No salvation in animal sacrifices
Hi brother John, the old is a type and shadow on the new covenant and Jesus can be seen in every book from Genesis to
Malachi. The new is revelation of Christ and His love for us- restoration of fellowship, union and communion. All have Christ as their center and all are pointed towards the removal aof all obsticles between God and man.
Please share your thoughts with us.
Hey Larry,
It's always refreshing when someone says that Christ can be perceived in every book of the Old Testament. When the Lord commanded Abram to leave his country in Genesis 12 He gave him 7 tremendous promises. One of them was,
"In thee all families of the earth shall be blessed" (vs. 3). For we can identify that this was God preaching the gospel to Abram.
Galatians 3:8 states: "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,
In thee shall shall all nations be blessed."
We understand that the only scriptures in the days of Christ were the books of the Old Testament, and the apostle Paul wrote they are able to make men wise unto salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15).
It is sad to say that many read the Old Testament with no expectation of seeing Christ Jesus, this is a failure to understand the "everlasting covenant" (the same as the new covenant).
The popular idea is that humanity was saved by law keeping in the Old Covenant (Testament). And the New Covenant of grace did did not come into existence until the death of Christ, this being the abolishing of the law, and a new era of salvation. I believe this to be another gospel.
However, as you stated, the old covenant was ratified by the blood of animals. The scripture declares, "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins" (Heb. 10:11).
Therefore, the old covenant was never any value for pardon and salvation from sin. It is only by the new covenant of grace through the shed blood of Christ Jesus is found salvation. Jesus Christ is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8), "who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:20).
The people of the Old Testament did not have to necessarily look forward to see the cross, as we, today, do not have to look backwards, for the scripture declares, "I
am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live" (Gal. 2:20).
A taste on the subject of the covenant question.
John