“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”
—Romans 10:9

Reflection

After Jesus revealed Himself to me in a vision in 1978, I found a copy of the New Testament and began devouring every page of it. I could not get enough, and an insatiable fire burned in me to know and experience Jesus more.

I read in the B’rit Hadashah, the New Testament, that if I believed in my heart and confessed with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, then I would be saved (Romans 10:9).

That sounded incredible to me, but I still had one question: What exactly was Jesus saving me from?

It was a legitimate question for me then and is the same question many Jewish people face. For all the common roots shared between Judaism and Christianity, one area where the two religions today stand vastly separated is the understanding of salvation.

Christians base their faith on the premise that humanity is fallen, sinful, and separated from God. Jesus came to save us from eternal separation and, through His death and resurrection, made a way for each of us to be reconciled with God.

In the Jewish tradition in which I was raised, however, salvation was understood differently. The emphasis was on repentance, good deeds, and devotion to God. The idea was that through obedience to the Law, we could make things right with God.

But as I read the New Testament more and more, I came to believe this was not true. I found that, just as Peter told the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:12, there is salvation in no one else but Jesus.

I also discovered that this was not just a New Testament, Christian idea. The Tanakh, the Hebrew Scriptures, revealed the same need for us to be saved through the blood of a perfect sacrifice, namely Yeshua HaMashiach.

Even among Christians, I am surprised by how many believe Israel in the Old Testament earned its salvation through the Law. In essence, they believe salvation in the Old Testament came through obedience, while salvation in the New Testament comes through faith.

Beloved, this is faulty teaching.

God’s plan for salvation has always been established by grace through faith. He is the same God in the Old Testament as in the New Testament, and His plan for redeeming His people has not changed.

Since the earliest times, God has always brought salvation through faith. The Israelites of old were saved by grace through faith, with blood sacrifice pointing toward the perfect sacrifice of Messiah Jesus.

The same God who redeemed His people in ancient Israel has made a way for you and me to be reconciled to Him through Yeshua. Salvation is not something we can earn through our own works. It is the marvelous gift of God’s grace, received through faith.

Application

• Consider whether you are relying on your own goodness or obedience to make yourself right with God. Place your confidence in His grace and the saving work of Yeshua.
• Thank Father God that His plan of salvation has never changed. Seek to understand more deeply how the Hebrew Scriptures reveal His promise of redemption through Messiah.

Prayer

Father God, thank You that Your plan for salvation has always been established by grace through faith. Thank You for sending Yeshua to save me from sin and reconcile me to You. Help me to understand more deeply how Your Word reveals Your unchanging plan of redemption. Keep me from trusting in my own works, and strengthen my faith in the perfect sacrifice of Messiah Jesus. I praise You for the gift of salvation and the new life You have given me. In Yeshua’s name, amen.