... and the third day He will rise again (Matthew 20:19)

What's the deal about the death and resurrection of Christ? Many critics reject the 'blood theology' of the Bible because they see it as a remnant of a very barbaric type of primitive religion termed a 'slaughterhouse religion.' Biblical Christianity is abandoned by some who consider themselves too refined to include thoughts of sacrifice in their worship.

The Bible quite forthrightly states, That soul that sinneth, it shall die, and the wages of sin is death (Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23). In the moral government of God, He has ordained that physical and eternal death be the just penalty for sin. People may chafe against God's decree, thinking it is unfair or extreme, but their protests only show how sin has blinded them to sin's true nature.The fact that God requires such a drastic penalty should teach them, not that God is brutal, but that sin is heinous.

Yet God, in His matchless love for sinful man, has also decreed that the penalty for sin can be born by a substitute, and on that principle has built the Old Testament system for sacrifice.

For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17:11). Even if any man had wanted to, he could not offer himself in payment for his sins, for his sin had disqualified him from being an accceptable sacrifice. Consequently, the Old Testament provided for the offering of certain select animals whose blood was shed vicariously for the sins of those who repented and trusted God's revelation.

All of the spotless, innocent animals that became sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed to that Great Sacrifice, the one made by Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. John the Baptist introduced Him, saying Behold! The Lamb of God, who take away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).

The penalty God imposed on sin is both just and loving, for God Himself, in the Person of the Son, paid that penalty for all who will accept Him as their Substitute. God the Son, clothed in human form, shed His blood for man's sin, thus satisfying every demand of holy justice. And through that precious blood, God showed Himself to be both just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).

The Bible portrays unsaved man as a slave to sin and speaks of freeing him in the same manner as slaves were redeemed in the ancient world. In Christ, we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. (Ephesians 1:7).

You were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain manner of life ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as a Lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Apart from Jesus Christ, all people are alienated from God. Sin's rebellion forged a gulf between God and man that is humanly impassable. Yet, Christ's blood built the bridge from God to man.

Now in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (Romans 5:8-9)

Human sin produces a pollution of the heart that can only be cleanses by God's grace. And that grace manifests itself in the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice, the Apostle John declaring, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7)

While God will not look upon sin, we may still enjoy His loving gaze because of Christ's blood. Revelation's glimpse of the future glory gives this account:

These are they which came out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. (Revelation 7:14-15)

The Bible emphasizes Christ's blood because only in His sacrifice can we find forgiveness, cleansing, reconciliation, salvation, and glory! For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

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