Bitten By The Serpent Of Sin

    So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Numbers 21:6

     While I was having lunch the other day with a good friend he brought up the fact that he had heard that lamb's blood produces an anti-venom that builds up the sheep's immunity against snake bite. I admit I had never heard that but looked it up and so it is, lamb's blood is used to make anti-venom for snake bite.

     What a powerful analogy for a Message on the blood of the Lamb of God and how His blood is the only anti-venom against sin. The blood of Jesus, the lamb of God and only sacrifice for the sins of mankind is the only cleansing agent capable of washing away sin. Sin is like a serpent that when encountered and handled improperly will result in a nasty bite, injecting its poison deep within your soul and producing spiritual death when not attended to.

     For many years scientists have sought an antidote for snakebite using the blood of horses to produce an anti-venom until it was discovered that lamb's blood built up a tolerance to poison much faster. Lamb's blood would immediately begin to produce an antibody that would counteract the venom of a snake. So it is with sin, the blood of Jesus will counteract its effect on mankind by washing away its deadly poison, thus cleansing the blood.

 THE LAMB OF GOD

     "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

     John the baptist saw Jesus approaching him to be baptized and announced that He was indeed the Lamb of God, a pure and holy sacrifice to be given for the sins of all of mankind. A Lamb without blemish was to be inspected by the High Priest to insure a perfect sacrifice before God and no defect was found. Jesus would offer up Himself for the sins of the world, making His blood an anti-venom for sin from that point on forever.

     Snake venom once injected into the blood stream begins to destroy tissue, nerves, organs and left unchecked without an anti-venom produces death to the body. Sin attacks the body in the same way by destroying not only the flesh but also the spiritual life of man. Un-repented sin produces both physical and spiritual death and is also carried down the bloodline to the unsuspecting generations yet to come, continuing its deadly effect.

     Jesus came to deal with sin once and for all by offering His life for ours, shedding His blood to cleanse our blood from the effects of sin and death. This spiritual transfusion received by faith cleanses mankind from all sin and transgression committed in ignorance. One drop of the Savior's blood will cleanse your life from sin and produce a new creation, like a worm to a butterfly in the blink of an eye you will be transformed into a totally new person free from the bondage of eternal death.

     Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. II Corinthians 5:17

 LIFE IS IN THE BLOOD

     'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for your soul.' Leviticus 17:11

     In the Old Testament, the High priest would offer the sacrifice of the blood of an unblemished lamb on the altar to make atonement for the people's sins. Atonement means to cleanse, purge and even pardon the sins committed in ignorance against God. The priest would smear the blood seven times signifying the seven places Jesus shed His blood for us on the cross.

     Sin first appeared in Heaven when one of God's sons, Lucifer was tempted and given over to pride. He not only succumbed to its seduction, but rebelled against the Most High and convinced a third of the angels to do the same. War broke out in Heaven and Lucifer and his band of rebels were cast out of their eternal home only to land in the garden of Eden in the midst of God's brand new earthly paradise.

     The most powerful arch angel Lucifer, now renamed Satan was hell bent on destroying God's new son, Adam and wrecking his life with sin. Adam and his new bride, Eve were approached by a beautiful serpent, just inhabited by Satan to entice them to sin against God by disobeying His command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Mesmerized by a talking snake the two listened intently to his seductive ploy to get them to eat from the tree.

     Once confronted Eve quoted the word of God saying that they were not to eat from the tree or touch it lest they die, but Satan responded, "Has God said, you surely shall not die?" Eve, not sure of what she was saying and Adam standing next to her in a daze should have run that devil out of the garden, but instead they took of the fruit of the tree and were bitten by the serpent of sin!

     Because of one act of disobedience all of mankind fell out of the grace of God, separated from His presence by sin and rebellion only to face a Christ-less eternity. It began in a garden and it ended in a garden many centuries to come in the future when the last Adam gave His life for all of mankind dealing with sin forever. The Savior took away the sting of the serpent's bite by the anti-venom of His own blood.

     Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification (pardon) of life. Romans 5:18

 THE BRONZE SERPENT

     Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. Numbers 21: 8,9

     The bronze serpent is a prophetic look into the future representing Jesus on the cross shedding His blood for anyone bitten by the serpent of sin. Jesus, who knew no sin, was made sin as a perfect sacrifice in order to wash away the sins of all mankind. As the people looked on the bronze serpent and were healed, so today we look at Jesus on the cross and by faith in Him alone we will be eternally healed and saved from the deadly effects of sin.

     Jesus is the only way of salvation and His blood is the only cleansing agent for sin. There are many religions professing eternal life through their doctrine, and many detours leading to hell and death by their seductive schemes, but there is only one way to Heaven, and His name is Jesus Christ, King of all kings and Lord of all lords, the only path to eternal life by His shed blood.

     Have you been bitten by the serpent of sin? Have you fallen from the path of righteousness and gone on a detour from God? Have you listened to the serpent's smooth voice and given in to temptation? Well, there is an anti-venom, the blood of Jesus, and according to His word, if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

     But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

    For by man came death, by Man (Jesus) also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. I Corinthians 15:20-22

Your servant in Christ, Timothy Laughlin
   Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ