My mom loves watching God TV and often shares the messages with me, but this particular time, she was appalled by the message that she had heard.
The pastor had said that believers need not at all worry about the ‘Old Testament’. In fact, he said, this portion of scripture can and should be completely disregarded.
His whole message was centered on grace and mercy. In this man’s faith, there was no need for Gods laws or His judgement.
His message did not resonate with me at all. In fact, I was just as aghast as my mom was.
In my morning bible readings, I am in the middle of Romans, which miraculously is the same book that my moms church is focused on right now. And here (in the New Testament) Paul speaks strongly about God being both kind and severe. About God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and about God the father of Jesus Christ. This is the same God.
The same God who has mercy for everyone and whose desire is that we all trust in His kindness and His love.
In Romans 11 it reads;
And you gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of Gods special olive tree.
But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch. Not the root.
Well, you may say, ‘Those branches were broken off to make room for me.’ Yes, but remember – those branches were broken off because they did not believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either
Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe towards those who disobeyed but kind if you continue to trust in His kindness.
The Old Testament is still so very valid.
It is about God the Creator. About His Character and His relationship with the people. It’s about His laws, why they were put in place and how He desires that we lives our lives – then and today.
The New Testament is about believing in Jesus Christ His son. About entering into a personal relationship with God, through Jesus. About how His love reached out to both Jew and gentile and gave us all a chance to be grafted into the tree of life.
Romans 13:8 explains the new law under which we should live;
‘If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of Gods law. For the commandment says you must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet. These and other such commandments are summed up in this one commandment. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of the law.
So you see, the Old Testament forms the foundation for the New Testament. The New testament, without its foundation, would collapse.
The one is as important as the other. It is by God’s grace, that we were born after the birth of Christ so we can have the awesome and incredible privilege of being grafted into the family of God.
We can experience all of Gods wonders and blessings if we continue (every day, in every way) to trust in His kindness and live in (and live out) His love.