God's handiwork, the human body, is an amazing thing. As King David wrote in Psalm 139, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made". Our blood, existing in the various types that have been discovered, is surely an extremely important part of God's intricate, wise workmanship.

What a blessing that He has enabled men and women to even share their blood for the benefit of their neighbors!

One blood "type" is infinitely more precious than any other. In a letter to his fellow Christians, the apostle Peter wrote:

"You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

By donating our blood, you or I might help save the earthly life of a hospitalized patient. Much greater is –

which has the power to redeem and give eternal life to those who believe in Him!

The Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings (what Christians commonly call the Old Testament) helps us understand this.

Right at the beginning, when Man first rebelled against God in the garden of Eden, God showed man that BLOOD was necessary for forgiveness.

Adam and Eve tried to cover their shame by sewing fig leaves together. God, shedding the BLOOD of animals, gave them skins instead (see Genesis, chapter 3).

From then on, through the primitive animal sacrifices of Abel the son of Adam and the other patriarchs, all the way down to the detailed sacrifices described in the law of Moses, God kept telling His people that when it comes to dealing with sin,

"Without shedding of blood there is no remission."

The animal sacrifices had to be repeated over and over because they were only foreshadows of the Lamb of God, Jesus, and the precious BLOOD He would shed. The foreshadowy animal sacrifices could not give full assurance of forgiveness to those who knew the guilt and shame of sin.

What about you? Do you have that sense of being lost, guilty, far from God? The Bible teaches that we are all in that state by nature, as descendants of Adam. The good news, the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah, comes to us against the backdrop of the bad news:

As Peter wrote, the BLOOD of Jesus provides eternal redemption for lost, rebel sinners. We might say that the Lord Jesus Christ is the great, Divine blood donor!

Because of His amazing love for lost sinners, He took on Himself the just penalty for their sin, namely death. When He shed His own blood on the cross, the Son of God was dying as a Substitute for His people.

Then Jesus rose from the dead! This showed that REDEMPTION was fully accomplished, and that there was no need for any other sacrifice ever again.

Jesus lives today, having ascended into heaven to the right hand of God the Father. From there, He sends the Holy Spirit of God. When the Holy Spirit convinces one that he or she is a guilty sinner in need of forgiveness, that one repents (turns from sin) and trusts in Jesus for forgiveness. No one can earn this REDEMPTION.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."

"Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

"And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."

The "bride" in the above passage from the Bible is –

The Church is not a building, but is all the people of every color, from all nations and languages, and from all ages who have come to know this great Savior, Jesus the Lord.

A member of one of the congregations of Christ…one small, local expression of that global, timeless people of God…probably gave you this pamphlet. We hope you will seek out that congregation or one like it, to further discuss these matters of eternal significance.