How often do you hear that the blood of Jesus saves you from your sins?
Today I’m talking about a pretty heavy duty topic, the fact that the blood of Jesus, on its own, is not what saves you from your sins. I know this can be a controversial statement for some people. Because one of the most prevalent teachings among many Christians, in many different denominations, is that the blood of Jesus does save you from your sins.
They believe that Jesus, as the Lamb of God, was a perfect sacrifice to save us from and atone for our sins. His blood, shed before and during the crucifixion, washed away our sins completely, as if to bring to full fruition the Old Testament practice of sacrificing animals and shedding their blood to atone for the sins of the Israelites.
Countless sermons have been preached, books written, and hymns sung about the power of the blood of Jesus to take away the sins of the world. Just Google it to see what I’m talking about.
And when you do a word search in a Bible concordance you’ll find lots of passages, that on the surface, if only taken literally and out of the greater context of the entire message of salvation, seem pretty convincing that Jesus’s blood is what saves you from your sins.
Does the blood of Jesus save?
But the more I’ve been studying these passages, the more I see something deeper going on than just the literal blood of Jesus freeing us from our sins.
First let’s talk about some of these verses people quote about the blood of Jesus. They are very important and I am not dismissing them by any means. But I’m trying to see them in context of all the Bible has to say about forgiveness of sins and salvation. And I also have to ask the question: When these verses talk about the blood of Jesus, is it the literal blood or is the word blood used metaphorically?
Something to think about.
In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace, Ephesians 1:7 NIV
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18, 19 NIV
The blood of Jesus: literal or metaphorical?
Actually, this is a good indication that it’s not the literal blood being referred to. Peter says that even silver and gold, which seem to us pretty substantial, as part of the material world, are ultimately perishable. The literal blood of Jesus, the physical red liquid that flowed in his veins and was shed on the cross is also perishable. It doesn’t exist anywhere anymore.
But that’s not what 1 Peter is talking about. It’s the “spiritual” blood of Jesus, the spiritual significance of Jesus’s blood and the crucifixion that is eternal and precious.
Here are some more verses that talk about the blood of Jesus. As I read them, think about blood in a more metaphorical way, from a spiritual perspective of what the spilling of Jesus’s blood represents.
But if we walk in the light, as he [God] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 NIV
When you take verses like this literally, and there are a lot more I don’t have time to quote, it’s no wonder people say: “It’s the blood of Jesus that saves us from our sins.” But again I ask, is it the literal blood of Jesus or the what blood being shed represents?
What is the significance of the blood of Jesus?
Here’s an often quoted passage in Hebrews. It goes beyond just the literal blood of Jesus saving us from our sins, and hints at the spiritual meaning of his blood, his sacrifice, that brings redemption.
In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. [That was a cultural belief and practice during that time in history] That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. Hebrew 9:22-26, 28 NLT
According to the writer of Hebrews, Christ entered heaven to atone for our sins, implying that his blood, which far above the blood of animals, is what purifies us.
A more spiritual view of the blood of Jesus
But Paul makes an important point in his first letter to the church in Corinth.
I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Corinthians 15:50 NIV
There is no literal, physical blood in heaven, because everything there is spiritual. This would imply the writer of Hebrews is not talking about Jesus’s literal blood, but something metaphorical, something spiritual.
Now, we could go round and round in circles here. So, maybe we need to see what Jesus had to say about his blood.
So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.” John 6:53 NLT
The Jews listening to Jesus had a hard time understanding what he was saying. They took it literally. And the idea of drinking blood was an offense to them. God says,
I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. Leviticus 17:10 NIV
Does Jesus really want us to drink his blood?
Is Jesus referring to his literal blood flowing through his veins? Do we have to drink his literal blood to have eternal life?
For those Christians who say we have to take the whole Bible literally, this poses a bit of a problem. Did Jesus cut himself and put his blood in a cup for his followers to drink? Of course not.
If this were what Jesus requires of us, it’s not quite fair because he’s not here in the flesh, and his blood is not available in its literal form. If Jesus meant this literally, we wouldn’t be able to participate or have access to eternal life.
But Jesus was not encouraging his followers to drink his literal blood.
And of course, you can say, “Well, that’s obvious.” But if it’s so clear that Jesus is referring to his blood metaphorically, why do so many Christians still think of his blood in such literal terms?
Is it the literal blood of Jesus that saves?
So I pose my question: Is Jesus’s literal blood shed on the cross – from the nails in his hands and feet, the crown of thorns on his head, the flogging wounds on his back, and the spear puncturing his side – is it this literal blood that redeems us?
Or is it a metaphor for something going on at a much deeper spiritual level?
So what does blood signify on a deeper level? Well, even literally blood represents life.
the life of the body is in its blood. Leviticus 17:11 NLT
Blood represents life. Now let’s go deeper spiritually. Jesus said,
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6 NLT
When Jesus asked us to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he was not referring to his literal blood as our life.
He also said he was the bread of life and the light of the world. These are metaphors. He didn’t quite put it this way, but Jesus is the lifeblood, in this metaphorical sense, the vital essence of our spiritual life.
The spiritual blood of Jesus
What was Jesus’s spiritual blood that flowed through him? What motivated him? His intense love for us, for all mankind.
He gave that love freely every moment of his ministry and most profoundly at his crucifixion.
As I said at the beginning of this episode, many Christians believe Jesus’s death on the cross and the shedding of his blood, frees us from sin.
But the more I’ve pondered and prayed about what was taking place on the cross, the more I’ve come to believe that the crucifixion was just one component of our sins being forgiven and that in and of itself, it cannot save us from our sins.
The cross
So, what took place on the cross?
On the surface, a man was executed and died. But Jesus said,
Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly. John 7:24 NLT
To everyone watching, Jesus was nailed to a cross and died. But on a more spiritual level, the exact opposite was taking place.
Spiritually, Jesus was not being conquered by sin and death, but he was conquering them. In fact, he had already declared his victory before the crucifixion.
But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33 NLT
What’s going on here? Here’s my take on it. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Jesus’s victory
Even before the crucifixion, Jesus had won his victory over the material world on a deep spiritual level. But then he had to prove his victory here on earth.
While it appeared to everyone present that he was being crucified by the world’s evil, as I said, the exact reverse was taking place. Jesus was crucifying sin and death. He was destroying the grip these evils had on all mankind. And by his resurrection he proved his complete victory over sin and death, and won the victory for us as well.
Jesus had said earlier in his ministry
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9 KJV
You could say Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection opened the door for all of us to have a victory over sin and death, any and every evil in the world.
If Jesus had not been crucified, he could not have been resurrected. To say that life is eternal and death has no ultimate power over us is one thing, but Jesus proved what he preached.
Would you want to take a Calculus class from a professor who couldn’t solve the problems and prove that he understood the principle of Calculus? Of course no t. Even so, Jesus proved that he knew what he was talking about and that everything he had preached was true.
What if there was no resurrection?
Paul makes this very point in his letter to the Church in Corinth.
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:13, 14, 16, 17 NIV
Let that sink in: “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
For all that Paul and other New Testament writers say about the blood of Jesus saving us from our sins, this passage cannot be ignored or dismissed as irrelevant.
Paul is saying without the resurrection, there would be no victory over sin and we would still be “in our sins.” It is Jesus’s victory over sin and death that saves us from our sins, not just the blood of Jesus.
Does Paul contradict himself?
How does this match up with what Paul says earlier in that same letter to the church in Corinth?
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 NIV
And people quote this verse all the time and that’s their focus, the crucifixion.
Is Paul contradicting himself? In Chapter 2 he says he only wants to know about Jesus being crucified and then in Chapter 15 he says without the resurrection, the crucifixion doesn’t do any good.
But we get a little better insight into what this verse is actually saying in the New Living Translation
For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 NLT
Paul’s focus was always on Jesus, and just to be clear, he says it is the Jesus who was crucified, not one of the many other men who had the same name.
And by the way, at least from what I can tell, Paul talks about the resurrection a lot more than he talks about the blood of Jesus.
And when he does talk about the blood, he’s not so much talking about the actual, literal blood, but what it represents, the sacrifice Jesus made.
Jesus’s sacrifice
And what was the sacrifice Jesus made?
In effect, it was his own material life. He gave up and relinquished the outward appearance of what life is, so much flesh, blood, and bones. He proved that, even when his material life had been taken away, his spiritual life, his spiritual essence or identity as the Son of God, could never die.
Humanly he died on the cross. Spiritually, he did not.
By his resurrection, he proved that the true life of all God’s children is not the material, worldly sense of life we usually identify with, but spiritual and eternal.
Paul echoes this in his letter to the church at Rome.
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:9, 12-14, 16, 17 NIV
Jesus’s victory over sin and death
Through his victory over sin and death, Jesus has opened the door for us to partake in our divine, spiritual heritage as children of God. Jesus proved the true essence of life is spiritual.
We are not washed clean by his literal blood. We’re redeemed by Jesus’s willingness to sacrifice and overcome a material sense of life, or life “according to the flesh,” as Paul puts it in Romans.
You are redeemed by Jesus’s victory over sin and death. Your sins can be, are, and will be forgiven and washed away because of Jesus’s resurrection. By his resurrection Jesus reveals your life as spiritual and eternal.
When the blood of Jesus or his crucifixion are mentioned in the New Testament, it’s with reference to the whole message of crucifixion and resurrection, suffering and victory.
Do your own Bible research
There are a lot of nuances and many more Scriptures that speak to this issue. There’s no way I could cover them all in this short podcast episode. I realize I’m not quoting every passage in the Bible that supports one side or the other of this discussion. My hope is that you will do your own research and not just repeat what I or anyone else says.
But don’t just pick and choose the Scriptures that prop up your preconceived ideas. Try to get the bigger picture and look at all relevant passages. You can’t create a theological teaching on forgiveness of sin or salvation without including all the Bible says on this topic.
Please don’t get me wrong. I am by no means saying Jesus’s crucifixion was not important. As I said earlier, without the crucifixion, there could have been no victory over sin and death.
The blood of Jesus doesn’t save you from your sins, his resurrection does
But it was not Jesus’s death on the cross that saves you from your sins. It’s the fact that he faced the ultimate test of God’s power over evil, sin, death, and all the material world could dish out, and proved God to be supreme and life to be eternal. It is his victory over death that saves you.
The next time you hear someone talk about being saved by the blood of Jesus, remember what Paul said to the Corinthians: “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17)
When you look at all Paul has written, when he talks about the crucifixion and the blood of Jesus, it’s understood he’s also talking about the resurrection, even though he might not mention it specifically in a particular verse. The resurrection was the focus that propelled his ministry.
And so it is for you and me. Jesus’s crucifixion, along with his resurrection, prove sin and death have no ultimate power over us and that our sins have been, are, and will be forgiven.
Paul summarizes this when he says,
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Ephesians 1:7 NIV
7 In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace,
1 Peter 1:18, 19 NIV
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
1 John 1:7 NIV
7 But if we walk in the light, as he [God] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Hebrew 9:22-26, 28 NLT
22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. [That was a cultural belief and practice during that time in history]
23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.
25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal.
26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
28 so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people.
1 Corinthians 15:50 NIV
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
John 6:53 NLT
53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.”
Leviticus 17:10 NIV
10 I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people.
Leviticus 17:11 NLT
11 the life of the body is in its blood.
John 14:6 NLT
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
John 7:24 NLT
24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.
John 16:33 NLT
33 But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
John 10:9 KJV
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
1 Corinthians 15:13, 14, 16, 17 NIV
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 2:2 NIV
2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:2 NLT
2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.
Romans 8:9, 12-14, 16, 17 NIV
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
