Don’t be embarrassed to admit it if you don’t understand something; your brothers and sisters in Christ won’t look down on you, because at one time they didn’t understand it either. Let the psalmist’s prayer become yours: “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth” (Psalm 86:11).

Yes, what your pastor is saying about Jesus and the importance of His blood for our salvation does come from the Bible. The Bible says, “If we walk in the light (of God’s truth) … the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). These words remind us that Jesus Christ did not come into the world just to show us how to live, but to take away the one thing that separates us from God–which is our sin.

What does the Bible mean when it talks about the blood of Jesus? Those words point us to the cross, where Jesus Christ shed His blood for us. He was innocent of any wrongdoing, and in fact He was without sin–but on the cross all our sins were placed on Him, and He died in our place. To put it another way, He became the final sacrifice for our sins so we could be fully forgiven.

What must we do? We must respond by trusting Him as our Savior and committing ourselves to Him as our Lord. Make your commitment to Christ today–and then thank Him for loving you so much that He was willing to shed His blood for you.