A Blood Sacrifice is Necessary for Forgiveness

Why is a blood sacrifice necessary for forgiveness? Why couldn't God just forgive someone who truly repents?

Let me begin by posting a parable from another source.

A grandfather found his young grandson jumping up and down in his playpen, crying at the top of his lungs. When little Johnnie saw him, he reached up his chubby hands and implored, "Out, Gramp, out!" The elderly gentleman stooped to lift the boy out of his predicament, but just then Johnnie's mother approached with the words, "No, Johnnie, you are being punished, so you must stay in."

The grandfather found himself torn between the simultaneously opposing forces of mercy and justice. Tears and hands reached into his heart, but he also respected the mother's wisdom in firmly correcting her son for misbehavior. Love found a way to resolve the dilemma: Since Gramp couldn't take Johnnie out of his pen, he crawled in with him! [Roy Gane, "NIV Application Commentary: Leviticus, Numbers"]

We see in the parable both justice and mercy taking place in a balanced way. Our God is a divine being of justice and mercy. God shows justice and mercy to all creatures, not just in this temporary aspect of this world, but in the ultimate aspect of eternity. Both the elect and the non-elect receive God's mercy and justice, for that is His character. Why can't God just forgive people who repent and believe without requiring sacrifice? I believe the answer to that question is that forgiveness is not justice. If God just forgives the elect for repenting, then there is no justice.

If a man murders another man and he stands before the judge in court and repents of his wrong, and if the judge says, "You are forgiven and may go home in peace," then the family of the victim is going to stand up and cry out injustice. Forgiveness is not justice. Both crime and forgiveness have a large cost. You can't just throw out forgiveness as if it doesn't cost you much, for that is saying that the wrongdoing is no big deal and doesn't cost much. "You killed my brother, but that is no big deal, I forgive you. You want to go out to eat with me this afternoon? We can go to that new restaurant that just opened." No! Sin is a big deal, and so is forgiveness. Justice must prevail. There can be justice without forgiveness, but there can't be forgiveness without justice.

Leviticus and other scriptures which cover the instructions and details of animal sacrifices, teach us that sin must be removed from a person before God will forgive them. That is the ultimate purpose of blood sacrifices. The sins of the person were transferred to the animal who was put to death on behalf of the person and God accepted it as a ransom for the life of the person. Now that the sins have been removed from the person, only then does God forgive the person of his or her sins. Sin defiles the land, and God would not dwell in the midst of Israel if they defiled the land. The people had to be ritually pure and ceremonially clean in order to approach and fellowship with God.

Thus we see that blood sacrifices meet the demands of justice, and thus enabling God to forgive us. God doesn't forgive us without justice. There are two forms of ultimate justice: your defilement gets removed and placed elsewhere, or your defilement remains with you and you get placed elsewhere. Elsewhere in both cases referring to being away from the presence of God.

The non-elect (unbelievers) receive mercy from God when God doesn't kill them right away because of their sins. They receive justice from God when He sends them to hell forever. The elect (believers) receive mercy from God when God doesn't kill them right away because of their sins. They receive justice from God when a blood sacrifice removes their sins from them. If God were to forgive the elect through repentence alone, then He would be ignoring His justice. Justice comes to all. God is not a divine being of justice for the non-elect only, while the elect just receive mercy. No! Both the elect and the non-elect receive both mercy and justice from God.

This is why a blood sacrifice is necessary for forgiveness. This is why Jesus Christ, whom is the ultimate and perfect sacrifice, came to earth to shed His blood on the cross for His people.