Cuddles222-
Many Jews at the time of Christ, and yet today, believed that there was no afterlife to be attained. Their belief system was, "We are born, we live, we die, the end." The only 'immortality' they accepted were the memories of us that we would leave behind in the minds of those who had known us.
They base this belief system on the literal teachings of Torah. In Genesis 3:19 the Torah teaches that man is destined to return to the dust of the earth, from whence he came. In Deuteronomy 7:12-15 the promises for keeping the laws and commandments of Torah are confined to this lifetime (abundant harvests, increased herds and flocks, children, and freedom from diseases previously suffered). But there is no mention of an afterlife even existing, muchless anyone's being able to enter an afterlife.
So what were the laws and commandments of Torah intended to do? They were intended to turn what was little more than a ragtag mob into a society that would be strong enough to defend itself against any aggressor who might want to destroy it. Through the keeping of those societal laws the citizens of that society would feel secure among the other citizenry. The family unit would remain strong, which would enable the villages where they lived to remain strong, which in turn would enable their society at large to remain strong.
And the sin sacrifices? They were a reminder that in order for their society to remain strong and cohesive, everyone had to do his part, and those who 'screwed up' needed to pay a penalty in order to remind themselves not to 'screw up' again. Those sacrifices of bulls, goats and sheep were never intended to make any individual righteous as God defines it; instead they were intended to enable the society itself to remain strong.
Into this society came Jesus Christ with a good news/bad news message. The good news was that there was indeed an afterlife worthy of being attained; the bad news was that no one would ever attain that afterlife through his own efforts. Under God's 'yardstick' none of us measured up to his requirements for righteousness. But instead of 'writing us off' and washing his hands of us, God himself laid out the blueprints for a sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Instead of this sacrifice merely enabling a person to become 'right' with his society of fellow human beings, this sacrifice would make all mankind 'right' with God himself:
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:19-26,NIV)
We do not bow the knee to Jesus Christ as a substitute for worshiping God the Father. Instead, we bow the knee to Jesus Christ out of gratitude to God the Father. Through Jesus' sacrifice God has received, and has accepted, the full atonement for our sins, and is therefore willing to give us his own righteousness. And it is this righteousness which we need in order to have eternal life. We cannot earn it as if it were a salary, nor can we purchase it as if it were an asset. Our only means of obtaining this righteousness is to receive it exactly as God himself offers it, namely, as a free gift earned for us by God the Father through the sacrifice of his Son, our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ.
