son now—this is Pharaoh’s son. Pharaoh’s son that night comes to his dad, and he says—in my mind; the Bible doesn’t say this; I just imagine this happening; but it well could have happened—he comes to his dad, and he says, “Dad, have you heard the story that’s going around? Have you heard that Moses the prophet of Jehovah God has said there’s a death angel coming and the firstborn in every family is going to die? Have you heard that?” “Yeah,” he says, “I heard it.” “Well, Dad, listen. You know, I’m the firstborn in this family. Dad, don’t you think it would be a good idea if we got a lamb and killed it and put the blood on the doorpost of our house?”

“Oh, son, not that gory blood business! Son, listen. We’re the best folks in town. Besides that, we have our religion. No one is more religious than the Egyptians. We worship the great sun god, and the frog god, and the Nile god, and all these gods; we worship these. And don’t you worry about any so-called death angel, because, son, we’re going to put you under iron guard tonight, and there will be soldiers outside your bedroom door, because you’re so precious to me, son. I won’t let anything happen to you. And, son, we’ve got hundreds and hundreds of Egyptian priests. And, son, we have a royal family; you don’t have to worry.” “Well, I know, Dad; but every time Moses says something, it happens.” “Oh, son, that’s coincidence! Don’t you listen to that man! I’ll tell you, if anybody gets by, the first family of Egypt will! You go to sleep, my son, and don’t you let that fanatic preacher upset you.”

And that night the son of the richest man in the land goes to his cushioned, soft, downy bed. Outside, swords glitter and gleam. Soldiers with eyes alert march up and down, and priests go through their incantations. The seconds tick away. It is midnight. There’s a shriek, a gasp, a shudder, a flash; and a scream and a howl goes up over the land of Egypt. And the firstborn even in Pharaoh’s household is dead. For the Bible says, “Without shedding of blood there’s no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).

III. Where Am I in Trusting?

A. Resting Securely.

B. Restless in Insecurity.

C. Rejection in unbelief.

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