John 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.
47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
Persons who reject the Old Testament in favor of the New Testament are making a terrible mistake, for the Old Testament points forward to the New, and explains prophecies that would otherwise be virtually impossible to understand, by reading the New Testament alone.
Furthermore, according to the words of Jesus, if the Old Testament is deliberately rejected, an individual cannot truly believe in Jesus, because his or her belief system would lack the structural integrity of the Decalogue, which is nowhere to be found in its entirety as a complete document in the New Testament.
In addition to this declaration, we must remember that the overwhelming bulk of the Bible consists of the Old Testament, having 66 books, whereas the New Testament has only 27. That’s less than half of the Old Testament, and because of this, those who claim to be New Testament believers only, would be in danger of being seduced by devils.
In many of His discourses Christ quoted from the Old Testament. He often referred to the law of Ten Commandments, and He referred to Daniel, Elijah, Moses, David and many of the prophets who wrote directly under the inspiration of The Holy Ghost.
Therefore, if one rejects the Old Testament, it is The Holy Ghost, and by default, Jesus, who are actually being rejected, for by so doing, persons will render His utterances in the Old Testament as being either irrelevant or worthless. Those utterances, written in the Old Testament are immutable facts, certified by The Holy Spirit, and which cannot be gainsaid, except at a great peril to those who choose to go that route. Let’s read:
2nd Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
1st Peter 1:19 We have also a more-sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
For instance, after the resurrection of Christ, two of His disciples were walking to a certain place, and as they talked together, their utter discouragement with what had recently transpired at Jerusalem was palpable, for they all but gave up on Jesus being the Messiah.
Thus, to address this problem, Christ joined them unannounced, and spoke to them extensively from the Old Testament, beginning with Moses’ writings, and then on to the other prophets, showing that the things which had just taken place was actually predicted in the scriptures. When passages of scripture pertaining to Jesus are correctly tied together as an indivisible whole, then a completely different picture emerges, and things which previously seemed vague become plain. Let’s read:
Luke 24:13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.
20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.
22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher;
23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
According to the previous verse above, not only did Moses write extensively concerning Christ; but all of the other major, and minor prophets wrote about some aspect of His life, His ministry, His death, and His second and third coming.
In the Old Testament these references aren’t always readily apparent, for some are written into laws, as can be observed in the sacrifices ordained for the priesthood and the people. Other references are written in dark sentences or shadows, where the experience of some person foreshadows another aspect of Christ’s experience.
This is one of the reasons why when reading the Psalms, some persons may become confused as to who is being spoken about in a particular passage, because David moves between the first and second person very often in his writings, in which he would foreshadow Christ in his own experience.
Therefore, when reading or studying the Bible, we must be careful to remember that the entire word of God directs our minds to Christ, who should be the center of our focus. Many of the Levitical laws given to Moses, actually have Christ in the shadows, but we would only know what is being referenced if we see Jesus as the fulcrum of the scriptures.
Take for instance the laws pertaining to redemption by which persons who were sold into servitude may be reinstated to their former freedoms. While on the surface it seems to pertain to dealings between the Hebrews, the laws are a foreshadowing of what Jesus was to accomplish for the human family. Let’s read:
Leviticus 25:47 And if a sojourner or stranger waxes rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family.
48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him.
49 Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem
him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
When Adam and Eve succumbed to the treachery of the devil, the human family was sold under sin, and we lost the original dominion that was given to our first parents at creation. Hence the reason why the prophet Isaiah refers to folks as being lawful captives of satan, that is, until Christ would come and break every chain with the human family was thus bound.
Therefore, in order for our redemption to take place someone would have to purchase us back from the one to whom we were sold. Thus, the law pertaining to redemption is actually a foreshadowing of what Christ would do, and thus, the New Testament reinforces the same truth that was written by Moses at the direction of God. This is the reason why Christ stated on many different occasions, that Moses wrote of Him. Let’s read:
Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
1st Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Again, the Psalmist writes about Christ’s mission and His incarnation, but he does so in ways that are not readily apparent to the cursory reader. On the surface, David seems to be referring to the creation week, and while that is true in one sense, the real object and subject of the matter is Jesus Christ. Let’s read:
Psalms 8: 3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.
6 Thou made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Those declarations are true as it pertains to man, to whom God gave the dominion, and Genesis chapter one no doubt confirms this sacred truth. Let’s read:
Genesis 1: 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
However, if Jesus is not our focal point as we study, we will absolutely miss the point, because the Bible was not written by Moses and the other prophets to merely highlight what Adam and Eve did or didn’t do; the scripture is a revelation of Jesus, and thus, He must be sought for as gold, in all of the sacred writings, for they ultimately point to Him. Lets’ read:
Hebrews 2:6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?
7 Thou made him a little lower than the angels; thou crowned him with glory and honor, and did set him over the works of thy hands.
8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him.
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Again, the law of redemption written by Moses in Leviticus, stipulates who is authorized to make the redemption. It has to be one of the person’s family and it should be a male. Let’s read:
Exodus 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats.
6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
Leviticus 1: 10 And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
That’s the reason why Christ became one of us, so as to fulfill the requirement of the Levitical law in order to save us. If one surface reads the Bible in a manner that is not Christ-centered, essential truths would be hidden from view, and the law in Leviticus may then seem to have no relevance for us today. Let’s read:
Leviticus 25:48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him.
Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Hebrews 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For both he that sanctifies, and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
17 Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he
might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
Thus, without the writings of Moses, in which he makes the stipulation of blood-line redemption as law, the reason for Christ’s incarnation in the New Testament would be vague, for the question would be asked: “Why couldn’t He save us in His former self as a Spirit?”
Thus, Moses and the other Old Testament writers show that humanity needed Divinity for redemption to be accomplished, but that Divinity also needed humanity as the vehicle by which the redemption price was to be paid. The Old Testament affirms the Divinity of Christ, and the New Testament certifies both His divinity and humanity. Therefore, in everything pertaining to our salvation, there must of necessity be the same concurrence of divinity and humanity, Old Testament and the New Testament.
By rejecting the Old Testament, several doctrines are fanned into life, which are antichrist in nature, of which we must be careful not to succumb to. In some instances, Christ is relegated only to humanity and is never elevated to His rightful original position in The God-head.
By rejecting the Old Testament, and the writings of Moses, others have removed far from their belief system, the need for obedience, for in their minds the grace of God is adequate for our salvation all by itself. Thus, the necessary concurrence between the Divine and the human is rejected in favor of the Divine alone.
From this view springs the doctrine of just believe, without any corresponding works. Just believe is a doctrine of devils, since it leaves the humanity side out of the equation, and because of this a one-sided Christianity that’s void of obedience is the inevitable result. Let’s read:
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Therefore, wherever the writings of Moses and the Old Testament prophets are rejected, a profound imbalance in one’s Christianity would be seen, for whereas the Old Testament may focus heavily on one’s obedience, New Testament writers focus our attention heavily on grace, something that is much more palatable for most persons to swallow.
The truth is that both are essential to our salvation, for as was stated before there must be concurrence between the Old and New testaments, between our humanity and God’s Divinity if the work of The Holy Spirit is to be accomplished in our lives. God caused the sun to stand still by His miraculous power so that Joshua and his brethren could route their enemies. But they had to fight as if the victory depended on them alone.
It was God who fought against Amalek as the Jews were on their way in the wilderness, but Aaron had to help Moses’ keep his two hands lifted to the skies because concurrence between the Divine and the human is an indispensable necessity of life for the Christian. God healed Naaman by His power alone, but the human agent had to dip seven times. Jericho was shaken down from off its high horse, but the Jews had to march around the city and blow their horns like little boy blue, as if there was no tomorrow.
It all has to do with concurrence between the Divine and the human, the obedience and works of the Old Testament and the grace and power that is focused on in the New Testament. This is a basic necessity of life for every Christian who will desire to live like a conqueror. And it is not only in the spiritual things where this concurrence is to be incorporated. It must also pervade the temporal aspects of life through which the bulk of our growth and development will often take place. Let’s read:
[Christ’s Object Lessons pp 82] In everything that tends to the sustenance of man is seen the concurrence of divine and human effort. There can be no reaping unless the human hand acts its part in the sowing of the seed. But without the agencies which God provides in giving sunshine and showers, dew and clouds, there would be no increase. Thus, it is in every business pursuit, in every department of study and science.
Thus, it is in spiritual things, in the formation of the character, and in every line of Christian work. We have a part to act, but we must have the power of divinity to unite with us, or our efforts will be in vain. Whenever man accomplishes anything, whether in spiritual or in temporal lines, he should bear in mind that he does this through co-operation with his Maker.”
In order for us to have a balanced view of God, we must therefore study the writings of Moses and the other Old Testament prophets, as well as the New Testament writers, or else we will only see Jesus as being cute, but without the authority and character to administer judgements when they come due.
Let us therefore be careful not to subscribe to the New Testament only, for the seduction of devils is often accomplished through the imbalances and the many half-truths lifted from the scriptures in ways that appeal to carnal nature.
We therefore end with the last written words of the Old Testament, as the baton was being handed over to the New Testament writers, as they prepared to take up from where Moses and the other prophets had left off. Let’s read:
Malachi 4:4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
God Bless!