Objection: We are not saved in the same way as Abraham (justification by faith), because if that were true then the sacrifice of Christ was unnecessary.
Answer: The Bible makes it plain that salvation has always been by faith (
Romans 3:22) and gives Abraham as the chief example of salvation by grace through faith (
Romans 4:2-3), and we are told specifically that Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness BEFORE he was circumcised (
Romans 4:10) and that these things are written for OUR (the Church) benefit (
Romans 4:22-25). So then Paul’s point seems to be that salvation has always been by faith, never by keeping the Law, sacrifices, feasts, obedience, or good works. (Though certainly those things are seen as an expression of legitimate faith both in the case of Abraham, and in the case of the believer as is spoken of in
James 2:14-26).
So then if Abraham could be saved by faith under the Old Covenant, and believers under the New covenant are saved the same way, why was it necessary for Jesus Christ to die? For many reasons:
1)neither Abraham nor any other man ever kept God’s law perfectly. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (
Romans 3:23).
2)Since God is Holy, Righteous and Just- He could not justify Abraham unless the penalty was paid for His sin. That penalty could never be paid by good works, or obedience, it must be paid by a sacrifice. However this sacrifice must be sinless. While it is true that in the Old Testament animals were sacrificed, the Bible makes it plain that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away man’s sin. Animal sacrifice simply served to “roll forward” the penalty of sin that was ultimately paid in Christ. In this way animal sacrifice served as a type, but there is no teaching which says a man who observed animal sacrifice could have a right relationship with God apart from faith. All the animal sacrifices, Feasts, and Sabbath observance in the world could not save a single Jew apart from faith in God. God in fact spoke of how much he hated the ritualistic worship of Israel (even though He instituted it) because it was not done in faith-see
Isaiah 1:10-15,
Jeremiah 7:1-10, etc).
3)The death of Jesus Christ was necessary because He perfectly kept (fulfilled) the law of God, and therefore He could die in our place. Therefore the demands of God’s justice have been fulfilled because sin has been judged and punished in Christ
4)Adam’s sin was imputed to all men (
Genesis 3;17-19 w/
Romans 5:12), all of our sin was imputed to Christ (
Isaiah 53:6), and because of Christ’s death God will impute His righteousness to anyone who places their faith in Christ(
Romans 4:22-24 & 5:16-19)
These things being so, our salvation is based completely upon the work of Jesus Christ, not on anything that we do. All that is required of us is to place our faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. (This includes repentance, because in order to understand the gospel, one must understand that Jesus died for THEIR sins, which implies that the sinner must therefore turn from their sins since the wages of sin is death. There is nothing in the Bible which teaches that a believer can live in open rebellion, sin, and constant disobedience toward God. In those cases the person is warned to examine their selves to see whether or not they are truly in the faith, and a solid teaching of the letter of 1 John would debunk the majority of false conversions so common in American Christianity).
If this reasoning is correct (items 1 thru 4), the objection may be “But Christ was not even crucified until nearly 2000 years after Abraham lived-so how could God have justified Abraham based on the blood of Christ?” That is because God is eternal, time means nothing to Him, which is why we see the many scriptures which teach that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. From the very beginning God dealt with men through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Old Testament saints were saved through their faith in God looking forward to the coming of the promised Messiah, and New Testament believers are saved by their faith in God looking back on the work accomplished by the Messiah. The point of reference has changed as the crucifixion is the central event in all of human history, but this does not necessitate two different ways of salvation. There is a change in the Law, as Hebrews makes clear-we no longer sacrifice animals because Jesus is the final sacrifice. We no longer must be physically circumcised, for now circumcised in our hearts (through water baptism-
Colossians 2:11), and we all have access to the Holy of Holies (the presence of God) through Jesus Christ, thus we can come before the Throne of God boldly (
Hebrews 4:16) by praying in the Holy Ghost (
Jude 1:25). All of these things are available to us through and because of Christ. In this sense we have a fuller revelation and understanding of God’s work and character than did those of the old Covenant, whose faith was expressed through the various types contained within the Old Covenant. Having lived on this side of Calvary we now know about the things that the prophets themselves could only speculate about (
1 Peter 1:10-11).
Objection: We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. If God accepts that sacrifice, then He seals it with fire (the baptism of the Holy Ghost).
Answer: This is salvation by works. First, the comment is lifted out of its original context (
Romans 12:1) which was written to people who were already believers. This was not intended for potential converts, but was written to those who had already been converted. Furthermore, especially as chapters 3:21-5:21 point out there is nothing we can do on our own to make ourselves holy or acceptable to God in the context of salvation. He “accepts” us on the merits of Jesus Christ, not our own merits. If indeed we must make ourselves acceptable to God BEFORE He will save us, how is that NOT salvation by works? How is that not in direct contradiction to so much of what is written in earlier parts of Romans, and especially 3:20-28, 4:2-5, and 11:6.
In addition to the Bible does not teach that we are “sealed” by the fire of the Holy Spirit when we make ourselves acceptable to God, but we are told in fact that after we trusted/believed in Christ we were sealed with the Holy Spirit (
Ephesians 1:12-14).
This soteriology seems to be based more on an allegorical reading of the Old Testament types, than the plain language of the New Testament.