Was it faith or sacrifice ?
Sacrifice was never the way to salvation. Everyone who has ever been justified has been justified by faith, so justification has always been by faith. Having faith is taking an action that demonstrates that you trust someone, so their faith led them to obey God, such as performing sacrifices, but they were justified by faith, not the actions they took as the result of having faith. The actions themselves can be performed for reasons other than faith and love, but God has always disdained outward obedience while His people's hearts were far from Him.
Romans 4:1-8 What then shall we say was gained by[a] Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Faith. See Hebrews 11.Was it faith or sacrifice ?
Speaking of the new creation? Absolutely. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:24The OT people were not made perfect until the new cov, Perfect in this verse is about sin, see Heb 7:11 (perfection).
Hebrews 11:40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
but the perfect word was about sin in 11:40, see 7:11 below, so they were not perfected yet, in regard to sin.The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin. Only the sprinkled blood of the new cov took away sin. What else could have?Speaking of the new creation? Absolutely. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:24
Speaking of saved by faith or by works? It's always been faith. Hebrews 11 especially vs 2.
When we look at what it means to have faith, in the New Covenant the old Protestant or post-Reformation formula of justification by faith is better viewed as justified in the Spirit by faith. This means that our faith is both Christological in that the work that Jesus, as the Son of God, undertook on our behalf provides us with the opportunity to apply faith in that we can recognise his sacrifice on our behalf. We can add to this Christological aspect of the salvific event by adding in a Pneumatological element in that without the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit we cannot be deemed to be righteous.Was it faith or sacrifice ?
When we look at what it means to have faith, in the New Covenant the old Protestant or post-Reformation formula of justification by faith is better viewed as justified in the Spirit by faith. This means that our faith is both Christological in that the work that Jesus, as the Son of God, undertook on our behalf provides us with the opportunity to apply faith in that we can recognise his sacrifice on our behalf. We can add to this Christological aspect of the salvific event by adding in a Pneumatological element in that without the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit we cannot be deemed to be righteous.
In the Old Covenant, Israel could not look to the sacrifice of the Son nor with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Their “faith” was limited to their obedience to the conditions that the Father had place upon Israel, if they obeyed his Laws to the Letter then they would one day be redeemed.
Even though Abraham's faith was accredited to him, his faith (and with Israels) is directed to the promises of God and not to the sacrificial work of Christ or with the reception of the Holy Spirit. If Israel can demonistrate its obedience to the conditions that God imposed on Israel, then their faithfulness to these obligations will eventually see the Israelites being welcomed into the Fathers presence.
So, whereas our faith is relational in that we are all one in Christ through the indwelling presence of the Spirit, Israel's faith was little more than obedience to a set of obligations.
When we look at what it means to have faith, in the New Covenant the old Protestant or post-Reformation formula of justification by faith is better viewed as justified in the Spirit by faith. This means that our faith is both Christological in that the work that Jesus, as the Son of God, undertook on our behalf provides us with the opportunity to apply faith in that we can recognise his sacrifice on our behalf. We can add to this Christological aspect of the salvific event by adding in a Pneumatological element in that without the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit we cannot be deemed to be righteous.
In the Old Covenant, Israel could not look to the sacrifice of the Son nor with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Their “faith” was limited to their obedience to the conditions that the Father had place upon Israel, if they obeyed his Laws to the Letter then they would one day be redeemed.
Even though Abraham's faith was accredited to him, his faith (and with Israels) is directed to the promises of God and not to the sacrificial work of Christ or with the reception of the Holy Spirit. If Israel can demonistrate its obedience to the conditions that God imposed on Israel, then their faithfulness to these obligations will eventually see the Israelites being welcomed into the Fathers presence.
So, whereas our faith is relational in that we are all one in Christ through the indwelling presence of the Spirit, Israel's faith was little more than obedience to a set of obligations.
Yes, my post was probably somewhat overly cryptic. One of the problems with any discussion that addresses soteriology is that over the years it has built up a number of ‘safety terms’ that allows us to develop certain points without moving outside of orthodox doctrine; but I agree that this can help to blur and even misrepresent the intended message if people aren’t all that familiar with this type of christianese language.Very wordy and hard to follow. I don't think I could accept this for one second, but that may be because I have misinterpreted its intent. If it was true the sacrifice served no purpose. See if you can explain this in layman's terms. How was the faith of Old Testament believers not relational?
Here is where the New Covenant which was inaugurated by the Father, where the Son gave his life for man and where the Holy Spirit empowers us to life a life of victory is so different to that of the imperfect Old Covenant.See if you can explain this in layman's terms. How was the faith of Old Testament believers not relational?
This is a very short reply but Abraham's faith was accredited to him simply as he recognised who God was and that he was prepared to obey the stipulations/laws that God commanded him to follow. This type of human faith has no comparison to the faith that God gives so that each can recognise their sin and confess Jesus as Lord. Abrahams faith (which is to his great credit) is still probably no different to the faith that I apply when I jump into my car where I expect to arrive safely from point A to B.The faith of Abraham has always been central to the Bible and the law was always intended to be kept by faith in a way that built a relationship between God and His people, not legalistically according to the letter. The law was not intended by God to be a legalistic burden, but rather the law is spiritual and it is only by faith that it can be received as a divine privilege and a delight. Legalism according to the letter is in fact where Israel went wrong because they didn't understand that the true righteousness of the law is found in a relationship with God.
This is a very short reply but Abraham's faith was accredited to him simply as he recognised who God was and that he was prepared to obey the stipulations/laws that God commanded him to follow. This type of human faith has no comparison to the faith that God gives so that each can recognise their sin and confess Jesus as Lord. Abrahams faith (which is to his great credit) is still probably no different to the faith that I apply when I jump into my car where I expect to arrive safely from point A to B.
That's well said.John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
That's well said.
Even though it can be easy to criticise Israel for its constant failures where even God himself rejected them, I still feel sorry for Israel as I would not want to have to be saddled with the horrendous number of OT Laws that they had to contend with without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.