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| Q: | Romans, Luke, 2 Timothy, John Regarding the patriarchs and all who lived before the New Testament... Obviously they did not have the complete Bible we have today. If we believe that the Bible (i.e. the means of grace)is necessary for faith today, how were they saved? Then to say that the Bible is needed is inappropriate for an unchanging God. If he does not change, how can the way we are saved change? The way I understand it is that it has always been through the promise of Christ, from Adam and Eve to current Christians. Did the criminal on the cross have to read scripture to be saved? No, it was believing in Christ his Savior. The Bible is a most precious gift, but sometimes I think we need to remember to worship the Lord of the Bible, not the Bible of the Lord. (and therefore fall into the same trap as other denominations' idolatry) I think that the Lord is capable of doing today what he was in the times of the Patriarchs. Human beings are the ones who change throughout history and with the Bible our needs have changed, along with the needs of our churches (small c.) | ||||||
| A: | Salvation comes only through faith in Jesus. Faith comes from hearing the message about Jesus. The patriarchs were saved through faith in the Savior God promised to send. That message was given to them orally and they passed it on to their children and others orally. The malefactor on the cross was saved through faith in Jesus. He believed what he saw and heard about Jesus, that he was the Son of God and the Savior. God's promises of salvation once spoke orally to the patriarchs have been written recorded for us in the Bible. It makes no difference whether we read the Bible for ourselves or someone tells us what the Bible says about Jesus. No one will be saved apart from that message (Romans 10:11-17). Paul reminds Timothy, "From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). Obviously Timothy didn't read the Scriptures in infancy, but his mother taught him those precious truths recorded in the Scriptures. Jesus emphasizes the importance of the Scriptures when he teaches, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not believe even if someone rises from the dead" (Luke 16:31). Moses and the Prophets were no longer living when Jesus spoke those words, but their message was recorded in the Holy Scriptures. Although God could speak directly to us today as he did to the patriarchs or as Jesus spoke to his disciples, we have no promise or indication that he will do so. Today he speaks to us through the Scriptures. As John writes in his Gospel, "These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31). | ||||||
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