[BigMakk]

Originally Posted by Locke

Well, the way it goes is:

-All men(and by men I mean all humans) inherit sin by the actions of Adam and Eve
-Because we are born with that sin, we are doomed to that fate no matter what we do for ourselves.
-Jesus died as the perfect living sacrifice
-Because Jesus was both man and God, and because he was absolutely sinless, he could die for each and every person on Earth

Now, this last one has a few more tidbits to it. It took a flawless sacrifice, be it a sheep, dove, goat, etc. in order to remove sin under the Law. However, they were not human, not made in God's own image. Their sacrifice was only temporary. By contrast, Jesus was God incarnate, so he had both divine power, and thus perfection, and had lived a human life with human struggles. So, his sacrifice was capable of not only applying to us, but being permanent. This applies to all people of any time who have followed God. Just because Abraham never knew the man Jesus, he still is saved because he followed God, one and the same with Jesus. Those who personally followed Jesus get that same benefit. And any who follow Jesus from that time on also are covered by the atoning power of Christ's blood.

So before Jesus, people had to sacrifice other life for their own? Kinda selfish.