Salvation In The NT

Isn’t It Obvious?

After our previous post earlier this week about salvation in the OT, we will now look at how salvation is viewed in the NT. Right away, you’re probably thinking that this is an obvious answer and that there is no reason to discuss this topic because salvation in the NT is seen in its clearest light due to Christ walking this earth. And of course, you’re not wrong. However, we aren’t just going to look at a bunch of passages that show that Jesus is the only way to salvation in the NT, we are going to take what we learned from the OT earlier this week and show how that reveals the gospel truth in the NT in a greater light. As Saint Agustine said, “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.” The OT has much to say on salvation, even without Christ not having been made flesh yet, so imagine the prophecies fulfilled and the astonishing statements Jesus made that didn’t just come true, but fulfilled the OT prophecy in the NT. This is what we will be viewing today. Just as our Lord says in Matthew 5:18 “18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” These are some powerful words from Jesus Himself, and they show not just how high He held God’s Word, but how perfect these prophecies about Him really were. Let’s take a look at some. 

The Christ

For starters, Jesus fulfilled just over 300 prophecies that have been written about Him, so we won’t go over every single one of them here. But we will see how He fulfilled some of the most crucial ones in correlation to the gospel itself. When questioned about His deity, look at what Jesus says in Mark 14:61-62 “Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” This is perhaps the most blatant statement that we have from Jesus revealing that He is the promised Messiah in public. Not only does He claim to be the Christ that everyone had been waiting for, but He used a quote from the prophet of Daniel in the OT that revealed He was fulfilling the duties of the coming Messiah as well. I absolutely love this quote from our Lord because anyone who claims that Jesus never said He was the Christ can’t argue with this passage, and anyone who claims that Jesus wasn’t fulfilling OT prophecy is proved wrong when they see Him quote Daniel as well. Jesus doesn’t just say that He is the Messiah, but He uses the title that even Daniel used for Him, hundreds of years before Christ was ever born! I know that hearing someone say that they are the Son of Man or the Son of God would have been ground-shaking news, regardless of the timeframe. But can you imagine the added weight when someone not only claims to be from God but also claims to fulfill the Word of God, unlike any other person who has come before you? The OT prophecies of Christ indeed put the gospels in a greater and more visible light. Jesus wasn’t just mouthing off sayings that people wanted to hear. Any false prophet could do that. Rather, our Lord was quoting OT prophecies, and actually fulfilling them. This is why I love reading Bibles that have prophecies from the OT written in a different font in the NT. It serves as a reminder every time we read God’s Word, that Jesus really did fulfill all that was written about Him, and that He completed everything that the coming Messiah was prophesied to complete. When we view salvation as being saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we can be certain that based on the passage above, Jesus is indeed who He claimed to be. 

Grace & Faith

What about grace? And what about faith? Does the OT reveal these aspects of salvation in a greater light in the NT as well? You bet it does. John 1:16-17 tells us, “16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” This grace that was a free gift from God was realized to us through Jesus Himself. It’s a beautiful thing to view Jesus and His gracious act of self-sacrifice on the cross in the NT, but it’s even more precious to view Him in light of God’s grace that is seen not just in the NT, but all throughout the OT as well. When we read about how our God will finally do away with animal sacrifice and human intuition and instead will reveal His grace through a coming king that will save His people from sin once and for all, the gospel of Jesus Christ is that much sweeter. God’s grace doesn’t just end in the practices of sacrifices and the celebration of festivals, but it is seen in its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Without His grace, the gospel would be no good news to us at all. The grace of God is the only means that we are even able to place our faith in Christ, to begin with. And thank God He did. 

I couldn’t agree more with John Piper when He states, “On the one hand, grace is called — and I think it’s an absolutely wonderful phrase — undeserved favor.” The grace our God from the OT to the NT is seen in the very character of Christ because of the underserved favor He gives us. What about faith? This is a vital aspect of salvation! How does the OT reveal faith in a new light in the NT? Faith is arguably one of the most required characteristics that God requires of His people in the OT. How many times do we see God put His prophets through tests, or the nation of Israel through a drought, or send an angel to deliver an unbelievable message? All of these instances are where the faith of mankind is tested. And it doesn’t take much reading in the OT to see that God is pleased when His people place their faith in Him rather than their circumstances. This is what makes placing our faith in Jesus so beautiful. It’s the fact that this is nothing new. God has always wanted our faith in Him and not the things of this world. Look at what Mark 11:22-23 says, “22 And Jesus *answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.” Faith is an undeniable aspect of salvation, and it too is brought to fulfillment when it is placed in Christ. Yes, the NT has always taught us that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but when put together how the OT foresaw all of this, we can’t help but praise God for His inerrant word, and His perfect character. 

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Sources

[1] “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 2023.

[2] Ancient Promises by R.C. Sproul. (n.d.). Ligonier Ministries. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/ancient-promises

[3] Piper, J. (2024, January 10). What is Grace? Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-grace