if jesus came to change the world, why do we read the old testament?

Question

i thought the only thing to christianity was believeing in jesus and trying to be him, why do we read the old testament and the letters and such? basically, other than the gospels.

Answer 1

The Whole bible is God's revelation. To live only by the New and forsake the old is to show that we need to be enlightened as to how God has worked throughout the ages to bring about the Bible.

It can be likened to a planter planting seeds.
In Genesis God planted the seeds of His plan for mankind. Throughout the whole old testament we see types and figures to give us a picture of what was to come. In the Old testament God laid the foundation of His plan.
In the Gospels we see all the types and figures being fulfilled in the life and times of One man. The Lord Jesus Christ..
He presents Himself to us as
- the Bread of Life
-The Living water
-The tree of Life-
- The resurrection and the life
- the Light of the world
-The Real Manna. the bread out of heaven
-The Way the Truth and the Life
and countless other fulfilled types

The seeds of the Old testament started to sprout through the Life of this One who is Both God yet Man.
In matthew we see Him portrayed as KING
In Mark we see Him as a - Slave Savior
In Luke as a - Man - Savior
And In John He is shown as - the WOrd. God. from the beginning.

But it does not stop there
What the Lord began the Church Continued in the New testament..
Throughout the Book of Acts and the Epistles we see the ripening and the maturing of these seeds by the raising up of the churches.
Christ died as the grain of wheat that fell into the earth to die.. To produce US as the many grains.
As we mature as the Church there will be a great Harvesting.
We see this in the end Of the Bible in the Book of Revelation which is the reaping of all the divine seeds planted throughout the ages.
So we cannot say that we want the new but forsake the old. Or take only the old and ignore the new.
To live only in the old is judaism
We are the New Creation in the Lord and live NOW under the dispensation or age of the Church and Grace.

So lets stay where we can be ripened by the Lord. To be harvested when He returns

The Lord is in each of His believers to FINISH what He has Begun in us all:)

Answer 2

The Old Testament is all about Jesus. Jesus is God and is the writer of the entire Bible through human hands. Jesus was there at the beginning and will be there at the end. You need to understand the Old in order to understand the New. The law could never save but it does point to our need for a Savior. The sacrificial system is a picture of what Jesus did on the cross. The Old Testament shows a side of God that we don't see so much in the New Testament. The New is more about grace and forgiveness but we can't forget about the holiness and justice of God either.

Answer 3

Please don't take this as a rude answer, that's not how I intend it, ... If you read and understand the Old Testament you would know that Christianity is not just believing in Jesus and trying to be Him. God/Jesus created the world with a plan from the very beginning. That plan is spelled out beginning in the Old Testament, and being fulfilled in the New Testament. You can email me, if you want to talk more; or else just find a church that believes the whole Bible is the inspired Word of God, and ask for answers there.

Answer 4

The Old Testament points to Jesus- there are many prophesies in there that took about Him, and why He came- read it more carefully- and the animal sacrifices were just a picture of the true sacrificial Lamb that would come to earth to die for us. The OT has many great passages in it that helps us live a life that pleases the Lord- Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it- what we could not do, live by the law, He did on the Cross that we could be saved and live a righteous life. Without Christ there is no one righteous. Why do we read Paul's letters, the book of James, etc instead of just the gospels- because those letters showed that Christ can change people after the cross into devoted followers of Christ..

Answer 5

That's actually a great question.

I could tell you many things about all of them. And they all have to do with Jesus Christ. They have to do with how God works, how He reacts to things. They have to do with His prophecies, some have not happened yet. Did you ever read Zechariah 14 in the light of the end of Revelation?

There is so much that you can learn. But if the Gospels are what you want to study, great. Why not? But know that learning about God is all over the thing. You just have to have the right teacher and tools.

As you study the New Testament you will find that references to the Old Testament are unavoidable.

If you have any other questions, please e-mail me. Okay?

Answer 6

1. There has been a few additions to the scriptures;
the Lord (Genesis-Malachi) was the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. The scriptural 'old testament' was the law of Moses (2 Cor. 3:13-14 KJV) not the unscriptural old testament (another addition to God's word) Genesis-Malachi.

Answer 7

Jesus is the LORD of the Old Testament. See how he's referred to in the New Testament at http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/jdeity.html

Answer 8

Paul says that we have the OT as examples. The Gospels, even though they are in the NT, are still part of the OT . They were written mainly for the Jews. So was Hebrews through Revelation. Acts through Philemon was written to the Christians/Gentiles.
But, we read and attempt to understand all of the Bible. If you don't have a grip on the OT, you will not understand the NT. We need it all.

Answer 9

Jesus didn't come to change the world, but to redeem it, to save it. Please read the third chapter of John's gospel. The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and The Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed. They are One harmonious record. Like a stereogram they both give you a so to speak 3D image of Christ.

Answer 10

The Torah means 'instruction'. The Old testament gives us instructions and examples of how to live. Yahshua came to give spirit to the examples. He did not change anything, He just brought clarity to what was said. The 'old testament' and the 'new testament' really are neither...they are ONE.