Today, there are many churches that do not speak of the necessity for sins to be covered by the blood. They do not want to preach about the truth and the gore of a blood sacrifice. It is offensive to them. These preachers and leaders are painting the wrong picture about salvation. They are not teaching what the Bible says concerning forgiveness of sins. It was about the blood the moment that Adam and Eve sinned. Sin separated the creature from the Creator. God could no longer have sweet fellowship with those He had formed in His image. The first sacrifice to cover them was an animal that God himself killed. A sacrifice was made so that their shame could be covered.
Genesis 3:21 “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”
In Exodus 24, we witness a crucial moment in God’s covenant with Israel. After proclaiming the law, Moses built an altar at the foot of Mount Sinai, offered burnt sacrifices, and took the blood of young bulls. Splashing half of it against the altar, he read the Covenant to the people. After this, the people promised to obey all that God had said. He then sprinkled the remaining blood over them, and in Exodus 24:8, he declared, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” This solemn act was a bond sealed in blood, demonstrating that entering into covenant with a holy God required life-blood to cover our sins. It did then, and it does now.
Hundreds of years later, the author of Hebrews looks back at Sinai to show us a far greater reality. In Hebrews 9:22 we are reminded that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” However, while the blood of bulls and goats offered a temporary ceremonial purification under the Old Covenant, it could never fully wash away sin or clear a guilty conscience. Until the New Covenant was established, the sacrifices must be repeated year after year.
When Jesus came to earth, He came as a humble servant, but He was the ultimate High Priest. He did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, nor did He present the blood of animals. Instead, He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, obtaining eternal redemption for us. This New Covenant that He fulfilled was sealed by His precious blood. It was a once-and-for-all sacrifice. To those who place their faith in Him, it offers redemption and forgiveness. We are covered by His blood.
Through every generation, the requirement for approaching a Holy God remains unchanged: life must pay for sin. Yet what the law could only foreshadow, Jesus accomplished fully on the cross. It was never our good works, our heritage, or our self-reliance that brought us into relationship with God—it was the blood. And today, as in ancient times, it is still the blood of Jesus that grants us bold access to God, cleanses our conscience, and secures our eternal hope.
Our salvation is a precious gift. You cannot pay a higher price for something than a life. A life for God cannot be lived without death. I am so thankful that the perfect sacrifice was made and Jesus paid the price for my sins. All sin brings a debt that must be paid. I’m thankful God made a plan from the beginning, before sin entered the world, to cover our sins, and I am extremely grateful to be born under the New Covenant so that the payment for my sins is done. Do I still need to repent of wrongs I do? Absolutely, I John 1:9 was written to Christians: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We still mess up, and we are still God’s children, but we need to keep clear communication with Him. Just like in any other relationship, we don’t need to make blood sacrifices as they did in the Old Covenant; Jesus’ blood was enough. Our salvation is based on what Jesus did, and it is Jesus plus nothing.
