> What are the differences, if any, between good works
> done by Abraham, or any other blessed person from the Old
> Testament, compared to good works done by someone living in
> the New Testament, as far as their divine value is
> concerned? jeflauer@mail.fwi.com (Jeff Lauer)
Dear Jeff,
St. Paul writes (Eph 2:8, 10): "By grace you have been saved
through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift
of God ... For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should
walk in them."
As I interpret your question, you are asking: "Is there a
difference in `salvation value' between the good works of the
saints of the Old Covenant and those of the saints of the New?"
Briefly, in the long run, there is and will be no difference
because the saving value of every good work comes form the work
of Jesus Christ, done for all mankind upon the Cross.
The good works we consider "God prepared beforehand" (Eph. 2:10),
in fact, "before time began" (2 Tim. 1:9), therefore before the
unfolding of his plan in both Testaments.
Salvation from beginning to end is a work of God's grace,
unmerited and freely given. All grace is from Christ: "Grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). This is as true for
Old Testament people as it is for us of the New Testament: "(God)
has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his
servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from
of old, that we should be saved ... to remember his holy
covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham" (Luke
1:69-71a, 72b-73.
This "horn of salvation" is Jesus. "There is salvation in no one
else" (Acts 4:12a), and no other savior is needed, either for
people of the Old Covenant or for us of the New, because by the
grace of God Jesus has tasted death for everyone (cf. Heb. 2:9b).
Scripture puts us all, the people of both Testaments, on the same
level of faith as children of Abraham: "So you see that it is men
of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached
the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, `In you shall all the
nations be blessed.' So then, those who are men of faith are
blessed with Abraham, who had faith" (Gal. 3:7-9).
Moving to the Letter to the Hebrews, we see that all the saints
of the Old Covenant received. God's approval because of their
faith (Heb. 11:1-2). They died believing, yet not receiving what
they were promised (v. 13). God accepted them, "not ashamed to
be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city" (v.16),
the heavenly city of eternal life, to which we also are called
(v.39).
Are we, then, any better off than they? Yes, because we know Jesus Christ
explicitly, whom they knew only dimly, in type and in figure. "They did not
receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us,
that apart from us they should not be made perfect" (vv. 39-40). We run
our race more surely, "looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our
faith" (12:2).
The letter of James, explains the interaction of our saving faith with the
good works that flow from it, the works for which we were created in Christ
Jesus, "which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph
2:8,10). Read James 2:20-24, and dwell particularly on verse 22: "You see
that faith was active along with (Abraham's) works, and faith was completed
by works." It is obvious that James wants us, his readers to note the
parallel between Abraham and ourselves and to apply Abraham's example to
ourselves.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Mateo
- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit -
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