And
he said, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Matthew 22:36
When
people compare the Old and New Testaments there is a consensus among
most that the New Testament gives us a loving God while the Old
Testament gives us the godfather. Why the difference? Why study the
Old Testament at all? The Law and the mean God who gave it are so
last year, and besides, we're under grace now. What's the point? OK,
that's a legitimate question.
The
Old Testament is really God's First Covenant with the human race, revealing to us His Character, and His expectations as the Perfect Law Giver.
Under the Second Covenant, the New Testament, we're no longer
required to practice the ceremonial or dietary aspects of the Old
Testament, but we are still bound to obey its moral code, for it ever
demonstrates to us the unchanging Character of God. Jesus said He
never came to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, that is, its
righteous demands (Matthew 5:17-18).
We
need to read the New Testament with the Old to understand what the Old points to. What has God revealed about Himself in it? He
doesn't want us doing something that is opposed to His Character.
What does He say? Do not bear false witness, for He is true. Do not
commit adultery because He is faithful. Do not murder because He is
the Author of Life, Do not be unforgiving because He is forgiving.
Do not be unloving for He is loving. Do not be unjust for He is
Just.
The
purpose of the Old Testament is threefold. (1) To explain what sin
is. (2) To expose sin as it is. And (3) to express our need for a
Savior. Both Testaments roll seamlessly into one another and find
the Second is a continuation of the First. The God of all Creation
expresses His Character in the First and finds that Character
enfolded in flesh in the Next (John 1:14), becoming the answer to
sin, and to His suffering our consequences for it. From Genesis to
Revelation it is the most amazing and harmonious tale to be told in
the history of the world. The continuing revelation of His story. An
amazing and exciting Tale of two Testaments.
Ken
