How Were People Saved Before Jesus? SeanMcDowell.org

DESCRIPTION: How could people be saved before the life and death of Jesus? Were people saved through faith, works, or some other means? Sean briefly responds.

[affordabledesertliving]

Beautifully explained. Jesus Christ, Yesterday, Today, Forever.

[jaredduane]

Loved your video. Thank you for the part at the end where you ask "Do you believe in JESUS?" It was very simply asked, and with my believing response, I had an incredible moment with my redeemer, the SON of GOD, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

[nickc]

By faith. Just like Habbakuk says: The righteous shall live by faith

[mustardseed]

Love these shorts with good answers to Q's! Thx

[nishanthkumar]

Awesome... You cleared my doubt brother. God bless you.

[sarahdawkins]

Thank you Sean! I asked myself that question before. Very helpful!

[baptic]

But what about gentiles in the old Testament who lived in China or india etc ? What about mayans and Aztecs ?

[adamc]

My question is I always thought we were like filthy rags to God. Did people before Jesus go to heaven before Jesus. Or are you saying once Jesus died for our sins they went to heaven? Did they go to heaven without being cleansed of there sins?

[Gospelogian]

Genesis 15:6 should seal the deal especially as it is clarified in Romans: “What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about — but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭4:1-5‬ ‭

[Mike]

The people in the OT probably had no clue what the Messiah would do on the cross, but hoped for a deliverer from enemies. The people in the OT were saved by grace, but not through faith! Paul says, "But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian" (Gal. 3:23-25). You see they weren't justified by faith prior to Christ. Abraham was a prophetic type of this age of faith and justification.

[sergiotisnado]

Correct. Paul lays this out in great detail in Romans. After showing that ALL have sinned and under judgment due to sin, he explains that Abraham is the father of the faith, as he was saved by believing God. Those under the law were ALL guilty of falling short of perfectly keeping the law (ceremonial and moral laws), and ALL gentiles failed to perfectly obey their conscience. Yes, it was "credited" as righteousness to Abraham (before the law came) to David (having his sins "covered" by the blood of sacrificed animals). And, because Jesus had not yet come to accomplish complete atonement, such people could not yet be taken into the presence of God but went instead into the belly of the earth, to the bosom of Abraham, until Jesus died and took them into heaven while still in the grave and not yet risen. How could He do that? Because He took the keys of death, hell, and the grave, which empowers Him to sovereignly also (some might not like this) appear to people at the time of their death and deliver the gospel message personally--"I will have mercy on who I will have mercy, " also, "You have not chosen me but I have chosen you."

The piece that I am still missing is this: even though Paul explains that every person will be judged by the light he had, meaning that for those under the law it was the light of the commandments, and for the gentiles it was the light of nature (as evidence of existence of God) and light of conscience, Paul does not explain how exactly these gentiles will be saved (of the those who will be saved from this group, having implied some will and will not be saved). I know intuitively that no one can be saved apart from Jesus' shed blood, either consciously and directly, or in some indirect way as in the example of Abraham (who was not directly given the precise gospel message, for the coming of Jesus was only suggested or implied in God' statement to Abraham, "Through your seed all the nations of the world will be blessed." SO on what basis will God save some of the gentiles who never heard the gospel? Keep in mind that scripture makes it crystal clear salvation of not based on good works, lest any man should boast and this boasting supersede the cross.

[emdfilms]

Yes and Paul confirms that: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:23-26‬ ‭NIV‬‬
NLT translation makes more sense in my opinion.

[lovemamahouse]

Faith to the God Almighty, not to the creation.

[adamcollins]

I am still confused. This answer didn't really make sense to me. Could you please elaborate.

[Moh_ha]

Of course we as Muslims believe in Jesus but what about the people before IBrahim? and after Jesus? shouldn't they believe in Muhammed Since he came aftet Jesus?

[nitochi]

Abraham was before the law and he believed not for salvation but for the promise he would have descendants. People were saved simply because God chose them for Salvation, just for being hebrews and through the sacrifices they and their priest presented, by works of keeping the law as much as they could, by grace and faith mixed with works, rules, and rituals. Now it's by faith alone in Jesus's work and blood. Big difference

[angelaroy]

Did everyone have to go through hell before opening the gates of heaven after death?

[goranmilic]

If every righteous person who never heard of God or Jesus is saved, because of their ignorance, then the best thing to do is not spread the word of God at all, because if you do, now that person must believe in it to be saved and if you don't, it would certainly be saved.

[ilovemysweeties]

If ppl before Jesus could go to Heaven, then why the need for atonement?
I thought Jesus made eternal life for us when he died and that eternal life didnt exist before until then?

[dystoniaify]

I am a new Christian and I don't understand why God waited 100s of thousands of years of human existence to write the old testament.