In our Bible Study Fellowship class we are studying Romans. We came to chapter three and read a section I have read many times. Here is the whole passage I am talking about. Romans 3:21-26
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. 26 He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Verse 22 is a core verse we use to understanding salvation, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” This time through chapter 3 verse 25 stood out at me, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.”
It always amazes me when a verse you have read dozens of times suddenly jumps of the page. The end of verse 25 says, “because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished”. Sins, like David’s adultery with Bathsheba, were left unpunished before Jesus’ sacrifice like it says later in verse 25, “Christ was presented as a sacrifice of atonement”.
In all the time on earth before Jesus’ sacrifice all the way back to Adam, people all sinned like you and I. The problem I recognized is I am thinking in time and God is in eternity. There is no time in eternity. 2 Peter 3:8 says, “To God a day is like 1000 years and 1000 years like a day.” The other thing I realized is when I committed my life to Him, He had already cancelled all my sin past, present and future. He had left my sins committed beforehand unpunished.
After working through that scenario, God brought to mind Hebrews 11, the “Hall of Faith”. Here are a few of the statements and their verse number that help clarify this question for me.
1Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country.
11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
27 By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
So it all makes sense to me now. Jesus’ sacrifice was planned from the beginning to cover all the sins of humankind. Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-29 and Luke 12:10 all tell us what sin was not covered by Jesus, the unforgiveable sin.
Mark 3:28-29, 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.
The definition of blaspheme is a willful, persistent and hardened rejection of God’s truth. All people have the choice, or free will, to either believe and follow or reject God’s truth. The choice was there in the Garden and it will be here until Jesus comes back.
