Why can't you separate the shedding of Christ's blood from faith in it?
Scripture joins Christ's blood and faith as two inseparable elements of propitiation. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith there is no salvation; both must be brought together. Faith is taking God at His Word, so the blood's provision is received only by believing what God has said.
Les explains that God set forth Christ to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, and these two cannot be separated. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith there is no salvation, so the two must be brought together. Faith, in its simplest yet most all-inclusive definition, is taking God at His Word. Apart from that, no one can get the first base with Him. Cain illustrates the problem: he did not believe what God said, rationalized, and deceived himself, thinking God would accept him without the blood, but God did not. Abel, by faith, did what God said to do and offered a more excellent sacrifice, showing his faith by obedience. Abel was accepted, Cain rejected. Les says people today are doing the same thing; the human race has not changed one iota.
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;