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NASB | Luke 16:19 ¶ "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 16:19 ¶ "Now there was a certain rich man who was habitually dressed in expensive purple and fine linen, and celebrated and lived joyously in splendor every day. |
Bible Question: Dear Jeff, Thanks for your input. It explained about the rich man and Lazarus. Since this time period was before Christ what did Lazarus have to do in order to be in Abraham's bosom? No sacrifice for sin has been offered? I just wondered if Jesus forgave all the sins of the people before His crucifixion. |
Bible Answer: Hi Tommy, Great question. Short answer for now as I am on my lunch break at work. To start with, lets do away with any notion that we "do" anything to "earn" salvation. I'm not saying this was your point when you asked "what did Lazarus have to do in order to be in Abraham's bosom?" Salvation has never been earned whether we are referring to OT or NT saints. Salvation is a free gift of GRACE given to the elect by God. We do nothing at all to earn it. We do nothing at all to secure it. The "channel" (for lack of better descriptor) through which God accomplishes this is that of FAITH. And even that faith is not of our own "doing" but that which is given us by God Himself. In other words, one only has faith to believe in Christ for salvation because God has given that faith in the first place. Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Faith in what? You already understand this as being Jesus Christ. So what about Lazarus? Christ had not yet died and rose again. In short, in the OT, beginning in Genesis (3:15)God promises of the coming Messiah. The OT saints did not know His name, but they believed in faith that God would provide a savior as promised. So, it was not only their believing and trusting in God that demonstrated their faith, but their belief and faith in the Messiah promised by God. In essense, they believed in the same Jesus Christ that you and I do, only not knowing His earthly name. We are told very little about this man Lazarus and nothing at all regarding his past life or history of worship. We do not know that there was "no sacrifice for sin..."; but we can logically assume it because he was so poor. So, if Jesus said that Lazarus was in Abraham's bosom (the place for OT believers prior to the finished work of Christ)we don't assume, but we know; that Lazarus believed the promise of the Messiah. Nothing else saves. No, all the sins of the people before His crucifixion were not forgiven. This will probably start a new topic to discuss that the finished work of Christ did atone for all sin (prior to and all-time after His crucifixion); but only for the elect. Hope this helps, Jeff |