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

"But without faith it Is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."—Hebrews 11:8.

"But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons."—Hebrews 12:8.

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."—Hebrews 12:14.

I would like to direct your attention to the four texts. They are negative imperatives and they are: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission; For without faith it is impossible to please God; And if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then ye are illegitimate and not sons; Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." These are the four negative imperatives. I believe that Hebrews 9:22 is the basis for the discussion on the other three texts. "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission."

I have been preaching for something like 22 years, and recently I saw something in that text that I had not seen before. Paul said, "And almost ALL things are by law purged with blood."

This is an expression that commands, demands our attention. Under the Mosaic economy almost all things were purged by blood. Some things, however, were purged by fire; some things were purged by divers washings, but "almost ALL things were purged by blood." As far as sin is concerned, under the Mosaic economy, one exception was made and that is found in Leviticus 5:1-11. Here the Holy Spirit tells us that if a man was unable to provide a lamb let him provide turtle doves; if he was unable to provide turtle doves, then he was to offer for his sins One bushel and three pints of flour. So there was an exception made in this man’s particular case. It had to do with his sins and his financial status. But god gave us BLOOD, and "Blood is that which maketh ATONEMENT for the soul" (Lev. 17:11).

However, the Apostle Paul is drawing a mere inference from the law to give us a great fundamental truth: as far as SALVATION itself is concerned men are saved and purged from their sins by the BLOOD of CHRIST; without the shedding of HIS blood there was no REMISSION.

The word REMISSION is a very interesting word. It is used nine times in the New Testament, and its companion word, FORGIVENESS, is used six times. Both words come from the Greek word, aphesus, and it means to bear away. Thus, both forgiveness and remission means to bear away, to separate the sinner from his sins. CHRIST has borne away our sins: 1 Peter 2:24, 25, the Apostle Peter said, "Christ hath borne our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."

In the 16th chapter of the Book of Leviticus we have the complete setting for the words REMISSION and FORGIVENESS. The high priest, after having slain the substitute and shed its blood, and after having sprinkled the blood upon the Mercy Seat in the Holiest of Holies, he came out of that place, walked through the Holy Place to the outside; there was a scapegoat held by a strong man and the high priest took his hands and grasped the scapegoat by the horns, confessed Israel’s sins over the head of the scapegoat and sent it away into a land uninhabited, at the hands of a fit man. Thus, the sins were carried away.

When CHRIST went to Calvary’s Cross, He died as OUR scapegoat: upon the cross He bore our sins away and purged us from our sins. If the Bible teaches a thing in the world it DOES teach this: men’s SINS are purged by the BLOOD of Christ. For Paul said, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission." There isn’t any other way whereby men’s sins can be washed away and purged, other than the blood of Christ, although some people might say that to preach on the blood of Jesus is to preach a butcher-shop gospel. Call it what you will, men cannot be saved apart from the Gospel of Christ; that is, the exaltation of His blood. It is an impossibility for men to be saved separate and apart from the Gospel of Christ. Paul makes it plain in the text: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission."

The Apostle Paul points out in Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus, after having purged us from our sins, sat down on the right hand of His Majesty on high. But he said this: "He purged our sins by HIMSELF." He needed no HELP from anyone else. The very moment that men undertake or make an effort, or endeavor to assist the Master in saving a soul, they are intruding into the office that belongs to Christ. It is, therefore, an intrusion; for Jesus NEEDS no help. He entered the Holy Place one time by HIMSELF; He has purged our sins by HIMSELF, and He purged us with His Divine BLOOD. In Revelation 1:5, John, on the Isle of Patmos, had this to say: "Christ hath washed us from our sins in his own BLOOD." Therefore, if men’s sins are washed away and cleansed it is in the blood of Jesus Christ; if men’s sins are remitted it is on the basis of the blood of Christ, the Lord.

Then you might ask me this evening, "HOW is it that men become the recipients of the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, or HOW is it that men reach the blood?"

There are religious denominations that say you reach the blood in the water. May I pause and point out a great truth, and that is that no man believes in baptism stronger than I—for the believer, the saved. But there isn’t a man in the world who will take offense quicker than I when men substitute water for the BLOOD. I say without reservation that every saved person in the world should be baptized at the hands of a Baptist preacher, in a Baptist church—IF he would be BAPTIZED like Jesus Christ. But being baptized by a Baptist preacher, in a Baptist church, will not, does not, can not, never has, and never will, SAVE. Men, therefore, cannot reach the BLOOD by the water route: you reach the blood by FAITH.

Now may I say that FAITH within itself has nothing of a meritorious nature: faith is the mere CHANNEL through which flows the blood of Christ to the sinner, by the which the sinner is cleansed.

In Romans 3:24, 25 we read these words: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his BLOOD, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

Paul, HOW do we reach the blood? He said, "By FAITH." And in Acts 15:8, 9 this same great truth is revealed. Once again, the Apostle Peter makes it plain that faith is the CHANNEL through which flows the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. Now FAITH does not cleanse, but the OBJECT of faith does cleanse—Christ’s BLOOD. Here in Acts 15:8, 9, the Apostle Peter speaking, concerning the conversion of the household of Cornelius, points out—and these are my words—that "God, who knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit as well as He did us, and puts no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."

"But," someone will say, "the text declares that hearts are purified by FAITH."

No, it is the OBJECT of faith. Romans 3:25 teaches that it is faith in the BLOOD of CHRIST.

In these and many other texts I have introduced, it is quite evident that that which actually cleanses and purges is Christ’s blood, and men reach the blood through faith; thus the text: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission."

And before leaving this thought I would like to add that Christ did not die a martyr; He died for a PURPOSE. Paul is pointing out that Christ must NEEDS die; that it was NECESSARY if sins were to be PAID for, and if remission was to become a glorious reality, Christ HAD to die. To Pilate, Jesus said—when Pilate repeatedly asked Him if He had nothing to say, "For this CAUSE came I into the world; to this END was I born" (John 18:37).

And in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus points out: "No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again" (verse 18). Jesus came in the fullness of time to do the work that God had for Him to do. "I came to do the work that thou gayest me to do," said Jesus repeatedly.

Galatians 4:4, 5: "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

Now what does the text DECLARE? "In the fulness of time, God sent forth his Son . . ." What was the PURPOSE? "To REDEEM them that were under the law." The purpose was to accomplish redemption. Therefore, redemption was wrought IN the Person of Christ and BY Him; thus, "Without the shedding of blood"—HIS BLOOD — there would have been no remission.

The second thing that I want you to see: Paul said, "Without FAITH (do you see the negative imperatives?) it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

May I point out that the Apostle Paul said that God is only the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and GOD IS, whether they believe it or not: God IS. But He promises that those who seek Him shall be rewarded by the God whom they seek, but "Without FAITH it is impossible to please Film." Now if it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God without faith, then HOW can men please God when they depend on their works for salvation? How can men please God when they are dependent entirely and exclusively upon what they do for salvation?

Paul said, "Without FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE to please him."

Well then, HOW is it that men become the recipients of faith? First, faith is a GIFT. That is WHY it is impossible without faith to please God. Now faith is NOT something that men work up. Men work up religious meetings; emotions can be stirred and worked up, but FAITH cannot be worked up, and SALVATION cannot be worked up. Faith is, therefore, the GIFT of God.

There are three texts in the Bible that declare this, I think, in such a manner that all men can understand and none should stumble over these texts:

Philippians 1:29: "It is not only GIVEN in your behalf to BELIEVE in Christ, but to suffer for him." (Notice that the Apostle Paul said that it was GIVEN to them to believe.)

Romans 12:3: ". . . think soberly, according as God hath DEALT to every man the measure of FAITH." (God hath GIVEN to all kinds of men the measure of faith.)

Ephesians 2:8, 9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

"Well," somebody will say, "it is SALVATION that is the gift."

We KNOW that salvation is a gift, but, incidentally, it isn’t the gift that is under consideration here; the gift of God spoken of here is FAITH; for the antecedent of gift is FAITH. Faith is that gift which Paul had in mind here.

Then it is an established fact that FAITH is a gift from God, and without this faith, it is impossible to please God. Then, how do men become the RECIPIENTS of faith? In short, how does God GIVE men faith?

I have heard men say that God gives men faith by prayer. That isn’t SO. Some people get the idea that if men pray long enough and hard enough for somebody else that God will give him faith, but that isn’t so. That just is NOT the way that God gives faith. Now it doesn’t make any difference what men believe or come to accept; it is what God’s Word teaches—that is what does COUNT. Faith comes by the preaching of the Gospel of Christ; no other way. He only has ONE way: "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17).

Paul points out in the context of this same chapter of Romans: "How can they BELIEVE in him whom they have not HEARD? how can they HEAR without a preacher? how can they PREACH except they be SENT?" I could pause here at that expression, "How can they preach except they be sent," and preach a long sermon on that, but time will not permit. Suffice it to say that Paul is saying that men CANNOT believe in someone about whom they have not heard, and that the only way they can believe in Him is by the report—that is what the word there actually means in the 17th verse: "Faith cometh by the reporting of the Good News (the Gospel of Christ)." Thus, it is a proven, indisputable fact that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God; it does not come any other way. So God gives men faith through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ: that is WHY the preaching of the Gospel is so NECESSARY. It is God’s way of winning the lost. It is God’s way of saving those whom He gave to Christ in the Covenant of Redemption. That is WHY the Gospel must be preached in every corner of this earth; that is why we must SEE to it that everyone on this earthen ball hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ; for "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Third, noticing that expression ". . . without CHASTISEMENT . . ." the Apostle Paul is pointing out that those whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom lie receiveth (Heb 12:6, 7, 8). And in verse 8, he points out that if one be without chastisement, whereby all (all God’s children) are partakers, then are ye bastards (illegitimate) and not sons. Thus, the person who tells you that God NEVER chastens him is a LOST person.

There are two—there may be more—but I know of two religious denominations that deny that God chastens those whom He loves. They say that God doesn’t chasten His people; they say that in the face of Hebrews 12. One group says this: "God does not chasten us because we do not commit SIN." Now God may NOT chasten them, not because they don’t NEED chastisement, but He doesn’t chasten them because they are LOST. They are not HIS; for GOD doesn’t whip the DEVIL’S children; He whips his OWN. Therefore, to be without chastisement doesn’t mean that men are without sin. It only proves one thing: they are NOT in the family of God. "For everyone whom God loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with Sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons" (Heb. 12:6, 7, 8).

You CLAIM to be sons now, but you are NOT. No man, therefore, has ever yet really received a good spanking until he gets one from God; He knows where to hit you where it costs you something—where it hurts the most. God WHIPS those He loves; He chastens everyone whom He receiveth, and if men be without chastisement it means, simply, that they are not in the family of God. If God never chastened me I would be scared to death— but He DOES.

"Well," somebody said, "now, how about 1 John 3:9 where the Apostle John said, ‘Whosoever is born of God doth not commit SIN for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.’ How are you going to get around that?"

I am not going to try to get around it. I BELIEVE that; I accept that; for that is the truth—a glorious TRUTH. The word for seed referred to in the text comes from the Greek word SPERMA, and it means the very LIFE of God, the life GERM, the germ of God’s life. Now then, get this: the Apostle John said the person that had experienced the New Birth did not practice (the word "commit" means to practice habitually) because His (God’s) seed remaineth in him and he cannot because he is born of God.

Then the question would naturally arise: What is that which BORN of God? It is NOT the flesh, for the carnal nature certainly was not born of God. The carnal nature undergoes no CHANGE. It may REFLECT that which has been experienced INSIDE, but the body undergoes no change and will not until the RESURRECTION (Rom. 8:21-24). Thus, it is the man which is born of the SPIRIT of GOD, in the which, is implanted the germ of God’s life.

Jesus said to Nicodemus, "That which is born of flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I unto thee, Ye must be born again" (John 3:6, 7).

Jesus said that it is the SPIRIT that is born of the Spirit of and "that which is born of God doth not COMMIT sin." So the inward man, the spirit man, the man that has the germ of God, does not commit sin. In fact, he CANNOT sin. The spirit man, therefore, cannot sin. Now the person who claims they are sinless will have an exceedingly difficult time explaining away 1 John 1:8, 10,

Paul said, ". . . I am carnal, sold under sin" (Rom. 7:14). wasn’t talking about his past; he is talking about his present The carnal man, the old Adamic nature, was still with to torment, tantalize, fight, rebuff, and to rebuke him, and cause him misery, woe and wretchedness.

1 John 1:8-10, these words are found: "If we (talking those who had the love of God in them. He is talking about I’ brethren, the saved.) say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word (His TRUTH) is not in us."

What then is the TRUTH? Jesus said, "My WORD is truth" (John 17:17). Thus, if you say that you do not sin, or have not sinned, John said that His Word has no place in your life. And in verse 10 he said, "Now if we (now he said, "If WE . . .") say we have not sinned, we are LIARS, and make GOD a liar."

This is a terrible indictment against the "sinless perfectionist," for GOD said that person who claims he doesn’t SIN says to God, "God, you are a LIAR: you say I sin; I say I do NOT."

Now whose word are you going to take? I’ll take GOD’S word, won’t you?

Therefore, if a man be without chastisement he is not a son of God; it doesn’t mean that he isn’t a SINNER; it only means this: he is without CHRIST.

And now to the last thought in verse 14 of Hebrew 12. Paul said, "Follow after peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." He is talking about following peace with ALL men, and holiness means, of course, follow AFTER holiness. Now you have heard folk say, "I am holy; I’m so holy that I am getting a little holier every day."

Paul had not achieved that perfection toward which he was STRIVING (Phil. 3:10, 11), but certainly he is saying to the Hebrews that they ought to follow AFTER it; they are ADMONISHED to follow after it; but it is a settled fact, an evident truth that they had not ATTAINED it. He said, "Follow after it. Follow AFTER peace and holiness. Follow after holiness, without which no man can see the Lord."

Now I might just pause here to point out that he is not talking about PERSONAL holiness; he is talking about IMPUTED holiness. He is talking about the holiness that GOD imputes to men. This is the same word, hagiasmos, from which we get the words hallowed, sanctification, and sanctify. Sanctification has its beginning in the NEW BIRTH, and it is progressive in its nature. As men learn more about the Word of God they become more separate from the world and more separated unto the service of God as they grow in grace and knowledge of the truth. That is what Paul had in mind when he said, "Follow after holiness." That which God gives to men is started in the New Birth; it is consummated in the redemption of the BODY itself: when every child of God shall reach the full stature of a man in Christ.

We ought to follow after holiness, that is, we ought to become more separate and separated unto the work of God. Let God become definite in our lives. We are to let Him have first place in our lives, and as we grow in grace this will become a fact and glorious reality. As we study the Word of God we can "follow after holiness," striving to attain it, "without which no man shall see the Lord." It is begun in regeneration; it is consummated in the consummation of the saints of God; and may I repeat, without it "no man shall see the Lord."

It has a twofold meaning: the secondary meaning, of course, has to do with God’s righteousness. This is the ONLY kind of righteousness that will meet the acid test of God Himself; this is that which God imputes (Phil. 3:8, 9). But the primary meaning, however, is sanctification or separation; that is, to be set apart to the service of God. As men learn more of God and His Word, they become more separated unto Him and from the world.

In summation, Paul said, "Without the shedding of BLOOD there is no remission of sins; without FAITH it is impossible to please God; without CHASTISEMENT you are not sons; without HOLINESS no man shall see the Lord."

These are four negative thoughts, negative imperatives. Are they realities to you or not? Amen.