The Mustard Seed
February 2010
"Ask Pastor"
by Pastor Ron Friedrich
christdeaf@verizon.net
"How were people in the Old Testament saved?"
People in Old Testament times were saved exactly the same way we are saved -- by God's grace, which we receive (and they received) through faith.
God gave the people of Israel many rules about their religious practices, which included circumcision and animal sacrifices. But the Bible says clearly in both the Old and New Testaments that all those rules could not save them, because no one can obey God's Law perfectly. And, the Bible says, that the blood of animals never cancels human sin or removes our guilt. The Law of God is like a mirror that shows us our sin, and it shows us that we need a Savior. The Old Testament sacrifices pointed to God's perfect sacrifice for us that He promised throughout the Old Testament.
In the Garden of Eden, God promised Adam and Eve that The Descendent of the woman would crush the Serpent's head while the Serpent, the devil, would "strike His heel," as Christ was nailed to the cross (Genesis 3.15). Two thousand years before Christ suffered and died for us, Abraham, standing near that same spot, told his son Isaac, "God will provide the Lamb for the offering." (Genesis 22.8) Seven hundred years before Jesus died on the cross, the prophet Isaiah precisely described that event and what it means for our salvation. Isaiah was so confident in God's promise, that he described it as if it were already accomplished. (Isaiah 53)
The whole Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, points to Christ Jesus. The Old Testament announces God's promise and looks to the future fulfillment. The New Testament announces that God has kept His promise, as it directs our attention to the death and resurrection of Christ. Just as we receive God's gift by faith, not by works, so did our Old Testament forefathers. As they did, we also trust God that He has forgiven all of our sins, not because we are good, but because He is merciful and He Himself has paid our debt through Messiah's sacrifice (Romans 4; Ephesians 2.8, 9).
The Bible has much to say about the saving faith of the Old Testament saints. See Psalm 51; Jeremiah 31.31-34; and Hebrews 1-11.
~~Pastor Ron