Focus of Christians???

[ByTheSpirit]

As a church, should believers focus most their time and efforts on studying the Old Testament, the New Testament, or should there me a balance struck between the two?

What reasons would you give for your answer?

 

[Tree of Life]

As a church, should believers focus most their time and efforts on studying the Old Testament, the New Testament, or should there me a balance struck between the two?

Reason for asking is I know a church nearby that teaches and preaches probably 80-85% of the time out of the Old Testament.

Certainly some balance should be struck. We should try to preach the whole Bible in some regular and systematic manner. But since roughly 75% of Scripture is found in the OT, 80% is not far off. Maybe they should preach from the NT a little more.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Certainly some balance should be struck. We should try to preach the whole Bible in some regular and systematic manner. But since roughly 75% of Scripture is found in the OT, 80% is not far off. Maybe they should preach from the NT a little more.

Perhaps a good balance would be to preach from the Old and use the New as a supplement, or even a divinely inspired commentary of sorts. I guess the NT authors used the Old Saints to make their point in many instances.

 

[CrystalDragon]

As a church, should believers focus most their time and efforts on studying the Old Testament, the New Testament, or should there me a balance struck between the two?

Reason for asking is I know a church nearby that teaches and preaches probably 80-85% of the time out of the Old Testament.

They probably skip over the nasty "keep the virgins alive for yourselves", and "I will make you eat the flesh of your sons and daughters" parts though, I assume.

 

[brinny]

As a church, should believers focus most their time and efforts on studying the Old Testament, the New Testament, or should there me a balance struck between the two?

Reason for asking is I know a church nearby that teaches and preaches probably 80-85% of the time out of the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is the bottom line "foundation" of the New Testament. Look who's in it....

Elijah, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, David, Ruth, Rahab, Job, Deborah, Gideon, Boaz, Jabez, Hannah, and so many others. And look at the book of Isaiah. God is pouring out His heart all in that one. He tells widows and those rejected by their husbands (the outcasts) the HE, the living God, the God of Israel, is their Husband (in chapter 54).

It's like spiritual vitamins to delve into the Old Testament and gain a solid foundation in it. It's history. God's own history. It has God's promises, that begin right in the book of Genesis. And look at THIS promise. It's simultaneously DELIGHTFUL and eye-opening:

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." ~Jeremiah 33:3

This means that when we delve into "dig" into His Word, "calling unto" Him, "seeking Him" so to speak, His precious Holy Spirit WILL "teach us", as it is written, and "show us" (open our eyes) to what we didn't notice or "see" before (will SHOW us things we knew not). It's as if those words will be "illuminated".

In addition, in the Old Testament, where would you find God's own description of Job, and how it ties right into a verse in Proverbs like a puzzle piece fitting together to the book of Job, and is the "key" to understanding the entire book of Job?

The Old Testament is like that "hidden treasure" that is spoken of and is a prerequisite to understanding the New Testament.

 

[SkyWriting]

As a church, should believers focus most their time and efforts on studying the Old Testament, the New Testament, or should there me a balance struck between the two?

Reason for asking is I know a church nearby that teaches and preaches probably 80-85% of the time out of the Old Testament.

Matthew 7:12
In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you.
For this is the essence of the Law and the prophets.

Galatians 5:14
The entire Law is fulfilled in a single decree:
"Love your neighbor as yourself."

MAT 22:39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 All the Law and the Prophets” depend on these two commandments.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

The Old Testament is the bottom line "foundation" of the New Testament. Look who's in it....

Elijah, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, David, Ruth, Rahab, Job, Deborah, Gideon, Boaz, Jabez, Hannah, and so many others. And look at the book of Isaiah. God is pouring out His heart all in that one. He tells widows and those rejected by their husbands (the outcasts) the HE, the living God, the God of Israel, is their Husband (in chapter 54).

It's like spiritual vitamins to delve into the Old Testament and gain a solid foundation in it. It's history. God's own history. It has God's promises, that begin right in the book of Genesis. And look at THIS promise. It's simultaneously DELIGHTFUL and eye-opening:

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." ~Jeremiah 33:3

This means that when we delve into "dig" into His Word, "calling unto" Him, "seeking Him" so to speak, His precious Holy Spirit WILL "teach us", as it is written, and "show us" (open our eyes) to what we didn't notice or "see" before (will SHOW us things we knew not). It's as if those words will be "illuminated".

In addition, in the Old Testament, where would you find God's own description of Job, and how it ties right into a verse in Proverbs like a puzzle piece fitting together to the book of Job, and is the "key" to understanding the entire book of Job?

The Old Testament is like that "hidden treasure" that is spoken of and is a prerequisite to understanding the New Testament.

I certainly do not disagree that the Old is not needed, just wondering how much of a balance needs to be struck between the two. Like I commented on the other here, perhaps the New can be used as a "divinely inspired commentary" of the Old.

 

[Tigger45]

The OT foreshadows the NT and should be used to support the NT in 'its' fullest expression.

 

[brinny]

I certainly do not disagree that the Old is not needed, just wondering how much of a balance needs to be struck between the two. Like I commented on the other here, perhaps the New can be used as a "divinely inspired commentary" of the Old.

The New Testament is a "continuation" of the Old Testament, so to speak. God's promises are all throughout the Old Testament. The new Testament is the un-folding of those promises....the fulfillment of the promises spoken of in the Old Testament.

Both are "puzzle pieces" that fit together exquisitely.

It "balances itself" out.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Reason for asking is I know a church nearby that teaches and preaches probably 80-85% of the time out of the Old Testament.

This is bad news, in my opinion. I have noticed this trend as well, and among a fairy large section of Christianity unfortunately. To me it represents a failure to accurately understand the New Testament, and how much stronger the teachings are there than in the Old.

This is not to downplay the importance of Old Testament scriptures at all, but the real power in the Old Testament is where is sheds light on the New. The NEW is where Jesus was trying to get His people to, and many are still stuck in the Old without even realizing it.

That having been said, I don't think there should be a balance between Old and New. I think the ratio should be more like 80% New to 20% Old to attain a good "balance."

Don't mean to start an argument with anyone since we're all brothers and sisters in Christ, and do at least all agree we should be reading the Book He gave us. I'm just saying the emphasis is entirely wrong. The Old Testament was a book of fleshly promises given to a fleshly people that merely reflected the spiritual promises God would give a spiritual people by means of foreshadowings and typology. We should be focused on the spiritual now, and reference the fleshly only as it points to the spiritual prophetically.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

I personally think some aspects of the Old are certainly relavent even today... the Psalms, Proverbs, the prophets even. The hostory books of the Old are just that, history. Not unreliable but meant to teach lessons through the lives of the people that lived. IMHO

Romans 15:4 ESV For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

 

[1213]

As a church, should believers focus most their time and efforts on studying the Old Testament, the New Testament, ...

The teachings of Jesus rise from OT and are explained in NT. I think both are useful and important. But if people want to be disciples of Jesus (“Christian”), it would be reasonable to focus especially to what Jesus taught.

 

[bbbbbbb]

I personally think some aspects of the Old are certainly relavent even today... the Psalms, Proverbs, the prophets even. The hostory books of the Old are just that, history. Not unreliable but meant to teach lessons through the lives of the people that lived. IMHO

Romans 15:4 ESV For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

I attend a church that prides itself on its comprehensive coverage of the Bible. However, by far the majority of teaching is from the New Testament. Old Testament books get much less comprehensive coverage than NT books, primarily because many of them are lengthy. There seems to be a genuine disdain of the Psalms except for a handful of extremely overused Psalms.

 

[Phil 1:21]

Our church preaches about 50-50 from the OT and NT. If you don't understand the OT, you can't fully understand the NT.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

I certainly don't mind a good mix of Old v New but as @Hidden In Him posted, we should focus more on the New IMHO. It is a better Covenant with relevant truths. The Old is not bad, its teachings though need to be interpreted in light of New Covenant teachings.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Speaking as a Lutheran:

All reading and study and use of Scripture ought to be for the edification of the Faithful and to place the focus on Jesus. It is Christ who is the focus, not the Bible, the Bible directs our focus to Him not to itself. Proper reading and use of Scripture means to rightly divide between Law and Gospel, to properly preach Law as Law and Gospel as Gospel.

Should our focus be on the Old Testament or the New Testament? Well our focus should be on Jesus, our use of Scripture should serve that purpose. If that isn't what we're doing then we're using and reading the Bible wrong.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Halbhh]

Christ said:

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

So you won't make it unless you learn and do the words of Christ in your life, He said!

I think that makes the priority very clear.

Most people even in churches don't know much of what are in the Gospels!

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

But without the content of the gospels applied in their lives, they are not likely to survive in faith.

 

[brinny]

Our church preaches about 50-50 from the OT and NT. If you don't understand the OT, you can't fully understand the NT.

By golly, i gotta agree with ya' here.

(i nearly fell off me chair) LOL!

 

[Halbhh]

Our church preaches about 50-50 from the OT and NT. If you don't understand the OT, you can't fully understand the NT.

Sure. But first things first -- Matthew 7:24-27.

 

[brinny]

JayW said: ↑
Our church preaches about 50-50 from the OT and NT. If you don't understand the OT, you can't fully understand the NT.

Sure. But first things first -- Matthew 7:24-27.

Would you care to elaborate?

As a side note, how familiar are you with the Old Testament, brother?

Thank you kindly.