Not To, But For

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  – Romans 15:4

When you realize that something is old, do you automatically think it “irrelevant?” This is understandable, the word is used many times to describe something like yesterday’s fashion trends. However, when it comes to the Bible, the word “old” simply means a point on the timeline of history. It is interesting to note for modern readers of the Bible, the Old Testament makes up 75 percent and represents the entirety of the scriptures that Jesus quoted and used for His teaching.    

Arguably, the most important point about the Old Testament is that you meet the same God in its pages as in the New! By the end of the Books of Law, Genesis through Deuteronomy, humankind’s dilemma with sin is outlined and God’s plan for a hopeful future has been established. As God’s character is revealed in the Old Testament, you find He living and breathing on Earth in the New. After meeting Jesus, the disciple Philip, said to his companion “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth” (John 1:45). 

Are you feeling spiritually sluggish these days? The apostle Paul would prescribe the wonder found in “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27)… specifically, the stories of God’s provision across time to bring you the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament was not written to modern believers, but it was written and preserved for you! Spend time studying it today. Pray for churches across America to be faithful to the whole of God’s Word, raising up a generation grounded in the hope of God’s mercy for all humanity and across all time.