OT NT

Tellyontellyon said:

Hi... I'm still searching and not settled yet.

Can i ask.. how do Christians read the OT? How do you approach it? What should a Christian have in mind when going through the OT.
How important is it to read the OT for Christians?

Thank you.

Click to expand...

I believe we won’t be able to understand the NT without studying the OT. Theres about 300 direct quotes and well over 1000 references. Jesus quoted the OT and told us man should live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God Mat4:4 and without the OT, no one would be able to understand the symbols in the book of Revelation, so I say its very important. I would recommend praying first before reading ask and for wisdom James 1:5 and read with an open heart of just wanting to understand the will of God and be open to making changes accordingly. Start with Genesis and keep reading. It took me about three times of reading the Bible cover to cover to see how everything is so interconnected and layers upon layers. I learn something new or see a connection I never saw before all the time. The Bible is a masterpiece and really the light to our path Psa119:105. One thing to keep in mind the bible is not written in chronological order, it often repeats and enlarges or zooms in more details of the same story. I love the OT stories of Creation, Abraham, Issac and Jacob, you can see Christ so plainly in them but especially in Joseph. Moses and the story of the wilderness is really an allegory for us.

God bless!

Tellyontellyon said:

Hi... I'm still searching and not settled yet.

Can i ask.. how do Christians read the OT? How do you approach it? What should a Christian have in mind when going through the OT.
How important is it to read the OT for Christians?

Thank you.

Click to expand...

In a nutshell, just keep in mind that the main thing the O.T. provides, all through its Ancient Near-eastern paradigm, is a prophetic, messianic background for the N.T. (all of which points to Jesus as the fulfillment).

When the old testament (covenant or contract) was established with the nation of Israel it was with the purpose of their being a nation of priests to bring the knowledge of God to the whole world. Most of the Old Testament is a record of the repeated failures of the nation to fulfill the promise their ancestors made.

In the Old Testament are promises of a new covenant that would be given to the nation in the future. The gospel portion of the New Testament describes Jesus offering to the nation of Israel the earthly kingdom as promised. The gospel (good news) of the kingdom was not received by most. The book of Acts describes the decreasing possibility of Israel reviving the kingdom at that time.

The boo of Acts also describes the call of Paul to be an apostle to the gentiles. The gospel of grace for the gentiles was not revealed in the past because Israel was given the opportunity to receive their earthly kingdom.

The new testament (covenant or contract) with Israel has not yet been established. It will be when a surviving faithful remnant of Israel receives the return of Jesus and the earthly kingdom is established. This will be at the end of a seven year period of tribulation.

Tellyontellyon said:

Hi... I'm still searching and not settled yet.

Can i ask.. how do Christians read the OT? How do you approach it? What should a Christian have in mind when going through the OT.
How important is it to read the OT for Christians?

Thank you.

Click to expand...

The OT begins the story of Redemption, which was God's plan from the very beginning, and the reason (redemption and its end-result) for him to create in the first place. The whole thing, OT and NT, is the Gospel. The infinite difference and distance between God and man, and between holiness and sin, was overcome by God himself dying in our place, instead of rectifying the horror of that blemish on his perfect creation by zapping us into oblivion. He caused that difference to be, and he accomplished his purposes by use of it. (See Acts 2:23)

If a Christian must (or should) read the OT with something in mind, I suggest reading it looking for God's purposes and for his nature. And you didn't ask this, but I suggest reading very large amounts at a sitting, to get a feel for whole books and whole themes—not to avoid particular things from your notice, but for larger matters to come clear, for example, God's tender care in the face of his omnipotent absolute purity. If you are like me, you will even begin to see cross-references that aren't in any textbook—"this" over here in this book sounding like "that" over there in that other book. You will see a consistent God throughout, who has every reason to accomplish what he set out to do from the beginning, and does not change, and THAT being the whole of history.

Creation is not a fact into which God must fit himself. It was made by him for his purposes, and he is pervasive throughout it. It is not just developing and evolving on its own. HE is driving it. To get an idea of his power, picture the universe swirling around his ankles. He's not just another fact within it. The universe is his doing, and it is reality because HE says so.

THAT is found in the Old Testament. And found in both the OT and NT is the amazement that that magnificent God should bother to make us, and the realization that he made us for HIS purposes, for himself. It shows us completely at his mercy, which, it turns out, is the ONLY safe place to be.

Tellyontellyon said:

Hi... I'm still searching and not settled yet.

Can i ask.. how do Christians read the OT? How do you approach it? What should a Christian have in mind when going through the OT.
How important is it to read the OT for Christians?

Thank you.

Click to expand...

The NT frequently quotes from the OT and it often presumes the reader understands the context for the OT quotes it gives. So reading the OT is very important for understanding the NT.

2 Tim 3:16 says ALL scripture is inspired by God and is to be used for doctrine... and at the time that the letter of 2 Timothy was written the term "scripture" was a reference to what we call the OT.