SALVATION BEFORE CHRIST
we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and not by our own efforts or works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Grace Alone. Faith Alone. Grace alone means that God loves, forgives, and saves us not because of who we are or what we do, but because of the work of Christ.
1. Salvation was by grace through faith in the Old Testament, the same as today. They looked forward to the coming Messiah; we look back to the cross.
2. Compliance to the law of God in the Old Testament could be summed up in these words; “Do or die.” In the New Testament: “Die and do.”
3. The gospel message was given throughout the Old Testament and in the New Testament as well; from Genesis to Revelation.
4. Jesus and the apostles usually proclaimed the gospel in the context (setting) of the kingdom of God.
5. The primary purpose of the proclamation of the gospel, was so God would receive honor and glory unto Himself through the holy and righteous life of the repentant sinner. When his heart and will is changed, he reflects the character of God to those around him. “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever”,
6. The God -centered gospel is taught throughout the Scriptures, but is often overlooked. In Ephesians 1:3-14,it mentions different aspects of our salvation; and this is usually what pastors focus on. Somehow they overlook the primary reason that God extended His grace to man; “it was to the praise of the glory of His grace.” This phrase is basically repeated in verse 12, and also in verse 14, “to the praise of His glory.” Isn’t it time we went back to the God glorifying gospel of the Scriptures?
Salvation in the Old Testament was, of course, according to the same gospel that we know today ( Gal. 3:8), though it was revealed less clearly. It was by grace through faith, apart from personal merit. Saving faith in the Old Testament, like saving faith in the New Testament, was faith in God himself. Most basically, it is generally presented as a belief that God exists, in submission to God especially in the form of believing that what God says is true (e.g. Gen. 15:6), and in trust in God as Savior. In the Old Testament, the idea of God as Savior did not appear in the fullness of the revelation as in the New Testament.
The specific content of saving faith was different at different points in time because, as time went on, God said more things. The greater the revelation God had given at any point in time, the more he expected people to believe. The point was that they believed that God was who he said he was (as far as they knew it), that they loved him, and that they trusted him to take care of them (especially by forgiving, saving, blessing, etc.). For example, Abraham believed God when God said he would bless Abraham, and Abraham was justified on this basis. We aren’t told that Abraham understood all the theological arguments regarding the means of salvation, or that he understood the relationship of faith to works, or even that he understood that he was justified on the basis of faith alone.
In a very important sense, the primary referent of our faith must be the object of our faith, namely God himself, the one in whom we have faith, rather than the content of our faith. This is in no way to depreciate the importance of recognizing all three aspects of faith: knowledge, assent, and trust. It is just to emphasize that we need knowledge of a person, not just of facts; we assent by agreeing with a person; and we trust in the truth of the gospel, but not apart from trusting the God whose gospel it is. As Calvin put it, faith is more than a “common assent to gospel history” — nothing is worth knowing except Christ (Institutes 3.2.1).
Now, none of this is to suggest that we can be saved apart from faith that includes Christ in its content: the person who has never received Christ will not be saved. (Of course, God can work miracles, and can give faith in the gospel to whom he wishes, even apart from the normal means of preaching.) But it is Christ’s divinity we worship and trust, which was present and revealed in the Old testament also in the New.
Lord there are various sects and cults raising even inside Christianity, because of various different opinions and not preferring the truth. Ignorance of scriptures, lack of knowledge, Old testament is as important as New testament.. Old testament is the shadow foundational truth on which the new testament manifests.. Thankyou for unfolding the truths step by steps.. Lord we give you all glory.. Help us to draw nearer and nearer and to know you more.. How could a person know you more by reading and believing the Word of God.. Amen..
Sol.Celin Portia