Faith and the shedding of blood are inseparable in salvation: God requires blood as the basis for forgiveness and faith as the response that receives it.
Les Feldick teaches that Scripture sets out two absolutes: without the shedding of blood there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22), and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Romans 3:25 brings these together by presenting Christ as the propitiation through faith in His blood.
Romans 3:25 — This is the central verse that directly connects the shed blood of Christ with faith, showing the relationship between the two.
Hebrews 9:22 — This verse establishes the absolute necessity of shed blood for the remission of sins.
Hebrews 11:6 — This verse establishes the absolute necessity of faith to please God.
Hebrews 9:22 says, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Romans 3:25 says, "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." These passages place the shed blood of Christ as the basis for remission and faith as the means by which that remission is received.
Les Feldick teaches that Scripture contains two absolutes that no one can avoid: "without the shedding of blood there is no remission" and "without faith it is impossible to please God." He says these two imperatives cannot be bypassed, bridged, or tunneled under — they must be faced head on. Romans 3:25 brings them together, because Christ is set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood. The blood is the price of redemption, and faith is the response that appropriates it. From the Passover lamb to the tabernacle high priest to the cross, the blood-sprinkled way is the only way to God. And from the beginning, God provided a blood sacrifice, but people had to believe what He said. So salvation requires both: a sacrifice that sheds blood and a faith that takes God at His Word.
Les Feldick identifies two statements in Scripture that he calls "two absolutes" or "two imperatives": without the shedding of blood there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22), and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). He says no one — regardless of religious background or denomination — can detour around them; they must be faced head on. Because God sovereignly decided that He would forgive sin through shed blood and no other way, and because faith is the response that pleases Him, both are mandatory.
Les teaches that Romans 3:25 fully satisfies both imperatives. The verse says God set forth Christ to be a propitiation through faith in His blood. The shed blood is the price of redemption, and the believing — the faith — is how that redemption is appropriated. He also notes that in the following verse, Romans 3:26, all of this is applied when we believe. So the blood is the basis and faith is the hand that takes it.
Les stresses that God has mandated there can be no salvation and no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. He points to the high priest presenting the blood each year as the only thing that opened the way for man to approach God. He also observes that God chose shed blood because life is in the blood, and new life comes out of death — which is what the death, burial, and resurrection are all about. The shed blood of Christ is the basis for redemption and forgiveness.
Faith is not a work that replaces the blood; it is the response that receives what the blood provides. Les emphasizes that people must take God at His Word. He points to Adam and Eve: God provided the blood sacrifice, but they had to believe what He said. Likewise, redemption comes when we believe what God says about the shed blood, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. The two imperatives — faith and blood — cannot be separated.
Passover Lamb and the Blood Requirement
Les explains that the Passover lamb had to be without blemish, picturing Christ's sinlessness, and that Hebrews 9:22 means the blood cannot be bypassed.
The Two Imperatives
Les identifies the two imperatives — without faith it is impossible to please God and without shedding of blood there is no remission — and notes that the whole purpose of the cross was the shedding of blood.
Satisfying Both Absolutes
Les shows that Romans 3:25 satisfies both imperatives: the shed blood is the price of redemption, and believing is the faith that appropriates it.
God's Demand Cannot Be Set Aside
Les stresses that God, in His own reasoning, has demanded shed blood for the remission of sin, and no one can go against that demand.
Only the Blood-Sprinkled Way
Les points to the high priest presenting blood in the tabernacle as the only way for man to approach God, and links unbelief to the failure to enter God's rest.
Faith Plus the Blood Offering
Les teaches that from the beginning God provided a blood sacrifice, but Adam and Eve had to believe what He said — it had to be faith plus the blood offering.
Redemption Through Faith in His Blood
Les connects Romans 3:25 with the two mandatory statements: redemption comes when we believe what God says about the shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection.
God Mandated Shed Blood
Les explains that God sovereignly chose shed blood as the only way to forgive sin, because life is in the blood, and no salvation or forgiveness is possible without it.
Hebrews 9:22: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
This is the foundational statement that remission of sins requires shed blood.
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
This is the companion absolute that faith is required to please God.
Romans 3:25: 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;
This verse joins the two by presenting Christ as the propitiation received through faith in His blood.
No. Les Feldick teaches that the two absolutes of Scripture stand together: without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith it is impossible to please God. You cannot separate them or bypass either one.
Les teaches that God in His sovereign way decided that forgiveness would come through shed blood and no other way. He chose blood because life is in the blood, and new life comes only after death, pictured in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Les teaches that Romans 3:25 satisfies both absolutes: the shed blood is the price of redemption, and faith is how that redemption is appropriated. God set forth Christ as the propitiation, and we receive it by believing.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Blood? The Bible's Answer to Forgiveness & Faith