It happened again. I was listening to a popular radio preacher and they repeated an idea I have heard many times in my life. He stated that in the Old Testament, people were “saved” by obeying the Law and in the New Testament, people are “saved” by faith. I almost jerked the car off the road because I flipped out. Calm down, Luke. It’ll be okay.
One wonders where such an idea first arose. I would have to study some more of the Patristics to see if the idea is represented well there, but I’m thinking it probably came into prominence through some Dispensationally-influenced pastor some years ago. Who knows. Unfortunatately, the idea that Old Testament saints were “saved” by obeying the Law is so popular, it gets repeated all of the time. Heck, I even said it a few times.
But when we take a look at Scripture, we see something a bit different. Here are some reasons why people should abandon spreading this idea:
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