I couldn't agree with you more.
If we look at the Old Testament they were not saved by works. There is not one verse anybody can quote out of the Bible telling us otherwise. We were always (even under the "old Covenant") saved by faith in Christ.
The law was not given to mankind for our salvation (not even in the OT) but it is a revelation of God's character.
When you are a toddler and mom and dad teach you the ABC they teach you by showing you flash cards of an apple, bunny, cat etc. Something to associate with what we are being taught. After a while we don't need the flash cards anymore because we know what an A looks like. When ABBA Father gave us the law it was this picture of His character. Men (just like in Eden) came and corrupt God's word and said the Law is for salvation. The word Torah actually means guidelines and not law. We are the ones corrupting God's word. Our God never changed and His character is still the same. Without faith in God there is no salvation for us (Old or New covenant).
God bless you all friends
The old law with the purification works of the law was not based on faith.
Galatians 3:12
The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, "The person who does these things will live by them."
That means it did not take faith to do the purification works of the law.
A person could do the purification works of the law but not have faith in God.
God not like that and promised a new covenant.
See, a person could do the purification works of the law and be called a child of God, and they could go in the temple to be near God's Spirit.
There were Jews who obeyed the law AND they had faith,
but there were also Jews who obeyed the works of the law and did NOT have faith.
When Jesus came to earth to make a new covenant that would be based on faith, God cut off and hardened the Jews who did not have faith before Jesus came.
Jesus came for the Jews first who already belonged to God by faith. These are called the lost sheep of Israel because they already had faith in God but didn't have good shepherds to shepherd them. Jesus came to save them and be their Shepherd.
When Jesus started his earthy ministry, the Jews who belonged to God now had to go through Jesus to remain God's.
God gave them to Jesus.
All those other Jews that God had cut off when Jesus came, He bound all the cut off Jews to the same place as the Gentiles who were disobedient to the purification works of the law. The whole world was then bound to the same place, condemnation until they come to God through Jesus in faith.
Jesus said that when he is crucified, then all can come to him to be saved, even the cut off Jews and the Gentiles.