Audio transcript
Hiya everybody. Effectively, it isn’t simple to use the complete New Testomony to our lives, however it’s definitely simpler than making an attempt to use to our lives all of the issues we examine within the large Outdated Testomony. So what position does the Outdated Testomony play in our Christian life? That's in the present day's query and it comes from a listener named Sarah. “Hiya Pastor John – thanks in your faithfulness in ministry over time, this podcast, and for asking my query. Usually, the Outdated Testomony is – clearly – nonetheless very useful to us, however to what extent? For instance, now that the brand new covenant has come, God doesn’t require animal sacrifices for our sins. So what are the perfect makes use of of the Outdated Testomony to form our Christian lives in the present day?
Let me begin by recommending the e book. Jason DeRouchie simply printed a e book referred to as Learn how to perceive and apply the Outdated Testomony. It has an enormous part on the sensible software of the Outdated Testomony for our time.
Jason is Professor of Outdated Testomony and Biblical Theology at Bethlehem School & Seminary. Just a few days in the past I listened to his message about how the Outdated Testomony was not solely reworked right into a helpful Christian scripture for our personal Christian life, however supposed By God and by the authors themselves to be thus used exterior their very own time—within the distant future, together with our personal. You’ll be able to in all probability discover this message by the way in which within the audio or video part of the Bethlehem School & Seminary web site.
The long-awaited achievement
This can be a big challenge that Sarah raises, however I believe I can say simply two or three issues to assist her really feel how treasured, fantastic, and helpful the Outdated Testomony is for our Christian life in the present day.
“The Outdated Testomony is treasured and fantastic and helpful for our Christian life in the present day.”
The very first thing to say is that when Jesus Christ got here into the world because the long-awaited Messiah of the Outdated Testomony, there was a profound and dramatic change in the way in which we take care of the Outdated Testomony. It’s as a result of Jesus was the achievement – that’s the key phrase of the New Testomony, the phrase achievement — and the aim of a lot Outdated Testomony faith.
For instance, Jesus was the achievement of all of the Outdated Testomony animal sacrifices that had been supplied as a brief strategy to present how God covers sins. The entire sacrificial system ends in Jesus. We not want sacrifices as a result of Jesus himself was the final word sacrifice.
He’s additionally the excessive priest—the ultimate, decisive, closing excessive priest who mediates between man and God in order that the sacrificial system and the sacrificial priestly service will disappear. We’ve got a excessive priest who will personally take us on to the throne of grace.
Dramatic modifications
Which means even the ceremonial legal guidelines surrounding the complete system endure a dramatic change. For instance, Mark says in his Gospel: “So he [Jesus] he declared all meals clear” (Mark 7:19). You’ll be able to see how the ceremonial legislation that we connect to those processes (these ceremonies) can also be altering.
When the gospel spills over the shores into the Gentile world, and never simply ethnic Israel (in order that the Gentiles are actually included within the Abrahamic individuals of God), this ethnocentricity and the earthly, political, theocentric method of civil authorities within the Outdated Testomony undergoes a dramatic change.
The Church in the present day just isn’t one ethnicity with an earthly homeland and its personal type of civil authorities. As a substitute, the church is a scattered people who find themselves exiles and immigrants amongst all of the nations of the world, functioning as refugees in all types of international political methods as representatives of true heavenly citizenship. It’s a radically totally different type of being God's individuals than the Jews had been within the Outdated Testomony.
From these few examples (and there might be extra) you’ll be able to see that after we learn the Outdated Testomony, by its personal goal – as Jason DeRouchie confirmed me so properly a couple of days in the past – we make the required modifications of software to our day.
However nothing I’ve mentioned needs to be interpreted to imply that the Scriptures are usually not profoundly helpful in the present day. Everybody – all – are helpful. Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and worthwhile”—worthwhile for Christians. Not just some scattered good factors like Isaiah 53. All is worthwhile.
God welcome
There are two causes for this that I’ll point out. There are others—in all probability many extra.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and helpful, not just some scattered good factors.”
1. God has not modified. Wherever, then, we rightly perceive his character and his methods within the Outdated Testomony, we be taught one thing true concerning the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who liked us and despatched Christ to die for us.
2. When Christ died, his blood secured for us a joyful participation, a full participation as Gentiles in all the guarantees of God within the Outdated Testomony. This is without doubt one of the most essential truths that Sarah ought to grasp with all her may when asking this query. It definitely means essentially the most to me. Right here is the way in which Paul places it in 2 Corinthians 1:20: “All the guarantees of God discover their sure in him. Subsequently, via him we are saying our Amen to God to his glory.”
That’s a completely fantastic, fantastic, fantastic, beautiful, uncommon sentence. If you learn the Outdated Testomony, there are guarantees upon guarantees upon guarantees made to God's individuals and in Christ they’re yours.
You are actually grafted in—into the seed—for Christ's sake. Paul says in Galatians 3 that because the seed of Israel you profit from all the guarantees given to Israel. You change into a part of the Abrahamic hope of the world.
Historical guarantees for you
Right here is one instance of the way it works.
Hebrews 13:5 says, “Maintain your life free from the love of cash and be content material with what you’ve gotten. And thus he argues: “for he mentioned” – then quotes Joshua 1:5 (phrases given to Joshua) – “I’ll by no means go away you nor forsake you.”
“When Christ died, his blood secured for us a joyful participation in all the guarantees of God within the Outdated Testomony.”
Then he continues in verse 6, “So we will say with confidence” – after which he quotes Psalm 118 – “The Lord is my helper; I cannot be afraid; what can man do to me?”
You see how he does it. That is what we do. We hear the command, “Be content material and guard your life from the love of cash,” however how can I? Reply: go to the e book of Joshua; flip to the psalms. You’ll hear guarantees that may soothe your coronary heart and calm you down. That's wonderful.
Right here is one other instance from Romans 12:19-20. Paul states that Christians shouldn’t return evil for evil. How does he argue? Right here's how he does it. He says, “Beloved, by no means take revenge, however go away it to the wrath of God, for it’s written” – the place? Deuteronomy 32:5: “Vengeance is mine, I’ll repay, says the Lord.”
He continues in verse 20, however this time with out telling us that he’s quoting the entire of Proverbs 25:21-22: “Quite the opposite, in case your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he’s thirsty, give him one thing to drink; for thus we are going to collect sizzling coals upon his head.” On and on he goes within the New Testomony.
Two nice advantages
My restricted however hopefully important and useful suggestion to Sarah is that there are two nice makes use of of the Outdated Testomony in the present day. First, assembly God as He actually is, that we could know Him and worship Him, for His character was revealed as really within the Outdated Testomony as within the New Testomony.
Second, let the lots of of guarantees within the Outdated Testomony wash over you as your blood-bought birthright in Christ Jesus, so that you’re every day free of sin by the upper pleasures of God's guarantees.
