Chapter 7 : Methods of salvation that Jesus mentioned

7-1: Redemption is not a requirement for salvation:

We have seen (in clause 2-2-3) above many stories involving Jesus with people who are not his disciples, and he called them believers. Here the story of Zacchaeus who was forgiven for giving half of his money. He did not need a redeemer nor did he need someone to die for him on the cross.

“8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, for so much as he also is a son of Abraham.” (Luke 19:8-9)

Here is another story of a woman who was forgiven and saved before Jesus died. Which means she was saved before redemption.

“44 And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. “(Luke 7:44-50 )

This is strong evidence that redemption is not a requirement for salvation and having eternal life. This woman was forgiven before Jesus starts the process of redemption. This means that this woman did not need redemption to be saved and she was not required to believe that Jesus died for her sins. Man can be saved just by his faith, whether he lived during the time of Jesus or not and whether he believes Jesus died for the sins or not.

7-2: Repentance and faith are required for salvation

Jesus never said that believing in him as a savior and a redeemer is the only way to have eternal life. To the contrary, many verses mentioned, in the words of Jesus, that faith and repentance are an essential requirement for salvation. Whoever repent is saved and has eternal life.

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13: 3)

“22 And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” (Luke 13:22-27)

“18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not”.  (69-1-John 5:18)

“24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25 And when ye stand to pray, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses”. (Mark-11:24-26)

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:24)  )This is salvation without redemption)

“25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou? 27 And he answering said Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.” (Luke 10:25-28)

“9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:9-13)

“17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.” (Mark 10:17-19)

“28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation…” (Mark 3:28-29)

These were Jesus’ commandments regarding faith. We notice he said that repentance and asking God’s forgiveness is the way for redemption and salvation. He never asked them to wait for his death to be redeemed. Thus we say that if any man did the above during any time – from the beginning of creation until the death of Jesus – would surely be saved and have eternal life because of his faith and repentance. This means that redemption is useless for that person because he was saved before the time of redemption. Also, this man did not believe that Jesus died for his sins because this man died before the time of redemption at the first place. This is another confirmation that redemption and believing that Jesus died for our sins are not a requirement for salvation.

7-3 : Did Jesus save the prophets from their sins?

We can see that there are some strange writings by some analysts and interpreters which claimed that the prophets and priests were not saved until Jesus came, as we can find in the following lines:

“No one was saved before the crucifixion of Jesus even the prophets and the priests.”

“Here what Paul says about the prophets and the priests : (These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them)” (Hebrews 11:13)

“All the priests and  the prophets waited in hell, not were not saved, until Jesus moved them from hell to heaven after the crucifixion.”

“After Jesus’ death, and paying the price of the sin which was death” (Romans 6:23) , at this time (8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?) (Ephesians 4:9,8) (By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison) (1 Peter 3:19) by this he gave (salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently) (1 Peter 1:10) this salvation was not granted to anyone except through the blood of Jesus, Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,)” (1 Peter 1:29).

Here we say:

1. No verse in the Old Testament mentioned saving righteous men from hell. On the contrary, the mentioned verses in the previous chapters read that God was pleased with them and that they were saved. Claiming that they went to hell is strange as in this way they are equal to the wicked, so how we can distinguish between the righteous and the wrongdoers? Is not it by God’s satisfaction and rewards? God’s reward urges the wicked to believe, and if any human, believer or nonbeliever, found his prophet sending him to hell, won’t that motivate him to disbelieve? So sending prophets to hell is unbelievable. In addition to that, there is no evidence to support this claim in the Old Testament.
2. Claiming that prophets went to hell -even if it was temporary- makes us afraid. If the prophets went to hell and were punished for hundreds of years (the period between Noah and Jesus is not less than one thousand years at least), this would mean that me as a human who lives in the twenty-first century and believes in Jesus is better than all the previous prophets as I will have the eternal life immediately while they were kept in hell for thousands of years.
3. Again we ask why did not the opposite happen, if believing in Jesus was the only condition, why did not Jesus come first to earth and got crucified then all the prophets would believe in him, and this would be clear and known to all.
4. Even if we believed that all priests and the prophets waited in hell till Jesus moved them to Heaven, what was the factor by which they were moved to the heaven? What was the factor that moved one to the heaven and kept another in hell? It is clear that if anyone in hell, and he found someone who can bring him out (even it was the devil) he will believe in him as this will save him from punishment. Is that the true belief which Paul understands correctly? This contradicts with all the religious facts by which God sent us to earth to test us. Moreover, hell is not a place for testing or knowing the difference between the believers and the wrongdoers.
5. Finally, there is also a mistake in the last statement. People go to hell or heaven only on the judgment day: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day”. (John 6:44) Both of the two statements are false because if the prophets went to hell and Jesus bringing them out, that would only happen in the last day. So we cannot accept this previous analyzing as it does not make sense, contradicts the laws, and does not reassure the faithful souls.

Conclusion

From Jesus words: Repentance is a requirement for salvation and having eternal life

From Jesus acts: Believing in Jesus as a savior and a redeemer is not a requirement for having eternal life.