by jimwalton » Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:09 am
The Jews always were God's chosen people. The definition of "God's Chosen People" has now expanded to include Gentile believers (Jn. 10.16; Romans 11). In some ways the Jews are still regarded as God's chosen people, and in other ways they're not. It involves some difficult decisions in interpreting the text, and Christians disagree.
Regardless, though, the OT should not be disregarded at all. The Old Testament is God-breathed just like the NT (2 Tim. 3.16), and the prophets of old spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1.21). The OT reveals God just as the NT does (Hebrews 1.1), and the OT is considered Holy Scripture just as the NT is. I don't know what "a lot Christians" you've talked to, but it concerns me that so many alleged Christians discourage reading the OT.
Certainly Christians believe that the Law was fulfilled by Christ (Mt. 5.17) and we aren't under its supervision (Gal. 3.25), but the OT has tremendous value for Christians (2 Tim. 3.16), and we regard it as Scripture (Acts 24.14; Rom. 3.31).
The NT was created to tell the story of Jesus and to show how the OT was fulfilled by Jesus. It tells how salvation by grace through faith was always the plan (Gal. 3.6-14), and how the "rivers" of the Eden Problem (sin), the Babel Problem (deity falsely construed), God's covenant, God's presence, redemption, and resurrection are integral to the whole (both OT and NT) to reveal God to us and bring us to salvation.
The OT forms the basis of Jesus' credentials, but Jesus supplied his own credentials in what he said and did.
As Dr. Craig Evans says, "The Old Testament provides the context and framework for understanding the New Testament. In other words, the New Testament wouldn't makes sense to us without the Old Testament."
We can never disregard the Old Testament. The whole book, OT & NT, is God's revelation for us.
The Jews always were God's chosen people. The definition of "God's Chosen People" has now expanded to include Gentile believers (Jn. 10.16; Romans 11). In some ways the Jews are still regarded as God's chosen people, and in other ways they're not. It involves some difficult decisions in interpreting the text, and Christians disagree.
Regardless, though, the OT should not be disregarded at all. The Old Testament is God-breathed just like the NT (2 Tim. 3.16), and the prophets of old spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1.21). The OT reveals God just as the NT does (Hebrews 1.1), and the OT is considered Holy Scripture just as the NT is. I don't know what "a lot Christians" you've talked to, but it concerns me that so many alleged Christians discourage reading the OT.
Certainly Christians believe that the Law was fulfilled by Christ (Mt. 5.17) and we aren't under its supervision (Gal. 3.25), but the OT has tremendous value for Christians (2 Tim. 3.16), and we regard it as Scripture (Acts 24.14; Rom. 3.31).
The NT was created to tell the story of Jesus and to show how the OT was fulfilled by Jesus. It tells how salvation by grace through faith was always the plan (Gal. 3.6-14), and how the "rivers" of the Eden Problem (sin), the Babel Problem (deity falsely construed), God's covenant, God's presence, redemption, and resurrection are integral to the whole (both OT and NT) to reveal God to us and bring us to salvation.
The OT forms the basis of Jesus' credentials, but Jesus supplied his own credentials in what he said and did.
As Dr. Craig Evans says, "The Old Testament provides the context and framework for understanding the New Testament. In other words, the New Testament wouldn't makes sense to us without the Old Testament."
We can never disregard the Old Testament. The whole book, OT & NT, is God's revelation for us.