No person has ever been saved by attempting to keep the law. In our own power, it is impossible and always has been from Adam all the way up to our time. All who have been saved in all ages have been saved by grace. As 2 Timothy 1:9 points out, this grace didn’t begin at the cross but was established “before time began.” The first gospel presentation was given after Adam and Eve sinned. The Lord said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
The law has many purposes. It is the basis of God’s covenant (Exodus 20); it is our standard of judgment (Psalm 119:172); and it points out sin. The apostle James colorfully illustrates how the law is like a mirror that reveals sin in our lives (James 1:23–25). The law does not remove sin. Only Christ can save us from sin. The apostle Paul writes, “By deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20, my emphasis). This means every human being who has ever lived cannot be justified by trying to keep the law. Once you sin, it’s just too late.
Some believe Jesus introduced grace on Earth. It is true that Christ provided the means of grace through His sacrifice, but such grace was extended to all mankind. Those before the cross looked forward to Jesus’ atonement; those after the cross look back on it. Many in the Old Testament understood and received God’s grace. Noah “found grace” (Genesis 6:8); Moses found grace (Exodus 33:17); the Israelites found grace (Jeremiah 31:2); and Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and many other Old Testament characters were saved “by faith” according to Hebrews 11.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 2 Timothy 1:9