Should we read the Old Testament, New Testament or both?

There seems to be a significant misunderstanding concerning this issue. Those who don’t understand the Bible usually share the view that the NT has replaced the OT and everything within it no longer has effect, such as regarding the old laws and practices.

Before exploring this issue:

The Bible must be taken in its totality as the all encompassing Word of God. If you hold certain parts higher than others, then the reliability of the whole of it becomes questionable. First, it suggests that parts of the Word are not as important as others. If this is so, then the fact that these ‘unimportant’ sections were included in the Bible is evidence that the book is not the all-knowing, revelational and God-inspired text that it claims to be. Furthermore, who is to say what sections are important and what are not.

Second, 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us “16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible is an objective book that is relevant and will always be relevant to our world. What the Bible said in 1750 is the same as what the Bible says today. It does not change in accordance with man and culture, because God does not change (Hebrews 13:8). To claim certain parts of the Bible to be more important than others is to change the Word of God into a subjective book, meaning that it can be used to fit your own circumstances. If each person takes the book as subjective, then the interpretation of what it says would be based on each person’s personal experiences and emotions. If this were to happen, what the Bible says would become useless and powerless because everybody would tailor the book to fit his or her own life.

This is not the correct attitude towards the Word of God. We cannot treat it subjectively and try to place different interpretations on what it says in accordance with our culture or current situations.  Just because we have changed does not mean God has. We should not bring our personal emotions to the table of God. Remember, we are sinful. If our lives and thoughts do not match up to what the Bible says, this is to be expected. It is for us to seek God on His terms and based on His word. Not change what His word says to fit our own needs.

If you imagine the Bible as a road map to God, which in some ways it is, then by interpreting that map differently to what it says, or discounting certain parts of it as unimportant, it is inevitable that we will become lost and unable to find God. God is always in the same position. If we read His Word it will lead us to Him, but if we begin to change His Word to fit our lives then we will never find Him.

Today, if somebody reads a part of the Bible that they do not like they simply add an interpretation that allows them to continue to live the way they do without any feeling of guilt or accountability. Whether they discount the section all together or put forward some other argument like it being cultural or not read in context of history. Two points to note on this:

Firstly, as Christians; if you do this then you are doing exactly what those who don’t share a personal relationship with God are doing. Study Romans 1. Romans 1 tells us that we all have an innate knowledge of God. We all have a conscience. Our conscience is God-given and it tells us right from wrong. Those people who are wilfully living in acts of rebellion against God, those people who are wilfully living in sin know what they are doing is wrong. It is for this reason that you will notice that these people are constantly trying to justify their actions to make themselves feel better. Whether it is through doing charity work to make themselves appear good; bombarding and attacking the Bible because it offends them or; seeking accolade or praise from others (just watch the next Oscars and see how each celebrity sucks up and praises the other!). Stop and think for a second, do you not find it strange that the Bible offends atheists so much? Atheists spend their whole lives trying to remove the Bible from everyday life. Why is this? There are lots of enjoyable things to do on this earth. Why would anybody want to spend their life making themselves frustrated and angry by trying to disprove something that they don’t believe in anyway?! Stop and think again, why is it that these atheists who are so offended by the Bible, don’t seem to be so violent towards other religious texts, such as the Quran, or other religions such as Islam or Buddhism? Why would they be okay with those but be so against Christianity?

Second, trying to change what the Bible says to fit your own needs, or even to avoid offending somebody else is childish. As children we often became offended and angry when our parents told us off or corrected us. But that didn’t mean that that correction wasn’t good. On the contrary that correction was very good. The Bible tells us that a parent who loves their child corrects them. Proverbs 3:11 “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor detest His correction;12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.”

In the same way God our Father gives us correction. The advice he provides in His Word is for us to obey and prosper. Just because we don’t like it or we think it stops us from doing things we like doesn’t mean it is bad! How unstuck as a child would you have been if you had never been corrected or set straight by your Mum or Dad?

Another thing that a Christian might do is interpret the Bible in a way that makes it inoffensive to other people. Our job is to present the Word of God as it is. It is not our problem if people get offended. We didn’t write the book, we didn’t even contribute to writing it. So how dare we think we have any right to try and change it or ‘water it down’. Of course we all know some Christians who can be judgmental and hurtful to others because of their views; but this is a problem with the person, not a problem with the Bible.

We are sinful and God is perfect. It is inevitable that parts His Word will not match up with our life, but that is no excuse to discount the parts that don’t!

With regards to the OT: The OT is absolutely still relevant. If you don’t think it is then you do not understand the Word. For you see the NT is a book about the Lord Jesus who came to fulfil every law and every thing in the OT.

Romans 10:4  “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

Galatians 3:24 “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

Everything in the OT is still in effect today, unless it is said otherwise in the NT. For example, the practices regarding sacrificing animals is no longer in effect because today the Lord Jesus is our ultimate sacrifice and He died once, for all sins (Read Hebrews).

The rules on which foods are considered clean and which are considered unclean are no longer in effect because in the NT all foods where declared clean (Read Mark 7 and Acts 10:9-15).

The servants who served God in the camp of Israel are no longer serving Him there because through the Lords death, salvation became available to all. Now our service is conducted in our lives.

The NT is about how we should live. But it makes no sense at all unless we know why we should live. The OT tells us why we should live in the way that the NT tells us how.

Without the OT the NT is a book about how to live peacefully. With the OT the NT becomes a book about how we must be pure and put our trust in a Saviour who made atonement for our sin to stand before God. 

Without the OT the Lord Jesus is a leader who gained a lot of followers made a lot of claims and performed miracles. With the OT the Lord Jesus is the Saviour and the Son of God, who fulfilled every single prophecy that was written about Him in the Scriptures between 400 and 6,000 years before He came to this earth.

Without the OT most of what Jesus said in His time on earth wouldn’t have made sense. With the OT it becomes clear that this Rabbi not only understood the OT Scriptures, but also fulfilled every single religious law and prophecy made.

Without the OT we do not no why we need a Saviour. With the OT we know that we all fall short of the glory of God because it was to the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt that God gave the 10 commandments, which acts as a mirror to show us our sin (Read Galatians 3).

The OT tells us where we have been and where we are going. The NT addresses where we are now and tells us how to get to our destination.

On a whole the OT and NT must be read together in conjunction, as it is written and on the face of it. It is the only way. Of course this comes down to faith (Hebrews 11). If you do not have faith in the Lord then you will not have spiritual understanding to read the Bible in any depth.

1 Corinthians 2:9-12 9 But as it is written:“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

Of course the Holy Spirit can still speak to you through His Word, and indeed He does if you give Him a chance. If you are not a Christian I guarantee that any questions or curiosities you have about the Bible will be answered by reading it and asking for God to reveal Himself to you through it. But if you do have faith, then believe in what the Bible says, for it is the Word of God. Do not try to change it and certainly do not try to discount any part of it.

The Bible was here before you. Who are you to try and change it? Remember, as Ecclesiastes so aptly puts it as ‘there is nothing new under the sun’. Why does your opinion on interpretation of the Bible make a difference, when its texts have been studied and marvelled at over centuries? News flash: ‘you ain’t that special’. If this is offensive to you, then be encouraged! Despite your inadequacy, God loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for you, so that you can have a relationship with the Almighty God. How do I know this? Because I read about it in the Word of God!

1 John 3:20 “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”

I know that I am not special in myself. But it isn’t me that matters anyway. It is in the Lord that I put my trust and my strength. 2 Corinthians 12:10 “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

-BACChristian.