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The Cup of Salvation May 5, 2008 By Randy
Bailey “I will
take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD”
(Psalms 116:13). The Psalmist
declares a prophetic truth in this Psalm. Every person needs
to partake of this cup if they plan on being saved. What is the
cup of salvation that the Psalmist is referring to? It is
not the actual cup itself, but the contents of the cup that brings
salvation. The gospels tell us that, “…he took bread,
and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This
is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new
testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19-20).
Jesus made a profound statement to His disciples the night He
would be taken to the Pharisees. He held up a cup filled with
the fruit of the vine and referenced it to His own blood that
would be shed for the forgiveness of our sins. “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” (Leviticus 17:11).
The book of Hebrews talks about the high priest and his role in bringing the blood of the sacrifice into the Holy of Holies and sprinkling that blood upon the mercy seat. This was done only one day out of the year, and the high priest was the only man who would be able to pass through the veil and stand in the presence of God. I often think of the things that went through this man's mind before he took the first step behind the curtain that separated sinful man from a Holy God. In his hands was a cup of blood from an innocent animal that was sacrificed for the guilt of mankind. The priest never felt the blade of the knife that slit the animal's throat or experienced the pain that shot through its body as its life was poured out at the altar of sacrifice. With the cup held firmly in his hands, he entered as the congregation watched and waited outside. All of the sins they had committed during that year would be covered when the High Priest sprinkled it on the mercy seat. I am sure it was an event that kept everyone on edge as the day unfolded. The book of Hebrews reminds us that Christ is now our High Priest offered the blood sacrifice, but this would be His own blood that was shed on Calvary 's hill. It was His death that would offer the world eternal life.
“But Christ
being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say,
not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:11-12). Think about
the depth of this scripture. It is not a person offering the blood
of someone or something else; this is Christ entering in to offer
His own blood. The cup of suffering and shame, the cup that contained
the blood that poured from His back when the soldiers scourged
Him, the blood that ran down from His wrists and feet when the
spikes were driven in and the blood that poured from His forehead
from the crown of thorns that was pushed down firmly when they
mocked Him. His blood would be offered once for the sins of the
entire world. Every murder, robbery, rape, lie, lustful thought,
incest, fornication, and on and on could be forgiven because of
the blood of Jesus. Hebrews makes
it very clear that blood had to be shed in order for forgiveness
to be available when the writer stated, “And almost all things
are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood
is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). The word “remission” in the
original Greek means to forgive or be pardoned. We take the cup
of salvation and call on the name of the Lord when we obey the
gospel message. © 2008, Randy
Bailey ---------- Randy Bailey has been writing spiritual poems/devotions for the past eight years. Randy has one wife and three sons. Richard, Ryan, and Rodney are grown and on their own while Randy and Peggy live in Georgia. Randy and Peggy attend the First United Pentecostal Church of Warner Robins. Randy has recently had his book Spiritual Snacks published, and it is available at www.Amazon.com (plug). Randy loves to throw the seed through his writings. |
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