We often hear that Jesus died to pay the price of our sins, or Jesus was the ransom for our sins, or Jesus died in our place, or Jesus died as a blood sacrifice. But are these all accurate? There have been throughout history multiple theories on the atonement – and the oldest is ignored by the current church.
And then the question comes up, do we really need an atonement? If our sins are forgiven and forgotten through repentance, as God promised, is an atonement still needed? And if so, did God want a human atonement? Did God ever want any blood sacrifice? Were any sins ever forgiven without blood being shed? And if they were, why not mine? These questions are all answered by the Scriptures and the results may surprise you, as they did me.
