Isn't Genesis part of the Old Testament?

Question

Then why is it that Christians believe Genesis, but don't follow the rest of the OT, and instead follow the NT?

So if both books were inspired by god, and god changed his laws in the NT, does that mean GOD actually changed his mind?

Answer 1

They follow both; Old estament is life before Chris. New testament is when Christ is born. Christians believe in both; Jews don't believe in the new testament because it is mostly about Jesus and he is not their Messiah.

Answer 2

Yep, funny how people try to pick and choose amongst things for what they like and ignore the things they don't like. Myself, I accept the entire Old Testament as currently binding right along with the New Testament.

God does not change (Malachi 3:6). God's Laws can never be abolished 'till *all* are fulfilled (Matthew 5:17,18). Thus, those who pick and choose amongst God's Laws, even for the least of reasons, is in danger of losing their salvation (Matthew 5:19,20).

Yes, the practice of sacrifices and oblations ended at the cross (Daniel 9:27) because type met anti-type in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus (Hebrews 7:26,27; 10:1-27). If we "abolish" or in any way make of "none effect" the sacrificial system itself, then we also "abolish" and make of "none effect" the Sacrifice of Jesus. The same reason that bulls, sheep, and goats had to be sacrificed is the same reason that Christ had to be our Sacrifice. If you take away the reason for the sacrifice (which was the law), then you nullify Christ's Sacrifice as meaningless.

That is why Jesus said that he did not come to destroy the law -- but to fulfill it. Fulfilling something doesn't make it go away. It just means He has kept the requirements of that law. Jesus did not place Himself above the Law but made Himself subject to the Law. We should do as Jesus did.

Someone said:
The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed.
The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.

Answer 3

Mainline Christians believe the first seven chapters of Genesis to be some very interesting myths. It's my understanding that Jews believe the same thing.

The New Testament is about Jesus of Nazareth, so there is more emphasis on it than on the Old Testament,

God gave his law in the Ten Commandments, which are given twice in the Old Testament. That's the only part of the Bible, either testament, which claims to have been written by God.

And Jesus didn't claim to be modifying the law of the Old Testament, either. He followed it, and proclaimed, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law (the Old Testament) or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law (the Old Testament) until everything is accomplished." - Matthew 5:17-18)

You've been confused by a group of people who claim to be Christians, but are not. They claim to believe every word of the New Testament, but they haven't read it. Mainline Christians worship God, as Jesus did. Fundamentalist Christians worship the Bible, despite the fact that the First Commandment orders otherwise. Apparently, they are led by the Antichrist.

Answer 4

Yes, Genesis is part of the Old Testament. Christians do believe in the Old Testament, and read it and study it, but they believe that Christ came to earth in fulfillment of the law and prophesies of the Old Testament, and because of this they are not bound by Old Testament/Jewish laws and restrictions. For instance, no one has to sacrifice two pigeons when they have a child, or has his hand cut off for theft. The New Testament teaches that the laws of the Old Testament were meant to guide humanity until the Messiah, and since Christ was the Messiah, faith in him supercedes the thousands of laws set forth in the Old Testament. The Ten Commandments are also from the Old Testament, but Christians follow them still.

Answer 5

Yes it is. The New Testament was meant to replace the Old Testament via God's request (sacrificing his son for sin..yada,yada, yada). There really isn't much to follow in Genesis as far as rules and regulations go...so I really don't get what you're asking. Oh...and just for the record, most Chrisitians I know don't follow the New Testament either. Church for many has just become an act, rather than a true movement of faith.

Answer 6

All scripture is valid, 2 Timothy 3:16. The reason we do not follow certain passages, i.e. sacrificial laws, is because they were a shadow of what we have with Jesus, Hebrews 10: 1-9.

To answer your additional comment, look to Hebrews 7:12 where it tells us that the law had to be changed because the priesthood is changed. It went from the Levites in the O.T. to every Christian in 1 Peter 2:9.

Answer 7

Just because we do not live by the laws of the OT does not mean that we do not believe that the entire OT is true. According to Christianity, Christ came to give himself as the last sacrifice for sin. So, we are no longer under the law (commandments of the OT) but His grace and the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Brightest Blessings



*In response to your second question: According to the Christian faith, God did not change His mind but had mercy on the Earth. A truly pure sacrifice was needed to "fulfill" (not do away with or change) the law. When no human proved pure enough, rather than condemn the entire world to Hell. He sent His own Son as the sacrifice.

Answer 8

Here's a similar question that I asked:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtzliMqF.BJRoSNGjuvuwY_ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20070730111811AAet7Jb

It seems to me that people of all faiths like to "cherry-pick" from the scriptures. In other words, each person puts a large emphasis on the parts that they agree with and downplay those that they don't want to follow. Personally, I think that this is a major flaw in many religions. After all, the Bible says that God and his word are infallible. If that's truly the case, there's no way that certain parts can be ignored. It only makes sense to take the whole thing or none of it. (Of course, this then leads to the issue of how to interpret each part of the Bible, but that gets complicated and beyond my knowledge.)

Answer 9

I've always been taught to believe you always go by the Old Testament UNLESS it's contradicted or changed in the New Testament. And since there's nothing about creation or Genesis-related subject matter in the NT, we follow the OT.

Answer 10

True Christians follow both. The NT explains why the sacrificial system was in place. The NT does not really teach anything new if you examine it carefully!

GOD bless

Answer 11

No, he didn't change his mind,,,he knew all along that the Jews could not keep the entire law,,,but the Jewish people didn't know that..he wanted them to see their sin,,,to know that they needed a Savior...God made a better way, when he sent his Son to die on the cross for us....we no longer have to keep laws to be saved....we are now under Grace because of Jesus.....He covered our sins entirelyl,,,,,,,,so that we may now go before God without all the pomp and circumstance of the law..

But when the Pharisees heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."