Out of curiosity, the other night?

Question

A question was asked about where to start off at when reading the Bible for the first time. Some stated John, and others stated Matthew, while others stated Acts.

Why would you have someone start at the second half of the Bible, when you would need the first half to understand it?

Thanks to all who answer

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God Bless
Be Blessed
love to all

Tell me where in the Bible did God state that His words in the OT are no longer needed?

Answer 1

Well starting at page one of the OT seemed pretty logical to me, but I've since been told I "should" have started with the NT. This is, admittedly, coming from someone who knows sod-all about biblical study and who also reads dictionaries right through from cover to cover, but still...:)

Answer 2

You may just be on to something there.

First Point-
You are correct, the Old Testament paints a clear picture of the coming Messiah, and also why we need a Messiah in the first place. I do believe that there is a point to reading one of the Gospels or Romans first for the sake of understanding salvation early on in your Christian life. However, I also recommend getting a Chronological Bible to read the books in the order in which they were written so that you can get the grand picture from beginning to end.

Second Point-
As a Bible major at a premier Bible Institute I must agree, and have stated many times, that the OT is not said to be irrelevant as many Christians state. Christ, Paul, Peter, John, James all quote from the Old Testament time and again. If we don't read and understand, and follow the OT we don't understand why we need Christ to begin with.

The problem is with the clergy, unfortunately. Our Churches in this country don't teach on the OT enough. Jesus said that he came to FULFILL the Law (OT) not to abolish it. Also he said that not a word of it would pass away, all other things will be destroyed, but not a word would pass away from the Word of God. This meaning Old and New Testaments.

So I am in total agreement with you, the Old Testament is just as vital to us as the New Testament.

In response to RW above,
Actually, the Old Testament affirms the New much more than you think. Read Zechariah and Isaiah some time, those books are full of the imagery of Christ. Malachi is also great for knowledge of the need of the coming Messiah. Not to mention the fact that the Torah (5 books of Moses) are setting the stage for the need for grace, since it is obvious in reading it that it is impossible to keep God's Law.

Answer 3

Great question, though I slightly disagree that you need the first half to understand it. While it is true that you can't make full sense of certain events and doctrines without the OT, it is equally true that without the Holy Spirit and the new birth you can't understand properly either since these things are "spiritually discerned."

That said, I think that fear is a motivating factor behind the recommendation to start other than at the beginning. After all, there are some pretty bloody and difficult things to understand in the OT, and if a newbie begins there, he may be discouraged, or worse yet, change his mind. The truth is that it is God who keeps those who trust in Him, those who stubbornly cling to Him. It comes down to a matter of attitude: those who trust in Christ will be kept; those who do not, will not. It is a bit naieve to suppose that by beginning in John you can cement someone in the faith, since right away in the first 14 verses the reader is faced with a difficult doctrine: the deity of Christ.

The long and the short of it: check with the new learner about where he is in his spiritual condition and recommend accordingly. Cover to cover was my choice, but one size DOES NOT FIT ALL.

Tom

Answer 4

For a New Christian, it is best to read through the New Testament about 3 times making sure that you understand it and what it says. If you find at anytime things that you don't understand, ask someone you has been will grounded in the Word. Then go and read the Old Testament and you will understand it better and what is being said and how it all ties in together with what is happening today. Many people will tell you that the Old Testament does not apply to today, but no where will you find that Jesus did away with the Old Testament, He said He came not to destroy the Law, but to full-fill the prophecy. Which was the fact that a Savior was coming to be the sacrifice for all mankind.

Answer 5

Many people feel that John is a godd place to start because Mt, Mk, Lk, & JN all say BASICALLY the same things (that's how it will seem to the new Christian). Therefore, if you start in John, you won't feel like you are reading the same thing 4 times in a row.

Why start in NT vs. OT? Well, because Jesus Christ is made manifest in the NT & if anyone can get a good personal revelation of who He was & is, then it will shed light on the much harder to understand OT.

Besides the fact that a person reading for the first time who starts in Genesis, will rarely get past Numbers before they give up. They don't usually see the benefits of the genealogies until they realize the importance of them.

HTH. I know i tried for yrs to get thru the OT, but when I started in John, I made it thru the whole thing!

Answer 6

The first half of the Bible is the Old Covenant. The second half is the New Covenant. The New Covenant is hidden in the Old. The New Covenant is the revelation of the Old. So it is better to read the New Covenant starting from the book of Matthew to know what is revealed. When one knows the New Covenant well enough going to the Old Covenant may give us further understanding of the word of God. It is also important to know what is meant by Christ is the end of the law (Old Covenant) for righteousness for all those who believe (Rom 10:4) to understand what New Covenant make obsolete in the Old Covenant.

Answer 7

The Old Testament was a system of laws for the Jewish people to follow. They don't relate to us nowadays. You should start reading in Genesis so you know how the world began. Also, read John, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Revelation tells us how the world will end.

Answer 8

"The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” -Richard Dawkins

I have never heard it put better anywhere else. Compare that to the the New Testament, love peace, and happiness hippie God and you have a "Three Faces of Eve" portrait of God. How could an un-changing perfect being make such a paradigm shift? It is two separate myths shoved together. Read the Bible end to end and you will see the difference.

Answer 9

I was one who answered that question. As I recall, I suggested the book of Genesis followed by the book of Matthew. These two books give the basic concepts of the nature of God and Jesus and that can be used to understand what comes after. Although you are correct in saying that the entire Old Testament needs to be understood in order to fully understand what came after, I think we were speaking to a person who had no knowledge of what God and Christianity are all about.

Blessings to you also.

Answer 10

The other day, someone asked what the best place to start amputating your limbs would be. Some said start at the ankles, some said go all the way to the hip.

Some even said the only way to do it right was to go for the shoulder, but I thought it would make it harder to get to your legs afterwards, and impossible to get your other arm.

If billions of people all over the world are willing to do it, it couldn't possibly be a bad idea, right?

Can I hang myself above a wood chipper and just stick one limb in at a time? In the end would it really matter how I did it since I'm just doing something stupid anyway?