Continuity of Salvation

Faith has always been necessary for salvation.

Paul writes, in Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8–9). Additionally, John writes in his gospel, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn 1:12).

Numerous times throughout the Old Testament, readers may observe the connection between faith and righteousness. Moses declares Noah to be a righteous man (Gen 6:9) and the author of Hebrews declares that Noah “became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Heb 11:7). Again in Genesis, Moses unfolds the interaction between God and Abraham in which God takes Abraham outside and reveals the heavens to Abraham. As God covenants with Abraham, Moses then reveals that Abraham “believed in the Lord, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:5-6). Paul substantiates this affirmation in Galatians, “just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Gal 3:6–7, cf. Rom 4:3-8). Paul restates this same reality in Romans,

The ground of salvation has always been the death of Christ.

Romans 3:25-26 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Hebrews 9:15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Barnes. For the redemption of the transgression that were “under the first testament - The covenant or arrangement under Moses. The general idea here is, that these were offences for which no expiation could be made by the sacrifices under that dispensation, or from which the blood then shed could not redeem. This general idea may include two particulars . . . that the blood of Christ would now avail for the remission of all those sins which could not be expiated by the sacrifices offered under the Law. It not only contemplated the remission of all the offences committed by the truly pious under that Law, but would now avail to put away sin entirely. No sacrifice which people could offer would avail, but the blood of Christ would remove all that guilt . . . That they which are called - Alike under the old covenant and the new . . .

Gill. Christ became the Mediator of the New Testament, and assumed human nature that he might die, and by dying might obtain redemption for his people; not only for those that were then in the world, or should be in it, but also for all those that had been in it.

"The first testament" is the first dispensation of the covenant of grace, reaching from the first promulgation of it to Adam after the fall, to the death of Christ;

"the transgressions" that were under it are the sins of the saints who lived under that dispensation, froth Adam to Moses, and from Moses to Christ, and takes in all their iniquities of every kind

"Redemption" of these, or from these, by Christ, at and through his death, does not suppose that

there was no remission of sins, or justification from them, under that dispensation;

or that the Old Testament saints did not go to heaven, but were detained in a prison, till redeemed by the death of Christ;

or that their sins were only redeemed, not their persons; for transgressions may stand for transgressors . . .

. . . But the sense is, that though legal sacrifices could not atone for sin, nor ceremonial ablutions cleanse from them; yet the sins of Old Testament saints were expiated, their iniquities pardoned, and they were justified and saved, through the blood of Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world . . .

Hebrews 10:12-14 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

The Spirit has always been the regenerating force in saints.

John 14:17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

While we don’t believe that the Spirit indwelt OT saints, he was still the active agent in their “salvation.”

The object of salvation has varied.

Abraham believed in God. That’s all we know. If we speculate beyond that we draw conclusions that scripture does not draw.

While passages concerning a suffering Messiah exist in the Old Testament (Isa 53:3-5; Dan 9:24-26) and there are passages in the NT that seem to imply that Old Testament saints understood a suffering servant (1 Pe 1:10-12; Heb 11:13); likely most Old Testament saints were not thinking about a Messiah that would die and even more so were not thinking about Jesus of Nazareth.

The Gospels are a wonderful source for first century thought. We see the common understanding concerning the Messiah. Did the common believing Jew believe in the death of the coming Messiah?

Matthew 16:21-23 21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."

Feinberg. The position of Charles Hodge on this issue is most helpful, for he not only claims that faith is the key, but he also explains in detail what the revealed content of faith is at all times. Hodge begins by explaining that in all dispensations, Jesus Christ is the Redeemer. He writes:

It is no less clear that the Redeemer is the same under all dispensations. He who was predicted as the seed of the woman, as the seed of Abraham, the Son of David, the Branch, the Servant of the Lord, the Prince of Peace, is our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God manifest in the flesh. He, therefore, from the beginning has been held up as the hope of the world, the SALVATOR HOMINUM.

On the one hand, I can agree with parts of it . . . indeed, Christ is the Redeemer at all times. On the other hand, it is another thing to say that Jesus Christ is the One who from the beginning “has been held up as the hope of the world.” If Hodge means nothing more than that Christ’s work is the ground of redemption for all ages, I have no problems. If, on the other hand, the statement means that Jesus Christ has literally been the revealed content presented to men from the very beginning, I have tremendous problems. It is definitely debatable as to how much understanding there was of the full import of the prophecies about the Messiah or how much the truth about Christ’s coming redemptive work was involved in the presentation of the gospel in the Old Testament. What does not seem to be the case is that men consciously believed in Jesus Christ, for we do not find until the New Testament the explicitly stated revelation that Jesus of Nazareth is the long-awaited Christ. Although it is always possible that the Holy Spirit could have revealed the truth about Jesus to an eager seeker, it seems to overlook the progress of revelation to say that knowledge of Jesus was universally or even widely known in Old Testament times. Consequently, when Hodge specifies the content of faith, he goes too far. He writes:

As the same promise was made to those who lived before the advent which is now made to us in the gospel, as the same Redeemer was revealed to them who is presented as the object of faith to us, it of necessity follows that the condition, or terms of salvation, was the same then as now. It was not mere faith or trust in God, or simply piety, which was required, but faith in the promised Redeemer, or faith in the promise of redemption through the Messiah.

Although I would not want to deny that God revealed as early as Genesis 3:15 that One would come to take care of the sin problem, I find it very hard to accept the notion that the promise of redemption through Jesus Christ was so clearly understood or so exclusively held to be the sole revealed content of God’s method for handling sin, as Hodge seems to think.[1]

[1] John S. Feinberg, “Salvation in the Old Testament” Tradition and Testament. Essays in Honor of Charles Lee Feinberg. Chicago: Moody Press, 1981. pp.39-77.