Was Sin Forgiven Under the Law?                     by Lane Rogers



It is often stated that sin was not forgiven in the OT. To the contrary, sin was forgiven in the OT.
 (See Leviticus 4:20; 26, 35 and many more) The below section of text never claims that sin was
not forgiven under the Law. People read that into the text. Let's look at it!

1For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.



 2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?3But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.



4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.


We understand that the law was only a shadow of things to come.

          Now we have the failure of the law mentioned. Could not make those perfect who offered sacrifices.

What is it that the Law could not do? The answer is here!



(The Law could not cleanse the human conscience. The sacrifices them selves were reminders of sin.)

The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin from where?

See vs. 2-3.



The context above is this: The Law failed because those people who were offering sacrifices could not cleanse their conscience. After years and years of killing because of sin, at some point just killing another animal brought back all the former sins (v.3). It was the sin still on the human conscience that the blood of bulls and goats could not remove. God forgave people. They did not forgive themselves.

Lane Rogers

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