Before Christ was sin: forgiveness and hell

Question: If Jesus only died 2000 years ago for our forgiveness, does that mean everyone before him went to hell?

Answer: This is a good question that Paul covers in Romans 5: 12 – 21. Paul brings to our attention that sin was brought into the world by one person namely Adam. This account of sin coming into the world is recorded in Genesis 3. In the same chapter God tells Adam that he would bring a Saviour who would deliver man from sin. Paul in verse 12 clearly points out that all have sinned from Adam onwards.

Adam was the first sinner who brought the power of sin and death onto all men. Now here in Romans 5 Paul draws a comparison between the failure of one man and deliverance by one man.

A careful read will show that Adam brought sin onto the whole world. The whole world includes all generations of man from Adam to the end of time.

Likewise Paul points out that by one person salvation has been brought to all men. That person is Jesus Christ.

Allow me to point out that the idea of Gentiles and Jews only comes into existence from the time when the sons of Jacob became the twelve tribes of Israel, and whilst the Law was given to Israel, at no time could the Law save. The Law merely exposes the sinful state of man because of the sinful nature that everybody has through Adam.

Therefore in Romans 1 -3 Paul is merely stating that whether you are Jew or Gentile we are all from Adam and so we are all sinners because of Adam and that the very Law that the Jews boasted in also condemns them with the Gentiles so that Paul can put us all in Romans 3:23. We have all sinned.

Ephesians 1:3 – 14 brings to us the plan of God about salvation. Allow me to point out that God planned salvation before the foundation of the world, and then in verse 10 of this portion, Paul points out in real time the death of Christ took place in “the fullness of time.”

Clearly this shows that God has His own timing, and in this instance, in the history of man, we find that there was a “one world” government namely the Roman Empire. This meant that there was free access to all parts of the empire, without any political barriers to hinder the spread of the Gospel. The Roman Empire had one universal language for communication, and that was Greek. With a universal language it was easier to share the Gospel. Finally, as a result of Roman workmanship there was easy travel from one end of the empire to the other which also made it easier to go and spread the Gospel.

To recap, we find that sin came into the world through Adam, and then at the right time, Jesus came into the world to die for the sin brought by Adam. As all nations have their origin in Adam, we have Christ dying for all people, regardless of when they were born. Salvation is by faith in Christ, so the Old Testament saints are saved by faith looking forward to the death of Jesus, and we are saved by faith looking back to Jesus.

Author: Les Sanabria