Y Not I

At Yom Kippur services this past weekend, one verse that was read was Romans 3:21-25. The twenty-fifth verse caught my attention, especially the part rendered in the NIV as, “He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.” I found the verse interesting because it is indicating sins from before the atoning work of Messiah were left unpunished. Usually I hear that there were two systems, an old system, where the children of Israel received salvation based upon the keeping of Torah, including the sacrificial system, however according to this verse, if I understand it correctly, it is still the blood of Yeshua that will be the atonement for the sins of those prior to the work that was completed by Yeshua upon His death and resurrection. This to me speaks of one system, one way of salvation for not only Jew and Gentile, but also for those from Old Testament days as well as those of the times of the Gospels as well as those of the times after the Gospels up until us today.

To me this makes sense and flows very well. For much of the New Testament Scriptures speak of how the Law is unable to provide salvation, yet many seem to think it did at one time. That to me is a contradiction, for if the Law could save the children of Israel, why could it not save me as well?

I think what becomes confused is that the blood atonement in Torah that provided remission for sin was a shadow. It did provide remission for sin, but only in earthly matters. In order to be part of the people of the children of Israel and to function at the Temple, these sacrifices were needed and necessary, however in eternal matters these sacrifices could never provide the atonement necessary. That only came through Messiah. Equating the two, however attractive, seems a bit misguided.

When searching the ‘Net on this verse I found a commentary stating very similar to what I am saying from Andrew Womack Ministries. Check this out:

Note 9 at Rom. 3:25: This verse is speaking of the sins that were committed under the old covenant, before the sacrifice of Jesus was made. Those sins were also paid for by the blood of Jesus. The Old Testament sacrifices were only types and shadows of the true sin offering that Jesus made. It was impossible for the blood of bulls and of goats to ever take away sins (Heb. 10:4).

The Lord dealt with sins under the Old Testament through His forbearance. In a similar way that a person gives a check or credit card in exchange for the real currency desired, so the Lord gave the Old Testament sacrifices. However, just as these substitutes would be unacceptable if there was no reality to back them up, so the Old Testament sacrifices only served as a token of the real sacrifice of Jesus that would pay for sin (Heb. 9:13-14).

For me, this helps to see God as very consistent, He has always had the same system of salvation. For this I am very thankful. As I have pondered my salvation this High Holiday season it is comforting to know that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

B”H