"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."–I CORINTHIANS 2:2

Without the saving knowledge of Christ all learning is nothing. That soul which has been enlightened by the Spirit, looks for a remedy for his sin, and finds it only in Christ crucified. It is Who died that makes this so important. Every drop of His blood was not only the blood of an innocent man, but of one that was God as well as man. If He is not God, what He has done is nothing more than if it were my death. It is because of who He is that His sacrifice has infinite value.

There is in this death, merit and satisfaction which is accepted by God. By His death a satisfaction was made to God. This was the ransom which Christ paid for His elect. A ransom is an adequate price, paid by a substitute. This is the price which is required. Christ suffered the punishment which we should have suffered. Christ did not die to win our sympathy, He did not die to win our friendship, He died so that a Holy God could save our soul. He died so that 'God could be just and the justifier of the ungodly.' His death is not a pattern but a payment. His death is not an example but an atonement. His death does not revive us but it redeems us. Our problem is with the Law and with the Holy Justice of God, and we cannot go free until someone pays that sin debt before a Holy God.

Now God can receive us and pardon us because the Lord Jesus Christ paid our sin debt to whom it was owed. Christ took our sins, nailed them to His cross, and answered for us. His death is enough to pay for my sins. There is in Christ's blood an infinite treasure, capable of saving you and all the world. If you are not saved, it is not because His blood is not sufficient, or does not have the power, but because you reject this remedy. The blood of Christ can do what oceans of tears, and volumes of prayers can never do. 'Without shedding of blood is no remission.' Christ's blood alone can wash us clean. 'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.' God will not pardon without satisfaction by the blood of Christ.

Sin has made a separation between us and God, but Christ's death brings us back. The judgment of God against our sins is removed by the blood of Jesus, for it brings with it mercy and deliverance for all misery. It is the blood of Christ the rends that veil, and makes a way into the Holy of Holies. Without this blood there is no access to God. This blood is the key that unlocks heaven. In this blood we find a full satisfaction, a remission of sins, a reconciliation with God, an immunity from judgment, and an opened door into glory for us. When Paul said he desired to know nothing save 'Jesus Christ and Him crucified,' he said Christ's death was his ransom, Christ's wounds were his "Balm of Giliad", Christ's stripes were his cures, and Christ blood was his fountain to wash in to be clean.