Poison in the Blood

I guess it was about 25 years ago. I visited a church in the state of Mississippi that was in the grip of revival. God had sat down upon that country congregation and people's lives were being transformed by the Spirit of the Living Lord as they drank in that heavenly atmosphere.

And it was there on a hot summer Saturday night that I listened to an old-time preacher expound in no uncertain terms that man came into this world with a ruined nature and a bent toward sin. This old country preacher opened up the doctrine of man's total depravity that night that I still remember his message these many years. He went through the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation in a rapid-fire style and shot us full of holes as if he had two machine guns in his hands.

His message tore me apart along with the man I brought with me to hear him. I don't remember the old preacher's name but the title of his message is still fragrant in my memory. It was called Poison in the Blood.

He began his sermon by saying he just returned from the hospital visiting a dying man, a friend of his who had blood poisoning. There was nothing the doctors could do as this poison in his blood had spread throughout the man's body. And then this old boy opened up the scriptures with a mastery he had obviously gained from living in his Bible many years.

And he exposed the root of sin in all of us as a poison in the blood. That each of us there sitting in that sanctuary had blood poison. We had inherited this deadly disease from our father who had inherited from his father from his father's father all the way back to Adam and the fall in the garden.

That each of us there was born with a ruined nature and we each had a poison in our blood that would surely kill every one of us someday. That if we did not find the remedy for this sickness we would die in our sins and be sent to a place of torment called hell. And tonight friends I want to borrow that old preacher's title for my message this evening on man's ruined condition.

The title of my message is Poison in the Blood. My text can be found in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 9. You can turn in your Bibles there now friends. We will be in verses 9 through 13.

And let me read us a striking passage of scripture at this time. Here now is the word of God and may the spirit of the Lord attend the reading of his holy word. And as Jesus passed forth from thence he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom and he saith unto him follow me.

And he arose and followed him. Let me pause here friends to state that it is Matthew given this gospel account as he was a follower of Christ in his earthly ministry and an eyewitness to it. Therefore his words carry much weight.

Let us now proceed with the rest of our text. And it came to pass as Jesus sat at meet in the house behold many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Baptist preacher sought, I'm sorry friends, when the Pharisee sought they said unto his disciples why eateth your master with publicans and sinners.

But when Jesus heard that he said unto them they that behold need not a physician but they that are sick. Let me pause here friends to say that we evangelists have got the gospel all backwards today because we offer folks the remedy for sin before we show them their need of that remedy that we fail today to tell sinners that they have a poison in their blood that blinds them to spiritual truth prevents them from coming to Christ and keeps them shackled in a kingdom of darkness that they are going to hell because of this sin poison in their blood this rebellion in their nature which they inherited from their father's father all the way back to Adam that they are under a curse and under the condemnation of a holy God who is angry with the wicked every day and who demands that men repent and turn to him for forgiveness of sin through the shed blood of his dear son Jesus Christ the only refuge from God's wrath and the only remedy for sin Jesus said that those think they're okay don't have any need of him and it's still true today the self-righteous don't need a blood-stained Savior they are fine without them now look at the last verse in our text but go ye and learn what that meaneth I will have mercy and not sacrifice for I am come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance I will stop there friends the gospel call is a call to repentance why do men need to repent because they are sinners with a poison in their blood they are sin sick and need the remedy for sin in the person of Christ Jesus listen friends I know I'm a big sinner and I need a substitute for sin and so do you friend so do you Jesus stated that man is so dead in sin he won't come to him for salvation unless the Father first draws him did you know friend that saving faith comes from God if you are saved it's because he gave you saving faith Jesus says that he did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance are you a sinner are you in need of a Savior from sin you have a poison in your blood friend that will only harden you more and more the longer you live in this world without Christ and if you die with this poison being dead in sin you will enter a crisis eternity and be damned forever come to Christ friend for remission of sins you must repent and believe on him to get under his blood for forgiveness of sin flee to the only refuge and remedy for sin the Lord Jesus Christ let us pray