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Fellow Christians, do you ignore the Old Testament in the Bible and focus ONLY on the New Testament? Do you find the Old Testament irrelevant to Christianity in general?
The reason I ask such question is that I've learned recently some Christians actually find it strange that we should be concerned ourselves with the OT at all. The rationale for this, I presume, is that Christianity was found mainly on the teachings of Jesus Christ. So there is no point to study the OT which seemingly has little to do with Jesus. I was quite surprise to learn that, to be honest.
When Jesus spoke of "The Father" or "God" He was referring to the God of Abraham and Moses, which is the God in the Old Testament. Jesus is bringing us the message directly from Him. His teachings are always based on the guidance of our Father in heaven, the same God that created the universe, Adam and Eve, the God of the Old Testament basically.
So it is beyond me that some Christians would choose to disregard the Old Testament and think that the New Testament is the ONLY book in the Bible that is relevant to us. We simply cannot accept the Son and ignore the Father. Christianity doesn't work that way. Jesus Christ Himself won't approve of that.
Are you one of them? Please kindly share your thoughts on the subject. Thanks
You won't understand a lot of what is going on in the New Testament if you don't study and know the Old Testament. The Bible is progressive in its revelation. At the very beginning of the gospel of Matthew, in the genealogy, it states that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Well who the heck are David and Abraham? That question is answered in detail in the Old Testament. The Old Testament traces and narrows the line of descent of the Messiah who is Jesus. From the seed of the woman, through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, though the tribe of Judah, through David. When Jesus began His ministry He read from the scroll of Isaiah and applied Isaiah 61:1-2a to Himself (Luke 4:17-19). He did not read the rest of the prophecy because that will be fulfilled upon His return at His second advent.
Romans 6:14 states that we are not under law but under grace. What law is this referring to? If you have studied the Old Testament then you know what its referring to. Hebrews 3:7-11 refers to the Exodus generation of Israelites provoking God in the wilderness. To get all the details on this you have to have read the Book of Exodus.
The Book of Revelation pulls together many of the prophecies which are found in the Old Testament. If you want to understand the Book of Revelation you have to have an understanding of the Book of Daniel as well as other Old Testament books.
Hebrews chapter 11 records the Old Testament heroes of faith. Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel and the prophets. The stories of these people are recorded in the Old Testament.
Romans 5:14-19 refers to Adam's transgression and the resultant judgment. The details are found in Genesis chapter 3 which gives us the story of the fall of man. 1 Peter 3:19-20 speaks of the spirits now in prison who were once disobedient in the days of Noah. Jude 6 speaks of the angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode and are now in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Both 1 Peter 3:19-20 and Jude 6 refer to the event given in Genesis 6.
The Old Testament Scriptures lay the foundation for the teachings and events which are found in the New Testament Scriptures and they should not be neglected.
Last edited by Michael Way; 05-23-2015 at 06:46 AM..
Fellow Christians, do you ignore the Old Testament in the Bible and focus ONLY on the New Testament? Do you find the Old Testament irrelevant to Christianity in general?
The reason I ask such question is that I've learned recently some Christians actually find it strange that we should be concerned ourselves with the OT at all. The rationale for this, I presume, is that Christianity was found mainly on the teachings of Jesus Christ. So there is no point to study the OT which seemingly has little to do with Jesus. I was quite surprise to learn that, to be honest.
When Jesus spoke of "The Father" or "God" He was referring to the God of Abraham and Moses, which is the God in the Old Testament. Jesus is bringing us the message directly from Him. His teachings are always based on the guidance of our Father in heaven, the same God that created the universe, Adam and Eve, the God of the Old Testament basically.
So it is beyond me that some Christians would choose to disregard the Old Testament and think that the New Testament is the ONLY book in the Bible that is relevant to us. We simply cannot accept the Son and ignore the Father. Christianity doesn't work that way. Jesus Christ Himself won't approve of that.
Are you one of them? Please kindly share your thoughts on the subject. Thanks
In the 3 years I've been at my current church I've preached through NT books only. I reference the OT quite a bit, as the NT does reference it. A few weeks ago though I started preaching through Judges. I'm up to chapter 7 this week and it's my 3rd sermon on Gideon. I have also been teaching through the OT for the past year or so in adult Sunday School. I began with Genesis 1 and have been explaining how the entire Bible is about Jesus.
I do know a few guys from the "Church of Christ" denomination. One just graduated Bible College. He avoids the Old Testament because he feels we live in New Testament times. I believe that's the wrong attitude. The Old Testament tells us about the history of God and man -- about how man fell into sin and God promised a redeemer.
My personal experience has been that when I started reading the Bible, the OT and NT simultaneously, I got bogged down in Leviticus for quite awhile so decided to focus mostly on the NT, then once finished focus solely on finishing the OT, before reading the NT a second time. I finished the NT last November 2nd, and today will finish Deuteronomy, the final of the five books of Moses using my study Bible. Then I'll turn my attention to reading the books of history and the books of the prophets simultaneously, before finishing up with the books of poetry and wisdom.
Really interesting reading ahead, as outside of the stories of Jesus' life in the NT, history and the prophets intrigue me the most. And I believe are very important for Christians to read. Unfortunately, my impression is that many of us don't read from cover to cover, OT and NT. This will be my first time reading it all the way through, and I'm not as young as I used to be. If more people read the Bible they probably wouldn't do half the things they do, knowing everything they do is known to God and that there are consequences for bad behavior. Also, that there is forgiveness, at least the possibility of it.
The Old Testament is the background material for the particular ethno-geographical group in which Jesus came to teach "The Word." It is a record of the growing realization of that group as to the nature of God, from the very primitive anthropomorphism of Genesis, through the tribalism of Judges and the histories to the later prophets on the order of Jeremiah and Micah who recognized a more abstract perception of a God who was God of and FOR everyone, and whose primary concern in dealing wirh mankind is justice, mercy and love. The Law was "a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ," and many people are still clinging to the teacher rather than the Christ that was shown to be the better Way, in that they still think it is all about rules or laws or "right conduct" when Jesus taught that it is the dedication of the heart that is needed for a relationship with God and man. When the Old Testament is recognized as that kind of background, everything falls into place. When people try to apply perceptions from the Old Testament that contradict the Way that Jesus taught, trouble starts.
The Old Testament is the background material for the particular ethno-geographical group in which Jesus came to teach "The Word." It is a record of the growing realization of that group as to the nature of God, from the very primitive anthropomorphism of Genesis, through the tribalism of Judges and the histories to the later prophets on the order of Jeremiah and Micah who recognized a more abstract perception of a God who was God of and FOR everyone, and whose primary concern in dealing wirh mankind is justice, mercy and love. The Law was "a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ," and many people are still clinging to the teacher rather than the Christ that was shown to be the better Way, in that they still think it is all about rules or laws or "right conduct" when Jesus taught that it is the dedication of the heart that is needed for a relationship with God and man. When the Old Testament is recognized as that kind of background, everything falls into place. When people try to apply perceptions from the Old Testament that contradict the Way that Jesus taught, trouble starts.
The Old Testament and the New Testament are all connected, with the progression of God's work on Earth seen throughout. The Old Testament is important because it helps us see the nature of God.
Many Christians do think like that and forget that Jesus aught 100% from the OT, since there was no NT around when he was on the earth.
He quoted the OT, a little over 30 times in 3 years, that is hardly teaching 100% from the OT. Your bible actually tells us, he taught what the Father taught him, and i have a sneaking feeling that his Father never taught him from the bible.
He quoted the OT, a little over 30 times in 3 years, that is hardly teaching 100% from the OT. Your bible actually tells us, he taught what the Father taught him, and i have a sneaking feeling that his Father never taught him from the bible.
Not quite...
He quoted the Old Testament 78 times, the Pentateuch alone 26 times. He quoted from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah, and Malachi. He referred to the Old Testament as “The Scriptures,” “the word of God,” and “the wisdom of God.”
Jesus knew the Old Testament by heart and could teach in the Temples and argue with the religious scholars of His day.
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