Do not preach the Old Testament.

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Death and condemnation is what the Old Testament served to the people it ministered to.  Do you really want to be included in that number?
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The believer in Jesus Christ, in whom the spirit of the true God has been born, lives by faith.  That person has understood and chosen to believe that Jesus of Nazareth, as the son of God, died for the sins of the world and was raised from the dead by Jesus’ Father, the one and only true God.  That believer reads the Bible in order to derive spiritual nourishment, wisdom and strength, because he believes the Bible to be the Word of God.  Yet the Bible is divided into Old Testament and New Testament.

What’s the difference, if there is any?  What’s the difference to me as a Christian who is born of God?  Both are the Word of God.  Should both carry equal weight in our minds and hearts?  Is one more important than the other?  If there are discrepancies or contradictions between the two, should one overrule the other?

I have a son and I have loved him since he was born.  When he was 5, I lovingly instructed him in certain ways, giving him certain rules and guidance to live by.  Among other things I did not let him drive a car, work a job outside the home, mow the lawn, etc.  At age 10 he could mow the lawn, but still not drive a car, or have an outside job, and I advised him not to get involved (sexually) with girls (even though, at the time, he had neither the ability or inclination).  At the age of 16 he could mow the lawn and drive a car and work outside the home, but I still advised him not to get sexually involved with girls….which advice I hope he discards when he gets married!

At all those ages my instructions/advice to my son were born of my love for him and my understanding of life.  I was the same…..it was he who changed.  And yet at those different stages of life I could have been looked upon by my son at varying times as….Advisor, Tyrant, Dictator, Mentor……Caring, Heartless, Stupid, Wise, Understanding.

So it is with God and us.  In the OT we had nowhere near the abilities we have today in and because of Christ.  If I read the OT as though God is speaking to me today, and not understand those Old instructions/advice in light of the newer ones, I will be in trouble, and definitely held back from my true potential and enjoyment of life.  And I will not be able to grow steadily and confidently as a son of God.

In Luke 24;44, Jesus divided the Old Testament that concerned him into 3 parts.  He said:  These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

So we have the 1) Law of Moses; the 2) Prophets; and the 3) Psalms.

1)  The law of Moses.  Prior to the law of Moses, the people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, and so lived according to Egypt’s rules.  Prior to that they were a tribal people, and so lived under the “rule” of their patriarch, which at the time of their coming into Egypt was Jacob.  Upon being delivered from out of the bondage of Egypt, being now a people numbering in the millions, there was no written code of conduct to live by, and so God gave Moses the law.

2)  The prophets heard from and spoke for God, and so called people (back) to God.  By nature, prophets were generally not loved and enjoyed, for this calling people to God was a calling away from their (sinful) nature.  The people often wanted to “shoot the messenger” instead of heed the message.

3)  The psalms are a singing out of the heart for God, a crying out in thankfulness or anguish to be heard or for answers.  We often easily relate to the psalms, because though customs have changed, man’s heart has not.

Here are a couple of interesting statements by Jesus, in John 3:3, 5:  Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again (anothen – from above …. unless a man be born from above … be born of the spirit) he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water (the physical birth) and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

No one, not one single person, in the Old Testament was born from above.  In fact, the first one ever born of the spirit was Jesus (Adam was made of one substance with God, Jesus was begotten, or born of one substance with God, who is spirit … John 4:24).  Hence, no one in the Old Testament ever saw the kingdom of God, much less entered into it.  All scripture of the OT was written to natural man who had not the spirit … had not the capacity to see or understand the kingdom of God.

In John 1:17, 18 is written: For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.

The word “declare“ in the Greek is exegeomai, and means “to lead out, to make known, declare, unfold.”  (We get the word exegesis from this Greek word).  So it was the task of Jesus to lead out his Father to Israel, to make Him known.  The indication here is that God had not been led out in the eyes and understanding of the people until this time of Jesus.

(This is why the God of the OT seems very different from the God of the NT.  God is love in the NT, yet He commanded to kill and injure in the OT.  God is patient and loving in the NT, yet seems very easy to anger in the OT … etc.  In fact, until Jesus made known his Father, his Father was not clearly seen or known.  No one before Jesus had ever seen the kingdom of God, and so could not make it known).

In II Corinthians 3:14-16 is written:  But their minds (the minds of the Israelites) were blinded; for until this day remains the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ.  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.  Nevertheless when it (Israel) shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.

Here’s some scripture that defies the logic of preaching the OT today.

Romans 13:9, 10: For this, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness (lie), You shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment (the law of Moses), it is briefly comprehended (summed up and contained) in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Love works no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Well why didn’t God just say that in the Old Testament?  Instead of all those laws and rules and regulations, why didn’t God just say, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ????  The reason is because in the Old Testament, man could not love, not love like God.  This word “love” used here is a word that means to love like God loves.

In I John 1:7, 8 is written:  Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one who loves is born of God and knows God.  He that loves not knows not God; for God is love.

Born of God = born from above = born of the spirit (as we read in John 3).  Since God is love, His love only resides in those who are born of that love, born of God.  This means that those in the OT were not capable of loving themselves, much less their neighbor.

Romans 15:4 states:  For whatsoever things were written aforetime (before Christ) were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

And in Romans 8:24:  For we are saved by hope; but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for (it)?

The OT was written in hope to those waiting for Christ.  The law of Moses was given to those who could not know and walk in Christ; the prophets of the OT spoke to those living outside of the life- (and spirit) giving Savior; the psalms reflect a heart’s cry of one not yet redeemed, but rather of one living in hope.   Why then preach that which was meant to give hope, when we can see and have the very thing …. Christ!

We of today have been redeemed, rescued, born of God’s love, of His spirit.  We have His nature, can understand all spiritual truths.

I Corinthians 2:14 says: But the natural man (who is not born of the spirit … this includes all those in the OT) receives not the things of the spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The believer can be blessed in the reading of the OT in light of the truth of the times and people it was written to and for.  The believer who is living in God’s love can see the love God had for those of the OT (though they themselves could not see it clearly.  Rather than a kind and loving Father, they saw God as a harsh taskmaster).

The danger and misfortune is that many read and interpret the OT as applying to and meant to be applied by themselves.  Hence, many, though alive in Christ, live as though dead in sins; though born of God’s love and complete acceptance,  live as though needing to continually earn that love and acceptance; though righteous in and because of Christ, live in constant judgment (or fear of that judgment) and rejection by the very God who bought them into Godly sonship and heavenly citizenship by the price of the life of His own Son.

Finally, II Corinthians 3 really spells out the difference between the OT and the NT.  The OT was the ministry (service) of death and condemnation.  Death and condemnation is what it served to the people it ministered to.  Do you really want to be included in that number?

The NT is the ministry of the spirit and righteousness.  In this light and love of Christ, all the OT is open to our understanding, and can benefit us who believe and live in Christ.  All the OT can be seen and understood in its proper context, and the reader blessed thereby.  It should never be preached in and of itself as pertaining to us today.
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