These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:39-40 NIV
What about people who lived and died before Jesus? Especially those who lived under the old covenant? How were they saved?
It is tempting to think that salvation under the old covenant was by obeying the Law. But that is not what the author of Hebrews says. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews contains an extensive list of people who had pleased God. But nowhere in this chapter is anything said about obeying the Law. Instead, these men and women were commended for their faith. They were looking forward to the fulfillment of God’s promise and lived accordingly.
This promise that they were looking forward to is described as a “city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10) and “a better country—a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:16). This is the same hope that we have—for something that is beyond this life and better by far.
They lived in a time when the law and prophets pointed ahead to something greater. We are privileged to live after Jesus’ fulfillment of them. But we are both alike, saved by faith, and look forward to the fulfillment of God’s promise to us. Together, we are made perfect through the shed blood of Jesus, our great high priest.
