Page 123 - Biblical Theology Textbook - masters

Study Section 17: Redemption for Old Testament Saints

17.1 Connect

Some people wonder how the people in the Old Testament got saved. God, through Moses,
gave them the Law and asked them to obey every aspect of the various rules. They had to
sacrifice lambs to cover their sins. And they had not only the Ten Commandments to obey, but
hundreds of other rules. They even had to give a tithe of their herds and crops to the priests
every year. So, were they saved by their obedience to the Law?

God told them that He would bless them if they obeyed the Law and bring curses to them if they
disobeyed the Law. And when you read through the story of all the Kings of Israel and Judah, you see
that when the people obeyed God, He protected them from their enemies and give them good rain. But
if they disobeyed, He allows their enemies to invade them and bring them under rule. So, were all these
people, when they died, allowed to go to heaven because of their obedience to the Law? Let’s find
out…

17.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to explain the plan for Redemption for the Old Testament saints.

2. The student should be able to explain how the sacrificial system did not bring salvation to the Old
Testament saints.

3. The student should be able to detail the events that lead to the return of the Messiah as He
promised.

17.3 Plan of Redemption for Old Testament Saints

Since the fall of man, the basis of salvation has always been the death of Christ. No one, either
prior to the cross or since the cross, would ever be saved without that one pivotal event in the
history of the world. Christ’s death paid the penalty for past sins of Old Testament saints and
future sins of New Testament saints.

The requirement for salvation has always been faith. The object of one’s faith for salvation has
always been God. The psalmist wrote, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2:12). Genesis
15:6 tells us that Abraham believed God and that was enough
for God to credit it to him for righteousness (see also Romans
4:3-8). The Old Testament sacrificial system did not take away
sin, as Hebrews 10:1-10 clearly teaches. It did, however, point
to the day when the Son of God would shed His blood for the
sinful human race.

What has changed through the ages is the content of a
believer’s faith. God’s requirement of what must be believed is

122