Old Testament Gospel

Many Christians assume that the OT teaches salvation by works of the Law. However, as in many passages, God uses that kind of language to illustrate how His people will live if they have yielded to the new life He offers them. One prophet writes this word from God:

And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 11:19)

In the NT, the need for redemption becomes a reality for those who recognize they are living in a sinful way and cannot be what they were created to be. The good news is that God sent His Son to pay the penalty for sin and give a new heart and life so sinners could live in the power of God. The prophet’s words are both a prediction and a description of what God does to save sinners.

In the OT, the wording sometimes makes salvation appear as a DIY project, yet the Lord makes it clear that repentance is part of that, as is a sense of need in their awareness of sin:

“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (Ezekiel 18:30–32)

God describes their history. They were in literal bondage in Egypt, a vivid depiction of being in bondage to sin with Egypt representing bondage to sin. God rescued them and promised them new life and freedom from sin. He told them what that would look like, but they eventually rebelled. There was no way they could “make themselves a new heart and spirit” because God had to do that for them. Once He did that, they must live by His power:

Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. And I said to them, ‘Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’ But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. “Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. (Ezekiel 20:5–11)

Again, obedience is evidence of new life, not the way to get it. Disobedience reveals human inability to live as a redeemed person because faith and the Holy Spirit are missing or not obeyed. It is no difference today. If I don’t trust God and do not obey Him, He calls it walking in the flesh (Galatians 5). I’m not saved by obedience, yet obedience shows I am saved.

At first it seems simple to do what God wants, but it gets harder. For me, His leading calls for deeper faith. For the OT people, He did something to show them what was missing in their lives:

Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 20:25–26)

PRAY: God, eventually You sent Jesus — to do for me what I could not do myself, nor can anyone. I could not earn new life. Instead, I first needed to know You, just like Your OT people:

And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 20:44)

You did this to reveal Your great mercy, love, and power. Had it been about me, there would be no glory to Your name. You are utterly wonderful!