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Why does God require a blood sacrifice?”

by Stephen Davey

Weldon asked: “Why does God require a blood sacrifice?

Weldon,

I want to begin by acknowledging that God, in His sovereign plan, determined what would be required and what would not be required for salvation. It’s unfruitful to speculate on what other possible means God could have established. God determined that for men and women to be saved, there must be the shedding of blood. I accept that as God’s plan and desire because it’s what the Bible teaches.

One verse we need to consider is found in Leviticus 17:11

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. (ESV)

One thing to clarify is that God is connecting the shedding of blood with the giving of a life. For example, in the sacrificial system, the Israelites could not simply pick an animal, and gather a few drops of blood for the alter. That wouldn't be sufficient.

When we think of our salvation that Jesus accomplished, Jesus could not have shed a little blood on the cross and then come down off of it. He had to literally give his life. So the shedding of blood is a reference to the giving of an innocent life in exchange for the life of a guilty person. 

This goes all the way back to Genesis 3 where God took the lives of animals, fashioned their skins into clothing, and gave the clothes to Adam and Eve as a covering. Those skins replaced the fig leaves that Adam and Eve had created. The leaves were man's attempt to make atonement. But God’s plan involved the shedding of blood. 

The author of Hebrews makes it clear that the sacrificial system of the Old Testament is completed in Christ.

[11] But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) [12] he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. [13] For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, [14] how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:11–14 ESV)

[22] Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22 ESV)

We have here in Hebrews the teaching that Jesus Christ ties everything together. Jesus died, once for all, shedding his blood, giving us life so that we can meet the requirements for the payment of the wrath of God through the sacrifice of an innocent life. And of course, Jesus Christ was the innocent Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.

Thanks for asking, Weldon.

Stephen

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Comments

Elikplin Amou says:
Very understandable.thanks
Ofori Dwomoh K.Daniel says:
Great, only the shed blood of the lamb of God can be the propitiation for the sins of the world and it's true. Our righteousness is by the Blood of the Lord Jesus.
Arthur Serino says:
Some churches propagate the idea, but Christ himself could never have accepted that he died “for our sins” as some form of human sacrifice. The Tanakh teaches that YHWH demands willingness to commit to Him, even unto human sacrifice, but to actually sacrifice the innocent (e.g. children, to Moloch) is an abomination. Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son, but was told not to. Jephthah accidentally bound himself to sacrificing his daughter, and it became a source of unbearable agony for him. Yeshua taught that our Heavenly Father is nothing short of unconditional love. To demand a good man’s death as a price for evil men’s sin is not loving, but cruel—something only an unjust and wicked god would do. Yeshua may have accepted his untimely death as part of a greater plan too complex to understand, but he always taught that our Heavenly Father’s forgiveness is limitless, eternal, and immediately available to those who seek it. To say that his unjust and brutal assassination at the hands of conniving, jealous priests was a payment for our sins assumes that the Supreme Person is an evil tyrant who demands the blood of innocent victims in order to absolve others of their guilt. This answer is blasphemy.
Frank says:
Stewpidity abounds
William Cox says:
NOTE FROM WISDOM: William, while we disagree with your comments, we're glad you took the time to engage with our content.

Blood sacrifice is irrational. No loving God could ask for ANY blood sacrifice because it involves wrongful, irrational killing. God is love. No loving God would ask a man to kill his own son to prove devotion or for any other reason. No loving God would create a plan of salvation which would require torture and murder of HIS OWN SON. No God would ever need or have a human son because God is eternal. Nobody in his right mind could ever believe God is or was a man. That's irrational and stupid. The Bible is full of naive and stupid, irrational lies and bloody horror morality tales which, examined by reason, are preposterous nonsense. Ancient peoples were illiterate so I can understand they believed what they were told, often on pain of punishment or death, to believe, but why do moderns believe in this nonsense?

James Thorton says:
I believe in the old testament that all God did was test people faith through outrageous acts to prove their faith. Blood sacrifices of animals is murdering one of Gods creations is unnecessary in all logical aspects. He could of left it at I made animals for you to eat ans survive and make clothes, that is their purpose of why God created them. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Why would God test peoples faith in obscured ways like this? It shows that God saw his "creations in his image????" as equivalent to and animal. God wanted control of all his people to follow and love and have faith in himself. I think he should of started off by giving his creation knowledge and wisdom and intelligence in order to have a chance to combat Lucifer. It would of allowed man to make reasonable choices, decipher right from wrong easier and ultimately totally understand the consequences if they sinned.
Etta Moran says:
Awesome article!
Kurtis Ntiamoah says:
Thanks for your spiritual understanding and explanation. Now we must understand that anything God created is based on a principle and man is created as body soul and spirit. And soul can only survive in the blood according to Leviticus 17:11. God could have said I am creator and created you so man have life and everything ends. But God when forming a soul He place a soul in a blood for his survival and He cannot bypass His own principles and do other wise. Understand that no blood no soul can survive as the body survived on food and the spirit on the word of God or relationship with God. Bless you.
Sherri says:
Thanks Stephen for your words lining up with the Word of God. God makes the rules, man doesnt. Thank God for His great sacrifice for us. To give up His perfect Son He loves for us is the ultimate kind of love anyone could receive.
Martin says:
Thanks for sharing this useful information