how were ot people saved?

[TheLearner]

how were people in the OT saved?



John 8:58
Jesus answered, “The fact is, before Abraham was born, I Am.”


Romans 4:3
That’s why the Scriptures say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this he was accepted as one who is right with God.”
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans 4&version=ERV



Galatians 3:6
The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham. “Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.”


Hebrews 11:10
Abraham was waiting for the city that has real foundations. He was waiting for the city that is planned and built by God.


Hebrews 11:17-18
God tested Abraham’s faith. God told him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham obeyed because he had faith. He already had the promises from God. And God had already said to him, “It is through Isaac that your descendants will come.” But Abraham was ready to offer his only son. He did this because he had faith.


James 2:22-23
So you see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did. This shows the full meaning of the Scriptures that say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.” Abraham was called “God’s friend.”

 

[GaryA]

How were people in the OT saved? The same way people in the NT are saved - they put their belief, faith, and trust in God [and Christ] - only, they were "looking forward" to Christ while those during and after His First Coming "look[ed] back"...

 

[Soyeong]

how were people in the OT saved?



John 8:58
Jesus answered, “The fact is, before Abraham was born, I Am.”


Romans 4:3
That’s why the Scriptures say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this he was accepted as one who is right with God.”
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans 4&version=ERV



Galatians 3:6
The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham. “Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.”


Hebrews 11:10
Abraham was waiting for the city that has real foundations. He was waiting for the city that is planned and built by God.


Hebrews 11:17-18
God tested Abraham’s faith. God told him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham obeyed because he had faith. He already had the promises from God. And God had already said to him, “It is through Isaac that your descendants will come.” But Abraham was ready to offer his only son. He did this because he had faith.


James 2:22-23
So you see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did. This shows the full meaning of the Scriptures that say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.” Abraham was called “God’s friend.”

In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith.

 

[Deuteronomy]

Hello @TheLearner, I agree, our salvation has always been a merciful and gracious gift to us from God, one that is not/cannot be merited in anyway, by us .. e.g. Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 9:22, 10:4.

The Lord Jesus Christ is, therefore, our ~only~ innocence, our ~only~ righteousness, and the ~only~ atonement and satisfaction for our sins.

It is also the result of God's choice to temporarily pass over/leave unpunished the sins that were committed by OT believers until the day that the ONE & ONLY sacrifice that could actually redeem them and save them (from power and penalty of their sins and the wrath of God) finally became available to do so .. e.g. Romans 3:24-25 cf Romans 5:8-10.

God bless you!!

~Deuteronomy

Romans 3 (Amplified Bible)​

24 [We] are being justified [declared free of the guilt of sin, made acceptable to God, and granted eternal life] as a gift by His [precious, undeserved] grace, through the redemption [the payment for our sin] which is [provided] in Christ Jesus, ​

25 whom God displayed publicly [before the eyes of the world] as a [life-giving] sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation (propitiation) by His blood [to be received] through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness [which demands punishment for sin], because in His forbearance [His deliberate restraint] He passed over (left unpunished) the sins previously committed [before Jesus’ crucifixion].​

 

[JaumeJ]

how were people in the OT saved?



John 8:58
Jesus answered, “The fact is, before Abraham was born, I Am.”


Romans 4:3
That’s why the Scriptures say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this he was accepted as one who is right with God.”
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans 4&version=ERV



Galatians 3:6
The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham. “Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.”


Hebrews 11:10
Abraham was waiting for the city that has real foundations. He was waiting for the city that is planned and built by God.


Hebrews 11:17-18
God tested Abraham’s faith. God told him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham obeyed because he had faith. He already had the promises from God. And God had already said to him, “It is through Isaac that your descendants will come.” But Abraham was ready to offer his only son. He did this because he had faith.


James 2:22-23
So you see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did. This shows the full meaning of the Scriptures that say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.” Abraham was called “God’s friend.”

Excellent reply and compilation of Biblical explanation.

 

[seed_time_harvest]

A common misconception about the Old Testament way of salvation is that Jews were saved by keeping the

Law. But we know from Scripture that that is not true. Galatians 3:11 says, “Now it is evident that no one is

justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Some might want to dismiss this

passage as only applying to the New Testament, but Paul is quoting Habakkuk 2:4—salvation by faith, apart

from the Law was an Old Testament principle. Paul taught that the purpose of the Law was to serve as a

“tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). Also, in Romans 3:20 Paul

makes the point that keeping the Law did not save either Old or New Testament Jews because “no one will

be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.” The Law was never intended to save anyone; the

purpose of the Law was to make us “conscious of sin.”

 

[mailmandan]

On a different Christian forum, this topic was being discussed, and someone posted an interesting article from GotQuestions.org

How were people saved before Jesus died for our sins? | GotQuestions.org

 

[zeroturbulence]

I don't have time to read the entire post, but I do know that OT people were saved because in Matthew 17:1-3 Jesus is transfigured. His face is bright as the sun and his clothes become as white as light, and he is joined by Moses and Elijah, then a bright cloud comes and the disciples hear the voice of GOD. Moses and Elijah were already raised up even though this transfiguration happened before Jesus went to the cross.

(Matthew 17:1-3 NIV):
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

 

[Soyeong]

A common misconception about the Old Testament way of salvation is that Jews were saved by keeping the

Law. But we know from Scripture that that is not true. Galatians 3:11 says, “Now it is evident that no one is

justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Some might want to dismiss this

passage as only applying to the New Testament, but Paul is quoting Habakkuk 2:4—salvation by faith, apart

from the Law was an Old Testament principle. Paul taught that the purpose of the Law was to serve as a

“tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). Also, in Romans 3:20 Paul

makes the point that keeping the Law did not save either Old or New Testament Jews because “no one will

be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.” The Law was never intended to save anyone; the

purpose of the Law was to make us “conscious of sin.”

It is important to recognize that the Bible can speak against being required to do something for incorrect reasons without speaking against being required to do it for correct reasons, so the fact that we can’t earn our salvation even as the result of having perfect obedience to the Law of God does not mean that our salvation from being doers of sin does intrinsically require us to refrain from being doers of sin. Refraining from being doers of sin by becoming doers of the Law of God intrinsically part of His gift of saving us from being doers of sin, not something that we are required to have done first in order to earn it as the result. In Titus 2:11-13, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, so God graciously teaching us to be a doer of His law is part of His gift of salvation, which intrinsically requires our participation through faith. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith alone in both the OT and the NT.

The Hebrew word “yada” refers to intimate relationships/knowledge gained by experience such as with Genesis 4:1 where Adam knew (yada) Eve, she conceived, and gave birth to Cain. God’s way is the way to know (yada) Him and Jesus by embodied His likeness through experiencing being a doer of His character traits, which is the narrow way to eternal life (John 17:3). For example, in Genesis 18:19, God knew (yada) Abraham that he would teach his children and those of his household to walk in His way by being doers of righteousness and justice that the Lord might bring to him all that He has promised. In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to walk in His way that he and Israel might know (yada) Him, and in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said that he would tell those who are workers of lawlessness to depart from him because he never knew them, so the purpose of the law is to graciously teach us how to know God and Jesus, which is His gift of eternal life, and the law also makes us conscious of what sin is by contrast because sin is what is contrary to God’s character traits.

In Romans 3:27, Paul contrasted a law of works with a law of faith, in Galatians 3:10-12, he contrasted the Book of the Law with “works of the law”, and in Romans 3:31 and Galatians 3:10-12, he said that our faith upholds the Law of God in contrast with saying that “works of the law” are not of faith, so that phrase does not refer to the Law of God. In Galatians 3:10-12, Paul associated a quote from Habakkuk 2:4 that the righteous shall live by faith with a quote from Leviticus 18:5 that the one who obeys the Law of God shall live by it, so the righteous who are living by faith are the same as those who are living in obedience to the Law of God. The context of Habakkuk 2 contrasts the righteous who are living by faith with those who are living in obedience to the Law of God. In Isaiah 51:7, the righteous are those on whose heart is the Law of God, and in 1 John 3:4-7, everyone who is a doer of righteous works in obedience to the Law of God is righteous even as they are righteous, so the righteous living by faith does not refer to a manner of living that is not in obedience to it. God is trustworthy, therefore His law is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to trust is God is by obediently trusting in His law, it would be contradictory for someone to think that we should have faith in God for salvation but not in His instructions, and the position that God is a giver of unreliable instructions that are not of faith denies the reliability and faithfulness of God.

 

[JaumeJ]

It is important to recognize that the Bible can speak against being required to do something for incorrect reasons without speaking against being required to do it for correct reasons, so the fact that we can’t earn our salvation even as the result of having perfect obedience to the Law of God does not mean that our salvation from being doers of sin does intrinsically require us to refrain from being doers of sin. Refraining from being doers of sin by becoming doers of the Law of God intrinsically part of His gift of saving us from being doers of sin, not something that we are required to have done first in order to earn it as the result. In Titus 2:11-13, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, so God graciously teaching us to be a doer of His law is part of His gift of salvation, which intrinsically requires our participation through faith. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith alone in both the OT and the NT.

The Hebrew word “yada” refers to intimate relationships/knowledge gained by experience such as with Genesis 4:1 where Adam knew (yada) Eve, she conceived, and gave birth to Cain. God’s way is the way to know (yada) Him and Jesus by embodied His likeness through experiencing being a doer of His character traits, which is the narrow way to eternal life (John 17:3). For example, in Genesis 18:19, God knew (yada) Abraham that he would teach his children and those of his household to walk in His way by being doers of righteousness and justice that the Lord might bring to him all that He has promised. In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to walk in His way that he and Israel might know (yada) Him, and in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said that he would tell those who are workers of lawlessness to depart from him because he never knew them, so the purpose of the law is to graciously teach us how to know God and Jesus, which is His gift of eternal life, and the law also makes us conscious of what sin is by contrast because sin is what is contrary to God’s character traits.

In Romans 3:27, Paul contrasted a law of works with a law of faith, in Galatians 3:10-12, he contrasted the Book of the Law with “works of the law”, and in Romans 3:31 and Galatians 3:10-12, he said that our faith upholds the Law of God in contrast with saying that “works of the law” are not of faith, so that phrase does not refer to the Law of God. In Galatians 3:10-12, Paul associated a quote from Habakkuk 2:4 that the righteous shall live by faith with a quote from Leviticus 18:5 that the one who obeys the Law of God shall live by it, so the righteous who are living by faith are the same as those who are living in obedience to the Law of God. The context of Habakkuk 2 contrasts the righteous who are living by faith with those who are living in obedience to the Law of God. In Isaiah 51:7, the righteous are those on whose heart is the Law of God, and in 1 John 3:4-7, everyone who is a doer of righteous works in obedience to the Law of God is righteous even as they are righteous, so the righteous living by faith does not refer to a manner of living that is not in obedience to it. God is trustworthy, therefore His law is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to trust is God is by obediently trusting in His law, it would be contradictory for someone to think that we should have faith in God for salvation but not in His instructions, and the position that God is a giver of unreliable instructions that are not of faith denies the reliability and faithfulness of God.

Two fantastic renderings of understanding from the Word in one day, wow. Very uplifting, a blessing for sure. God bless you, and keep sharing your understanding.

 

[TheLearner]

ouch shouldererrr

 

[Brasspen]

One place you can look is in the book of Job. Also, read proverbs.