Romans 3:25 (NIV) God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.
Hebrews 13:12 (NIV) And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.
I used to think it strange that the Bible keeps talking about the cleansing power of the blood (1 Peter 1:2). It seemed to me that blood was messy stuff. I needed to wash my white lab coats if they became stained with blood. Today, I love the analogy; it is so true of the body. The blood is constantly cleansing every cell, and washing away all the debris that accumulates all the time. I like Paul's phrase in Hebrews 9:14 KJV, "How much more shall the blood of Christ purge your conscience from dead works?"—Dr. Paul Brand
God's Forever Feast (Discovery House, 1998). Leadership, Vol. 20, no. 3., Today's Best Illustrations – Volume 5, (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, 1997), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "BLOOD".
