Regarding the Bible it is important to understand that it is not the paper, binding, and ink that are "sacred" or "holy." It is the Living “Word” of God that is holy, not the material it is printed on, we are not to worship or idolize the Bible. The purpose of the Bible is to teach us about Jesus the Savior and the salvation He provides and to point us to worship Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The paper and ink of a Bible are merely the means through which God communicates His Word to us. Just as with a government’s constitution conveys the will of its people in words on paper and if a printed copy of the constitution is destroyed, does not the will of the people still live on? Yes! The Lord Jesus brought through his Holy Spirit the living Word. His Will to all of mankind, and God uses His powerful living Word (Isaiah 55:11; Hebrews 4:12) to testify of Him from the pages of a Bible.
I respectfully disagree with the statement that the no one found salvation before the “Word became flesh” as Jesus. Let’s look at the example of Abraham. God offered salvation to Gentiles long before there were any descendants of Israel, and a man named Abraham is a prime example of a Gentile who received God's salvation. Abraham was not a Jew; neither was he a descendant of Israel. Rather he was Israel's (Jacob's) grandfather. Yet according to Genesis 15:16, God declared Abraham to be righteous (and one cannot be declared righteous if they have not already received salvation from the sin of man), because of his faith. Paul mentioned this fact about Abraham in his letters to the Romans and Galatians as he argued that salvation is offered now to both Jews and Gentiles by faith (see Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6). If Abraham---who appears early in Genesis and who lived hundreds of years before the giving of the Law of Moses, ---was declared righteous by God, this proves that Gentiles could be forgiven and declared righteous by God long before Jesus was born.
Another example of this comes from Jesus himself. Jesus once told a repentant woman that her sins had been forgiven, and He then told her that her faith had saved her (Luke 7:48-50). She was forgiven; thus she was saved. And obviously, she was saved before Jesus died. If she died in a forgiven state, then God did not revoke His forgiveness when she stood before His throne of judgment. She inherited eternal life.
So how is it possible for someone to receive salvation from their sin and become righteous before Jesus paid the price for sin on the cross? The answer to that question is simple since God and the Word are in all places, and in all times since the beginning of time.
This is what is so amazing; the Word in the flesh- Jesus- had already paid the price on the cross since the beginning of creation!
So in other words we as humans who live on the time-line of moment to moment since the creation of Adam have been able to receive salvation from God for the forgiveness of sin by faith in Him- The Word, because God is the Word (John 1: 1-2,14), and since the Word became flesh and Word is in all moments of time at the same time, the perfect sacrifice that the Word made as Jesus on the cross was already done!
The Word is God. God is the Word. For the Word what is going to happen has already happened, and is happening, this how His Word as found in pages of His inspired testimony, the Bible, is still the way for salvation unto righteousness.
I leave you with this final thought as found in Paul’s letter to Timothy. (2 Timothy, Chapter 3:14-17)
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
When Paul says “Holy Scriptures” he is talking about the Old Testament.
God's blessing thru our Lord Christ Jesus by the power of His Holy Spirit.
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