The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are often referred to as the facts of the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).  The heart of the gospel, however, is the cross.  On the cross, Jesus shed His blood and the benefits of that shed blood for mankind are enormous.  This week I want to emphasize the benefits of the blood of Christ, reminding us of how blessed we are in Christ.

The primary purpose of the blood of Christ is to cleanse us from our sins.

Revelation 1:5 (KJV)
⁵  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Nothing else can do this except the blood of our Lord.  When it comes to sin, it alone has cleansing power.  Do you remember what the Hebrews writer said about the blood of bulls and goats?

Hebrews 10:4 (ESV)
⁴  For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

While the animal sacrifices of the old covenant served as a shadow of things to come, they could not completely remove sin.  That is why Paul said, “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law…” (Galatians 3:11).  Why not?  Because without the blood of Christ, the law required perfection because nothing, but the blood, has cleansing power.

I should point out that the blood of Christ is contacted in the waters of baptism.  To take advantage of the shed blood of our Savior, one must be baptized into His death (Romans 6:3-4).  Paul is obviously referring to this figuratively.  No one can literally be baptized into the death of another, nor do we physically come into contact with the blood of Christ.  Paul is merely pointing out that we take advantage of the death of our Lord by being baptized.  Our sins are washed away when we are baptized because that is where God decided we must be cleansed.

Acts 22:16 (ESV)
¹⁶  And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

The benefits of the blood of Christ do not end with baptism.  One of the great benefits of Jesus’ blood is that it has continual cleansing power.  Whenever we sin, as Christians, if we are willing to repent and confess our sins to God, the blood of Christ will work for us again, cleansing us from our sin.

1 John 1:7-9 (ESV)
⁷  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

What cleanses us from all unrighteousness?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus!  Since, as John indicated, we all sin from time to time, the blood of Christ plays a major role, not only in our justification, but also in making it possible to maintain fellowship with God.

Thank God for the blood of Christ.  Its benefits are many, beginning with washing away our sins.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.