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READ | 1 Peter 1:17-21
Many churches today have erased all mention of Jesus’ blood from
their worship. But the shedding of blood is essential to the Christian
faith—without a sacrifice, no one can have a relationship with God. For
that reason, the Lord wove the story of death, renewal, and
reconciliation like a red thread from Genesis to Revelation.
What do you have if you take all the blood from a body? A lifeless
corpse, right? The same thing is true of the Bible. Scripture would be
no more than historical literature if we edited the “unpleasant” bits
regarding animal sacrifice, Jesus on the cross, or the power of His
blood.
God designed the redemption system in such a way that anyone could
understand the connection between shed blood and freedom from sin. The
Lord gave detailed instructions for offering a perfect animal sacrifice
so that His holiness would be satisfied. God also wanted His followers
to understand that sin brought terrible consequences and resulted in
death. The first fatality in Scripture was the animal whose skin was
used to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness (Gen. 3:21). Every time an Israelite brought to the priests a lamb or a
pair of doves, he recognized that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
God chose a graphic solution to the world’s sin problem. Therefore,
believers cannot be squeamish about explaining what truly happened at
Golgotha. The words we choose influence listeners; “Jesus shed His blood
for you” is a powerful statement. It is also the message God repeats
throughout the Bible.