Promises and Secrets
A website for those not afraid to examine their beliefs, compare them to the real world, and make sure they fit.
Is the Old Testament Dead, and the New Changed?
VIEWPOINT
Men divided the Bible based on the events before and after the birth of Jesus. According to the preaching in most of the modern churches, we should just get rid of the Old Testament and leave only the New. According to some, it would be easier to carry around with you, both spiritually and physically.
FACT
The Bible was divided into two parts by the tradition of man - we call them the Old and New Testaments.
VIEWPOINT
The Old Testament is only for those who believe in God but do not believe in Jesus.
BLUE VIEWPOINT
The Old Testament stays the same as it always was, but the New Testament seems to take on a different meaning every week.
Well, not literally, but in discussions with today's "Christians", new interpretations emerge in nearly every conversation. Listening to the modern preachers, if you believe in Jesus, you need nothing from the Old Testament. And, now that everyone is supposedly saved from the moment they accept Jesus, just about anything goes because once you believe, you supposedly can't lose your salvation - no matter what. Yes! And, no one is allowed to judge you! Oooh.
If you feel it in your heart, it must be from God. Who's to say different? If you don't agree, you must not be saved. As my mom used to say when I gave her some excuse for being bad, "Horsefeathers!"
The Old never changes
Think about the Old Testament. God created the heavens and the earth. Moses defied Pharoah. God gave the ten commandments to Moses at Mt. Sinai. God, using Joshua and the Israelites, collapsed the walls at Jericho. David murdered and adulterated in his lifetime, but stayed close to God and repented. Israel was constantly in and out of favor with God. These stories and their meanings never change.
The first part of the New stays the same...
Now, moving to the New Testament, what do we know of the stories there? Jesus was born, grew up, preached the Old Testament laws, then died for us. No, He didn't preach the Jewish modified laws, but the Old Testament laws from God. For that part, it might as well be part of the Old Testament because it remains exactly the same. After that, Paul and the apostles preached that if you follow the law, as he did (Acts 24:14
14However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,
), and believe in Jesus, as he did, you will be saved. So, for Paul, the Old Testament message was still valid. He taught that message to the Gentiles. Then something changed.
Then the churches mess with it
Depending on your pastor and denomination, you are told that if you only believe in Jesus, you will be saved, even if you break the law without any genuine repentance. They don't say it that way, but they do say that the law does not apply to Christians. Then pretty soon you hear from another pastor that you can only be saved if you speak in tongues and believe in Jesus. Then, another says that if you say you believe, but don't actually do anything to show it, you can still be saved. To hear them changing it so often to fit their own personal views, if Jesus doesn't come soon, we won't even have to believe in Him to be saved (the modern view of the Unitarian Universalists (Wikipedia - Christian Universalism)), just do what you feel in your heart is right.
It's not how we think we are doing...
The bottom line? If all of these church denominations are right, you can just shop around until you find one that feels good, join it, and you will be saved. The trouble with that idea is that each one of them must ignore parts of the Bible in order to say these things. When you bring this to their attention, they claim that their pastor is educated and knows Hebrew and Greek, and besides, "you are not a pastor so you have no authority". Pointing out passages in the Book that support your claims does no good because they "don't interpret it that way".
Since there no longer seems to be any guidelines beyond "Love God with all your heart." (whatever that means to the individual) and "Love your neighbor as yourself.", we get to say what it means to us and no one is allowed to question us. And we are especially resistant to anything Jewish.
It's how He thinks we are doing
The Old Testament never changes its relevance just because we Christians think that we no longer need it, or because our pastor says that it doesn't mean what it meant 1900 years ago. It still means what it said then, even if most don't pay attention to it. The New Testament, however, is treated as flexible and is subject to every individual's opinion, because we no longer use the Old Testament to guide our interpretations. Hmmm. I wonder how many people even try to figure out why God had it written the way it is, and not the way they think it should be. God has a plan, and most churches do not seem to try to find out what that is, even if it is right there in front of them.
Jesus taught His Father's plan, not the Jewish plan
This seems funny because everythin that Jesus, the apostles, and Paul ever taught was the Old Testament. Not the oral, made up, stringent beyond keeping Jewish modifications to the law, but the rules made by God for everyone. Somewhere between "If you love Me, keep my commandments." and "Those laws are just for the Jews.", the message was changed. Even Jesus said to a Gentile, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." (Matt 15:21-28
21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly."
23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."
24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."
25The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.
26He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs."
27"Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."
28Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment.
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Now, if Jesus was so set on getting the message to the Israelites, and then sends the disciples and Paul out to include the Gentiles in the same message, why would we ignore what Jesus gives us, yet still say we want to follow Him? The woman knew she was a sinner, but her faith demonstrated that she stayed to get the food from the Master's table, and not the scraps from the table of false teachers. She followed the true Master, not a false prophet.
The message did not change for different groups
There are only two groups of people mentioned in the Bible - God's people and those who are not God's people. Those who are gaining eternal life are God's people and those who are not are not God's people. How do we know the difference? Easy. Read Matthew 7:21
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
. This doesn't say that "everyone who says he believes will be saved". There is a condition to that phrase that nearly everyone leaves out. One who believes will seek out the will of the Father and do that. That is the one who will be saved.
You can make it more complicated than that, and most pastors do exactly that in order to soften the message. But, God didn't complicate it at all. His message stayed the same from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21. That's the Bible and it is the Testament of God. It is not the Old Testament and the New Testament. That is a creation and tradition of men. The whole Bible is the word of God. It means what it says. If a pastor tells you anything that says any portion of it is not true or that it no longer applies to the people of God, then you are being led astray. Do not follow him.
Disagree? Find an error? Contact us at glenjjr@gmail.com and give us your view.
YELLOW VIEWPOINT
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