Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the Law. Therefore those who trusted in God's Law trusted in Christ himself. If those under the Law never broke the law then they would be justified by the law. However we are all law breakers and in need of a savior.

Jesus showed us that it was more important to obey the spirit of the Law such as love and mercy than it was to obey the letter of the law. Look at Jesus reaction to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23 (English-NIV)
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices, mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law, justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Those who trusted in God's Law were saved as the Law speaks of Christ and they could only see in the distance things that we see clearly today. The fact that no one could keep every part of the Law was designed to show those under the Law needed God's mercy, a savior. So Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law.

This next verses show us that the Law speaks of Christ and those under the Law knew about the Savior.

John 12:34 (English-NIV)
The crowd spoke up, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever....

Romans 10:4 (English-NIV)
Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Galatians 3:24 (English-NIV)
So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Luke 24:44 (English-NIV)
He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."

Those who truly trusted in the Law, were looked forward to the Savior.

So the Pharisees didn't trust in God's Law even though they were teachers of the law. Jesus said to them that if they had known the Law then they would have known who he was, because the Law spoke of him.

Also Matthew 5:20 says
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

And Matthew 23:13
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

Jesus also said in Matthew 23:2-3
2 "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

Now we know from the scriptures that Jesus death paid the penalty for all people who have ever lived, to those that receive him. However those who are NOT saved are those who have rejected God in the following ways.

• those who understand the Gospel and reject it,
• those under the Law who reject it, (Note that those Jews who believe in Jesus do not reject the law, they fulfill the law),
• those who rebel against their own conscience.

Romans 2:15 (English-NIV) says
since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.

Please note that we are not justified by the Law or by Conscience, but through Jesus Christ alone. Only he can present us to the Father, holy and blameless. But to say that only those who have accepted the gospel are saved is also wrong. God saves many people out of mercy alone. The difference is that those who have accepted the true gospel are assured of their salvation. It is guaranteed.

Ephesians 1:13 (English-NIV)
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession, to the praise of his glory. .

No where in the Bible does it say those who have never heard the Gospel are damned. Or those who are without Law are Damned. Abraham never heard the Gospel, yet he had faith. Aborted children haven't heard the gospel, yet God saves them. Remember that God is merciful and he chooses who he will save.

See Mark 16:16 (English-NIV)
Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does NOT believe will be condemned.

The last scripture shows us clearly, that if we reject the message we will be condemned. Those who have never heard the gospel are not mentioned in this scripture, yet some people think this condemnation includes them too. This is a clear instance of taking scripture out of context. It is entirely up to God whether he saves such a person, who are we to judge. We can only be sure of salvation when we have accepted the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

The most important revelation is the Gospel, as it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (see Romans 1:16). It is God's desire that every person hears his message namely the gospel. His plan is for his Church to preach the gospel to the whole world, then the end will come. The global knowledge of the gospel will complete the great commission that Christ gave the Church. The gospel is the greatest message, because it divides the wicked from the righteous depending on how the recipient responds to the message. When every tribe, nation and dialect has heard the gospel, then the division of the wicked and righteousness will be complete, and the Great Harvest spoken of by Jesus will take place.