What is the purpose of the old testament.?

Question

I have heard from many different people that the old testament became obsolete when jesus died and eventually the new testament was written. However, We still see it being used quite a bit. Are some parts ok to use but not others? If someone could help me with this it would be appreciated. thanks in advance

Answer 1

People tend to say the "Old Testament" doesn't matter when it refers to stoning one's children, keeping slaves, etc............and then turn around and immediately use the Old Testament to justify oppressing homosexuals and demand a literal translation of Genesis.

Answer 2

The Old Testament contains the old laws (Mosiac Laws) that are found mostly in Exodus and Leviticus. When Christ died he established the New Testament (New Laws) that we as Christians are required to follow today. We are not required to follow any of the Old Testament laws. Christ "fulfilled" the Old upon his death.

If, as some believe, we are required to follow the old laws, we could not just choose to follow the 10 commandments (9 of which are repeated in the new testament, minus the sabbath day commandment.) There were more laws in the Old Testament besides the 10 commandments which included animal sacrifices and other commandments which obviously are not followed today. So if you are going to follow the 10 commandments, you will have to follow ALL of the commandments in the Old Testament.

Also, when dealing with Testaments (think Last Will and testament), only ONE testament (or will) can be active at a time. If you write a new will, then the old one is void. The same goes for the Old Testament (will) which was rewritten to the New Testament.

That is why the Old Testament is used for history purposes and everything a Christian must follow is found in the New Testament.

Answer 3

The Old Testament serves as both history and context for the New Testament. There are many things in the New Testament that make more sense if you understand what specific command from the Old Testament is being abolished, and why (Read Matthew 5-7, Acts 10 &11, or the entire book of Hebrews, for example).

There are also things from the Old Testament that are incorporated by reference into the New Testament. For example, Jesus says that "sexual immorality", among other things, is still a sin under the New Testament (Mark 7), but he does not define this term, since he assumes that his audience already knows what he is talking about. Since Jesus was a Jew talking to other Jews, then it seems logical that by using this term, Jesus must be referring to the sexual laws contained in the Law of Moses, where sexually forbidden acts are described in detail.

Jesus and the Apostles also allude to various passages of the Old Testament often in their teaching and writing. If you are not familiar with the Old Testament, then these literary allusions might be confusing to you, and you might miss all of the subtlest of the point that they were trying to make.

Hope that this helps!

Answer 4

The Old Testament gives us the reason for the Covenant with the Jews, God's chosen people.(Genesis 9:17) It Shows us That God required a blood sacrifice from His people and that the sacrifice should be perfect (Exodus 12:5)
Isaiah prophesies the coming of Jesus as the perfect lamb which will be Sacrificed for the sins of all mankind.
Other books give laws and History of the Jewish people which lead up to the birth of Jesus.

The New testament is the completion of the old covenant by the suffering , humiliation and death of Jesus and the establishment of a New Covenant with ALL People who accept that Jesus died for us , the Perfect,unblemished lamb that was sacrificed for our sins.

Answer 5

Paul,Peter ,John and the rest showed out of the Old Testament how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies contained in it . They didn't have a New Testament to work with.Although it told the History of the Jews,it also foretold the coming of Jesus the Messiah.

Answer 6

The Old Testament gives a history of the nation of Israel, the chosen people of God. It also provides the lineage of Jesus, to prove He was a Jew and of the house of David. While we are no longer under the Law, Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not abolish it.

You will oftern hear [and it is true] that 'we are not under the Law, we are under Grace'. By the law, it is a sin to commit adultry. Under Grace, if you look at a woman and lust after her, you have committed adultry in your heart. Grace is actually stricter than the Law.

The Ten Commandents are summarized by Jesus in the New Testament. He said there are only two commandments:
1. Love the Lord you God with all yor heart, soul, mind and strength.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself. Mark 12:28-30
You can see that if you do those with all your heart that they encompass all of the Ten Commandments.

Hope that helps.
Peace.

Answer 7

The Old Testament is the history leading up to the New Testament. It gives us the background needed to understand the mindset, and the lifestyle of that era. We need to understand how the people of that time thought, and lived so we can understand how our lives fall into place. Today, our cultures and our societies are vastly different, but the Word of God is still the same.

All of it should be used, but only as a learning tool. We aren't suppose to actually live like they did, in the violent and hate filled manner that they did. We are suppose to understand what they did wrong so we won't repeat those same mistakes. We're suppose to incorporate the word of God into the culture and society we have today.

Answer 8

The new testament clarifies a change from the Jewish time to the time of the church. If the Jews had accepted Christ, God would have sent Christ back to rule over the earth .. they didnt accept his atonement so God moved foward and included the Gentiles into the church. The Gentiles will be in charge of administering his grace, until the numbers of converted Gentiles has reached the preordained number .. which will ultimately cause the Jews to be JEALOUS ... Old testament ... your basis of knowledge should not ingnore it ... you should learn it as well as the NT ....

Answer 9

If you get rid of the old testament, that is over 65% of the Bible. Jesus and the apostles revered back to the old testament. Basically the old testament and the new testament go hand and hand.

Answer 10

Jesus said "I have not come to condemn the law but that the law through me can be fulfilled" The old Testament is full of history and prophecy all pointing to the Messiah (Jesus Christ). without the Old there would be no New.

Answer 11

The Old Testament is two fold.First of all to give us life lessons.That through the life examples of trials and tribulations.The people of faith have won out.An to point out peoples short falls.
The second part is simple,prophecy.God couldn't stand to lose his children.So since the Garden of Eden God people let people know the path prepared the way home.