Isn't the Old Testament...just old?

 

“The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge 
but to change our lives.” D.L. Moody

 

Have you ever had a TV show that for you was a “must see”? I’ve had a few; 24, Star Trek Next Generation and Band of Brothers. The only one with depth and life lessons would be Band of Brothers. The others were just “entertainment.” The Bible is so different. It’s life changing, both for this life and eternity. 

  This morning we’re picking up our series in 2 Samuel with chapter 5. Unlike most TV shows, Scripture doesn’t have happy endings. The heroes often act terribly unheroic – just like us. And rarely do most TV shows have an ongoing story. Everything is tied up in a nice, neat package in less than an hour. But life isn’t like that. Our failures often have long-term consequences, affecting us and our descendants. So, 2 Samuel, like the rest of the Bible, isn’t about good people. It’s about a great and gracious God.

  Like us, David truly loves God and wants to do the right thing, but he has a sin nature. When he succumbs to sin, it has huge ramifications. God though loves to take our messes and transform them into His masterpieces. It’s why we need a Savior and someone to rescue us…from ourselves. As we work through 2 Samuel, I hope it encourages you to read and study not just 2 Samuel but all of the Old Testament. So, here are some reasons why New Testament Christians should study the Old Testament.  

  The Old Testament was Jesus’s only Bible and makes up 75% of our Bibles. If word count says anything, the Old Testament matters to God. The Old Testament was His first special revelation. It sets the foundation for the fulfillment that we find in Jesus in the New Testament. The Old Testament was the Bible of Jesus and the early church (e.g., Luke 24:44; Acts 24:14; 2 Timothy 3:15). It’s a major part of our Bible. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). “The Law and the Prophets” that Jesus is referring to is the Old Testament.

  The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. The book of Hebrews begins: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2). The same God who spoke through Old Testament prophets like Moses, Isaiah, and Malachi speaks through Jesus! The same God who had His hand on David’s life is the same God who had His hand on the early church in the book of Acts.

  Sometimes someone will ask, “Isn’t the Old Testament’s God one of wrath and judgement, but the God of the New Testament is about grace and freedom?” Yet God is as just and wrathful in the New Testament as He is in the Old. That’s because He’s holy and has perfect justice. Certainly, there are numerous expressions of God’s righteous anger in the Old Testament, just as there are massive manifestations of blood-bought mercy in the New Testament. Wonderfully, in Jesus all saving grace reaches its climax. In the whole Bible we meet a God who is faithful to His promises. He takes both sin and repentance seriously, and so should we!

  The Old Testament announces the same “Good News” that New Testament Christians enjoy. The word gospel means “good news.” It refers to the truth that, through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, God reigns over all and rescues sinners who commit their lives to Him. Paul wrote, “the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed’” (Galatians 3:8). Abraham knew of the message of global salvation that we enjoy. Prophets, like Isaiah, anticipated the day when the Messiah, and the many servants identified with Him, would share comforting news to the poor and broken, news that the saving God reigns through His coming King and deliverer. Reading the Old Testament is one of God’s ways for us to better grasp and cherish the gospel.

  Jesus said that all the Old Testament points to Him. After his first meeting with Jesus, Philip told Nathanael, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote” (John 1:45). Do you want to know as much about Jesus as you can? The Old Testament authors wrote about Him! Speaking of the Old Testament, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me” (John 5:39). Following His resurrection, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27).

  That doesn’t mean we limit teaching about Jesus’ to a few messianic prophecies about His first coming. The Old Testament clearly anticipates both the first and second coming of Jesus, David’s greater Son. If you want to know Jesus, read the Old Testament as well as the New. It’s vital that we read, teach, study and live out the Old Testament like Jesus and the Apostles did for our own personal spiritual growth and the good and spiritual growth of God’s church.

  New Testament authors expect us to read and study the Old Testament. The New Testament quotes the Old Testament in ways that encourage us to look back to the original context. For example, Matthew 27-28, portrays Christ’s pain and triumph at the cross by referring back to Psalm 22. To fully understand their words, New Testament authors lead us back to the Old Testament through their quotations, references and allusions.

  In our study of 2 Samuel, we’ll see both the highs and lows of a man of God. We’ll see the heavy destruction of giving into temptation. We’ll discover that like us; David needed a Savior. From a human perspective David had it all – power, fame, wealth – but like us, without Jesus, it’s never enough. 

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.