Dear Mark,
I would like to reply to one of your previous posts. You said:
"I have another point that I have never heard a satisfactory answer from anyone who believes in the same salvation for all dispensations. Basically, we know we are saved by simply believing that Jesus died for our sins. Some say we are saved by faith. But that is not true. We are saved BY grace THROUGH faith. Essentially, we have to have faith to believe the gospel. That's easy. But what about those in other dispensations? Some say they had to have faith to be saved, and I would agree. Faith is the vehicle for salvation in all dispensations. But WHAT was that faith in, say, under the Law?
Simply put, before Jesus died, NO ONE was saved by believing that he died for their sins because it had not yet happened. So what was it that their faith was directed at?"
The cornerstone of faith throughout all dispensations is "belief in Him". Belief in Him is belief in the Word.
Deut 8:3
...man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) The Word = God
"And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God." (Rev 19:13) He (Son) = The Word
John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
The conditions here are "hearing" and believing Him that sent Christ. These conditions can only be accomplished by rightly dividing and believing all scripture. (1Tim 3:16)
When God sent His Son, the condition for salvation narrowed, but the broad condition remains.
For instance, Ro 10:9 (and other similar verses) are often quoted, "That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt belief in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Although it is often quoted, it belongs to the Acts dispensation. Obviously, those who lived during the four thousand years before His death and resurrection could not claim this as the basis of their faith. Another verse (already mentioned by Joyce) that is found in Romans, but also applies to all dispensations is "The just shall live by faith." (Ro 1:17;Gal 3:11;Hab 2:4)
The purpose of the law is found in Romans 3:20-23. The law made man aware of his exceeding sinfulness. The law was impossible to follow. Those who understood the law knew that the law is perfect and only One Who is without sin could keep the whole law. The law was written so that man would know he could not save himself by works and had to look for a Savior.
"Works" are a natural walk that those who are in Christ follow by worshiping in the spirit and in the truth and having no confidence in the flesh. The only "good works" man is capable of are the works of righteousness which are of God by faith. The walk is God working in us when we believe. We are HIS workmanship.
Lynn
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