Preached:

LR
Old or New Testament?
(Christianity 101: Lesson 4)

Introduction
1. Two weeks ago, we took the time to cement in our minds that the Bible is
from God; it is divinely inspired.
2. There are 66 books in the Bible, all comprising a singular story of love and
redemption.
3. However, even those who know very little about the Bible will notice a
distinct change when they turn from the book of Malachi to the book of
Matthew. Nearly every copy of the Bible contains some type of notation that
there is a break between those books. Some have a page with words such
as, “The New Testament” or “The New Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ”
before the book of Matthew.
4. Obviously, that makes the previous 39 books what is called the Old
Testament. Found in those 39 books are some of the most famous and
endearing words of the Bible. For example, in the Old Testament,
a. You will read the Creation account of Genesis 1.
b. You will read of the global flood and Noah’s ark.
c. You will read such moving passages as the 23rd Psalm, which begins with
the immortal words, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”
d. You will read of the conquering battles lead by kings such as David and
Solomon.
e. You will read of the sin of God’s people and the captivity into which they
were led because of that sin.
f. You will read of spiritual giants such as Ezra and Nehemiah who led the
people back to Jerusalem and helped them revive spiritually.
g. You will read great prophets like Isaiah, Amos, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, and
Malachi.
h. And on and on we could go.
5. To say the least, there is a treasure trove of information in the Old Testament.
It is, most assuredly, divinely inspired and has, over the centuries, provided
much help to the readers of the books.
6. BUT, are we to follow the Old Testament? In other words, how are we to treat
the 39 books of the Bible—the OT? There are a few ideas:
a. Some basically carry the idea that we don’t need to worry about it at all.
In other words, we are under the New Testament; the New Covenant, so
the OT carries no weight at all.
b. Others say that both the Old and New Testaments are inspired,therefore
they carry the same weight. We are to follow both.
 c. Additionally, some say that we are at liberty to choose which we are to
follow. We may choose to follow Jesus and the NT, or we may choose to
follow the Old Testament Mosaic Law.
d. Finally, there are those who believe in a more balanced approach. This is
where I think we should be. This morning, I want to share this balanced
approach with you as we seek to answer the question: What are we to do
with the OT?

Body
I. First, let’s notice some of what the New Testament says about the
Old Testament.
A. It is quite obvious when we turn to the New Testament that we are not
to completely ignore the Old. We can notice this in several ways:
1. First, we can note how often the OT is quoted or alluded to in the
NT.
a. There are approximately 250 direct quotations from the OT in
the NT, and over 800 more allusions or partial quotations.
b. As a side note, it is interesting to think of these times when
there are allusions to the OT. I think that gives us some idea as
to how seriously the NT writers took the OT. It was basically a
part of their everyday writing!
2. Next, we can also look at how much of the NT we would not
understand without the OT.
a. In addition to all the quotations, there are also numerous
references to people, places, events and items from the OT
sprinkled throughout the books of Matthew through Revelation.
b. Nowhere is that more evident than in the book of Hebrews.
Without at least an elementary understanding of the OT, we
would not have any idea what Hebrews was about! In that one
book, you will find references to Moses, the Mosaic Law, Aaron
and the priesthood, Melchizedek, and literally dozens of other
things from the OT. If we take the position that the OT does not
matter at all, then we will fail to see the wonderfully rich and
deep meanings of so many things in Hebrews, Romans,
Revelation, Jude and other NT books that borrow heavily from
the OT.
3. Briefly, notice in the third place that we need to look at this from a
strictly literary side. If we completely ignore the OT, we are taking
the NT out of its intended context. We are starting our reading and
study of the greatest piece of literature ever produced right in the
middle instead of at the beginning.
4. Finally, it is worth a mention, too, that God preserved the OT for us
through His providence, so He must have meant for it to be of some
value to us.
 B. Now, I want us to turn to one passage that shows us how we should
treat the OT from a NT perspective. Turn to Romans 15. I’d like to read
verses 1-6 for the immediate context of our focus verse, thentake
some time to look more closely at verse 4. Verses 1-6:
Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of
those without strength and not just please ourselves.
Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his
edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as
it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached
you fell on me.” For whatever was written in earlier times
was written for our instruction, so that through
perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope. Now may the God who gives
perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the
same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so
that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
II. Now we’ll turn our attention to verse 4 of that reading. There are four
things that verse teaches us about the OT and our relationship to it.
A. First, there is the Education. “For our learning.”
1. There is absolutely no way we could make a list this morning of
everything we learn from the OT.
2. There are basic things like names of people and places, and there
are many things we learn about the Jewish religion. All those are
important,
3. But we also need to note the fact that we learn so much about God
Himself from the OT.
4. Just note that we are introduced in the OT to God’s love, God’s care,
God’s judgment, God’s power, God’s omniscience, God’s concern,
God’sorganization, God’s hatred of sin, God’s providence, and God’s
timelessness. You could add to that list, but those are just a few of
the things we learn in the OT about God. And that’s just one
subject!
5. We need to turn to the OT often to learn many things that we need
to know about God, prophecy, history, faithfulness, sin, praise,
providence, miracles, sacrifice and a host of other topics and
themes.
B. Next, there is the Endurance. “Patience”
1. Paul wrote that we can gain patience or perseverance from the
Scriptures—even the OT Scriptures.
2. How do we gain patience from the OT? There are a few ways, but
let me just make mention of this one: we read about those faithful
people of God who were faithful.
 3. We read of Abraham who was patient enough to travel for a long
time not even knowing where he was going.
4. We read of the prophets, such as Isaiah and Elijah, who went time
after time before God’s people and the kings and told them to
repent, only to have their message scorned and forgotten.
5. Of course, we read of Job—the most famous man of patience in the
Bible. The man who endured more than I can imagine, but, as the
book tells us, “did not curse God with his lips.”
6. While there are some people in the NT who served God faithfully
among difficult circumstances, there are far more of these
“biographical” accounts in the OT of people who were willing to
endure for God’s cause.
7. In addition to these, we also find passages in the Psalms and
Proverbs that provide us with some of the words we need to endure.
C. Third, there is the Encouragement. “Comfort”
1. When I think of this part of Romans 15:4, I think of many of the
Psalms, which have provided comfort to countless people through
the years.
2. I also think again of some of the biographies we can read in the OT
of people who went through difficulties much like we do, yet made
it through with God’s help. Knowing that others have been through
difficulties as have we will provide us with comfort when we face
trials.
D. Finally, there is the Expectation. “Hope”
1. In the OT, there was the hope of the Messiah. We also very often
read of the hope that people had in what God could and would do in
their behalf.
2. Even when we read passages such as the prophets, they are often
seen saying difficult and even harsh things, but they did so with the
good of the people and the coming of the Messiah in mind.
3. We gain from the OT a sense of the hope of Jesus coming, and we
can then transfer that hope to our hope of the return of Jesus at the
end of time.
*Now, that’s one passage, but it gives us a great attitude to have when we turn to
the OT. There is value in the OT. But, for the next few moments, let’s answer a
related question:

III. Is the OT Authoritative?

A. In other words, when we turn to the OT, are those the Law and the
precepts we are to follow?
B. There are many who say, “Yes.” Just for one example that we will look
at in a later lesson, keep in mind that many use the OT to say that
instrumental music in worship is acceptable. The argument usually is
something along these lines: “David played a harp in worship to God,
 so that makes instruments okay.” That is just one example of many
that people use from the OT. But are we to follow the OT?
C. I’d like to take you to a passage in the book of Colossians. Colossians
2:8-15 contains a verse that speaks to this subject very well. Notice
what those verses say, but key in on verse 14 (beginning with verse 8):
8(A)See to it that no one takes you captive through (B)philosophy
and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to
the (C)elementary principles of the world, rather than according to
Christ. 9For in Him all the (D)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10and in Him you have been (E)made complete, and (F)He is the head
over all (G)rule and authority; 11and in Him (H)you were also circumcised
with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of (I)the body
of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12having been (J)buried with
Him in baptism, in which you were also (K)raised up with Him through
faith in the working of God, who (L)raised Him from the dead. 13When
you were (M)dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, He (N)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all
our transgressions, 14having canceled out (O)the certificate of debt
consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and (P)He has
taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15When He had
(Q)
disarmed the (R)rulers and authorities, He (S)made a public display of
them, having (T)triumphed over them through Him.
D. What is Paul talking about? To put it in simple terms, he is writing,
especially in verse 14, that Jesus nailed the law of Moses to the cross,
and took it out of the way.
1. Brother Owen Olbrichtwrote, “The New Testament is consistent in
teaching that the Law has been taken out of the way. Some Jewish
Christians who were seeking to impose the Law on Gentile
Christians said, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct
them to observe the Law of Moses’ (Acts 15:5). The response of the
apostles and elders in Jerusalem was ‘we gave no instruction’ (Acts
15:24). Evidently, they meant that they had given no instruction
for Gentile Christians to circumcise their children or to keep the
Law.” (Colossians and Philemon, Truth for Today Commentary, page
242).
2. And, by the way, if you think that passage in Colossians is confusing
by itself, there are several other New Testament passages that shed
light on it. All of them teach us that we are to follow the NT and not
the Old.
a. (Just reading the phrases that directly deal with this subject, you
will find):
b. Romans 6:14, “You are not under law.”
c. Romans 6:15, “You are not under law.”
d. Romans 7:4, “You also were made to die to the Law.”
e. Romans 7:6, “We have been released from the Law, having died
to that by which we were bound.”
 f. Second Corinthians 3:7-13 speaks of the covenant engraved in
stones, and says that is “fades away.”
g. Paul said in Galatians 2:19 that, “I died to the Law.”
h. Galatians 3:25, “We are no longer under a tutor.”
i. In a section dealing with the covenant given on Mount Sinai, Paul
wrote that we are “not children of a bondwoman” (Galatians
4:31).
j. Ephesians 2:14-15, “Christ broke down the barrier of the dividing
wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of
commandments contained in ordinances.” For your own study,
take note of the fact that the original word translated
“ordinances” in Ephesians 2:15 is the word dogmata (from which
we get the words “dogmatic” and “dogmatism”), and is the
same word that is translated “decrees” in Colossians 2:14.
k. Hebrews 7:18-19: “There is a setting aside of [the Law].”
l. In Hebrews 8, there is a discussion of the covenants and the
writer says, “He has made the first obsolete” in verse 13.
m. Also in Hebrews 10:9, we are told, “He takes away the first
[covenant].”
3. Such harmony in the fact that the first covenant, or the Law of
Moses was taken away. It is clear, then, that we are not under it.
Again, the words of Olbricht:
Paul made three statements to show that the Law had
been abolished. He stated that is was “cancelled,”
“taken…out of the way,” and “nailed…to the cross.” All of
these words express the same truth. “Cancelled” means
“wiped out, erased.”… “Taken it out of the way” means
“to take away, remove, or seize control without
suggestion of lifting up…destroy.” It means complete
removal. “Nailed to the cross” implies the death of the
Law. These three statements stress the fact that the Law,
no longer a living document, had been erased or set
aside. …Paul wanted the Colossians to know that, through
Christ,they had been made free and would continue to be
free from the Law. That is why he told them that all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ (2:3),
not in the Law. They were to follow Jesus without feeling
obligated to keep the Law. (pages 244-246)
E. So, are we to live under the laws of the OT? No. But are we to read,
study, respect, and learn from the OT? Absolutely. God has preserved
these accounts, psalms, proverbs, historical records, prophecies, and
biographies for us to learn from.
Conclusion
 1. To conclude, I’d like to share with you part of an article penned by Jason
Jackson several years ago. The full article was entitled, “The Value of Old
Testament Study.”
2. Here are his words:
Why, then, study the OT? Let us consider a number of reasons.

1. Life’s basic questions are answered. What is the origin of man and the
universe? By inspiration, Moses began Genesis, “In the beginning, God
created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1 is completely harmonious with
the laws of science. The popular evolutionary theory, palmed off as “fact,”
contradicts both science and scripture.
2. Man’s relationship to his God is detailed. Man was created as a moral
being with free will, accountable to his Creator (cf. Gen. 1:27; 2:16-17; Rom.
2:14-15). When we choose to sin, such separates us from fellowship with God
(Isa. 59:1-2; Eph. 2:1).
3. The law magnified sin. This is done in two ways, First, it showed sin to he
“exceeding sinful” (Rom. 7:13). Sin was defined, described, and denounced.
Second, it also proved that man cannot keep a law-system perfectly
(Rom.3:10,23; Gal. 3:10).
Paul argued for the value of the law, though he had been freed from it (see
Rom. 7:7). For example, the law forbade coveting. Therefore, one could know
specifically what was forbidden by God, and thus know positively about his
personal sin. As Jack Cottrell expressed it, “When I read in God’s law that
certain behavior is wrong, and when I see that very behavior in my life, I have
a personal consciousness of the fact that I am a sinner; I have a sense of
personal sinfulness before God” (p. 433).
But freedom from the law was not antinomianism (i.e., against law
altogether) or liberation from all restraint (cf. Gal. 5:13,19-21), as some
assumed (see Rom. 6:1). The law condemned the transgressor, but it was
impotent to save in any complete sense (cf. Rom. 3:21-28; Heb. 10:4). The
gospel plan is God’s power to save (Rom. 1:16). Grace, rather than facilitating
impenitence, ought to motivate one to bring his life into conformity to the law
of Christ, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ (Gal. 6:2; Rom. 8:2).
4. The magnification of sin led man to the irresistible conclusion that
only God can provide a way of salvation. The Law of Moses was the
schoolmaster which led men to Christ (Gal. 3:23-25). The sacrifices of the OT
economy were a repetitive reminder of the need for divine pardon (Heb.
10:3). Jesus became the all-sufficient sacrifice – once for all; he is the Author
of eternal salvation to all who obey him (Heb. 5:8-9; 10:12).
5. The OT provides an example of how God holds man accountable to a
divine standard. The ancient record encourages the righteous and warns
the wicked. While today men are accountable to the New Testament as the
sacred standard (Jn. 12:48), yet the OT still teaches the principle that God has
always demanded conformity to His will, whatever the age (Heb. 11:4-40).
Therefore, the OT dealings of God with man are a general model for today;
 God’s will must be taken seriously (1 Cor. 10:6,11; Heb. 4:1-11; Jude 7; Rom.
15:4).
6. The nature and attributes of God are seen throughout the OT. God is
omniscient (Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Isa. 46:10). God is omnipotent (Gen. 1; Job.
42:2). God is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-12; Jer 23:23-24). God is eternal and
immutable (Ps. 90:2; Mal. 3:6). God is holy (Isa. 6:1-3; 57:15). God is just (Ps.
145:17; Isa. 45:21). God is love (Ex. 34:6; Ps. 103:8; Jon. 4:2; Isa. 55:7).
7. The OT has immeasurable evidential value. The OT contains predictive
prophecy. The nature of OT prophecy is threefold. First, prophecy contains
specific details, not vague assertions. Second, prophecy involves adequate
timing. Predictions were uttered sometimes centuries before their fulfillment.
This fact excludes the notion that the prophets made “educated guesses” by
observing events on the current scene. Third, biblical prophecy is fulfilled
exactly. Prophetic statements do not merely resemble their historical
fulfillment. Rather, fulfillments occurred in exact detail, corresponding to the
specific prophetic declarations (cf Isa. 44:24-45:3). These phenomena of
Scripture are proofs of its divine origin.
Liberal critics of the Bible choke on predictive prophecy. Their
antisupernatural suppositions prevent them from considering the evidence.
And so, biblical prediction goes through a modernistic metamorphosis and
turns into mere history. For example, modernistic critics argue that the
predictions of Daniel could not have been written by the prophet. Since they
are so specific, they must he mere history! Concerning this kind of
mishandling of scripture, Dr. Oswald T. Allis remarked:

“Is it any wonder that massive volumes have to be written and oceans
of ink spilled in the attempt to make the Bible say exactly the opposite
of what it does say? Is it any wonder that the critics find it difficult to
find a satisfactory and edifying explanation for what they believe to
have been a deliberate falsification of history, a ‘pious fraud’” (p. 6).

8. The OT furnishes the background for much of the NT. For one example,
much of the imagery in the book of Revelation has roots in the apocalyptic
literature of the OT. Understanding the nature of the OT language furnished
the key for the early Christians to discern the signs of Revelation.
In conclusion, the Old Testament is worthy of our time and study. Although it held a
distinct place in redemptive history, which it no longer holds, it still has timeless
truths to be learned and applied. Through it, “we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).
*The OT brought us to the New, and the New is where we are introduced to Jesus,
our Savior. Is He your Savior?