Does 1 Thessalonians
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- Does 1 Thessalonians 4:14 Say Belief in Christ’s Death and Resurrection is What is Saving? Also:Will We Be Judged Immediately After Death?
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Welcome to the Grace in Focus radio / podcast. Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates will address two questions today. What do we need to believe in order to have everlasting life? Is it Christ’s death and resurrection? And when a believer dies, is he or she judged immediately? When does this happen? Bob and Ken have some biblical answers, and a discussion about these things. We invite you to listen today and each weekday to the Grace in Focus podcast!
1 Thessalonians 4:14, Rapture, Resurrection, Sleep, Soul Sleep, Judgment Seat, Christ, Rewards, Luke 19:11-27
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So, do you have to be baptized to be saved? Jesus said, " He that believes and is baptized shall be saved", yet GES and Timgrady say, " He that believes is saved and can be baptized if he wants".
Acts 2:37 they asked " WHAT MUST WE DO?" and Peter said " Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus", so it is something that "WE MUST DO"!! and after they had received the word and were baptized, they were added to the SAVED , v41,v47.
Acts 10:33,47-48 we see that water baptism is a COMMAND OF THE LORD, so must we OBEY HIS COMMANDS? In 1 John 2:4 it says if you do not obey his commands, you are a LIAR AND HAVE NOT THE TRUTH!!!! So, if you are not baptized, you are a LIAR AND HAVE NOT THE TRUTH!!
Col 2:12 says that are " buried with Jesus and raised up with Jesus THROUGH FAITH IN THE WORKING OF GOD.....God MADE ALIVE TOGETHER WITH HIM HAVING FORGIVEN US ALL OUR SINS!!! and in Eph 2:5 we see that we are saved by grace through faith when we are baptized into Christ, that is when we are made ALIVE.
Romans 6 says we are freed from sin when we are baptized and when we are freed from sin, we receive sanctification and eternal life.
I'll never understand why people get hung up on soul sleep. Whichever way it is, the outcome will be exactly the same. You will close your eyes in death, and open them in heaven. They would have no awareness of the passing of time. It will seem instantaneous. Thus it is a non issue.
Seems like the answer to the question is yes. Verse 13 concludes with defining the unbelievers who have no hope. 14 clarifies that those who believe in the resurrection assurance of being resurrected
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 NASB
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. [14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
Works righteousness folks believe in the DBR .
Contradicts John 3:16 & Ephesians 2:8-9 & every equivalent passage .
Your point Begs the Question , as you too affirm works righteousness soteriology .
Exegetically , one must Necessarily have a Condition of everlasting life present in every conceivable Evangelistic/Everlasting Life/endless Justification before God passage in the Bible .
The Disciples were born again (John 1&2) well before understanding His attributes/works He performed (DBR) in John 20 .
Jesus never made His attributes/DBR the Object and Content of one's faith whereby one is irreversibly regenerate.
Your position is indefensible , Exegetically Devin .
@@timgrady4630 Read Ephesians 1:12-14…….You’re referring to the finished work of the cross, Jesus’s sacrifice for mankind, his death, burial, and resurrection power as Works??? The 4 earthly gospels never even mention grace, Jesus said believe in me, and I’ll give you the Kingdom, but it was taken from them. Matthew 27:43 kJV ✝❤
Faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for the free gift of everlasting life.
Interesting!
So if all you need is faith...
Matthew 7:13-14
13 Go in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are the ones entering in through it.
14 For narrow is the gate, and constricted is the way that leads away into life, and few are the ones finding it.
Why is the gate so narrow?
Why are there so few finding their way in?
*Strive to Enter the Kingdom? Matthew 7:13-14* - Bob Wilkin
May 1, 2024
faithalone.org/grace-in-focus-articles/strive-to-enter-the-kingdom-matthew-713-14/
A reader sent in this question:
"Hello. Thanks for your articles. I genuinely believe in salvation by faith alone, by trusting in Jesus Christ as God and His atoning death/blood for the forgiveness of sins.
However, one Scripture that has always confused me is Matthew 7:13-14. What does Jesus mean when He says we need to strive to enter the narrow gate and that the way is hard? Does that seem to imply an intense struggle to be saved?
In other words, how does Matthew 7:13-14 square with Romans 6:23, Galatians 2:16, or Romans 5:1?
Thank you in advance for your response."
The Lord Jesus did refer to entering by the narrow gate in Matt 7:13-14. But the text does not mention striving. The questioner is thinking of Luke 13:24: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
The reader asks a super question when he asks how to square striving to enter with other clear verses that teach justification by faith alone, apart from works (Gal 2:16; Rom 5:1). Whenever we perceive one passage as contradicting another, we need to ask how the two can be harmonized.
Some think that Matt 7:13-14 concerns discipleship rather than salvation from eternal condemnation. They understand “the way which leads to life” to refer to the path of discipleship that leads to abundant life. However, in this context, it is more natural to understand the phrase as referring to how to enter into everlasting life (cf. Matt 18:8-9; 19:16-17).
If everlasting life and justification are in view, we know the sole condition is faith in Christ (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; Gal 2:16; Rom 5:1).
Could faith alone in Christ for everlasting life be the narrow gate?
Do some people need to strive to believe Jesus’ promise of everlasting life (e.g., John 3:16)?
Yes, and yes.
Most people on Earth today reject the faith-alone message. Even most professing Christians!
Coming from another religion might make you uncomfortable attending church or talking with a Christian about Christ. The faith-alone message might seem like nonsense to you.
The same is true, as well, if you come from most Christian traditions. You would be uncomfortable attending a church that proclaims the faith-alone message.
The word translated strive is agonizomai. We get the word agonize from it. It is used seven times in the NT. It is translated as fight in John 18:36; 1 Tim 6:12; and 2 Tim 4:7. Paul used it to refer to competing for a prize in 1 Cor 9:25.
It is translated as striving in Col 1:29 and laboring fervently in Col 4:12.
Striving/fighting/competing is not required in order to be born again. The Lord never said that. But for most in His legalistic Jewish audience, striving was, in a sense, necessary in order to come to belief in Jesus’ promise of eternal life.
The Lord rebuked some legalistic Jews, saying, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).
Their problem was not that they searched the Scriptures (cf. Acts 17:11). It was that they were searching with closed minds. They were not seeking to find God’s way to eternal life. They were seeking to understand what the greatest commandments were so that they could best gauge the likelihood that they would gain kingdom entrance.
Does that sound familiar? Isn’t that the way many people in Christendom search the Scriptures? Aren’t many seeking to check their works against Scripture? Don’t they base their assurance and that of others on how obedient they are?
If you have ever shared the faith-alone message, you know that most people reject it. Most are happy to tell you why you are preaching a false gospel. They will charge you with cheap grace and easy believism.
Maybe you could tell them that the narrow gate is the faith-alone, apart from works, way. You could ask them if they are willing to ask God if the faith-alone message is true. Are they willing to read the Gospel of John and meditate honestly on what they find? Is striving to find the truth out of the question for them?
Thomas Edison took fourteen months to get a working light bulb. He tried thousands of filaments that didn’t work before finding one that did. He had to strive to find the right filament. His striving was certainly work.
But striving to enter by the narrow way is not work. This striving does not involve turning from sins and doing good works. It involves being open to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for the gift of everlasting life. That message may seem heretical to people. They may hate it, as Saul of Tarsus did. The striving needed is prayer and openness to the Word of God.
For years, Martin Luther strove to be justified before God by his works. He turned from his sins, sought to live a holy life, went on pilgrimages, taught the Scriptures to others, and confessed his sins to other priests. It was all to no avail. Then, while meditating on Scripture, he realized that justification is by faith alone, apart from works.
If the legalist is open to the truth, then his legalistic striving will eventually give way to the realization that everlasting life is a gift given to all who simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I find it odd that many are willing to strive to enter into life by doing everything except praying and studying. They turn from their sins, commit their lives to Christ, and begin on the path of discipleship. They give their money. But these people who will seemingly do anything to gain everlasting life are unwilling to consider that their view may be wrong. They are unwilling to simply come to the Lord Jesus that they may have life (John 5:40).
Don’t be afraid to ask people if they are willing to strive in order to gain everlasting life if the striving involves prayer and study of the Gospel of John. Ask them if they are willing to believe the faith-alone message.
There is no other way to be born again. If people are not willing to believe in Jesus for the gift of everlasting life, then their need is to become willing. That may take striving. Striving to find the truth is a good thing.
@@PatrioticEdge He is talking to the Jew that believes he can earn his way through the door by works, we are saved by grace through faith, and not by anything we do, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest a man should boast. He is trying to get them to see we are all saved the same way, Abraham believed God and it was counted as righteousness, all they had to do was believe on him as Abraham did. Jesus is the narrow gate, Acts 4:12 neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we MUST be saved. Jesus said he was the way, the truth, and the life.
@@EugeneHolley-rc6ry
He doesn't say that.
The path is narrow because the process is hard.
IF a claim of belief was enough then as is evident the path would be wide.
Ephesians 1:13 kjv says that we are sealed after we believe the gospel! Faith in Jesus' works alone for our salvation, nothing else! He's our sacrifice
Faith in the Christ (Jesus) alone FOR His Free and Never Deserving Gift of endless Everlasting Life alone regenerates forever (John 3:16 , 4:10-14,5:24,6:28-47,11:23-27 & Ephesians 2:8-9 ; Romans 3: 20-5:11) .
Paul himself designates the Object and Content of one's faith whereby one is irreversibly born again : ..."as a pattern of them who believe in Him for eternal life" (1 Timothy 1:16) .
Belief in "stuff about Jesus" (attributes/works He performed (DBR) are never the Object and Content in any Evangelistic/Everlasting Life/endless Justification before God passage in Scripture .
Belief in Christ's death and resurrection is not enough to be saved.
Each person receives their eternal retribution in their immortal soul at the very moment of death in a particular judgement that refers their life to Christ.
Untrue.
Exegetically .
Undeniably impossible to sustain your works righteousness affirmation .
John 5:24 ,6:28-47,10,11:23-27 directly refute a Temporary Conditional Probationary life, if words convey meaning .
Ephesians 2:8-9 ; Romans 3:20-5:11,11:6,29 ; Titus 3:5 ; Philippians 3:9 & the book of Galatians further render working for a Free and Never Deserving Gift that never ends utterly absurd, and Objectively impossible .
In Acts 2 Peter preached the first gospel sermon, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and it says, " When they heard this they were cut to the heart, and asked "WHAT MUST WE DO"? Peter said " Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins...", and when they did so, they were added to the saved, v41,v47.
In Acts 3 Peter preached the DBR of Christ and in v19 Peter told them to Repent and turn again, that their sins may be blotted out."
In Acts 4 they preached Jesus resurrection from the dead....many heard and believed...
In Acts 10 Peter preached the DBR to the Gentiles, " They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day...."
1 Cor 15:1 " I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast....For I delivered to you as of first importance.....that Christ died for our sins in accordance to the scripture, that he was buried, that he was raised the third day.....v14 if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our preaching is in vain..."
Without the DBR of Christ, we would be lost!!!!
In Romans 6 we see how we obey the GOSPEL , V3 BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH, BURIED WITH HIM IN BAPTISM, RAISED THAT WE MIGHT walk in newness of life. For if we HAVE BEEN UNITED IN A DEATH LIKE HIS, WE SHALL CERTAINLY BE UNITED IN A RESURRECTION LIKE HIS. We know that our old self was CRUCIFIED WITH JESUS SO THAT THE SINFUL BODY MIGHT BE DESTROYED, AND WE MIGHT NO LONGER BE ENSLAVED TO SIN. FOR HE WHO HAS DIED IS FREED FROM SIN. BUT IF WE HAVE DIED WITH CHRIST, WE BELIEVE WE SHALL ALSO LIVE WITH HIM".......
@DannyLoyd
How much (%) "Doing" (working) buys a Free Gift ?
How much - in a rational World underscored by the Laws of Logic - does a Free Gift Cost to its recipient ?
Objectively .
Are you "24/7/365" walking in the Light when you sin ?
Do you Lose/Forfeit Temporary/ Conditional /Probationary life , or Everlasting Eternal Life ?
On your proposition that affirms a working till death to earn , merit , be rewarded with... DESERVE...the Free and Never Deserving Gift of endless Everlasting Life...after Physical death :
When is it *Precisely * in THIS lifetime , that you Objectively have Endless Justification before God based upon Romans 3:20-5:11,11:6,29 ; Ephesians 2:8-9 ; Titus 3:5 ; Philippians 3:9 ; book of Galatians ?
Show us in those clear Texts where you find a "24/7365" Continuously believing/Perpetual working till death/PHYSICAL WATER BAPTISM/Repentance (turning from all sins till death) /Feeding and Clothing the Poor ?
Are you better in your behavior than me , or any Free Grace proponent ?
How would you Objectively Know that ?
Does 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Contradict John 3:16?
July 13, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, The Cross And The Promise Of Life
A reader expresses his agreement with our understanding of what it means to believe in Christ, and then he asks how we explain 1 Cor 15:1-11:
So, I was reading a few blog posts from the GES about what it means to believe in Christ. However, I actually had already known (more or less) of what your stance about this question is (being that I like your ministry, listen to your podcast, read your blogs and whatnot, etc.). And, as it is, through reading John, I too agree that “belief in Christ” (the belief necessary for eternal life) is the belief that He guarantees everlasting life, not the belief in Christ’s works.
Anyway, the actual reason I was reading the blogs in the first place is because I was wondering how our position on salvific belief would be defended in the reading of 1 Corinthians 15-vv. 1-4 specifically. One would imagine that whatever was “of first importance” (v.2) to Paul would be whatever can trigger everlasting life in a person; nevertheless, Paul makes no mention of believing that Jesus guarantees eternal life. His emphasis is explicitly on believing the death, burial, and resurrection. So, how would you reconcile this passage with the belief that Jesus grants eternal life to those who belief just that?
I have written on 1 Cor 15:1-11 on several occasions. See a 2019 blog on believing in vain here, a 2008 Grace in Focus Magazine article dealing with things that people add and take away from 1 Cor 15:1-11 to try to make it evangelistic, here, and a 2020 blog on the need to hold fast, here.
I will summarize what I say in those articles.
First, the Gospel of John was written long after the birth of the Church to tell people in the church age what they must do be saved (John 20:31). Nicodemus (John 3) and the woman at the well (John 4) both came to faith, yet there is no indication that the Lord preached the cross and resurrection to either. (He did allude to the cross in John 3:14-15, but even the disciples did not understand this as a reference to Jesus’ dying. Compare Matt 16:21-23. The eleven disciples were born again years before they believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection.)
Second, 1 Corinthians 15 is the great resurrection chapter. Paul is not evangelizing in this chapter. On this side of the birth of the Church, people come to faith in Christ for everlasting life by learning of His death and resurrection for us. Yet that is not the point of 1 Cor 15:1-11. Paul is calling the Corinthians to ongoing sanctification. He is writing to believers in Corinth on the importance of Jesus’ resurrection in their daily walks.
Third, vv 1-11 serve to introduce the chapter. Paul’s point in these verses is that the believers in Corinth can be spiritually healthy by holding fast to the good news that Paul preached to them concerning Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. The salvation mentioned in 1 Cor 15:2 is not a past completed event as in Eph 2:8-9. Instead, it is a present tense ongoing salvation that is contingent on holding fast to the gospel Paul preached. That salvation is being spiritually healthy. Compare 1 Cor 3:15; 5:5.
Fourth, the point of 1 Cor 15:1-11 is clearly found in Paul’s call to the believers in Corinth to hold fast to the truth of the gospel (1 Cor 15:2). It is possible that a believer will stop living at the foot of the cross and the entrance to the empty tomb. We must hold fast if we are to remain spiritually healthy.
Fifth, those who seek to make 1 Cor 15:1-11 into an evangelistic text have to do a lot of adding and taking away. They have to add the promise of everlasting life, which is not mentioned in this passage, as the reader points out in his question. They have to add that the moment one believes in Jesus he receives that life. The passage says nothing about what we receive at the moment we first believe. They have to take away the requirement that one hold fast to the gospel in order to stay saved. This passage does not contain what we find when Paul discusses the message of life. Compare Acts 16:31; Eph 2:8-9; 1 Tim 1:16.
@@timgrady4630 Does John 3:16 contradict 1 Cor. 15:1-11? and answer what I said above
@@timgrady4630
John 3:16 is not a verse for salvation ots a promise of everlasting life for those who continue in the faith until the end.
Ken & Bob….Im shocked….ONLY GOD SEES any man’s heart! 1 Thessalonians 4:14….why didn’t you continue down to 16-17. It is reminding us that if we believe the gospel of grace, that Christ Jesus died, was buried, and rose again, according to the scriptures, you are positionally and you stand in saving grace…..and will be with him in the rapture as in also 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, 58 is not works! I’m shocked that you continually turn down the gospel of grace, the mystery given to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15….there is no works…...no offense but all your theology degrees do not replace the scriptures. Some how you stay in the historical gospels, where Jesus was offering the Kingdom to the Jews. Some believed he was the messiah, but still thought they had to also keep the law…..all the way into acts along with believing. Deuteronomy 29:29 God kept the mystery of grace, and the power of the resurrection until revealing it to Paul of the Damascus experience. Believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of grace is 1 Corinthians 15:1-4….1-2 is telling you your standing if you believe truly, having been convicted by the Holy Spirit that your a sinner in need of a saviour, and you are SAVED once you BELIEVE it, not being saved!…….Who is anyone to say what someone truly believes, no man can see the heart, only God. The resurrection is the Power of God! In the age of grace, we are saved by believing the gospel, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Matthew 27:52-53……They arose after his resurrection, not while he was on the cross or believing his name. The 4 gospels were believing he was the messiah in the kingdom gospel under the law. BUT, God then revealed to Saul/Paul after the stoning of Steven, that under grace, gentiles, and even the remnant of Jews will be saved, justified, sanctified, baptized into the body of Christ, glorified, sealed with the Holy Spirit, all done supernaturally by the power of God. Ephesians 1:12-14 & Ephesians 2:8-9. We then walk in fellowship and perform good works empowered by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:51-57 gives the picture of 1 Thessalonians 4:14……….you mentioned the last verse of 15:58 about works…..it doesn’t mean physical works….IT MEANS steadfast in your belief of the gospel of grace! Paul doesn’t means physical works! Even in John 6:28,29,&40 the will, works of the Father is to believe! Some how you gentlemen have a problem with the revelation, the mystery, the gospel of grace, of the death, burial , and resurrection power of Christ Jesus given to Paul? If someone says they believe in Jesus, I would ask which Jesus? We are in the age of grace, by a true belief in the death, burial, and resurrection power….it isn’t antinomanism, and once they believe,Paul says in Ephesians 1:13 you are sealed, and hid with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3 KJV only. Ex- Catholic, Bible Berean, only the Word of God is the only doctrine, not any denomination creed. Blessings gentlemen.✝❤
Does 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Contradict John 3:16?
July 13, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, The Cross And The Promise Of Life
A reader expresses his agreement with our understanding of what it means to believe in Christ, and then he asks how we explain 1 Cor 15:1-11:
So, I was reading a few blog posts from the GES about what it means to believe in Christ. However, I actually had already known (more or less) of what your stance about this question is (being that I like your ministry, listen to your podcast, read your blogs and whatnot, etc.). And, as it is, through reading John, I too agree that “belief in Christ” (the belief necessary for eternal life) is the belief that He guarantees everlasting life, not the belief in Christ’s works.
Anyway, the actual reason I was reading the blogs in the first place is because I was wondering how our position on salvific belief would be defended in the reading of 1 Corinthians 15-vv. 1-4 specifically. One would imagine that whatever was “of first importance” (v.2) to Paul would be whatever can trigger everlasting life in a person; nevertheless, Paul makes no mention of believing that Jesus guarantees eternal life. His emphasis is explicitly on believing the death, burial, and resurrection. So, how would you reconcile this passage with the belief that Jesus grants eternal life to those who belief just that?
I have written on 1 Cor 15:1-11 on several occasions. See a 2019 blog on believing in vain here, a 2008 Grace in Focus Magazine article dealing with things that people add and take away from 1 Cor 15:1-11 to try to make it evangelistic, here, and a 2020 blog on the need to hold fast, here.
I will summarize what I say in those articles.
First, the Gospel of John was written long after the birth of the Church to tell people in the church age what they must do be saved (John 20:31). Nicodemus (John 3) and the woman at the well (John 4) both came to faith, yet there is no indication that the Lord preached the cross and resurrection to either. (He did allude to the cross in John 3:14-15, but even the disciples did not understand this as a reference to Jesus’ dying. Compare Matt 16:21-23. The eleven disciples were born again years before they believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection.)
Second, 1 Corinthians 15 is the great resurrection chapter. Paul is not evangelizing in this chapter. On this side of the birth of the Church, people come to faith in Christ for everlasting life by learning of His death and resurrection for us. Yet that is not the point of 1 Cor 15:1-11. Paul is calling the Corinthians to ongoing sanctification. He is writing to believers in Corinth on the importance of Jesus’ resurrection in their daily walks.
Third, vv 1-11 serve to introduce the chapter. Paul’s point in these verses is that the believers in Corinth can be spiritually healthy by holding fast to the good news that Paul preached to them concerning Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. The salvation mentioned in 1 Cor 15:2 is not a past completed event as in Eph 2:8-9. Instead, it is a present tense ongoing salvation that is contingent on holding fast to the gospel Paul preached. That salvation is being spiritually healthy. Compare 1 Cor 3:15; 5:5.
Fourth, the point of 1 Cor 15:1-11 is clearly found in Paul’s call to the believers in Corinth to hold fast to the truth of the gospel (1 Cor 15:2). It is possible that a believer will stop living at the foot of the cross and the entrance to the empty tomb. We must hold fast if we are to remain spiritually healthy.
Fifth, those who seek to make 1 Cor 15:1-11 into an evangelistic text have to do a lot of adding and taking away. They have to add the promise of everlasting life, which is not mentioned in this passage, as the reader points out in his question. They have to add that the moment one believes in Jesus he receives that life. The passage says nothing about what we receive at the moment we first believe. They have to take away the requirement that one hold fast to the gospel in order to stay saved. This passage does not contain what we find when Paul discusses the message of life. Compare Acts 16:31; Eph 2:8-9; 1 Tim 1:16.
@@timgrady4630 All 4 Earthly gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John were written to Jews under the law. Grace isn’t even mentioned in the earthly gospels, but grace is all Paul mentions. Jesus did not evangelize to gentiles, only to the lost children of Israel. Matthew 10:5-8…….and the dead didn’t rise until the resurrection , not believing his name or on the cross. Matthew 27:53. Believing in Jesus of Nazareth as the messiah was telling the Jews, “I am here”…they have no faith, and didn’t believe….and the apostles didn’t understand his coming sacrifice ( what you call Works???) You call the finished work of the cross, works??? Luke 18:33-34 After the stoning of Steven in Acts 7, God turned to the gentile world in Acts 9, the Damascus road telling Saul/ Paul to go to the gentile world. If you tell someone to believe in Jesus, and they ask you, Jesus who?…….you’re not going to explain what he did??? Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians:18 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:12-14 God kept the gospel of Grace secret, a mystery until after the stoning of Steven. Throughout the Old Testament the Jews were looking for their messiah, but not a king who would come and die on a Roman cross✝
@@timgrady4630 Read Deuteronomy 29:29…the secrets of God, Ephesians 3:1-6 Colossians 1:24-28 Through the mystery we receive the promise of Abraham. Galatians 1:11-16 It is the power of resurrection, we are to reckon ourselves dead and hid with Christ. Romans 6:11, Colossians 3:1-3. KJV ……and 1 Thessalonians 1:14 says if we believe that Jesus died and rose again……….we are under grace, during Jesus’ earthly ministry Jews were saved by believing he was the messiah. They did not know God had plans to go to the entire world, gentiles……and another 2000+ years! Blessings ✝❤
@@timgrady4630 Yes, Paul was correcting the believers at Corinth, but it is for believers of the gospel today also, believe and strive to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit……but again it is resurrection power in the age of grace that saves. ✝❤
@@Jesusisthewaythetruththe-pw9ss
63
HOW WERE PEOPLE SAVED
BEFORE JESUS CAME?
BOB BRYANT
Cypress Valley Bible Church
Marshall, Texas
I. INTRODUCTION
How were people saved before Jesus came? Some suggest that peo-
ple were saved by sincerely responding to what God had revealed to
them at that time. They assert that this revelation did not include the need
to believe in Christ. This idea has led some to suggest that if God saved
people back then who did not believe in Christ, then He does the same
today. This suggestion should make us uncomfortable and force us to
find biblical answers to the following two questions: “How were people
saved before Jesus came?” and “How did people know how to be saved
before Jesus came?”
II. HOW WERE PEOPLE SAVED BEFORE JESUS CAME?
To answer the first question, let’s allow the Bible to eliminate some
suggested answers and then let’s look for the Bible’s answer, one step at
a time.
A. NOT SAVED BY SACRIFICES, LAW KEEPING, OR GOOD WORKS
Some suggest that before Jesus came people were saved by offering
animal sacrifices. However, the Bible states, “It is not possible that the
blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Heb 10:4). Others argue
that before Jesus came people were saved by keeping the OT law. But
the Bible says, “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His
sight…” (Rom 3:20). Some say that before Jesus came, people were
saved by doing good works. However, the Bible makes clear that “…all
our righteous deeds are like filthy rags…” (Isa 64:6). Therefore, before
Jesus came, people were not saved by offering animal sacrifices, by
keeping the law, or by doing good works.
64 Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Spring 2003
B. SAVED ON THE BASIS OF CHRIST’S DEATH
Having eliminated these answers, let’s now consider the Bible’s
claim that people have always been saved on the basis of Christ’s death
for their sins. This includes those people who lived before He died. The
Bible speaks of Jesus as “…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world” (Rev 13:8). In the mind of God, Christ’s death was as good as
done, even before the world was created. Some 800 years before Jesus
died, Isaiah wrote of His death in the past tense, “…the LORD has laid
on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6). Paul says, “Whom God set
forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins
that were previously committed” (Rom 3:25, emphasis added). God
could pass over the sins of men committed before Jesus came because, in
His mind, Jesus had already paid for those sins. Therefore, before Jesus
came, people were saved on the basis of His death for their sins.
C. SAVED BY FAITH ALONE
Now let’s consider what people had to do to be saved before Jesus
came. Paul says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him
for righteousness…But to him who does not work but believes on Him
who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Rom
4:3, 5). Using Abraham as an example, Paul demonstrates that, before
Jesus came, people were saved by faith alone, not by their works.
D. SAVED BY FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE
But that leads to an obvious question: “Faith alone in what?” “Abra-
ham believed God,” but what did God tell him to believe? Some suggest
that God didn’t tell Abraham to believe in Christ. But Jesus said,
“…Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John
8:56). Two thousand years before Jesus came, Abraham looked ahead in
time and believed in the coming Christ for eternal life. Therefore, he was
saved by faith alone in Christ alone.
Job made a similar statement, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and
He shall stand at last on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, this I
know, that in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-26). Two thousand
years before Jesus came, Job knew that his Redeemer was coming to this
earth to pay the price for his sins. Job had a certain assurance that be-
cause of his Redeemer, he would live with God after his death.How Were People Saved Before Jesus Came? 65
We also know that Moses: “…esteemed the reproach of Christ
greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward”
(Heb 11:26). Living 1,500 years before Jesus came, he not only believed
in Christ, he also understood God’s truth concerning discipleship and
rewards. Moses even wrote about Christ. As Jesus said to the Jews, “For
if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me”
(John 5:46).
Abraham, Job, and Moses illustrate that before Jesus came, people
were saved by believing in the Christ who was yet to come. Today, we
are saved by believing in the same Christ who has come. They looked
forward. We look back. But people have always been saved in the same
way, by faith alone in Christ alone.
III. HOW DID PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO BE
SAVED BEFORE JESUS CAME?
To adequately answer this question, we need to ask it in relation to
three distinct time periods. First, “How did people know how to be saved
before the OT was written?” Second, “How did people know how to be
saved while the OT was being written?” And third, “How did people
know how to be saved after the OT was completed?” Let’s consider these
questions one at a time.
A. HOW DID PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO BE SAVED BEFORE THE OT
WAS WRITTEN?
Consider the dates of our three examples: Abraham and Job lived
about 2000 B.C. and Moses lived about 1500 B.C. Now consider the
dates in which the OT was written. Job was probably written about 2000
B.C. The rest of the OT began with the writings of Moses in about 1450
B.C. and ended with Malachi in about 450 B.C. Abraham, Job, and
Moses did not have the OT when they believed in the coming Christ.
And before them, for thousands of years, all the way back to Adam, peo-
ple did not have the OT. So how did they know how to be saved? There
can be only one answer. Before the OT was written, God gave verbal
revelation that eternal salvation is received through faith alone in Christ
alone.
In the beginning, God gave this verbal revelation Himself. He said to
the serpent in Gen 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the
woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise His heel.” While this verse alludes to Christ’s future...