Listen to Nancy’s full response on Mornings with Kelli and Steve on Moody Radio.
Today, we look back in history at the cross and those who believe that Jesus died for our sins over 2000 years ago, God counts our faith in Him as righteousness and we know for certain that we will live with God forever in Heaven.
Is there any hope for those who were born before the death and resurrection of Jesus?
Absolutely YES! Those born in the Old Testament times who believed that the Messiah would come and save them from their sins, God credited their faith in a future Savior as righteousness for all who believed became children of God.
How could they have known about Jesus?
The grand narrative of the Bible is all about the redemption of mankind. From Genesis through Malachi, God was announcing the coming of his Son, the savior of the world!
How? Through the prophets and the writer of the Old Testament God laid out His plan of salvation. It was never dependent upon the Law because not a single man upheld all of the law, therefore, all people before were subject to death. But, from the very beginning of time, Jesus announced that he was going to send his son to die for the sins of the world, and those who had faith, would be saved.
Primarily, he made it abundantly clear the prophesies or fore telling of what was going to happen in the future. Of all the 2000 Old Testament prophesies, 333 pointed to the Messiah, not to good works.
The first Messianic prophecy was found in Genesis 3:15 “He will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
800 years before Christ: Isaiah 53: 4,5 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him, he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Galatians 3:6-9 – “Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”
God, from the beginning of time was calling people to believe in His son, either in a future, present or past tense. We all, as Christians are called to live well so that those who do not know Jesus, would see Jesus by the we love one another. For other Christians, they hopefully will be inspired to live their lives inwardly and outwardly to spread the great news of Jesus.