Rescuing Scripture, Theology, & Church from the Shackles of Religion
According to 1 John 1:7-10, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin by exposing sin for what it is and then calling us to no longer live in the way of sacred violence.
The blood of Jesus is not a spiritual antidote to sin which somehow removes the polluting presence of sin from our lives. Instead, the blood of Jesus exposes our sacred violence to us so that we can see in our own lives how we make scapegoat victims out of others, and then calls us to no longer live in this way.
You and I can forgive others without requiring them to shed their blood. So why do some Christians teach that God requires the shedding of blood in order to forgive us? One reason is because of Hebrews 9:22 which says that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. But the text does not teach what most people think it teaches. This post gives 10 reasons why Hebrews 9:22 does not teach that the shedding of blood is required for the forgiveness of sins.
In Ephesians 1:7 and Ephesians 2;13 we learn that we have redemption through the blood of Jesus because He redeemed us from our sinful and violent way of living and revealed to us God’s way of living. His bloody death released us from addiction to sin and scapegoating, and showed us how to live in the way of love and forgiveness.
Some people say that Jesus died to buy forgiveness from God, and they use passages like Matthew 26:28 to defend this idea. In this study, I provide a different explanation of Matthew 26:28, showing you that the blood of Jesus was NOT shed to purchase forgiveness from God.
Why is the Bible so bloody and violent? It is not because God is violent and bloody. Jesus reveals quite the opposite. Through His life, death, and teachings, Jesus reveals that God is not violent at all, but always loves and only forgives. So why is the Bible so violent? Jesus explains why in Matthew 23:29-35.
When you were baptized, what words were said? Do you remember? Some people look to Matthew 28:19-20 as the proper words for baptism, while others look to the practice of the Apostles in Acts. In this post, I dispel this entire baptism debate with one crazy suggestion. Read it and let me know what you think!
