The Scarlet Thread.

Posted bySteven WalesPosted inScarlet ThreadTags:, , , , , , , , ,

What did Abraham, Moses, and David put their faith in—sacrifices? The blood of sheep? Did they believe their good deeds got them into Heaven, or did they believe that God required faith? Does the Old Testament speak of Jesus?

Yes. The Old Testament looks forward to Jesus, just as the New Testament looks back. He is the center of it all. The blood of Christ is the “Scarlet Thread” that runs through all 66 books of the Bible, beginning in Genesis when God sacrificed an animal to cover the sin of Adam and Eve, a sign that one day Jesus would die to cover our sin.

One simple rendering of the Gospel is called the Four Spiritual Laws, and each of these truths is supported by the Old Testament:

  1. God loves you and created you to know Him. (Read about Adam and Eve in Genesis 2-4, not to mention all the other stories.)
  2. Man is sinful and separated from God, so we are unable to know Him. (“All we like sheep have gone astray, every one of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord God laid on HIM the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6. –Can you believe THAT is in the Old Testament?)
  3. The only way to know God is through the death of Jesus, which paid for our sins. (See Isaiah 53:6 above; see also Psalm 65:3 “Only YOU can atone for our rebellions.” –David KNEW that good deeds and sacrificial lambs would never be enough. Only GOD could atone for sin.)
  4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. (Genesis 15:6 says “Abraham believed God would save him, thus he was credited with righteousness.”)

Thank you, Lord, for your sacrifice. Help me understand and explain the gospel to others. Thank you that our Old Testament heroes looked forward to the coming of Christ and put their faith in Him the same way we do. Thank you that salvation never changes because You never change. You are “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

ΑΩ

Published by Steven Wales

Dad's Daily Devotional began as text messages to my family. I wanted my teenagers to know their father was reading the Bible. But they were at school by then. Initially, I sent them a favorite verse or an insight based on what I read each day. That grew into drafting a devotional readng which I would send them via text. I work as an attorney and an adjunct professor, and recently wrote a book called HOW TO MAKE A'S.

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