The answer
In astonishment, we stand before the heroes of faith and objectively behold God’s work across all ages:
a. From the time of Adam until Moses, no one possessed even a single book of the
Old Testament. Nevertheless, we find splendid examples of heroes of the faith who experienced it through handing it down from generation to generation (oral tradition) such as Abel and Seth; and Enoch who pleased the Lord so He took him to heaven. Also, Noah, Abraham the father of fathers and Sarah, Jacob and Rachel, Isaac and Rebekah, and Joseph, etc.; splendid examples of people most of whom lived in a pagan environment and yet never deviated from the faith.
b. In the age of the Mosaic Law, some of the books of the Old Testament were given,
but the people could not experience the grace of the New Testament, such as being divine adoption, the grace of the cross and the resurrection in Christ Jesus, etc. We find Deborah the judge, David the sweet psalmist of Israel, Hezekiah the king, and the great prophets of faith like Isaiah and Jeremiah, and people of God who were
giants of faith during exile such as Daniel, Ezekiel, Queen Esther, and Judith. Though under the law, they were marked by a wonderful spirit of godliness.
c. In the covenant of grace, we partook of grace upon grace (John 1:16) and we came
into contact with characters from different backgrounds such as the disciples, the apostles, and so many early Church fathers, and holy women, up till this day.
People often wonder: will the state of those under the natural law resemble that of those under the Mosaic Law, and those under the covenant of grace? Paul the Apostle declared that those who do not have the law are a law to themselves (Rom. 2:14). At the same time we behold the richness of God’s love, His impartial love for all humanity.
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty