“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin” — (Hebrews 3:22)
Many people feel that Christianity is an out-of-date religion. They say that it is based upon a barbaric system of guilt and blood.
Well, there is a bit of truth in that. Not that Christianity is out of date and irrelevant, but rather that the use of blood is needed for the removal of sin and guilt from our lives.
From the beginning of time, humanity has been taught that there was a value in the shedding of blood for forgiveness of sins.
When Adam and Eve sinned, God covered them with the skins of animals, and in doing so signified to them, and to all future generations, that there would be a need for blood to cover their sins so they could approach God. The entire Old Testament sacrificial system was based upon this fact. In fact, it was a practice that the Lord instituted and therefore required.
The Jewish nation was continually offering sacrifices as a means to disguise their sins.
These sacrifices, however, were meant to be a picture that someday a greater eternal sacrifice would appear to restore the broken relationship that exists between us and the Lord.
That was the purpose of Jesus coming. Christ came to be a sacrifice and offered Himself to cover our sins, bringing us into an eternal relationship with our Father in Heaven.
Jesus Christ came as God in human form to be the final sacrifice. He came as a human to be our substitute, yet, he had to be fully God as well to make it eternal, one for all, forgiveness.
So, as the writer of the verse says, without the shedding of Christ’s blood, we would never have forgiveness from God for our disobedience, nor will we ever have a relationship with Him to be called His children.
The only question is, has it been applied to you? Or do you still feel you have to measure up to some moral standard, seeking to be religious or, for that matter, do anything yourself to please God?
The shedding of blood is over, once and for all, never again.
All you have to do is ask Christ to forgive you for it, and that blood will, as the hymn writer says, “wash you whiter than snow.”