The Most Important Fundamental

I get a lot of stuff in the mail. One thing I get is a lot of Independent Baptist Magazines and Newspapers, and I read them. They help me stay informed with what's happening in the Independent Baptist Fundamentalist movement. (Sadly, I see them going downhill with much man worship, pride, and the love of fame, money, and power).

In the latest magazine I received, there was an article about what exactly Fundamentalism is. The writer defined it not only from the Dictionary, but also from what he personally believed it to be. But all of those who defend the "Fundamentals" of the Christian Faith and "Fundamentalism" all seem to leave out the most important of all the FUNDAMENTALS of the Christian Faith, and that is the BLOOD ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST!

All the books, magazines, tracts, pamphlets, etc. put out by "fundamentalist" Christians who claim to be "Fundamentalists" all seem to leave out the most important of all the Christian Fundamentals. Oh, they claim to believe that salvation is by faith alone, but faith in what??? They never say!

They also claim to believe that it took God's blood being shed to pay for man's sins, but even the Devil knows that! Where is their definitive statement on believing that a sinner must TRUST completely and solely in the shed BLOOD ATONEMENT of Jesus Christ? It's not there.

All throughout the Bible, we read that God only forgives man's sin through blood atonement. Even before the law, God demanded a blood sacrifice from sinners. This is why Adam, Abel, Seth, Noah, Enoch, Job, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, etc., all offered up animal sacrifices of blood to God for the forgiveness of their sins. It's because God demands BLOOD for payment for sin.

Later, God used Moses to write the law, and in the law God told the people how to bring a blood sacrifice to the Lord. We read of how in Leviticus chapter 1:

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.

4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

5 And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:

8 And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

10 And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.

A sinner was to KILL the sacrifice himself. But that wasn't all. He was to put his hand on the head of the animal, signifying it was for HIM and in HIS PLACE for HIS SINS. And it was the BLOOD that the priests collected and offered up to God for the man.

This is why we read this is Heb. 9:22, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

God only remits sins (or forgives them) through SHED BLOOD!

But the shed blood was not all there was to it. The Sinner also had to have faith. And what was the Sinner's faith in? It was in THE BLOOD!

A Sinner who sinned against God and wanted forgiveness of his sins knew that the only way to make peace with God and to have his sins remitted was through making a SHED BLOOD ATONEMENT. But he not only had to do that himself, he also had to TRUST that it was sufficient, for it was exactly what God demanded of him. In other words, HIS FAITH WAS IN THE BLOOD!

Now, when Jesus showed up and lived 33 years under the law, he never made a sacrifice for himself. He didn't have too. He was sinless.

Yet Jesus himself became the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of all mankind himself when he died on the cross of Calvary, shedding his own blood (God's blood, according to Acts 20:28) to pay for man's sins.

Jesus Christ was THE LAMB OF GOD, and the FINAL SACRIFICIAL BLOOD SACRIFICE for the sins of the world. What Jesus did was sufficient to forgive man all their sins. But what's lacking? Is the entire world already forgiven because Jesus did that?

No, something is lacking. And that something is FAITH in that finished work. That is specifically, FAITH IN THE SHED BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!

Romans 3:25 makes it so clear when it states of Jesus, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [a substitutionary blood atonement] THROUGH FAITH IN HIS BLOOD, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

Notice that the word of God says that Jesus will only be declared righteous and can only be your propitiation when your FAITH is in his precious shed BLOOD!

It's that simple. Salvation has always been in the Bible through faith in a blood atonement made on the Sinner's behalf. In the Old Testament, it was faith in the shed blood of an animal, usually a lamb. In the New Testament, it is through faith alone in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

This is sound Biblical doctrine! Yet today it is often ommitted and yeah even mocked frequently, even by those who call themselves "Fundamentalists."

Why would they leave out the most important of all Fundamentals of the Christian Faith, that of trusting upon a BLOOD ATONEMENT for the forgiveness of sins?

Many Christians today don't preach the blood, or a Sinner's need for reliance upon the blood of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins. Instead, they are guilty of preaching a "BLOODLESS GOSPEL," of which there are many. They go something like this:

Just make a decision to follow Christ.

Just turn your life over to God.

Just Ask God to forgive your sins, begging and pleading him to do so.

Just Ask Jesus into your heart and/or life

Just make a commitment to Jesus

All of these things might sound good to the ears of the hearer, but they are not "Fundamental" in nature, nor are they Biblical, for they all do the same thing, THEY ALL LEAVE OUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!

This is why it bothers me so much to hear people bragging on being "Fundamentalists" and then writting down their little creeds, doctrinal statements, and lists of what they believe the Fundamentals really are, but then they leave out FAITH IN THE BLOOD altogether!

Could it be they really aren't all that Fundamental? Could it be they might even be LOST, because they haven't even gotten the most basic of the Fundamentals right, that of salvation only through FAITH in a BLOOD ATONEMENT?

I believe there is a great problem in "Fundamentalism," "Christianity," "Evangelicalism" and "the Independent Baptist Movement" today. I believe they all consistently leave out the most important of all the Christian Fundamentals, and that is the simple basic doctrine of YOU MUST TRUST THE BLOOD ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST IN ORDER TO BE TRULY BORN AGAIN.

This, as harrowing, horrible, and unbelievable as this might seem, means that there are Pastors, Missionaries, Evangelists, Deacons, Church Members, Sunday School Teachers, and even Bus Captians in our churches today who are not saved! They brag upon being Fundamentalists, but they have left out the most important of all the Fundamentals, RESTING IN THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS CHRIST ALONE, TRUSTING ONLY HIS SHED BLOOD FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF THEIR SINS.

I have met such people. It's easy to spot them. All you have to do is ask them their testimony. If they say they "DID" something, and they leave out trusting the blood atonement for salvation, then they are lost. It's sad, but true. And our churches are full of such people. When you ask them for their testimony, they usually say things like: "Well, I asked God to save me, and I don't know if he did or not, so I just ask him again every night just to be sure."

This is NOT salvation! For a person like this has no assurance of salvation. They don't know they are saved, they only hope they are. And they are NOT trusting in the blood atonement of Christ, for if they were, they would not for sure that their sins are forgiven.

IN these last days in which the Bible calls days of apostasy well shall see more and more of this BLOODLESS GOSPEL. And it's so sad, because it ought not so to be.

What bothers me is that there are so few who preach the right Gospel (of 1 Cor. 15:1-4), that of salvation by FAITH in the blood atonement. Instead, many today are preaching the Beggar's Gospel of just ask Jesus into your heart, or beg his forgiveness, or make a commitment to him, etc. But, why would God save anyone outside of man's faith in HIS BLOOD ATONEMENT ON CALVARY??? It just doesn't make any sense.

God help us.

In the mean time, you there reading this blog. Let me ask you this: "Are you saved? How'd you get saved?"

Now let me ask you this also, "When did you trust the Blood of Jesus Christ alone to save your soul and forgive you of all your sins?"

Time is short. Jesus is coming soon. If you really are a "fundamentalist," then why are you leaving out the most important of all Fundamentals; that of FAITH ALONE IN THE SACRIFICIAL BLOOD ATONEMENT of Jesus Christ?