In a recent Sunday school meeting a question was raised about the use of idols and how they related to us today. At the root of the question lay a larger and more profound question: What is the role of the Old Testament for the New Testament believer? Whether this was the original intent of the question, I do not know, but nonetheless it is an excellent question to look into.
To answer the question on the role of the Old Testament, let us first consider what would be missing if we had no Old Testament. First of all, Christians would have no firm foundation on the creation of the world. Without Genesis 1, where would we learn about our origins? Without Genesis 1, Darwin’s theory makes sense. Without Genesis 2, where would Paul base his theology on the roles of pastors, deacons or even the roles of the husband and wife?
Romans 5:12–21 recounts how through Adam sin came into this world and therefore a second Adam, which is Christ, pays the price for Adam’s sin by accomplishing what Adam could not: a blameless life. Without Genesis 3 the Christian has no foundation to build the case on how sin and evil came into existence and why Christ had to come to give His life for our sin.
Without the Old Testament, Scripture would begin with the Gospels, which start with Christ. We would be left out on all the prophecies dealing with whom this Christ was to be and why He was coming. Moreover, to distinguish between the real Christ and false christs, the Jew has to look only to the Old Testament as the source to reveal the characteristics and mission of the Messiah. Without the Old Testament, we have no firm foundation to defend that Jesus was the Messiah.
To add even further fuel to the fire, without the Old Testament we would have no knowledge of the layout of the temple and the roles of the various sacrifices. If there was no Exodus and Leviticus, then there would be no foundation for the ark of the covenant or the tabernacle and temple. But you may say “So what?!” For the last three newsletters we have been examining the role of the tabernacle and the various articles and all that is involved in the sacrificial system. Without the Old Testament, the book of Hebrews is meaningless to us for there is nothing for us to go back and learn about the Aaronic priesthood and its difference with the priesthood of Melchizedek. Which means that we cannot fully answer the question of how Christ is our high priest.
As you can see there is an intertwining relationship between the Old and New Testaments. Both are equally important for our study and devotion. Both make up the whole cannon of Holy Scripture. Now that we have aroused our interest and seen how the two testaments are linked together, next month we will discuss the question of what is the role of the Old Testament in the believer’s life. I want to thank the Sunday school class for raising such great and important questions. I appreciate your involvement in the study of the Word of God.