Yes—God sovereignly mandated that the shedding of blood is the only way sin can be forgiven.
Les explains that God, in His own sovereign reasoning, determined that shed blood would be required for the remission of sin. Scripture shows Christ as the propitiation through faith in His blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission.
Romans 3:25 — Paul says God set forth Christ as a propitiation through faith in His blood for the remission of sins, directly connecting the shedding of blood to forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22 — This is the foundational biblical statement that without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Ephesians 1:7 — Paul ties redemption through Christ's blood directly to the forgiveness of sins.
In Romans 3:24-25, Paul writes that sinners are 'justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood... for the remission of sins that are past.' Ephesians 1:7 likewise declares that 'in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.' The writer of Hebrews adds the foundational principle: 'without shedding of blood is no remission.' This points back to the Old Testament picture from the very beginning: God clothed Adam and Eve with animal skins, and David spoke of the blessedness of the one whose sin is covered. These animal sacrifices did not remove sin; they pictured the blood that would one day be shed.
Les emphasizes that God sovereignly decided that shed blood would be the only way to forgive sin, and believers must take that by faith. He acknowledges that people today find the idea bloody and distasteful, but Scripture's demand cannot be ignored. He offers a personal thought: life is in the blood, and new life only comes out of the death of a previous life, which is what the death, burial, and resurrection picture. Les also teaches that the Old Testament animal sacrifices never actually removed sin; they only covered it and pointed ahead to the true atoning work of the cross. The only blood that could actually purchase redemption was Christ's blood. There is no approach to God other than the blood-sprinkled way, as pictured by the high priest presenting the blood each year.
Les admits he has a personal idea: God chose blood because life is in the blood, and new life cannot come until death takes place. Even so, he insists the ultimate answer is that God, in His sovereign way, decided it would be through shed blood and no other way. God has mandated that there can be no salvation or forgiveness without it.
Animal sacrifices on the Day of Atonement did not remove Israel's sin; they merely covered it. Old Testament believers therefore could not enter glory when they died—they waited for the true atoning work of the cross. Once the divine blood of Christ was shed, their sins were atoned for.
Les explains that the two imperatives are faith and shed blood. On the cross, the shedding of blood was evident. If the Jews had killed Jesus by stoning, their normal form of capital punishment, that requirement of shed blood would not have been fulfilled. So the crucifixion was necessary because it was a death where the shedding of blood was evident.
Forgiveness is not earned by good works or human effort. God has declared that sinners can be justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The only way to experience that redemption is by putting faith in Christ's blood. This is the blood-sprinkled way of approach to God that the high priest pictured each year.
Redemption as the Purchase Price
Les shows that the first step of faith is admitting we are sinners, and that God justifies us freely by His grace through the redemption—the purchase price—in Christ Jesus.
God's Sovereign Mandate of Shed Blood
Les teaches that God sovereignly decided shed blood would be the only way to forgive sin, and that redemption and forgiveness come through His blood according to grace.
The Demand for Shed Blood
Les insists that modern distaste for sacrificial blood cannot change the Scripture's demand: God requires shed blood for the remission of sins, and faith is placed in His blood for that remission.
The Blood-Bought Way of Restoration
Les uses God clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins to show that the only way God can receive lost sinners is by the shedding of blood; without it there is no remission.
The Two Imperatives and the Cross
Les teaches that without faith it is impossible to please God and without shedding of blood there is no remission; Christ had to die by crucifixion so the shedding of His blood was evident.
Animal Blood Covered but Did Not Remove Sin
Les explains that Old Testament sacrifices only covered sin and couldn't remove it, leaving believers waiting for the true atoning work of the cross when Christ's blood was shed.
Redemption Purchased Only by Blood
Les teaches that God's only way to purchase mankind's redemption is blood, and the only way to experience redemption is faith in Christ's blood.
The Blood-Sprinkled Way to God
Les stresses that without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and the high priest's annual presentation of blood shows that blood is the only way to approach God.
Romans 3:24-25: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 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;
Paul directly connects redemption and forgiveness to faith in Christ's shed blood.
Ephesians 1:7: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
This verse ties redemption through Christ's blood to the forgiveness of sins.
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 requires the shedding of blood.
Genesis 3:21: Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
The first animal sacrifices pointed to the blood-bought way God receives lost sinners.
Psalm 32:1: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
David speaks of sins being covered, which Les says was the Old Testament reality before Christ's atoning work.
Yes. Les teaches that God has mandated that there can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, and this has not changed. Salvation and forgiveness come through faith in Christ's blood.
No. Les explains that animal blood only covered sin; it could not remove it. Those sacrifices pointed ahead to the true atoning work of the cross.
Because redemption is a purchase price, and God can only purchase mankind's redemption with blood. Christ's divine blood was the supreme sacrifice that fulfilled what animal blood only pictured.
Watch the Teaching: Why Jesus Forbade Mary to Touch Him: The High Priest & His Blood