I will try to summarize a bit of the discussion from this past Sunday and open it up to more discussion. We discussed the Old Testament and what it means to us as Christians today.
A couple discussion points from Sunday:(O.T. will stand for Old Testament, I apologize if anyone is offended by my shorthand)
-the O.T. is not really a "Christian" writing?
-the O.T. is more an account of history than anything?
-the O.T. is more a story of the people of the time?
-Does the O.T. relate to Christians after Jesus' life/death/resurrection?
-the O.T. discusses more details of people's lives and the process of their faith?
-what does the O.T. mean for present day follower's of Jesus?
Wow! Is anyone working on a dissertation right now and need some talking points? As always, looking forward to some good discussion and insight.
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I find some actions in the O.T. hard to defend ..how God would want to kill children. And God seemed to be in a bad mood more in the O.T. than the N.T. I know these aren't the "right" answers, but ..
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: The O.T. is definitely a Christian writing. No questions asked.
ReplyDelete2 Timothy 3:16 & 17 – "All (Old Testament / New Testament) Scripture is inspired by God (God breathed) and profitable for teaching (when we lack knowledge), for reproof (when we sin), for correction (when we err), for training in righteousness (when, spiritually, we are out of shape); so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
*words in parenthesis are my own*
2 Peter 1:20 & 21 – "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."
Question 2: The O.T. is an account of history - of things past. Big deal. I wouldn’t call it ‘more of account…than anything’. Where would we be without the creation story in Genesis, the Law in Exodus, the Psalms and Proverbs, the prophetic books like Daniel? They have their place and to write them off as merely an account of history, therefore unneeded or inapplicable to us today, would be a sad, sad way to see them. Once again: “All Scripture is inspired by God…”
Question 3: Yes – to use correct hermeneutics, we have to look at the audience the writer is writing to – this happens a lot in the O.T. Was it only intended for them at that time? Can it be applied to us today? Those questions are answered when you read the Bible and interpret it in its entirety – doing your best to try and figure out what that audience was going through at that time, where they were and where they were going…etc… and not just hunting and pecking here and there to find something cool / weird / different…etc…
ReplyDeleteQuestion 4: Yes and No. This one is deeper than a blog post comment will let it be. I’ll try (deep breath)… When we read the O.T. we will find law, after law, after law (agree?) – ok. Also notice that no one could keep them. So they would sacrifice burnt offerings to God for forgiveness. Then, Jesus Christ came to earth (fully God and fully man), born of a virgin, lived a perfect and sinless life, and gave himself up by being crucified on a cross. When He did that, the Law was fulfilled.
Matthew 5:17 – “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
Galatians 3:23-25 – “But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
Romans 10:4 – “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
This is just one example of why we need to read and interpret scripture as a whole (N.T. along with O.T. as well as O.T. along with N.T.) and not individual verses and passages.
If you would like more examples – just email and ask more specifics (not saying I’ll have the answers – but I could study and find them).
Question 5: See Question 4.
Question 6: See all of the above (especially #2).
Whether we like reading the Old Testament or not (I personally prefer reading the New Testament), it's still God breathed (inspired) Scripture. 2 Timothy tells us Who wrote it and describes what it's intended use is, 2 Peter reminds us Who wrote it. So if God wrote it, why wouldn’t I want to read it – right?
I will admit – I spend most of my time in the N.T. But lately I have been convicted to read and study more of the O.T. So I can understand the Bible better as a whole. I believe it’s also a case of where you are at spiritually speaking. The O.T. is deep. Rightly dividing it is tough and takes time and effort. I’m not claiming that I take the right amount of time and always divide it rightly – In fact, I would argue that I need to be in the Word MORE and take MORE time to study, divide, and seek.
Anyways – I hope this wasn’t too boring to read and hope that it helped point you in the right direction. Looking at your other posts, I think you ask great questions – I could spend hours upon hours discussing these questions. For instance, your question about the Trinity – that’s easy – if you read the Bible. All 3 (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) are equal to each other yet One. They are also eternal – eternity past to eternity future and were NOT created but are self-existent. Can I challenge you? If I can, I would challenge you to find and know what the Bible says about these items for yourself. When I was younger, I relied heavily on others for my understandings of Biblical things. And after actually studying the Bible, I found that almost all of my understandings of similar issues were incorrect – I had to start over. By God’s grace, He showed me Truth through His Word.
Dude - I don't know you, but if you would like to discuss your questions more in detail - Biblically. Email me. If not, that's cool too.
Saved by Grace