OT & NT Believers saved in Christ

[HisRobes4Mine]

I was recently interacting with a friend of mine who is a staunch credobaptist who was trying to explain to me that the New Covenant was an entirely new covenant from the OT and therefore OT believers could not be saved by grace through faith in Christ. According to him they were saved by grace through faith in God’s promises.

I think Biblically that is false but am wondering where I should take my friend in the Bible to explain this. Or am I completely wrong?


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[Dachaser]

I was recently interacting with a friend of mine who is a staunch credobaptist who was trying to explain to me that the New Covenant was an entirely new covenant from the OT and therefore OT believers could not be saved by grace through faith in Christ. According to him they were saved by grace through faith in God’s promises.

I think Biblically that is false but am wondering where I should take my friend in the Bible to explain this. Or am I completely wrong?


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They knew that God would be sending one day the promised Messiah, but they were justified by God due to the Cross of Christ, but did not know the fullness of what that meant.

 

[C. Matthew McMahon]

Yes, biblically that's false (an understatement).

Take him to John 3:1-10.

Listen to this sermon here on that passage.

Especially, verse 10.

 

[Scott Bushey]

WCF ch 7


V. This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the gospel: under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all fore-signifying Christ to come, which were for that time sufficient and efficacious, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins, and eternal salvation, and is called the Old Testament.

VI. Under the gospel, when Christ the substance was exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed, are the preaching of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; which, though fewer in number, and administered with more simplicity and less outward glory, yet in them it is held forth in more fullness, evidence, and spiritual efficacy, to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles; and is called the New Testament. There are not, therefore, two covenants of grace differing in substance, but one and the same under various dispensations.

 

[timfost]

Was Abraham justified by the merits of promises or by the merits of Christ?

 

[HisRobes4Mine]

Was Abraham justified by the merits of promises or by the merits of Christ?

Great question! I would say that we can make the claim Abraham was justified by the righteousness of Christ. Romans 4 seems to make this pretty clear.


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[timfost]

Great question! I would say that we can make the claim Abraham was justified by the righteousness of Christ. Romans 4 seems to make this pretty clear.


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Exactly! If a person can only be justified by Christ and nothing else (Christ alone), then for Abraham to be justified in time prior to the incarnation nullifies the point your friend is making. The covenant of grace officially starts in Genesis 3:15.

 

[Contra_Mundum]

To be kind, your friend seems to be aiming for accuracy. But in so doing, he may be missing the target for getting some word right.

One way to describe the difference between OT and NT believer is: Promise and Fulfillment. But, you can't have hope in a promise without content, and that content is the Coming One. And just because we (looking back) can put a Name and correlate a set of historical events with the previous expectations, now fulfilled, doesn't mean that we have a different Object of our faith than they did.