Monday, June 8, 2009

Old Testament vs New Testament?

I've noticed over the years in my discussions with certain individuals that they sometimes use obscure Old Testament passages as the authority for spiritual beliefs that they hold. So, it is important that we discuss early on the respective roles of the Old Testament and New Testament in christianity.

The Old Testament refers to the first 39 books of the Bible (Genesis-Malachi)
-the OT law was given ONLY to the children of Israel. The only way a gentile- non-jew was subject to OT law was if he/she became a jewish proselyte

A. Purpose(s) of Old Testament...
1. It revealed the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 7:14), his miracles (Isaiah 35:5,6), his preaching (Isaiah 61:1-3), and his resurrection and ascension (Psalms 2:7, 68:18, and 110:
2. It pointed out sin (Romans 3:20)
3. It revealed the coming of a new and better way (Jeremiah 31:31)
4. It was written as a shadow of the new and better way (Hebrews 10:1)
5. It was written for our learning (Romans 15:4)
6. It was written for an example and for our admonition (1 Corinthians 10:11)

B. Problems with the Old Testament
1. It could not take away sin (Hebrews 10:4, 11)
2. It contained faults (Hebrews 8:7)
3. It was intended as only the shadow of the real thing (Hebrews 8:5, 10:1)


The New Testament refers to the last 29 books of the Bible/ Matthew-Revelations

A. When did the New Testament come into effect? After the testator of the New Testament died (Hebrews 9:16)

B. Who is the testator of the NT? Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:14)
1. think of the OT and NT as covenants or wills
2. wills do not come into effect until the owner of the will dies
3. to replace an old will, one only needs to create a new and later one
4. So after Jesus Christ died on the cross, the New Testament came into effect

C. More specifically, the New Testament was made known in AD 33 on the Day of Pentecost in Jeruselem (Acts 2)
1. The New Testament has the ability to take away sins through Jesus Christ's death

D. The New Testament brought over certain themes from the OT. But others were done away with.
1. For ex: in the NT there is no longer a requirement of the sacrificing of bulls and goats
2. For ex: many of the concepts of "the 10 commandments" are brought over in the NT
3. Unless a concept from the OT is reiterated in the NT, christians are not bound by it

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