Was Christ's Death Necessary for God to Forgive Sins?

I recently heard an mp3 file of sermon delivered in a church in the town that I live in. Within the sermon (not the key point), the preacher said that

the death of Jesus was not neccessary for the forgiveness of sins. God was able to forgive sins in the Old Testament times if the offerings were done the right way. This means that God could forgive sins without the death of Jesus. (NB: This is a summary, not an exact quote)

I was shocked to hear this come from the pulpit of an apparently Christian, protestant church. You may not have even come across the notion that the death of Christ was not necessary for God to forgive us our sins - I hadn't. Here are some verses to read that demonstrate that the Old Testament offerings didn't take away sin (but only pointed towards Christ), and that Jesus' death was the only way that God could reconcile sinners to himself:

• Hebrews 9:23-26
• Hebrews 10:1-4
• Romans 3:21-26
• Matthew 26:39
• Luke 24:25-27

180

I'd like to recommend a recently released mini-documentary called 180; subtitled 33 minutes that will rock your world.

For me, the beginning of the documentary was very confusing. I'd been told that it was about abortion: pro-life vs. pro-choice. The movie starts however, with Ray Comfort interviewing people on the street about the holocaust. This part of the movie is disturbing enough. It amazed me to see that so many people have no idea what the holocaust was, or who Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were.

The questioning then takes an interesting "what-if" ethical twist. Interviewees are asked about what they would do in different hypothetical situations. The answers are eyebrow-raising.

I won't spoil the "plot" for you, or explain how the subject of abortion has anything to do with this. Instead, I'll ask you to invest the 33 minutes it takes to sit down and watch it:

"The Gospel" by Mark Driscoll

I haven't heard or seen much about Mark Driscoll. He's just been one of those vague names hovering out there in famous-Christian-speaker-world. Recently a Facebook-friend got upset about something he said, which was a catylist to look him up.

So far in my research, I've watched one video: that's it. In it, Mr Driscoll explains the bare-bones of the gospel in just a few minutes. His explanation is concise, accurate and passionate; ergo, good. So, even if I later conclude that he's a heretic, a liar or a hypocrite on other grounds; it won't be because of this clip:



NB: I'm a little confused about the t-shirt. I'm not clear on exactly what the point of it is, but I've let it slide, with the benefit of the doubt going to the words that are said.