What is the difference between the Old and New Testaments? I think Christians in America these days tend to have some sort of distinction in their minds, but it is a rather gray one at best.
"They’re different," or "We don’t have to follow the Old Testament anymore," or "The Law doesn’t apply to us now, we’re free," or the likes. Most, I think, would say that we are not under it’s jurisdiction anymore, we are under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ.
That is partially true, and partially not true. First of all, Gentiles are not under the Mosaic laws. This is clearly stated in Acts. We are only to keep away from adultery and things strangled, from blood and idols. That is the law of the gentiles. So why would anyone read the Old Testament anymore?
Well, if you think about it, the Old Testament really isn’t about the Law. Most of it is actually applicable to us today. Only Leviticus and Deuteronomy are really about the Law. Pretty much the rest of the Old Testament is very useful to a Christian today. But what’s the difference?
I used to be big on the NT. I still am. But I used to kind of ignore the Old Testament. It was boring and unreadable, and the NT was easily applicable to my life. But I’ve started to realize something: The NT is pretty much just a rehash of the OT with some extra thoughts added in. NT authors are constantly quoting from the OT. This isn’t the case with just the writers of the Bible, a majority of early Christian letters were chock-ful of quotes and passages of the OT. Just look through any book of the New Testament, and you’ll find that it is based off of Old Testament principles.
Surprise, surprise! The OT is useful! So once I realized the above fact (that the NT is just a rehash of the OT for the most part) I started eagerly reading the OT. Boy, when you start reading the Old Testament with Jesus and the New Covenant of love in mind, it’s amazing what you can find. I’ve found a multitude of verses in Job, and I’ve also found many things that I’d never seen before when reading through the Old Testament.
I used to dislike sermons that were about the Old Testament. I still kind of do. But for different reasons. I now see that the Old Testament is the very basis and foundation from which Christianity is built off of. To this day, we can utilize the principles, the lessons, the prophesies of the OT. Unfortunately, many people today seem to take the Old Testament out of context. They don’t look at it with the eyes of a person under Jesus’s perfect law. We who live after the death of Jesus have a much higher standard than those who were under the Law; we are to be perfect as our Father in heaven, as his Son was on earth.
There is a rich, rich store of knowledge and wisdom to be had in the books of the Old Testament, but you must read the books of the Old Testament as you would the New Testament. It is still applicable, the true law of God has been revealed through the revelation of Jesus Christ. We can use the Old Testament Just as the writers of the New Testament did.
A friend said something like, "Getting stuff out of the Old Testament should be like a spiritual gift or something… it’s so hard. I never get anything." I think, to some extent, he is right. It takes a heart in tune with God, abiding in His Son.
Interesting.
I always have found the New Testament (other than the Gospels and Revelation) to be boring. I much prefer the Psalms and histories to the Epistles. I do skip Leviticus through Deuteronomy, though.
~The Czarina