Articles
I Believe in the Whole Bible
Sometimes when we are talking to others about our beliefs and practices, we use the phrase “New Testament Christian.” By this, we mean we follow the plan of salvation and the instruction for Jesus’ church found in the New Testament. When we use the phrase “New Testament Christians” some take it to mean we do not believe or follow the Old Testament teachings today.
Romans 15:4 tells us “For whatever things that were written before were written for our learning, that through patience and comfort of the scriptures that we might have hope.” This means all the Bible is written for our learning. Now we are not under the old law of Moses because that law was for the children of Israel. Colossians 2:14 tells us that Jesus nailed this law of Moses to the cross and it was taken away. We now have the new law of Christ that we are to follow. As Christians, we truly believe the old testament events and instructions that were given and many are included in the new law for us to follow. There are parts of the old law we do not follow such as animal sacrifices or the keeping of certain feast days as they are not found in the new law.
We can learn so much about God from studying the old testament. The story of creation teaches us about the power and love of God. The story of Adam and Eve teaches us the importance of obeying God’s word. Story after story and event after event in the old testament helps the Christian to learn more about God and the importance of obeying Him.
The history of being a Christian begins in the book of Acts. We read where they were first called Christians in Acts 11:26. The Christian today will not fully understand the task before them as a follower of God or the struggles to follow without reading and learning about the followers of God in the old testament.
The new testament books may be easier to read and relate to one’s life today but we must never stop reading and studying the old testament books. II Timothy 3:16-17 tells us “All scripture is inspired by God.” This means that the whole Bible, old testament and new testament, are the words of God. Together they give us the complete revelation of God in teaching us to be a Christian. As you study the old testament, you will see that it is truly a shadow of the new testament which reveals to us the new law , the law of faith brought by Jesus Christ.
