The Importance of the Old Testament
to New Testament Christians

Samuel G. Dawson

Many claiming to be New Testament Christians are woefully weak in their knowledge of the Old Testament. Thus, they are severely limited in their knowledge of the New Testament itself, for the New Testament is based upon the Old. This leads to mistaken assumptions which result in doctrinal misinterpretations in the New. In addition, New Testament Christians were prophesied about in the Old Testament. Perhaps worst of all, ignorance of the Old Testament violates plain commands in the New Testament that instruct Christians to be serious students of the Old.

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Copyright 2005 by Samuel G. Dawson and Patsy Rae Dawson
Chapter 6 from the book How to Study the Bible: A Practical Guide to Independent Bible Study. See Rights Notice below.

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The Importance of the Old Testament
to New Testament Christians

Samuel G. Dawson

“All scripture” inspired of God includes the Old Testament, whose books comprise approximately seventy-five percent of the totality of inspired literature on earth. If we neglect the Old Testament, we ignore the vast majority of an extremely scarce resource. One cannot imagine a serious student of Shakespeare not showing any interest in seventy-five percent of Shakespeare's work, because so little of his material exists. Likewise with inspired material: there is so little of it on earth that disciples of Christ cannot afford to overlook the inspired scripture in the Old Testament.

The apostle Peter also affirmed the inspiration of the Old Testament. In 1 Pet. 1.10-11, he said:

Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ [the Spirit which Christ sent, the Holy Spirit-SGD] which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them.

Thus, the Old Testament is every bit as inspired by the Holy Spirit as is the New Testament. Imagine a Christian who affirmed that the New Testament wasn't inspired by God. “What a heretic!” we would correctly say. Peter declared that the Old Testament is just as inspired; and therefore, as worthy of our interest and serious study as is the New Testament.

In Heb. 10.15-17, the author said:

And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us; for after he hath said, This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws on their heart, And upon their mind also will I write them; then saith he, And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

The author of Hebrews stated that the Holy Spirit agreed with his point. For proof, he quoted the Old Testament passage of Jer. 31.31-34 for the witness of the Holy Spirit. The writer based his entire argument on his understanding that the Old Testament was inspired by the Holy Spirit.

In Heb. 3.7, he said again:

Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, To-day if ye shall hear his voice,...

The quotation in Hebrews comes from the Old Testament, in Ps. 95.7, which was inspired by the Holy Spirit, just as the book of Hebrews was. Similarly, in II Pet. 1.21, Peter said:

For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

Here Peter affirmed that the Holy Spirit moved men to prophesy in the Old Testament in the same fashion as he did the prophets in the New Testament. Jesus even claimed such in Mt. 22.41-44:

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet?

Jesus claimed that the Holy Spirit moved David to call his own son “Lord” or the Messiah. Thus, Jesus understood that the Holy Spirit dictated the prophet David's words, just as he inspired the apostles' teaching in the New Testament.

Obviously, serious students cannot afford to neglect the seventy-five percent of inspired teaching found in the Old Testament.

Christians Need to Imitate Believers in the New Testament

Second, Christians need to be serious students of the Old Testament to imitate Christians of the first century. Many nondenominational Christians today claim they are imitating New Testament Christians in their local church organization, doctrine, worship, work, and treatment of each other. However, if they do not imitate the early Christians in their attitude and conduct toward the Old Testament, they fail in their imitation of the New Testament way of Christ. Jesus taught the Jews, who became the first Christians, from the Old Testament. For example, after Jesus' resurrection, he appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They didn't recognize him, so they conversed with Jesus as they would any stranger. In Lk. 24.13-27, we read:

And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem. And they communed with each other of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, while they communed and questioned together, that Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk? And they stood still, looking sad. And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said unto him, Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel. Yea and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass. Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb; and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. [Emphasis mine-SGD]

Notice that Jesus instructed these Jewish disciples out of Old Testament texts that they were familiar with. Had we been walking with these three, would we have shared their background in the Old Testament, so we could appreciate who Jesus really was? If not, that's just how far we are from being like Christians in the New Testament.

The apostles and prophets in the first century taught from the Old Testament, as well. In Ac. 15.13-16, James taught his brethren, including the apostles, concerning the place of circumcision of the Gentiles in the Messiah's kingdom, and he did it from the Old Testament:

And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me: Symeon [Peter-SGD] hath rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up:…

This account gives three proofs that the gospel was to be taken to the Gentiles without binding circumcision on them. This is significant because not only does the Bible teach in these three ways, but also all literature teaches in these three ways, including the Sears Catalog. First, Peter gave a necessary implication (an inescapable conclusion) that God had approved of his preaching to Gentiles without binding circumcision (by the miracles which he performed by God's power). Second, Paul and Barnabas reported to the church their example of preaching to Gentiles without binding circumcision on them. Third, James cinched the teaching by giving a direct statement from the Old Testament concerning Gentiles coming into the kingdom. How would that have set with us? Would we have believed James? Or would we have reacted as many today, “We would be better off if we didn't even have the Old Testament?” Hopefully, not. The Old Testament was greatly important to even Gentile Christians in the New Testament because it helped determine whether or not they needed to be circumcised.

Today, we encounter Christians who want to study Revelation without properly preparing from the Old Testament. Their demand compares to a second grader, who has just learned to add two and two, wanting to study algebra because he's tired of arithmetic. Algebra books weren't written for students who just learned how to add, and Revelation wasn't written to Christians who knew only the ABCs of the New Testament. Revelation was written to the seven churches of Asia, which were composed of both Jewish and Gentile Christians who understood the Old Testament. Their knowledge of the Old Testament allowed John to write the book in a special code that gave them encouragement, but their enemies, who were persecuting them, couldn't understand it.

Without that same background, Christians today are no more prepared to receive the message of that great book than were the enemies of first-century Christians from which Revelation's message was hidden. Their lack of knowledge of the Old Testament makes them potential dupes for just about any false private theory of Revelation that comes along. It's ironic that in this regard such Christians imitate the enemies of first-century Christians more than the Christians of that time. Surely, we can see that it's impossible to be like Christians in the New Testament without sharing their Old Testament knowledge.

The Old Testament Is Profitable for Doctrine, Reproof, and Correction

Third, Christians today need to be serious Old Testament students because it's profitable for doctrine, reproof, and correction. In II Tim. 3.16-17, Paul said:

Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

Paul affirmed that “every” scripture is profitable, not just those of the New Testament, but the Old Testament, too. In Rom. 15.4 the same apostle said:

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope.

So the things written aforetime in the Old Testament were written for the learning of Christians in the New Testament. They were written to be learned, to produce hope and encouragement. The most familiar verse on the relation of the Old Testament to Christians is found in I Cor. 10.1-11:

For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual food; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ. Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured, and perished by the destroyer. Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.

While we appreciate Paul's emphasizing the importance of the Old Testament examples against personal frailties, those ancient examples form most of the Bible's teaching by example. Were we students of the New Testament alone, we would have precious few examples of the people of God to learn from, perhaps less than ten percent of what we now have. This demonstrates the great importance of the Old Testament to New Testament Christians.

Thus, we read in Lev. 10.1-2:

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before Jehovah, which he had not commanded them. And there came forth fire from before Jehovah, and devoured them, and they died before Jehovah.

These sons of Aaron the High Priest were prominent men in Israel, and when they offered a sacrifice “which he had not commanded them,” God took their lives. What does this example teach? Before we answer, consider what occurs when we buy and remodel a house, either by adding or subtracting features from it. We always change it to make the house better, not worse. No one ever noticed an exception to this principle. Likewise, consider why a woman modifies a recipe. As she reads through the recipe, she decides that since the original recipe omitted a certain ingredient, she will add it. Why does she change the recipe? To make the dish worse, or better? Without exception, the only reason we change recipes is to make them better.

Why do you suppose Aaron's sons changed God's recipe for sacrifices? Were they imposters, surreptitiously trying to sabotage the worship of God? Of course not. All the evidence shows they were sincerely striving to enhance the worship of God and make it better. This Old Testament example teaches that when we take it upon ourselves to make the worship of God better than what he commanded, God doesn't appreciate such arrogance.

In the familiar story of Saul in I Samuel 15, God commanded the king to destroy the Amalekites, and reduce the whole people to destruction. This Saul did except that he diverted some of the best animals to sacrifice to God. In vv. 17-23, the prophet Samuel revealed to Saul (and to us) God's reaction to these sacrifices Saul wanted to offer:

And Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel, and the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, `Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.' “Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”

Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

And Samuel said:

"Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.” [Emphasis mine-SGD]

God, speaking through his prophet Samuel, told us exactly what he thinks forever of those who change or originate procedures for honoring him. God wants obedience more than our own conjured-up sacrifices. When we change the recipe, God said it's as the sin of divination, purely human worship, and insubordination, or rebellion against God. Such attitudes toward God resulted in Saul losing his kingship.

Is there any use for this example to Christians? We can clearly know what God thinks of such insubordination in our time, can't we?

One last example from the Old Testament is Num. 24.13 where God's prophet Balaam said to an ungodly king who was trying to bribe him to curse an enemy:

Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the command of the Lord, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the Lord speaks, that I will speak.

On this occasion the wicked king attempted to get Balaam to do something bad, i.e., curse his enemy, but Balaam's answer revealed that he wouldn't do anything, good or bad, of his own accord.

Examples like these help us understand New Testament passages that teach the same principle. In II Jn. 9, John said:

Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son.

The words translated “transgresseth” (KJV) or “goeth onward” mean “to step over a boundary.” John insisted that when we step over the boundary of Christ's teaching we have not God; we are no longer in fellowship with God, and he no longer dwells in us. (For a complete discussion of this passage, see Appendix 4, “II John 9 and the Teaching of Christ,” of the author's book Fellowship: With God and His People, The Way of Christ Without Denominationalism.) More than that, the examples of the Old Testament help Christians understand that this teaching is not new.

Likewise, in I Pet. 4.11, Peter said:

...if any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. [Emphasis mine-SGD]

We glorify God when we use Bible language to describe our beliefs and service as he prescribed in his word. When we barge outside his word to do things of our own accord, God is not glorified by our insubordination.

Another passage indicates that the Old Testament is even more profitable for New Testament Christians than it was for the Jews to whom it was originally given. Consider carefully I Pet. 1.10-12, where Peter said:

Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angels desire to look into.

Notice that Peter said that the Old Testament prophets revealed their prophecies “not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things.” This “not<193>but” construction is a form of ellipsis which has the literal meaning of “not only”...“but also” with the emphasis on the second item. Thus, Peter taught that the Old Testament prophets gave their teaching “not only” for themselves and the people of their time, “but also” for New Testament Christians, and mainly for New Testament Christians. In other words, Isaiah's teaching was more for us than for the Jews of his time. So with the teaching of Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, etc. We could hardly be more wrong than to think that the Old Testament is not tremendously important to us. (For a further discussion of this form of ellipsis, please see Chapter 17, “Ellipsis: Speaking Where the Bible Is Silent.”)

Christians Are Commanded to Study the Old Testament

Fourth, New Testament Christians ought to be serious students of the Old Testament because we're plainly commanded to study it. In II Pet. 3.2, Peter said:

...that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandments of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles:...

In II Pet. 1.19, he said:

And we have the word of prophecy made more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts:...

Speaking of Old Testament prophecies, Peter affirmed that we have something even more surely than the Old Testament people of God did. We not only have the prophecies, we have the prophecies along with their fulfillments! Thus, Peter demonstrated that we should take heed unto those Old Testament teachings. These are passages Christians must obey or be in rebellion.

What Are Old Testament Christians?

Fifth, we might think that there is no such thing as an Old Testament Christian, but there most certainly is. We should be serious students of the Old Testament because Christians are mentioned so much in it. That's correct-Christ's New Testament people are described in prophetic statements. We understand that Christ was foretold and depicted in the Old Testament. We can examine those prophecies, and if Jesus doesn't fit the inspired descriptions, he was an imposter. The same is true of us. Just as the Old Testament bore witness of Jesus, it also bears witness of Christians. We are also portrayed in the Old Testament, and if examination shows that we don't fit the Old Testament's profile of the Messiah's people, we are the imposters, and not the true Christians of prophesy.

Old Testament Christians Are Thoroughly Acquainted with God

Jeremiah, in Jer. 31.31-34, prophesied that the Messiah's people would be thoroughly acquainted with God:

Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

In the Old Testament, one didn't have to be thoroughly acquainted with God before being in covenant relationship with him. For example, a Jewish baby was born in covenant relationship with God knowing nothing of God. Later on, he became familiar with God as he learned what the covenant was, what his responsibilities were, etc. Not so in the way of Christ. We must first be disciples, students, even before we obey the gospel and become Christians as Jeremiah prophesied. This is an argument against sprinkling infants, who do not know God, to bring them into fellowship with God. In Jn. 6.44-45, Jesus said:

No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me.

After saying that God must draw an individual to himself before he can come to Christ, Jesus explained from the Old Testament prophets how God draws a person, by his being taught the gospel. The way of Christ is a religion that is taught, then learned. Babies are neither taught nor do they learn.

Jeremiah also said that the Messiah's people would have God's law on their hearts. Is that true of you and me, or is the law still on the pages of the book of God, and the book on the shelf? If God's law isn't on our heart, we're not the caliber of people prophesied of in the Old Testament.

In I Pet. 3.15, Peter instructed Christians:

...but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:...

A good test for finding out if God's law is on our heart is to ask ourselves if we can obey this command. Can we give answer to every man concerning our hope in Christ? Many times Christians can quote statistics on baseball, basketball, cars, etc., but not on matters related to their faith. If that is our problem, then God's law is not in our heart, and we're not the kind of Christians foretold in the Old Testament.

Old Testament Christians Offer Themselves Willingly

In Ps. 110.1-4, an entirely Messianic psalm, the Messiah's people, Christians, are spoken of in this way:

Jehovah saith unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people offer themselves willingly in the day of thy power, in holy array: out of the womb of the morning Thou hast the dew of thy youth. Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Christians are described as those who “offer themselves willingly” for the Messiah's service. This characteristic again shows the impropriety of infant sprinkling, as infants are not offering themselves willingly. Christians are not forced, browbeaten, or badgered into obeying, attending the services of the local church, or participating in its work. If they are, God doesn't desire their service. God is only glorified if people deliberately use their free will to choose to serve him. We are to be as Isaiah was when he answered God's quest for a faithful worker: “Here I am, send me” (Isa. 6.8). Does that fit you and me? Do we volunteer freely to serve Christ? Do we do what we have the opportunity and ability to do? If not, that's just how far we are from being Old Testament Christians, i.e., Christians prophesied in the Old Testament.

Old Testament Christians Lose Their Animal Nature in Christ

Isaiah prophesied of New Testament Christians, in Isa. 11.6-10, when he foretold of the lion and the lamb lying down together in the Messiah's kingdom:

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious.

Premillennialists view this passage as unfulfilled because they don't see literal wolves dwelling with literal lambs. Thus, they falsely conclude that the Messiah's kingdom is not in place, but will be established when he comes again. They're looking for entirely the wrong kind of kingdom. Paul quoted verse 10 of Isaiah's prophecy as fulfilled in Rom. 15.12 where the “root of Jesse,” Jesus, is ruling over the Gentiles. Paul wasn't speaking of literal animals getting along with each other, but of Christians who lost their animal nature in Christ, so that natural enmities between Jewish and Gentile Christians were done away because of their knowledge of God. Paul referred to this same process in Eph. 2.16-17 when he spoke of Jews and Gentiles in Christ:

...and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and he came and preached peace to you that were far off [Gentiles-SGD], and peace to them that were nigh [Jews-SGD]:...

These verses describe how in Christ both Jews and Gentiles lost their animal nature, their natural ferociousness toward each other, as a result of the knowledge of Jehovah. In my years of preaching, I had the opportunity to encounter many examples of such “animals” lying down together in the kingdom of Christ.

I recall preaching in the mid 80s in a community far from where I lived. Early in the week, I met an ex-Hell's Angel (a member of a California motorcycle gang not known for its sensitivity and gentleness), and a deputy sheriff in the same congregation. They didn't know each other's background until I had gotten acquainted with them both and later brought it to their attention.

They discovered that they had both fought in some of the same riots in southern California. The deputy sheriff related how he had kicked members of the Hell's Angels until he was too tired to kick any more. The member of the Hell's Angels described the tricks they used to beat up the deputy sheriffs. The more they visited, the more it appeared that they had actually fought with each other. Yet, as a result of the knowledge of Jehovah, they were laboring together in a local church. They had both lost their animal nature in Christ. Such cases rarely occur outside the kingdom of the Messiah.

On another occasion, I encountered a Hispanic Christian and a Negro Christian in the same congregation. Hispanics and Negroes aren't renowned for getting along together, but these two Christians fully appreciated each other. As a matter of fact, the Hispanic was a police officer, and he told a story of a Negro suspect running away from him to a white police officer, saying, “There's a Mexican chasing me!” Both of these brethren could laugh at that story, and became good friends and co-workers in the same local church. They exemplified Christians who had lost their adversarial nature in Christ, as outside of Christ, they might have assaulted each other over that same story. Isaiah's prophecy depicted this type of Christians.

In another state, I met a national executive with a major petroleum corporation working in the same congregation as an environmental activist who was a professor at a major university. In fact, these two men served as pillars in the congregation. Normally, environmental activists and petroleum-company executives don't “lie down together,” as relations aren't generally peaceful between them. However, as a result of the knowledge of Jehovah, they worked together in the kingdom of God.

If we can't be in fellowship with a former horrible sinner, one of another race, or one of a widely different background, we're not Old Testament Christians. We're not the caliber of people Isaiah prophesied of and described. We haven't lost our animal nature in Christ. Isaiah's description will fit us if we're Christians

Old Testament Christians Renounce the World

Another Messianic psalm, Ps 45.10-11, contains a song celebrating our king's marriage:

Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear;
Forget your people and your father's house;
Then the King will desire your beauty;
Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.

These verses describe the Messiah's marriage. In verse 6, we see that the king is deity, a passage quoted and applied to Christ in Heb. 1.5, 8-9. As the psalmist described the Messiah's bride, he referred to New Testament Christians, us! In verse 10, he told the king's bride to “forget your people and your father's house.” This is what any spiritual bride ought to do-leave her father and mother, her old spiritual family. As a result, verse 11 says she will be the king's desire, because she has given herself totally to the king.

This, of course, is what the New Testament requires of the Messiah's people-total dedication. Jesus said it this way in Mt. 10.34-37:

Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Jesus said it this way in Lk. 14.26:

If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Sometimes people struggle with this verse, thinking Jesus requires us to despise our relatives. They fail to realize that the general meaning of the word “hate” is “to love less.” Jesus does require that we love everything and everybody on earth less than we love him. If we don't, we love him less, or hate him! Not only are we not his disciples if we fail to renounce the world, but we are not Old Testament Christians, either, as total dedication to him is required.

Old Testament Christians Give Their Possessions to God

In Zech. 14.20, a prophecy describes how New Testament Christians will use their possessions:

In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the Lord's house will be like the bowls before the altar. And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day.

In Mosaic temple service, everything-the high priest, sacrifices, temple utensils-everything was dedicated to God. This prophecy says “in that day,” in the Messiah's time, our time, everything will be dedicated to God. In Ex. 10.24-26, we read an example of this in the account of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. When Pharaoh finally said they could go if only they would leave their flocks and herds in Egypt, Moses gave his famous answer:

...You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice them to the Lord our God. Therefore, our livestock, too, will go with us; not a hoof will be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the Lord our God.

The expression “not a hoof will be left behind” refers to the most useless part that glue is made from. Yet Moses said, “We're going to use everything, even the least useful things, our trinkets, to serve our God.” This should be true in the reign of the Messiah-even our little trinkets are dedicated to God.

Do we live up to the prophecy of Zechariah? Is it true of you? Me? If not, that's just how far we are from being the Messiah's people.

The Old Testament contains many other prophecies of New Testament Christians. Perhaps this sampling will help convince us all that the Old Testament is of tremendous importance to New Testament Christians because it describes how we should think and act.

Christians Are Not Perfectly Furnished Without the Old Testament

Sixth, in II Tim. 3.16-17, we find that Christians are not complete if they ignore the Old Testament:

Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

In order for us to be completely furnished unto everything God wants us to be and do, we must use all scripture, both the Old and New Testaments. For some, this statement causes a problem. One says, “Can't I learn what I need to know to become a Christian with just the New Testament?” The answer, of course, is yes.

Another asks, “Can't we determine what the work of the local church is with only the New Testament?” The answer, again, is yes. Yet Paul said that when one studies just the New Testament, he's missing a lot of teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction which is in righteousness. As a result, without the Old Testament, he's not furnished completely unto every good work.

If challenged, “Tell me how we're not complete or fully qualified to serve God without the Old Testament,” we rapidly answer that we cannot fully understand the New Testament without a working knowledge of the Old Testament. How many times does the New Testament say, “that it might be fulfilled which was written<193>”? In Appendix 1, “Old Testament Passages Quoted in the New Testament,” we'll see that this happens literally hundreds of times. Some of the most important passages in the entire Bible, these scriptures give an inspired commentary on other Bible passages.

As someone well said, “The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed; the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed.” This is the essence of Paul's comment in Rom. 16.25-26:

Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith:...

Thus, God's mystery, his plan from all eternity to save man in Christ, was concealed in the Old Testament, and is now revealed in the New Testament. In Ac. 3.24, Peter said in the second gospel sermon ever preached:

Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days.

Peter's statement implies that the Old Testament prophets foretold of the rule of Christ, the New Testament age. So without a sound Old Testament background, we are wholly unqualified to be serious students of the New Testament, and we are incomplete as Christians.

Conclusion

Contrary to the common assertion, “The Old Testament is insignificant; we don't need to pay attention to it,” in this chapter we've examined six principles from the New Testament that emphasize the importance of the Old Testament to Christians. Without knowledge of the Old Testament, we're not complete or fully equipped to understand the New Testament or to serve God. In further chapters, we'll include the Old Testament in developing a plan for Bible study as we have already deliberated on developing an overall view of the Bible.

This chapter is available at the website: gospelthemes.com.

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Rights Notice

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Copyright

All Old Testament scripture quotations are taken from The New American Standard Bible, © 1960-1977 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All New Testament scripture quotations are taken from The American Standard Version New Testament, © 1901, 1929 Thomas Nelson and Sons. All rights reserved.

Chapter 6, "The Importance of the Old Testament to New Testament Christians," comes from the book How to Study the Bible: A Practical Guide to Independent Bible Study by Samuel G. Dawson © 2005 by Samuel G. Dawson and Patsy Rae Dawson. Used by permission of publisher.

ISBN 978-0-938855-63-7

Publisher

Gospel Themes Press
2028 South Austin Street Suite 906
Amarillo, TX 79109-1960 USA

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How to Study the Bible
A Practical Guide to
Independent Bible Study

Samuel G. Dawson

This book will open up the scriptures to you,
highlight God's consistency and love for mankind,
and help you learn independently of preachers and clergy.

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How to Study the Bible will help you:

• be a serious disciple or student of God's word, so you can adhere to that teaching and bear fruit
• recognize the Bible's guarantee that you can understand it
• understand the Bible for yourself, with no denominational allegiance
• develop an overall view of the Bible
• consider habits which will aid your understanding
• rid yourself of practices which hinder your understanding
• investigate the differences in Bible translations
• appreciate many aids which will help you in more serious study
• learn common-sense principles of interpretation
• realize the power of figurative language
• explore the importance of studying the Old Testament in order to understand the New
• discover an orderly plan for studying all the books of the Bible
• determine when to study topics vs. the books of the Bible
• help your congregation develop an orderly plan for teaching all of the Bible
• manage the growth of your two reservoirs of Bible knowledge
• deal forthrightly with difficult passages in the Bible
• find commercial and free Bible software to aid your study
• study the Bible in the original languages it was written in, if you desire

How to Study the Bible is ideal for individual study, preaching, elders,
classes, personal evangelism, new converts, and gifts.

Click here for detailed information about How to Study the Bible: A Practical Guide to Independent Bible Study.

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Check out these free online booklets that demonstrate how important it is to study the Old Testament:

• Old Testament Passages Quoted in the New Testament
  The New Testament quotes or alludes to 300 Old Testament passages. Jesus and his apostles frequently quoted from the Old Testament. Those New Testament quotes provide some of the most valuable and interesting verses in all the Bible, for two reasons. The New Testament quotes give God-approved commentaries on the Old Testament. Likewise, the Old Testament passages shed light on the meanings of difficult New Testament verses. This chapter tells where all the Old Testament passages are found in the New Testament and offers a procedure for making it easy to recognize them. (Appendix 1 from the book How to Study the Bible: A Practical Guide to Independent Bible Study.)

• Matthew 24-25: Destruction of Jerusalem vs. Final Judgment
  Matthew 24-25 is one of the most difficult, perplexing, abused, and misapplied passages in the Bible. It suffers the most speculative interpretations and many false doctrines about a final return of Christ rest upon it. For example, the Worldwide Church of God and Jehovah's Witnesses use Matthew 24-25 to substantiate their false teachings. It is also the basis for Hal Lindsay's popular Late Great Planet Earth. (Chapter 10 from the book The Teaching of Jesus: From Mount Sinai to Gehenna: A Faithful Rabbi Urgently Warns Rebellious Israel)

• II Peter 3: Destruction of Jerusalem or Destruction of the Universe?
  A verse-by-verse study of II Peter 3 shows how our ignorance of the Old Testament often causes us to jump to false conclusions about this important chapter. While many people believe this chapter deals with the destruction of the universe, the author proves that it prophesies about the destruction of Jerusalem. (Appendix 1 from the book The Teaching of Jesus: From Mount Sinai to Gehenna: A Faithful Rabbi Urgently Warns Rebellious Israel)

Do you want to study more about our misconceptions about the teaching of Jesus and judgment language that stems from our ignorance of the Old Testament? Place an order.

Would you like to see more of Samuel G. Dawson's publications? Visit our Bookstore and Free Online Materials. Return to top.

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