Gods Plan of Salvation Thoughout the Bible
April 12, 2010 The Old and New Testaments Throughout the Bible God is seen giving us everything, from the ability to make our own choices; to paying the price of death for our sins. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament and in all of them are examples of God’s love, hope, and plan of salvation for us. We can also clearly see the healings, forgiveness, roles of women, worship, peace and suffering of man. In the earlier books, people were required to give blood sacrifices to God in order to pay for their sin and only the anointed priests could go directly to God.
It was impossible for God and man to establish a relationship. In the New Testament, through God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, He made it possible for us to have direct access to our Lord without the intercession of an anointed priest. He bridged this gap for us, and now God and man can communicate without going through another person or object. Thanks to Christ we can now worship freely and pray; having a personal relationship with Him. In the beginning, during the times of the Genesis, there was no sin; God and man were alike in many ways.They were able to have a relationship without any problems, until one day Satan entered the picture and deceived man.
The bridge between God and man was suddenly broken. It was at this time we see the start of some of the most important prophesies in the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy make up the Pentateuch. This section of the Bible that defines “The Fall of Man”, “The Animal Blood Sacrifice”, “The Illusions of Christ(High Priests)” and “Christ’s Coming”. “The Fall of Man” shows how man fell into temptation, making every human born into sin.
The Animal Blood Sacrificed” redeemed the people of their sin just as Christ’s blood redeems our sin. (Exodus)The High priests or illusions of Christ are spoken of and could go to God for the people’s need of forgiveness. (Leviticus and Numbers) Moses also resembles Christ by being a biblical figure that would fulfill a role of being a prophet, priest and leader of God’s people. The historical books of the Bible include Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. These books contain Biblical stories that pertain to roles of women back during the age of kings and queens.
For example Esther saved her people by risking her own life just to have a conversation with a king. It was a huge deal back then to even have a conversation with a king. Our culture today does not even compare to how strict things were back during the life of Christ. Everything from the types of foods they would have to the type of worship is so different in comparison to what it is like today. People would offer to kill living animals for their kings/queens. After the Old Testament comes the New Testament, where Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is born.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John tell of how Jesus came into the world, by a virgin birth, and as a human. They tell of the type of life Jesus had as a young boy and the temptations He struggled with just as we Christians often struggle with. They also tell about the death of Christ and how He rose from the grave. Jesus humbled Himself and became the ultimate sacrifice, showing how much he loves us by dying on the cross. His sacrifice paid the penalty for our sins so we can spend eternity in heaven with Him.
During this period, Jesus showed man what it is like to become “fishers of men” and to follow Christ.Jesus laid out the lifestyle every Christian should strive to live. Christ also showed man what it is like to pray and have a personal relationship with God. The sections of “Letters” in the Bible are written from mostly Peter and Paul. God used these men to take His Words and write them down as instructions for all believers. They taught Christians how to be in the “community of God” and to be in the world but not of it.
(Romans 12:2) God wanted to give Christians a guide to living in this world and He wanted to show that it would not be easy, much like Christ’s Life was not easy.Living as a part of the “Body of Christ” will result in suffering and hurt, but only in this sinful world. The Bible ends on terms not perfectly known by any man. In the book of Revelation the Apocalypse is talked about thoroughly. The Apocalypse is well known by most Christians for this is the time of trial and faith. God tells of Jesus’ second coming in the end, where he will rapture all of the believers up into the sky to meet with Him.
God tells us that the rapture will be when least expected and will be as quick as a thief in the night.He also tells of the great amount of suffering all unbelievers will have. The eternal damnation into hell is a result for denying Christ and not accepting and believing in Him. The Bible teaches many things about the life of Christ, healing, roles of women, worship, community of God, peace and sufferings of both Christ and man. Every single book in the Bible and every section of the Bible (Pentateuch, Historical books, Gospels and Acts, Letters and Apocalypse) was written for a reason. They are to show believers how to strive to live a life of Christ.
