The advantage we have over those who lived in pre-Christian times is that we no longer have to be content with seeing just “a shadow” of God’s purposes. (Heb. 10:1) The laws concerning sacrifices encouraged the Jews to develop attitudes appropriate to attaining a good relationship with God—genuine gratitude to him, the desire to give him one’s best, and recognition of the need for redemption. Thanks to the explanations in the Christian Greek Scriptures, we can understand that by means of the ransom, Jehovah will permanently remove the effects of sin and that even now he allows us to have a good conscience before him. Jesus’ ransom sacrifice is a wonderful provision!—Gal. 3:13; Heb. 9:9, 14. 18 Of course, more than a simple understanding of the ransom sacrifice is needed in order for us to benefit from it. “The Law has become our tutor leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due to faith,” wrote the apostle Paul. (Gal. 3:24) And such faith cannot be devoid of works. (Jas. 2:26) Paul thus encouraged first-century Christians who possessed the framework of knowledge conveyed by the Mosaic Law to put that knowledge into practice. By so doing, their conduct would harmonize with the divine principles they taught.—Read Romans 2:21-23. 19 Although Christians today are not required to observe the Mosaic Law, they must still present sacrifices that are acceptable to Jehovah.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 21:45:48 +0000
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