Alan Gross
Well-Known Member
John the Baptist and then all those who were baptized by him had to bring forth fruit indicating they had received Repentance and Faith, in salvation by Grace, through the Word of their preaching.
Then, along with everyone else saved, there were 3,000 saved on The Day of Pentecost; (then, 5,000 more, later, right?)
Acts 2:21; "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."
That's right. Absolutely.
Starting with Adam and Eve being given Repentance and Faith in the Gospel message of Genesis 3:15;
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel," along with God demonstrating a blood sacrifice, in killing an animal and picturing covering their sins, by covering them with clothes, and then on from there through the History of Christianity, in both The Old, and New Testaments.
I put this out there, often, because it it soooo important to get hold of;
Notice especially 1e.) in blue that shows the Old and New Testament saints were saved the same way. That Rock is Christ.
from Br. Gill;
https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/gill/A_Body_of_Doctrinal_Divinity_-_John_Gill.pdf
"The Covenant of Grace ... was a compact in eternity, between the three divine persons, Father, Son, and Spirit;
"in which each person agreed to take his part in the economy of man's salvation: and now I shall consider the administration of that covenant in the various periods of time, from the beginning of the world to the end of it.
"The covenant of grace is but one and the same in all ages, of which Christ is the substance;
"being given for "a covenant of the people", of all the people of God,
"both Jews and Gentiles,
"who is "the same" in the "yesterday" of the Old Testament,
"and in the "today" of the New Testament,
"and "forever";
"He is "the way, the truth, and the life", the only true way to eternal life;
"and there never was any other way made known to men since the fall of Adam;
"no other name under Heaven has been given or will be given, by which men can be saved.
"The patriarchs before the flood and after,
"before the law of Moses and under it,
"before the coming of Christ,
"and all the saints since,
are saved in one and the same way, even "by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ";
"and that is the Grace of the Covenant, exhibited at different times, and in diverse manners. For though the covenant is but one, there are different administrations of it; particularly two, one before the coming of Christ, and the other after it;
"which lay the foundation for the distinction of the "first" and "second",
"the "old" and the "new" covenant, observed by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 8:7,8,13; 9:1,15; 12:24), for by the first and old covenant, is not meant the covenant of works made with Adam, which had been broken and abrogated long ago;
"since the apostle is speaking of a covenant waxen old, and ready to vanish away in his time: nor was the covenant of works the first and most ancient covenant;
"the Covenant of Grace, as an eternal compact, was before that;
"but by it is meant the first and most ancient administration of the Covenant of Grace
"which reached from the fall of Adam, when the covenant of works was broke,
"unto the coming of Christ, when it was superseded and vacated by another administration of the same covenant, called therefore the "second" and "new" covenant.
"The one we commonly call the Old Testament dispensation
(or, "First Administration of Covenant of Grace"),
and the other the New Testament dispensation
(or, "Second or New Administration of Covenant of Grace");
"for which there seems to be some foundation in 2 Corinthians 3:6,14 and Hebrews 9:15
"these two covenants, or rather the two administrations of the same covenant, are allegorically represented by two women, Hagar and Sarah, the bondwoman and the free (Galatians 4:22-26), which fitly describe the nature and difference of them.
"And before I proceed any further, I shall just point out the agreement and disagreement of those two administrations of the Covenant of Grace.
"1. First, The agreement there is between them.
"1a. They agree in the efficient cause, God: the covenant of grace, in its original constitution in eternity, is of God, and therefore it is called his covenant, being made by him;
"I have made a covenant — my covenant I will not break",
#Ps 89:3,34
"and whenever any exhibition or manifestation of this covenant was made to any of the patriarchs, as to Abraham, David, etc. it is ascribed to God,
"I will make my covenant—he has made with me an everlasting covenant"
(Genesis 17:2 2; Samuel 23:5)
so the new covenant, or new administration of it, runs in this form,
"I will make a new covenant" etc. (Hebrews 8:8).
skip to 1e.) (and check out the scriptures)
"...1e. In the blessings of the Covenant of Grace;
The blessings of the Covenant of Grace
are the same under both administrations.
"Salvation and redemption by Christ is the great blessing held forth and enjoyed under the one as under the other
(2 Samuel 23:5; Hebrews 9:15).
"Justification by the righteousness of Christ, which the Old Testament church had knowledge of, and faith in, as well as the new
(Isaiah 45:24,25; Romans 3:21-23).
"Forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ, all the prophets bore witness to; and the saints of old, as now, had as comfortable an application of it
(Psalm 32:1,5; Isaiah 43:25; Micah 7:18; Acts 10:43).
"Regeneration, spiritual circumcision, and sanctification were what men were made partakers of under the first, as under the second administration of the covenant
(Deuteronomy 30:6; Philippians 3:3).
"Eternal life was made known in the writings of the Old Testament, as well as in those of the New;
"and was believed, looked for, and expected by the saints of the former, as of the latter dispensation
(John 5:39; Hebrews 11:10,16; Job 19:26,27).
"In a word, they and we eat the same spiritual meat, and drink the same spiritual drink,
"for they drank of that Rock that followed them,
"and that Rock was Christ."
(1 Corinthians 10:3,4)."
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