Old Testament saints (1)

Have you ever wondered how many characters from the Old Testament you will see in heaven? Will any be there at all, or has God's salvation been available only since the cross?

Jesus told the Jews that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be in heaven (Matthew 8:11), together with all the prophets (Luke 13:28). So we know that those people at least will be there, but on what grounds?

Scripture lists at least seven things that a person must have, be and do in order to be saved:

They must be chosen.
They must be born again.
They must have faith.
They must be righteous.
They must bear fruit.
They must persevere.
They must not blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

So unless God gave his Old Testament saints special dispensation they would have all fulfilled those requirements. Let's look at each of the requirements in detail and see if we can spot some of the saints from them.

Chosen by the Father

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ… (Ephesians 1:4–5)

That is a wonderful truth to contemplate. God chose each one of us to be saved before he created the world. Just think about that. He also predestined us to be adopted as his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ. But isn't every human being a child of God? No, not at all.

The Word says that God predestined us to be adopted as his children. The word 'adopt' means to take another's child and bring it up as one's own. That means that we haven't always been God's children. If we haven't always been God's children then whose children were we? The Bible says that we were children of the devil (1 John 3:8–10).

Only those who receive Jesus Christ and believe in his name are given the right to become children of God (John 1:11–12). Before that point they are not his children; after that point they are his children and cry out 'Abba, Father' (Galatians 4:6).

We were chosen to be God's children before the world was created, but who did the choosing? Was it a joint decision between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? No it wasn't: the Father chose his children.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect… who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood… (1 Peter 1:1–2)

Those two verses show how the members of the Trinity contribute to our salvation. The Father has chosen those who are to be saved, the Son cleanses us by his blood, and the indwelling Spirit makes us holy. But it's the Father's work we are interested in at the moment.

Will everyone be saved?

'All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.' (John 6:37; 17:2)

Jesus said that he would give eternal life to all that the Father had given him, showing that it is the Father who has chosen those who are to be saved.

So isn't everyone going to be saved? No, unfortunately not. Jesus said that small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:14)—not everyone, but only a few. One might call it a remnant, which is very biblical.

In the Old Testament Israel sinned against the Lord so much that he brought the Babylonian army against them. The majority of them died by the sword, famine and plague, but he chose to save a remnant (a small number), not because they deserved it, but because of his grace (his unmerited favour).

The same is true with respect to eternal life. Everyone on earth deserves hell and punishment because of their sins, but God has chosen to save a remnant because of his grace. And the decision regarding who will be saved was made by the Father before the foundation of the world.

Jacob I loved

So, having seen that a person must be chosen by God for salvation, can we find any evidence of people being chosen in the Old Testament? Yes we can.

In Genesis 18:19 God said that he had chosen Abraham to keep the way of the Lord and to do what was right and just in his sight. God had chosen Abraham to live righteously, and man cannot do that without the Holy Spirit. But an even more important example is given to us in the New Testament.

Romans 9 speaks about God's choice in election (those he has chosen to save). It speaks particularly about Jacob and Esau. They were twins, but before they were born or had done anything good or bad, God said: 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'

God doesn't choose us because of our goodness so no one can boast before him. It's not by our works, but by him who calls (Romans 9:11–12). That is emphasized here because Jacob was more unrighteous than his brother.

A changed life

Jacob was born a deceiver, which is one of the devil's traits (Revelation 20:1–3). His name in Hebrew means 'he deceives' and yet God still loved him. God loves those he has chosen despite their sins, but he expects us to change. Did Jacob change? Yes he did. Jacob changed when he met the Lord.

After obtaining his brother's blessing by deception he fled from him and went to Haran (Genesis 27:1–45). On the way there he had a dream where he saw a stairway stretching from earth to heaven with the angels of God ascending and descending on it. At the top stood the Lord (Genesis 28:10–13a). What was the meaning of the dream?

In the New Testament Jesus told Nathaniel that he would see heaven open with the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:45–51). Jesus Christ was the stairway Jacob saw in his dream; the Lord was showing him that he is the way to heaven. The Lord told him he would be with him and watch over him and do for him what he had promised him (Genesis 28:13b–15).

Twenty years later Jacob returned. He again met with the Lord and wrestled with him through the night. At that point Jesus changed his name from Jacob (he deceives) to Israel (he wrestles with God i.e. he prays persistently for God's blessing). The change of name marked the change in the man: what Jacob had achieved in the past (God's blessing) through deception, he was now achieving through prayer (Genesis 32:22–30).

Abraham and Jacob will be in heaven because they were chosen, but not only were they chosen, they also changed and lived righteous lives. We'll be looking at the importance of righteousness later in this study.

Michael Graham
August 2009

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