How did people get saved before Jesus was crucified?<\/p>\n\t
Prior to Jesus, people were expected to live in obedience to God.<\/p>\n
“For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them<\/em>” (Romans 2:12-15).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Of course, no one is able to keep the law perfectly (Romans 3:23). But God offered forgiveness to those who sought to please Him and keep His teachings. For instance, those under the Law were expected to offer sacrifices when they sinned (e.g. Leviticus 4:20). Those animal sacrifices were not adequate to truly forgive sins (Hebrews 10:1-4), but God offered forgiveness until the proper sacrifice could be made.<\/p>\n
“For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance<\/em>” (Hebrews 9:15).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus’ death was not just for future sins but also covered the sins committed under the prior covenant so that those forgiven then can also inherit eternal life. Thus, a single sacrifice was offered for the forgiveness of all sin — past and future.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: How did people get saved before Jesus was crucified? Answer: Prior to Jesus, people were expected to live in obedience to God. “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[268,47],"class_list":["post-51572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-old-testament","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6796,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-were-the-patriarchs-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":51572,"position":0},"title":"How were the Patriarchs saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How are those in the patriarch times saved if there was no hope for them? Was it because of Jesus' death that all (who tried to live good unto God) were saved before Moses and the Ten Commandments? Please explain. Answer: \"And for this reason He is the Mediator\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22186,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-choose-the-israelites-as-his-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":51572,"position":1},"title":"Why did God choose the Israelites as His people?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why did God choose the Israelites as His people? They were the only saved people before the death of Jesus Christ. What about others? Why did God has chosen only Israel as His own people? Answer: \"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24952,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-correct-that-before-the-gospel-the-gentiles-were-still-under-the-patriarchal-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":51572,"position":2},"title":"Is it correct that before the Gospel, the Gentiles were still under the Patriarchal law?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read your article on Cornelius was a devout man. I have been taught that Cornelius, a Gentile, was still under the Patriarchal law since the Law of Moses was give to the Jews. This was the beginning of the change when the gospel was offered to both Jew\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19892,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-about-people-who-spend-their-whole-life-following-the-wrong-religion-in-ignorance\/","url_meta":{"origin":51572,"position":3},"title":"What about people who spend their whole life following the wrong religion in ignorance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: People are born into other religions and live their entire lives thinking that they are following the correct religion. They live life doing good deeds but follow their own religion. How does God view these people? Thank you for the web site and the learning that it provides to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25018,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-there-be-sin-before-moses-when-there-was-no-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":51572,"position":4},"title":"How could there be sin before Moses when there was no law?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I need to understand Noah's history. It says in Genesis 6:9 that Noah was a just man; that he walked with God. But what does it mean by \"just?\" I mean, there wasn't a law at the time, Moses didn't exist. The same about Cain killing Abel. God told\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29689,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-jews-be-judged-under-the-law-or-the-new-covenant\/","url_meta":{"origin":51572,"position":5},"title":"Will Jews be judged under the law or the new covenant?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Will Jews be judged under the law or the new covenant? Answer: There is only one covenant in effect today. \"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved\" (Acts 4:12). 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