Did Old Testament Saints Have Assurance Of Salvation?

Genesis 15:6, “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.” Job 19:25, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:” Jonah 2:9, “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.” Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”

Did the Old Testament saints have assurance of salvation? Yes, absolutely! The Bible clearly evidences that the Old Testament saints were fully confident of their redemption, not lingering in doubt and fear. God's promises stand sure! Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” There has always been only ONE plan of salvation, which is by faith alone in Christ. Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” People in the Old Testament were saved by looking to Christ. Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” Please notice that this promise was not just for the Jews, but was extended to “all the ends of the earth.” Jews and Gentiles alike have always been saved by LOOKING TO CHRIST.

I am tired of hearing woefully ignorant preachers say that there were multiple plans of salvation in the Bible. Dr. Peter S. Ruckman (1921-2016) comes to mind. Sadly, Dr. Ruckman has a cult following of ignorant men, who teach that people were saved by faith plus works in the Old Testament. Some of these men are; namely, Robert Breaker, Gene Kim, Chett Hensley, Bryan Denlinger and William P. Grady. These are but a few of Ruckman's deceived followers. The very notion that anyone has ever been saved by anything more than faith alone in the Messiah directly contradicts the plainest teachings of the Holy Bible. Romans 4:4, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”

The Bible says that Abram (later changed to Abraham) was saved by faith alone:

Genesis 15:6, “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:1-5, “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

Peter Ruckman and his deceived followers claim that God changed His plan of salvation under Mosaic law. What saith the Scripture? I just quoted to you Acts 10:43 which says “ALL THE PROPHETS” gave witness to salvation through faith alone in Christ, but Moses himself preached THE GOSPEL (i.e., THE GOOD NEWS)  to the Jews...

Hebrews 4:1-2, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” ...Hebrews 4:10-11, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

I do not think the Bible could be any plainer. Hebrews 4:10 clearly teaches that we are saved by ceasing from works, as God did from His works after 6 days of creating, and resting completely in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. There is not one mentioned anywhere in the Bible about a different plan of salvation for Old Testament Jews under the Mosaic law. If it had been so, then the Bible surely would have made this clear, but it doesn't even hint to it. We have plain Bible verses in Acts 10:43 and Romans 4:4 which teach that salvation has always been by faith, not by works.

The Old Testament saints had the sweet assurance of salvation, just as believers do today. If you don't have that sweet assurance as a believer, it is only because you lack Scriptural knowledge dear friend. To help those struggling, I wrote this helpful 42 chapter book to help titled: “SALVATION.” You CAN know 100% that you are saved beyond any shadow of a doubt, because eternal life is a PROMISE, not a trade, exchange or process. Titus 1:2 says God made the PROMISE of eternal life before the world began.

Moses understood that eternal life was secure. Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.” Job said that He KNOWS His Redeemer liveth. Job spoke with absolute assurance in Job 19:25, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:” That is assurance of salvation dear reader! The prophet Jonah proclaimed in the dark belly of a whale that he knew SALVATION IS OF THE LORD, not by works. Jonah 2:9, “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.” The prophet Habakkuk confidently proclaimed that THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY HIS FAITH. Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” Clearly, all these saints had the full sweet assurance of God's salvation, otherwise they never could have made these bold statements of faith.