Romans 3:25-26

“For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.”- Romans 3:25-26

We see throughout the Old Testament that God shows grace and mercy to His people. He forgave the Israelites’ continual rebellion. He answered all of Gideon’s challenges with His power. He surely didn’t need to! (Judges 6:17-22, 36-40). God had a deep, unique, intimate relationship with Moses despite his past as a murderer and his continual impatience and rash behaviour.

We also read that God is holy and righteous. He is just and cannot come in contact with anything vile or profane. His standard of holiness will not allow it. Humans are evil, sinful and profane, yet we see story after story in the Old Testament of God meeting with His creation and showing them grace.

How can this be?

Romans 3:25-26 tells us! It’s because of Jesus Christ! Because of what He would do on the cross!
His blood-bought salvation is applied to all creation, even to those we read about in the Old Testament.

How is this possible? Jesus had not been born and He had not died and rose from the dead in Old Testament times?

God is outside of time! Jesus was present in creation. His death and resurrection applies to all man-kind, “through all time.”

These men and women looked forward to the day that Christ would come and redeem them from their shackles of shame, guilt and condemnation. It was this faith that activated God’s grace through Jesus Christ to the saints in the Old Testament. (Hebrews 11:13-16, 40)

There is grace and mercy through no one else but Jesus Christ!

Though it was a great mystery to those who lived before Calvary, Christ’s sacrifice still paid for their sins and showered them with His grace.

It was through Christ that Moses could hear God’s voice in the burning bush (Exodus 3) and experience the glory of God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19).

It was through Christ that Gideon could boldly ask the powerful, Holy God to show Himself true! Without grace, he would have been struck dead for his lack of faith and arrogance.

It was through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross that the Israelites were not wiped out in their entirety, when they time and time again murmured, complained and rebelled against the Living God.

Through both the Old and New testaments we see the grace and mercy of God that was purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Christ died once for all!  (1 Peter 3:18)

Praise Jesus!