by Noah DuToit

As New Testament Believers, we know that the way of salvation is through faith in what Jesus did on the cross. Ephesians 2:8 says “For we are saved by grace through faith, it is not from ourselves it is God’s gift. “Since that is true, how were all the heroes of the Old Testament saved? How did people like Moses and David get to heaven if the way to heaven wasn’t established? This may be a confusing question, but the answer is not as confusing it may seem.

The Misconceptions of Old Testament Salvation

Many people think that the Old Testament people were saved by obeying the law and doing the sacrifices of the law, or just believing that God exists. Even in the Old Testament, though, that was not the purpose of the law. Even though it is good to believe that God exists, that is not what saved the Old Testament believers, or anyone for that matter.

Romans 3:21 says: “But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made know.” God did not need the law as a way for sinners to come to Jesus, he used it as a way for sinners to see the need of Jesus, especially Old Testament believers who had only a shadow of an idea of who Jesus was.

The Means of Old Testament Salvation

Romans 3:21 reads: “But now God has shown us his saving power without the help of the law.” God used his saving power through Jesus dying on the cross, and it is how we are saved today. We are saved by faith in what Jesus did, and the believers of the Old Testament were saved by faith in what Jesus would do. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen.” “Things hoped for” and “Not yet seen” in that verse is important, because the Old Testament believers definitely hadn’t seen Jesus, yet most were hoping for the one God had promised.

"We are saved by faith in what Jesus did, and the believers of the Old Testament were saved by faith in what Jesus would do."

Another word for assurance is “confidence”. So you could say that faith is confidence in what is hoped for and unseen. Jesus is what they were hoping for, and Romans 8:24 says “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes in what he sees?”

The Prophecies of Jesus

How did they know what to have faith in and what to hope for? There were many prophecies projecting a coming savior long before Jesus lived. One of the first being in the garden of Eden. God told Satan after he convinced Adam and Eve to sin, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) The woman’s offspring is Jesus, the one who saved us.

So, Adam and Eve knew someone would be coming to save them, and if they trusted God and had faith in his promise, then they were saved. The people of GotQuestions.org say on this matter: “As early as Genesis 3:15 we see the promise of a coming Savior, and throughout the Old Testament there are hundreds of promises that the Messiah would “save His people from their sins”

The Examples of Old Testament Salvation

A great example of Old Testament salvation is Abraham. God told him in the calling of Abraham that “All the people on the earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). How did God bless the entire earth through Abraham? Through Abraham’s later descendant, Jesus.

Abraham believed this promise, as Romans 4 says: “For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.” Abraham was saved by his faith just as more believers that are described in Hebrews 11 are. Noah listened to God and “Became and heir of righteousness that comes by faith.” Read Hebrews 11, and you will see many more Old Testament people who were saved by their faith.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the only difference between New Testament salvation and Old Testament salvation is when it happened. Acts 4:12 says: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” The only way to heaven has always been through faith in Jesus and what he did for us.