Forgiveness of Sins Before Christ

Were sins forgiven before the death of Christ and if so on what basis? Li. USA

Yes, sins were forgiven before Christ in anticipation of the covenant made effective by his sacrifice.

The key passage is Hebrews 9:13-­16: “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.”

The passage becomes clear when we remember that under the law of Moses, cleansing was provided for ritual defilement and forgiveness was granted for specific committed transgressions. For example: “If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep…he shall restore that which was delivered him to keep [plus 20%]…and he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD…and it shall be forgiven him…” (Lev. 6:1-7).

There was, however, no means of forgiveness provided under the law for sins such as covetousness, hatred, murder, adultery, selfishness, envy, etc. Forgiveness of such iniquities was based on a different covenant promise of God which is alluded to in such places as Jeremiah 31:31-34: “…For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (cited in Heb. 8:12). This greater covenant had to be ratified by the death of the covenant victim, which was not done until the sacrifice of Christ.

Thus, most sins forgiven before Christ were remitted in anticipation of the covenant of grace being made effective by his death. If Christ had not provided the necessary sacrifice, then the faithful would not receive the promised eternal inheritance to which they looked forward.

Romans 3 says the same

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in His forbearance God has passed over the sins that were previously committed” (Rom. 3:23-25 NKJV).

Note the connection of ideas in Romans: God forgave sins before Christ on the basis of His promise of providing a redeemer. He demonstrated Himself true to His word in providing the savior in the person of His only begotten Son. The unusual phrase “passed over” is used instead of “forgiven,” reminding us that sins committed before Christ were remitted in anticipation of the sacrifice that had not yet been made. This contrasted with the law under which slaying the sacrifice preceded forgiveness.

The same benefits before Christ

Romans 4 continues with an exposition regarding Abraham and David that is very pertinent to the above question. Paul’s main point is the gospel he preached is not saying anything different from the Old Testament which the Jews supposedly knew and believed. Abraham and David were blessed on the same basis as Jew and Gentile are blessed in the gospel. The other side of the coin, however, is that this means Abraham and David were not in any way deprived of the full grace of God by having lived before the sacrifice of Christ.

“Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Rom. 4:6-8 citing Psa. 32:1,2). There could be no fuller statement of forgiveness than this.

In respect to Abraham, Paul says his faith “was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom. 4:22-24). The tenor of the exposition is clearly Abraham first and then, hopefully, ourselves.

Although blessed in prospect of the sacrifice of Christ, Abraham, David and the other faithful had the same fullness of blessing that we can share through the gospel of Christ.

Prerequisite attitude the same

As the blessing was the same as now so their attitude of mind had to be the same if the grace of God was to be experienced by those before the sacrifice of Christ.

“Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise” (Psa. 51:16-17) are the words of the psalmist. Isaiah makes the same point: “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck” (Isa. 66:2-3).

Repentance, admission of need, belief in the gospel and baptism into Christ are today’s prerequisites for forgiveness. And these are simply another way of expressing the very attributes indicated by David and Isaiah. In fact, the Old Testament wording is an ideal summary of the heart of the disciples, Paul, Cornelius and penitent Jews and Gentiles as they turned to the Lord.

A clear answer

The answer is thus clearly evident, yes, sins were forgiven before the sacrifice of Christ on the basis of contrition of heart and faith in God’s gracious promise to provide a savior at some future point in time.