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The Old Testament Versus The New
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Old vs New:
By KARAN MINNIS, Guardian Lifestyles Reporter -
Nassau, Bahamas:



For years scholars, clergy and members of the public have debated which is better? The Old Testament or the New? Some argue that because the Old Testament was first, that makes it the foundation of the Bible and religion;while others say it's for that very reason it should be ignored because there is something new.

"I've always wondered what's the point for having two sections of the Bible," says Christina Dean, 23. "I mean, I know one was before Christ and the other is after. But if that's the case why do I need to worry about what happened before Jesus. I just want to read what he taught and what I'm suppose to do. I just don't know or see the benefits of having both or reading both."

According to Genieus Wells, senior pastor of Chapel on the Hill many people simply don't understand the reason behind both testaments, and that is usually the cause for debate.

Wells says both the Old and New Testament should be followed, as they enhance each other.

"We should listen to the whole Bible. The New [Testament] does not contradict the Old [Testament]" he said. "Everything from the old rolls into one person, because every book of the Bible from Genesis straight to Malachi has one central figure — Jesus Christ.

"And when Jesus came all that the Old Testament said was fulfilled. He came to fulfill the Old Testament [and] the New Testament shows that. This is why we need to read and understand both Testaments to see why what happened in the New Testament happened."

St. Barnabas Parish priest Canon Basil Tynes says that even in 100 A.D there was a debate about the Old and New Testament.

"Two Gnostics during the first few centuries of the church, Basilides (100-139 A.D.) and Valentinus (100-175 A.D.) were known to have rejected the Old Testament because they believed that the God of the Old Testament could not be the God of love that is found in the New Testament. However, their ideas were rejected later on by the early Church because they saw the scriptures, including the 15 books of the Apocrypha as important in terms of the movement from the covenant of the law to the covenant of grace within its pages.

"The truth is that we will never understand the New Covenant without grasping what made up the elements of the Old, nor will we understand the debate over salvation by grace and salvation by works of the law by removing or ignoring the books of the Bible [Old Testament] that makes up our Judean-Christian heritage."

Adding that the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in the New Testament, and therefore it is necessary that we take it seriously if only for this fact, Canon Tynes said that like the Book of Hebrews eloquently says, what came before is simply a shadow or pattern of the reality that is found in Jesus Christ and Christianity.

"How we view the Old Testament is crucial for our understanding of how it should be used. The Old Testament is a library of books that contains history, laws, poetry and wisdom literature. The various books were written at a particular time in a particular place to answer questions of faith as the authors attempted to provide divinely inspired materials to answer these burning questions. The real argument behind the debate in our present context over the Old Testament has to do with the place of the law in the light of the new covenant of grace."

Tynes says there are several things that need to be remembered about the law as viewed by Jesus and members of the early church.

"In the sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus expressed his own objections to the interpretation of the Laws of the Old Testament. In Acts of the Apostles 15, the first ecumenical council decided that Gentile Christians would not be required to follow the Laws of Moses. St. Paul on numerous occasions had to correct a misconception that Law was needed after the dispensation of Grace. In other words there were persons who believed that after their conversion to Christianity they needed to go back and keep the laws of the Old Testament. The Law may have instructed people in the need for a Saviour, but by itself it cannot save us; we need Christ and Him alone," he says.

However, he said we should think of the Laws of the Old Testament like a chain-link fence along the sides of a bridge.

"No one really thinks that the fence can save them from plunging into the water below, but it serves to clearly identify the correct path. The law may tell us how to live but it did not provide the power for us to keep it.

"A study of Paul's reply to the Galatians who faced this same issue will help us: Galatians 2:16 "Yet we know that a man is not justified through works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ ... because by works of the Law will no one be justified. Galatians 2:21 If justification were through the Law, then Jesus died in vain! Galatians 3:1-5 St. Paul asks several questions. Life is spirit-directed [from above], and not flesh directed [working the law from below] for a Christian. Galatians 3:10-14 St. Paul states, 'For all who rely on works of the Law are under a curse.' Why you may ask? Because they cannot keep the entire law. The law will never put them right with God. Only Christ can redeem people from the curse of the law; and finally the promise of the spirit is through faith and not by works of the law."

However, Tynes said, the law was good, but it lacked the power to lead people to the life that God intended. Later on, in Galatians 5:22-23, Paul would tell his readers that those who live by the Spirit needed no law.

"These were the decisions of the church from its earliest days, and still remain the same today. Make no mistake, the Old Testament provides us with great insights that help us in terms of our spiritual worship, walk, witness and work, but it is the grace that enables us to reach to where God expects us to be. Part of the problem in understanding the Old Testament is that persons have not develop proper exegetical skills. Passages must be placed into their historical backgrounds and allowed to speak to the people of its time. The abiding message needs to be identified, and then that message needs to be applied," he said.

February 28, 2008 | 11:50 AM Comments  0 comments

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