Salvation has always been by grace through faith, as the Scriptures consistently teach across both Testaments.

The Bible makes clear that no one has ever been saved by works, the law, or rituals alone. Instead, salvation is eternally rooted in God’s grace and faith in Him and His promises. Key foundational verses include:

• Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” This NT principle applies retroactively, as the Bible presents one unified plan of salvation.
• Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Christ’s redemptive work applies to all eras, meaning OT believers were saved through the same Savior, though they looked forward to His coming.
• Hebrews 11:39-40: “And these all [OT believers], having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” OT saints were justified by faith but awaited Christ’s fulfillment.
• Romans 3:20: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The law (given in the OT) never saved; it revealed sin and pointed to a Redeemer.
• Galatians 3:24: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” OT rituals and laws were temporary tutors leading to faith in the Messiah.

OT sacrifices and obedience were shadows or types (Hebrews 10:1: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things”), not the substance of salvation. True OT believers trusted God’s word, which included promises of a coming Redeemer (e.g., Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel”—the first Messianic prophecy).

Analysis of Argument 1: Saved by Grace in Believing in the God of Israel

This argument has strong biblical support. OT salvation required faith in the one true God of Israel (Yahweh), distinct from pagan gods, and this faith was credited as righteousness by grace. Examples of OT saints:

• Genesis 15:6 (about Abraham): “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Abraham’s faith in God was the basis of his justification.
• Romans 4:3-5 (interpreting Genesis): “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” This explicitly ties OT salvation to grace through faith, not works.
• Habakkuk 2:4: “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” Quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38, this underscores faith as the OT path to life.
• Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” This applies to OT figures like Abel, Enoch, and Noah, who were saved by believing in God.
• Psalm 37:39: “But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.” Salvation comes from God alone, by grace.

Strength: High. Believing in the God of Israel meant trusting His character, covenants, and word (e.g., the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-21). This faith was always by grace, as no one earned salvation (Isaiah 64:6: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”).

Analysis of Argument 2: Saved by Awaiting the Arrival of the Messiah

This argument also has strong biblical support. OT faith inherently involved looking forward to God’s promised Messiah (the Anointed One) as the ultimate deliverer from sin. The Bible ties OT salvation to belief in this future Redeemer:

• Hebrews 11:13: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” OT saints like Abraham and Sarah “saw” the promises (including Messianic ones) from afar and believed.
• Job 19:25-27: “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” Job awaited a living Redeemer.
• Isaiah 53:5-6 (Messianic prophecy): “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” OT believers trusted such promises of substitutionary atonement.
• Romans 4:16-17: “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace… As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Abraham believed God’s promises, which pointed to Christ (Galatians 3:16: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ”).
• Luke 24:27 (Jesus interpreting OT): “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” The entire OT anticipated the Messiah.
• Acts 26:22-23: “Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.”

Strength: High. Awaiting the Messiah was not passive but an active element of faith in God’s redemptive plan. OT prophets and saints believed in the coming “seed” (Genesis 3:15), “prophet like Moses” (Deuteronomy 18:15), and suffering Servant (Isaiah 53), all fulfilled in Christ.

Conclusion: Are One, Both, or Neither True?

Both arguments are biblically true and complementary, not mutually exclusive. The bible presents salvation before Christ as by grace through faith in the God of Israel (Argument 1), which necessarily included believing His promises about the coming Messiah (Argument 2). These are two sides of the same truth: Faith in God encompassed trust in His Messianic plan, as the OT covenants and prophecies were inseparable from Him.

• Romans 4:20-22 (about Abraham): “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” Belief in God and His promises (Messianic included) was counted as righteousness by grace.
• Galatians 3:8: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” The “gospel” (good news of salvation) was preached to Abraham via promises pointing to Christ.

There is no biblical basis for an “either/or” division; the Scriptures unify them under one gospel (Galatians 3:6-9). If forced to choose one as primary, Argument 1 is broader, as faith in the Messiah flows from faith in the God who promised Him. However, both accurately reflect Bible teaching on OT salvation.

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