Articles
The Old Testament Scriptures
I grew up in an era when the Old Testament was considered null-and-void of any purpose at all. Sermons and classes, etc., were well limited to Matthew to Jude, Matthew to Jude, with little or no references to the Old Testament: except for the accidental (tongue and cheek), reading of such passages in the text of the Gospels or Epistles, solely based upon Paul’s revelation concerning the, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Even to this day the same mentality is used. Having the occasion to speak with an individual regarding the study of the scriptures the question was, “Have you ever read from the law and the prophets?” Answer: No. Thus, it is evident that the old approach to the Old Testament, i.e., It was blotted out and nailed to the cross, is still alive today.
That may seem a bit harsh, but the fact remains that a study of the Old Testament was, and is, frowned upon. The present consideration is to help the Bible student to understand what the Lord, and the apostles had to say about, and use of the Old Testament.
Before the Lord sent out the apostles, he had instructed them for approximately three years. Their responsibility was to “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15). The preaching would be accompanied by various applications of the “Old Testament” scriptures.
Following the resurrection, and the Lord’s ascension, He said to the apostles, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Lk. 24:44-49). The Lord, “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
When the apostle Paul, and his companions, arrived in Berea, “they went into the synagogue of the Jews… (who) received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:10-11).
Paul understood the importance of the knowledge contained in the Old Testament, which is evident, as he said, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Ross
- The_Old_Testament_Scriptures.pdf (38.42 kB)
