Reference no: EM131496043
250 or more words and ref
To a new Bible believing Christian they may believe that Christ is not in the Old Testament but exclusively in the New Testament. This could not be furtherer from the truth and Scripture points this out. Scripture states in John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
This might be very confusing to someone that is reading the Bible for the first time. Christ is the Word and He has been there from the beginning when God spoke everything into existence. Also in the OT a priest named Melchizedek is mentioned and that is a possible reference to Christ. Also the angel of the Lord is referenced in the OT a few times.
He speaks to Abraham and also to Gideon just to name a few examples. These are instances where Christ took a human form to speak to people and lead them in the direction they need to go. When Jesus speaks on the law of the Lord He mentions in a way that it is going to get better. Jesus states in Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." He didn't come to replace it or make any changes to it.
He came to perfect it and even added a few of Hiss own to it such as loving your neighbor as yourself and loving the Lord your God with everything you got. Jesus viewed His relationship with the OT as not ending it but adding things to it that might make it easier to understand.
Romans and James talk about law and condemnation and how you have to follow one or you will wind up in the other. My solution is that if you do as Christ states in loving your neighbors and also loving the Lord with everything you got then all the OT laws will fall into place. If Christ is centered then all other life aspects will be as they need to be.
For Christians, the Old Testament is relevant and vital to understanding who Jesus is and our relation to Him. While the New Testament includes the Gospels, which are specifically about the life of Jesus, and other books with accounts of those who believed in Jesus and followed Him, the entire Bible is about the person of Jesus. For Christians, the Old Testament is our heritage.
Christians are not bound to following the Old Testament law, but that does not mean that it is irrelevant. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
Jesus fulfilled the Law by following it perfectly, dying, and resurrecting Himself, so we no longer make sacrifices as penance for our sin because Jesus is our everlasting sacrifice. However, the Law still shows the perfection required to be in unity with God and was always meant to show people their need for a Messiah, not just to be a set of rules that are impossible to follow.
Jesus constantly quoted the Old Testament and was familiar with the Scriptures and Prophets. He did not consider Himself above or separated from the people or events of the Old Testament, especially considering Jesus' role in Creation and the sustaining of Creation. He was not just waiting around, ready to go to Earth in human form, but was participating in God's work in the Old Testament. Christians should similarly value the Old Testament and see it as being all about Jesus.