The Importance of the Old Testament
I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was eleven years old. But my understanding of what it means to follow Jesus and what that looks like in my life has been an ongoing process that continues to today. When I look back, my spiritual growth (or lack thereof) has been closely tied to how available I am to God's Word in my life. I can see that my relationship with God (my trust and my faith) often fluctuates based on how much time I spend reading, understanding, and applying God's Word to my life.
The Bible is the inerrant Word of God. It is central to our understanding of who He is, what His character is like, who we are, what His will is for humanity and more. This includes the New Testament and the Old. Both are critical parts of the inspired Word of God from which we are to learn and grow. But because reading the Bible can be difficult and, dare I say, boring, we often don't take the time to read and study it like we should. I think this especially applies to the Old Testament. Many people often view the Old Testament as an historical document that is complicated and even morally confusing. And so we set it aside in our Christian faith. Some might ask since we're now under the New Covenant in Christ's blood, why should we seek to understand the Old Testament at all? Several quick reasons spelled out by The Gospel Coalition:
The Old Testament makes up 75% of the entire Bible. God gave us His Word and felt it important to begin with the Old Testament in detail which includes Creation, the Law, Israel's History, Poetry/Wisdom, and Prophecy.
We encounter the same God in both testaments. Hebrews 13:8 speaks that God/Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever more. We see God's mercy, grace, power, holiness, and judgment in both testaments.
Jesus came not to destroy the Law in the Old Testament but to fulfill it. In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished."
There are many other reasons why the Old Testament is important for our faith. Those are just a few. God has great things for us to understand from this part of Scripture. That's why I'm very excited that Professor Vincent Kam from International Theological Seminary will be teaching a 5-week class on the Old Testament beginning Friday, May 10th. I think it will be both edifying and encouraging to our faith to get a better grasp of this part of God's Word. Please join us!
God bless,
Pastor Darren
