The Old T is certainly fascinating, telling as it does humanity's interactions with God over the centuries, but if God wanted us to stick solely with the Old T, he wouldn't have sent Jesus to give us the New..
People quickly realised-
"The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17)
"Through Jesus we are saved, and not through Moses" (Acts 13:39)
Jesus had to tell the snooty priests to get their noses out of their heavyweight theological volumes-
Jesus said:-"
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5:39/40)
The WORST thing anybody can do is to tell people that they MUST read the whole Bible and I'm sure that must put many people off Jesus, and will surely make Satan chuckle.
Far better to give people a slimline gospel like this one that can be read inside a week, and if people can't find Jesus in there, not all the study of the Old T is going to help them find him..
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Most Christians including me don't stick solely to the Old Testament do they?!
The Old Testament is God's message to us just as much as the New Testament is. As I posted above in my previous post the New Testament completes that story of the Old Testament. Jesus being in the New Covenant does not change that. He would not have quoted the Old Testament if it wasn't important.
The Old and New Testaments are inseparable. In the book of Revelation they are called
"God's two witnesses" (
Revelation 11:3).
Think about it this way, If you chose to read a book, would you start reading it in the middle? Well, it’s no different with the Bible.
If you started most of the way in, you wouldn't have any idea who Abraham and Moses were. Jesus’ allusions to the Israelites and other accounts in the Old Testament wouldn't make sense. And you wouldn’t even know why He had to come in the first place.
But seen as a whole story, the details fall into place including the foundational details of life. Like why are we here? Where did we come from? And how did we get into such a mess?
The WORST thing anybody can do is to tell people that they MUST read the whole Bible and I'm sure that must put many people off Jesus, and will surely make Satan chuckle.
So the patriachs, prophets, Jesus and the aposltles are wrong to tell people to read and study the Bible that was inspired by the Holy Spirit hmmm? The prophet Isaiah said,
"To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (
Isaiah 8:20). How would you know you're being taught a true or false doctrine if you don't read and study the Bible which is God's true doctrine? The Bereans in the book of Acts searched the scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas were teaching them was the truth (
Acts 17:10-12).
God wants every single one of us to get to know Him, experience His love, and understand His will as it’s revealed in His Word, the Bible. Why would any Christian have a problem with that and even say it will
"put people off Jesus, and will surely make Satan chuckle."
Its Satan who doesn't want people to study the Word of God because He doesn't want them to be saved. He wants them to lose their lives eternally like he's going to.
Far better to give people a slimline gospel like this one that can be read inside a week, and if people can't find Jesus in there, not all the study of the Old T is going to help them find him.
God did not give us 66 books of the Bible so we can have a slimline gospel did He? We are not to discard any of it. That is rejecting God's word. Satan would love that because we would be choosing to not want to know, love and have a closer relationship with God. That would make us lost eternally.
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (
Psalm 119:105).
