How were people in the gospel accounts saved according to Les?
In the gospel accounts, salvation was obtained by keeping the commandments and the law, which was the Judaic system for that time. With the Messiah’s appearance, an added responsibility was to believe He was the Christ, the fulfillment of Old Testament covenants, yet salvation remained based on that law system.
Les teaches that in the gospel accounts, people were still under the Judaic system of law. They were to keep the commandments and the law, and within that was salvation for that time. When the Messiah appeared, they had an added responsibility to believe He was the Christ and the fulfillment of all Old Testament covenants, but it was still based on the Judaic system of law. Les contrasts this with Paul’s teaching that the law only condemns and cannot justify or save anyone. He points out that Romans 3:21 introduces a change: the righteousness of God is now without the Law, and believers are no longer under that Judaic system.