Do you have to believe/follow all of the old testament and new testament to be a Christian?

[Evanr1]

Hi Guys,

Do you have to believe/follow all of the old testament and new testament to be a Christian?

I believe there is a god and another side beyond that of the physical world. I believe that the gospel comes from a divine presence, and it has connected with me like no other text. I have not read all of the Old Testament recently like I have the gospels, but I skimmed some of it and I saw some strange things about sacrifices, I think of animals, for god. I think(could be wrong) that the Old Testament mentions "an eye for an eye", or essentially that it is fair to get revenge on people. Jesus then states not to get revenge and to love your enemy, going against the Old Testament. I also do not know the historical story of exactly where each part of the Old Testament came from, or if it is possible that some of it is true, and that pieces of it were added that were not true. Or where other bibles from other religions like islam came from.

Essentially, I undoubtedly believe in god, Jesus and the gospels but I am not sure if I take literally and believe every single word of the Old Testament, considering I don't really know where it all came from, and considering that jesus seemed to tell us that some of it was wrong(eye for an eye). I also think that evolution occurs to at least some degree, but that we were put here by god.

Am I still considered a Christian?

Also, please don't ask me what section of the bible exactly I got that information from because I don't have the sections. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Hi Guys,

Do you have to believe/follow all of the old testament and new testament to be a Christian?

I believe there is a god and another side beyond that of the physical world. I believe that the gospel comes from a divine presence, and it has connected with me like no other text. I have not read all of the Old Testament recently like I have the gospels, but I skimmed some of it and I saw some strange things about sacrifices, I think of animals, for god. I think(could be wrong) that the Old Testament mentions "an eye for an eye", or essentially that it is fair to get revenge on people. Jesus then states not to get revenge and to love your enemy, going against the Old Testament. I also do not know the historical story of exactly where each part of the Old Testament came from, or if it is possible that some of it is true, and that pieces of it were added that were not true. Or where other bibles from other religions like islam came from.

Essentially, I undoubtedly believe in god, Jesus and the gospels but I am not sure if I take literally and believe every single word of the Old Testament, considering I don't really know where it all came from, and considering that jesus seemed to tell us that some of it was wrong(eye for an eye). I also think that evolution occurs to at least some degree, but that we were put here by god.

Am I still considered a Christian?

Also, please don't ask me what section of the bible exactly I got that information from because I don't have the sections. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Most of the Old Testament is written for us rather than as direct instructions to us. We are to learn from it but not necessarily follow the example of the behaviour and conduct of those mentioned. When studying a section of either the Old or New Testament one has to consider the following:

1. Who was the section written to?
2. What was the historical context of the section?
3. What was the culture of the time?
4. What was the reason for the writing?
5. How would that apply to us today?

Take, for example, Joshua taking over the land of Canaan. God told him to possess the land and to subdue the inhabitants. What he actually did was to kill everyone, men women and children. But God did not tell him expressly to kill the inhabitants, and so Joshua interpreted God's instruction wrongly out of his own zeal? Possibly. What do we learn from this? Along with the need to follow all the way through with God's calling and instructions, we need to ensure that we are doing exactly what God tells us to do and not to read into God's instructions what might not be there.

When some have read 1 Corinthians, they have maintained that Paul was writing just to the Corinthian church and so it doesn't have to apply to us today, especially where he writes about the spiritual gifts. But you will notice at the beginning of 1 Corinthians, Paul says that he is writing not only to the Corinthians but to all believers everywhere. So, here we see that Paul's instructions to the Corinthians does apply directly to us and his instructions are for and to us. Where Paul says in a letter that it is to be read in all the churches, then we can see that he is writing to us as well. But when he writes to Timothy and Titus, then he is writing to them but also for Church leaders everywhere.

But in the Gospels, Jesus is teaching unconverted Jews although the teaching is for our education and much of His ministry is an example for us, His teaching is not always direct instructions for us to follow. He said that his ministry of earth was to the lost sheep of Israel and not for the Gentiles of His time. He told His disciples that it will be when the Holy Spirit comes in His place, He will teach Christian believers all they need to know. The foundation of that teaching came through the letters of the Apostles in the New Testament.

So, to try and apply what the Old Testament prophets said to the disobedient nation of Israel and Judah to us today may be an error that might lead us along the wrong path, while taking the lessons learned through those prophecies about the need to turn from sin and remain faithful to Christ and not promote idolatry and sinful living while expecting God's support and victory over enemies. The Old Testament prophets show us that sometimes the hard word is better than the flatteries of misguided mentors.

So, we must rightly divide the Word of truth and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to learn which parts of the Bible are for our education and which parts are direct instructions to us. We must not be like the person who tried to get guidance by shutting his eyes and using a pin to isolate verses. The first verse he got was, "Judas went out and hanged himself." He thought that wasn't right so he tried again and got, "God and do thou likewise!"

 

[Winken]

Romans 10:8-13, Romans 8:1, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 5:24, John 3:16-17.

In each case, who is the audience? To whom were those scriptures written? Context, context, context.

The letters of Paul (Pauline Epistles), Book of Romans thru Philemon.

Read John, then read Paul.

 

[ubicaritas]

I accept you as having Christian faith. Your current beliefs would fit in with many mainline Protestant or Catholic churches. You might have problems with very conservative Christians, however, who believe faith is principally about fundamental propositional truths about the world.

 

[Evanr1]

Thanks for the responses, I am going to read the letters of the apostles now. I just did some research and looked at all the timelines and origins of all religious texts. I did not know this but, the quran was written about 500-1000 years after the christian bible, and the quran actually states that the christian bible was sent from god, is true, and it mentions Jesus and Moses extensively. So essentially all muslims believe the christian bible is the word of god and is true, but Christians don't believe the quran is true? just an interesting finding. Then the other religions like hinduism and buddhism simply seem not so much like religions but more a set of believes about energy, karma, etc, which could be true along with the bible......

In a nutshell, I definitely believe in God, I believe all humans need to grow their wisdom through God and by ruminating about life, and I will continue to learn about the history and context of all of the bible and pray that I interpret it the right way.

 

[SkyWriting]

Do you have to believe/follow all of the old testament and new testament to be a Christian?

No. The Holy Spirit speaks to every person on earth
and teaches them to love one another. Those who
are called to, listen, no matter what they are taught
otherwise.

 

[Anguspure]

Hi Guys,

Do you have to believe/follow all of the old testament and new testament to be a Christian?

I believe there is a god and another side beyond that of the physical world. I believe that the gospel comes from a divine presence, and it has connected with me like no other text. I have not read all of the Old Testament recently like I have the gospels, but I skimmed some of it and I saw some strange things about sacrifices, I think of animals, for god. I think(could be wrong) that the Old Testament mentions "an eye for an eye", or essentially that it is fair to get revenge on people. Jesus then states not to get revenge and to love your enemy, going against the Old Testament. I also do not know the historical story of exactly where each part of the Old Testament came from, or if it is possible that some of it is true, and that pieces of it were added that were not true. Or where other bibles from other religions like islam came from.

Essentially, I undoubtedly believe in god, Jesus and the gospels but I am not sure if I take literally and believe every single word of the Old Testament, considering I don't really know where it all came from, and considering that jesus seemed to tell us that some of it was wrong(eye for an eye). I also think that evolution occurs to at least some degree, but that we were put here by god.

Am I still considered a Christian?

Also, please don't ask me what section of the bible exactly I got that information from because I don't have the sections. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Bottom line: The heart of the Christian message is the ressurection from the dead of Jesus of Nazareth. All who beleive that God raised Jesus from the dead for the forgiveness of their sin, and all who proclaim Him as the ruler of their lives belong to Him.
It is not about what you know and beleive but about Who you beleive and follow.

 

[Faith Alone 1 Cor 15:1-4]

Hi Guys,

Do you have to believe/follow all of the old testament and new testament to be a Christian?

I believe there is a god and another side beyond that of the physical world. I believe that the gospel comes from a divine presence, and it has connected with me like no other text. I have not read all of the Old Testament recently like I have the gospels, but I skimmed some of it and I saw some strange things about sacrifices, I think of animals, for god. I think(could be wrong) that the Old Testament mentions "an eye for an eye", or essentially that it is fair to get revenge on people. Jesus then states not to get revenge and to love your enemy, going against the Old Testament. I also do not know the historical story of exactly where each part of the Old Testament came from, or if it is possible that some of it is true, and that pieces of it were added that were not true. Or where other bibles from other religions like islam came from.

Essentially, I undoubtedly believe in god, Jesus and the gospels but I am not sure if I take literally and believe every single word of the Old Testament, considering I don't really know where it all came from, and considering that jesus seemed to tell us that some of it was wrong(eye for an eye). I also think that evolution occurs to at least some degree, but that we were put here by god.

Am I still considered a Christian?

Also, please don't ask me what section of the bible exactly I got that information from because I don't have the sections. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

You need to be either cold ( not believe ) or hot ( believe ) , not in between ( Revelation 3:15-16).

You need to take bible literally , it means what it says . Actually the order of words in bible is insane connected , to be able to understand that you would need to learn Hebrew and Greek . Every word in bible has it's place , thats why in some parts of bible you see Jesus Christ , and in others you see Christ Jesus , because these words have the same value , but are in different order so they can match and show you something more that is hidden in this text .

When you realise that , you take bible seriously and it will just unfold it's truth to you .

 

[Dkh587]

Yes

The Messiah instructed for his followers to obey God's commands - the majority of which were given to Moses

 

[-V-]

Hi Guys,

Do you have to believe/follow all of the old testament and new testament to be a Christian?

I believe there is a god and another side beyond that of the physical world. I believe that the gospel comes from a divine presence, and it has connected with me like no other text. I have not read all of the Old Testament recently like I have the gospels, but I skimmed some of it and I saw some strange things about sacrifices, I think of animals, for god. I think(could be wrong) that the Old Testament mentions "an eye for an eye", or essentially that it is fair to get revenge on people. Jesus then states not to get revenge and to love your enemy, going against the Old Testament. I also do not know the historical story of exactly where each part of the Old Testament came from, or if it is possible that some of it is true, and that pieces of it were added that were not true. Or where other bibles from other religions like islam came from.

Essentially, I undoubtedly believe in god, Jesus and the gospels but I am not sure if I take literally and believe every single word of the Old Testament, considering I don't really know where it all came from, and considering that jesus seemed to tell us that some of it was wrong(eye for an eye). I also think that evolution occurs to at least some degree, but that we were put here by god.

Am I still considered a Christian?

Sure, you're a Christian. You just lack a little bit of understanding when it comes to certain parts of the Bible.

Yes, the Old Testament is true. In the New Testament, you'll find them quoting the Old Testament all the time. The NT writers used the OT all the time to support what they were saying. That makes no sense whatsoever if the OT were to be unreliable and false.

The sacrifices were a foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. We rely on Christ's sacrifice for atonement - the OT folks used animal sacrifices for their atonement, as a symbol of relying on the future sacrifice of Jesus.

As for the "eye for an eye", Jesus wasn't contradicting it. In the Old Testament, the "eye for an eye" is in reference to their criminal justice system, their way of saying the punishment should fit the crime. Jesus was talking about our personal day to day interactions with others - we shouldn't seek personal revenge, but let the government handle the punishment of crime.

So essentially all muslims believe the christian bible is the word of god and is true, but Christians don't believe the quran is true? just an interesting finding.

Sort of, but not quite. The Quran states that the Bible is the Word of God, *HOWEVER*, Muslims claim that our Bible has been corrupted and is no longer true. (But yes, Christians completely reject the Quran.)

Interestingly enough, the Quran actually contradicts itself and actually supports the Bible being God's Word over the Quran. See here:

 

[Evanr1]

Sure, you're a Christian. You just lack a little bit of understanding when it comes to certain parts of the Bible.

Yes, the Old Testament is true. In the New Testament, you'll find them quoting the Old Testament all the time. The NT writers used the OT all the time to support what they were saying. That makes no sense whatsoever if the OT were to be unreliable and false.

The sacrifices were a foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. We rely on Christ's sacrifice for atonement - the OT folks used animal sacrifices for their atonement, as a symbol of relying on the future sacrifice of Jesus.

As for the "eye for an eye", Jesus wasn't contradicting it. In the Old Testament, the "eye for an eye" is in reference to their criminal justice system, their way of saying the punishment should fit the crime. Jesus was talking about our personal day to day interactions with others - we shouldn't seek personal revenge, but let the government handle the punishment of crime.


Sort of, but not quite. The Quran states that the Bible is the Word of God, *HOWEVER*, Muslims claim that our Bible has been corrupted and is no longer true. (But yes, Christians completely reject the Quran.)

Interestingly enough, the Quran actually contradicts itself and actually supports the Bible being God's Word over the Quran. See here:

Thats a very interesting video.

I have always been a little confused in general about the "eye for an eye" thing. If it was referring to the government punishing people, I am still confused because what if someone dose something horrible to you that is illegal, should you not get revenge/love your enemy and NOT turn them in/not get revenge? OR should you turn them into the legal authorities, which would be kind of like getting revenge. I don't see a big difference in if you personally get revenge on someone in your personal life or if you have the government do it......its kind of like having someone else do your dirty work. My previous post was on a similar topic asking if it is Christian to kill an evil dictator in order to save 1000 innocent lives. Someone is going to have to, and if you think they shouldn't than there should be Christians protesting about all laws that punish all people for anything....... The bible also emphasizes not to judge each other but we somewhat have to do that in the criminal justice system.

My personal opinion is that legal punishments are okay if they are protecting life and wellness of people, or against theft etc, but that we ourselves should not live our lives full of anger and frustration over it, and we should generally try to concentrate more on self improvement than on judging other people.

What we currently have is technically just a criminal justice system that punishes people for breaking the 10 commandments....... But Im not sure if the bible sounds like it wanted us to be judging and punishing(which is getting revenge) each other.....

I have always said that sin is like a contagious disease. If someone sins such as acts very arrogant, is lying, or kills someone, it causes others to feel jealous/envy, get angry, or have to punish/kill them to stop them from killing. If everyone in the world followed the gospel's teachings, we would have world peace, but that of course dose not happen and therefore we are forced to either allow criminals to commit crimes, or to punish them/get revenge which some might consider going against the gospel.

 

[Jesuscentered]

Hi Guys,

Do you have to believe/follow all of the old testament and new testament to be a Christian?

I believe there is a god and another side beyond that of the physical world. I believe that the gospel comes from a divine presence, and it has connected with me like no other text. I have not read all of the Old Testament recently like I have the gospels, but I skimmed some of it and I saw some strange things about sacrifices, I think of animals, for god. I think(could be wrong) that the Old Testament mentions "an eye for an eye", or essentially that it is fair to get revenge on people. Jesus then states not to get revenge and to love your enemy, going against the Old Testament. I also do not know the historical story of exactly where each part of the Old Testament came from, or if it is possible that some of it is true, and that pieces of it were added that were not true. Or where other bibles from other religions like islam came from.

Essentially, I undoubtedly believe in god, Jesus and the gospels but I am not sure if I take literally and believe every single word of the Old Testament, considering I don't really know where it all came from, and considering that jesus seemed to tell us that some of it was wrong(eye for an eye). I also think that evolution occurs to at least some degree, but that we were put here by god.

Am I still considered a Christian?

Also, please don't ask me what section of the bible exactly I got that information from because I don't have the sections. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

You need to follow Jesus and His teachings. We read the Bible so we can follow Jesus. Everything ultimately leads to Him. Therefore, if we disregard His teachings, then we should truly ask ourselves whether we are following Him, or simply using Him to excuse our own misguided desires. Jesus states in Matthew 5 that the law does not go away... It can't. But He then says that he came to fulfill the law.... Therefore his word is the law now, which is exactly why he begins a list of "you have heard it said, but I say..." Right after he tells us that He fulfills the law. Jesus is the only way. I hope this helps.

 

[-V-]

I have always been a little confused in general about the "eye for an eye" thing. If it was referring to the government punishing people, I am still confused because what if someone dose something horrible to you that is illegal, should you not get revenge/love your enemy and NOT turn them in/not get revenge? OR should you turn them into the legal authorities, which would be kind of like getting revenge.

Yes, you can call the authorities, the government has the right to punish criminals. (Romans 13:4)

I don't see a big difference in if you personally get revenge on someone in your personal life or if you have the government do it......its kind of like having someone else do your dirty work.

It's a matter of authority. You don't have it, the government does.