Sunday Night Meditations 18 Message and Song - 1950's — Welcome Detweiler

Christ as the Only Savior and Sustainer

Good evening, radio friends. For nearly two thousand years the glorious message of the gospel has been proclaimed, and during that time many precious souls have believed the report of the gospel and have found peace and satisfaction in Christ alone.

During that same time many others have ignored the Savior who is presented in the gospel and have passed on to eternal woe. This generation must hear the loving invitation of salvation in Christ, and that's the purpose of this broadcast, to present Christ as the only Savior of sinners and as the only sustainer of saved ones.

Relax and listen while the choir sings,. O Sweet is the Story of Jesus. With us in prayer, our gracious Father, again we praise Thee for this wonderful story Thou hast made known from heaven. We thank Thee it contains the love of the Savior who went to Calvary's cross, who died for us, who was buried and raised again for our justification.

We thank Thee that all who put their trust in Him have everlasting life, and we pray especially for those who have never trusted Him. We pray they may do so, and in Him find all that He has promised to give, peace, joy, satisfaction, a life worth living, and a home in glory.

Receive of our thanks as we seek to exalt Him tonight in Jesus' worthy and precious name. Amen.

A hot afternoon in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The temperature hovered around 97 degrees. At three o 'clock the telephone jangled in the police station. The desk sergeant listened while an excited voice at the other end of the line reported that a cash register had just been stolen from a store in the 1200 block of Ryan Street.

Spiritual Sleep and the Urgency to Wake Up

But no sooner had the sergeant hung up than the phone rang again. I am the owner of a store in the 1200 block of Ryan Street, said the new voice. If one of my clerks calls up to tell you that the cash register has been stolen from my store, don't pay any attention to it.

I stole the cash register myself. When I came into the store and found the clerks all asleep. All the employers at that store were said to be wide awake the following day. It is likewise true that many people today are fast asleep spiritually.

And while they sleep on, their master steals away their most valuable possession, their precious never-dying soul. But one of these days they're going to be very much awake, crying for a drop of water to cool their tongue.

That's what a man cried who is already there. Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. If you are not saved by the grace of God, you are asleep.

Wake up now and get right with God while you have the opportunity. Awake thou that sleepest and arise from among the dead and Christ shall give thee light. As a sinner, you are dead in trespasses and in sins and in need of divine life.

God's dear son is the only savior, the only one able to save you and impart divine life to your soul. He stands ready to forgive you, to save you, to make you a child of God the moment you turn to his wonderful sacrifice for you.

You can see now God unfurls His wings. It took a miracle to put the flame. It took a miracle to hang the weak stake.

He leadeth me always. Sometimes he who knoweth best in kindness leadeth me in many ways where heavy shadows be. Out of the sunshine warm and soft and bright, out of the sunshine into the darkest night, I oft would faint with sorrow and affright only for this.

I know he holds my hand, so whether in the green or desert land, I trust, although I may not understand. And by still waters? No, not always so. Oft times the heavy tempest round me blow, and o 'er my soul the waters and billows go.

But when the storms beat loudest and I cry aloud for help, the Master standeth by and whispers to my soul, Lo, it is I. Above the tempest wild I hear him say, Beyond this darkness lies a perfect day. In every path of thine I lead the way.

So whether on the hilltop high and fair I dwell, or in the sunless valleys where the shadows lie, what matters? He is there. And more than this, where 'er the pathway lead, he giveth me no helpless broken reed, but his own hand sufficient for my need.

So where he leads me I can safely go, and in the blessed hereafter I shall know why in his wisdom he hath led me so. Now to bring to you a message from God's precious word, it's my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. Harold McKay from Greensboro, North Carolina.

The Scarlet Cord of Redemption in Scripture

It's been said that running through every inch of cordage used by the British Navy, there's to be found a scarlet thread indicating the official ownership of that rope. It belongs to the government. Of infinitely greater importance is the fact that running through every portion of the Bible is the scarlet cord of the redeeming blood of Christ.

And it is this red line of redemption that authenticates the Bible as the word of God. Someone has said, cut the holy scriptures anywhere, and they bleed with the precious blood of the Lamb of God. In Leviticus chapter 17 and verse 11 we have the three tremendously important words.

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. As I said, there are three very important things in this verse that I now draw your attention to.

God's Requirement: Blood for Atonement

First, the requirement. It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. God requires blood as an atonement for sin. Nothing else will suffice. No substitute will be accepted in its place. It is the blood.

This is in direct contrast and contradiction to cultured man's idea as to what constitutes the ground of acceptance before God. The moralist says, I am respectable, upright, moral, honest, and conscientious.

God says, it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. The religionist says, I say my prayers, read my Bible, attend my church. God says, it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

The ceremonialist says, I take communion, obey the ordinances, follow the ritual of my church. God says, it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. The denominationalist says, I belong to my denomination.

That is the true church. I believe that this will take me to heaven. God says, it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. The baptismal regenerationist says, I have been baptized. That is when I was born again.

That is my hope. The Bible says, it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. The liberalist says, that is the religion of the shambles to be talking about the blood. It's a hangover from heathenism and the dark ages.

We don't believe that crude doctrine nowadays. God says, it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Friends, God does not argue about the matter. He simply, definitely, clearly, and finally states the fact.

It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. The man who has no blood has no atonement. The religion that has no blood has no redemption. The church that preaches no blood preaches no salvation.

The soul that do not rely upon the blood rests on a foundation of sand. It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Why did God reject Cain's offering except Abel's? There was no blood in Cain's.

There was in Abel's. And Abel's was the more excellent sacrifice than Cain's. What did God declare on the night of Israel's Passover in Egypt? When I see the blood, I will pass over you. But you object, that was in Old Testament days.

That was before the revelation of God in Christ. Things are different now. Are they? Listen to the words of the New Testament. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Hebrews 9 .22. In whom we have redemption through his blood.

The forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 1 .7. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleansed us from all sin. 1 John 1 .7 Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Revelation 1 .5.

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood. Revelation 5 .9. Old and New Testaments unite in declaring and in proving that it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

God's Reason: Sin Brings Death

Now, not only does our verse in Leviticus 17 .11 tell us of God's requirement, but it gives us the reason for this requirement. It's not an arbitrary requirement, but a most logical one. Here's the reason for the requirement of blood for atonement.

The life of the flesh is in the blood. The blood is the life. Take away the blood, and you take away the life. Now, that is exactly what sin had done. It had taken life. In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.

Those were the warning words of God to Adam. Man did eat, man sinned, and thus man died. He died spiritually when he lost contact with his God. He died physically when he lost contact with his sin. And he will die eternally, out of contact forever with God, with Christ, and with the redeemed, unless life is restored to him.

The wages of sin is death, Romans 6 .23. Man's life was forfeited because of his sin against the Holy God. As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

Thus, man having forfeited his life because of his sin, must find another life to give in making atonement for his sins. That life is to be found only in a substitute, whose blood would be shed as an act of atonement.

Either the sinner must die, or his substitute must die for him. Blood was the evidence that the life had been taken, and thus atonement had been made. But now, we come to the third truth contained in our verse.

God's Remedy: The Blood of Christ

Here is not only God's requirement, and God's reason for His requirement, but God's remedy to meet His requirement. I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls. God Himself has provided the remedy.

In the Old Testament, before Christ came, God provided the remedy by instructing men to approach Him with the blood of a sacrifice. And He graciously accepted such blood and such offerings of lambs, goats, and other animals, in view of the sacrifice of His own Son in due time.

Now, this book of Leviticus that I have read to you from is a great book of worship. God is teaching man, who had been ruined in Genesis and redeemed by blood in Exodus, to approach Him with an offering of animal sacrifices, and to present such to Him as an act of worship.

Now, God has provided the remedy in the person of His only Son. For if the blood of bulls, and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, 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.

Hebrews 9 .14 Christ Himself declared, on that memorable night as He instituted the Lord's Supper, This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, that God's arresting cry to all sin-sick souls.

I have read of a lady who protested to an evangelical preacher, who had just finished a grand declaration of salvation through the blood of Christ. Doctors said she, I don't like your theology. To what do you object?

I don't believe in the fountain filled with blood. But just one question, my dear lady, with what would you fill it? And what would you fill the fountain with, friends? The fountain that is to cleanse away the foul, dark, dreadful, heinous stain of sin of the blood of God's redeeming Lamb.

You can't fill it with anything that man can produce. Earth can provide nothing to cleanse away that foul stain of sin. But thank God, God has. And giving His beloved Son to that shameful death on Calvary's cross, God has provided salvation through the blood of His beloved Son.

And so, nothing else will fill the fountain. It still stands. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Thank you, Mr. McKay, for that gospel message.

The Call to Trust Christ Alone

I can say a hearty amen to a preacher who exalts the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice as the only means of salvation. For there is no other means of salvation. The folks who are resting on anything else but the blood of Christ are just fooling themselves and will someday have a very rude awakening.

It's a grand thing to put your trust in Christ alone for salvation. And I trust that many of you who are listening to this gospel broadcast will have a desire to close in with God's offer of salvation while He stands in love and offers you the forgiveness of all your sins.

And now, our gracious Father, we commit Thy word to Thee and ask Thy blessing to rest upon it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

It will never lose its power. It will never lose its power. It will never lose its power. God's act cleanses from. We'll never lose access to God. On our faces it brings us nigh to precious blessings that never die.

It will never lose its power. It will never lose its power. It will never lose its power. God's act cleanses from. We'll never lose access to God. On our faces it brings us nigh.