Bible Study Lesson 1

Unity of the Old Testament and the New Testament

from www.ocfellowship.org

The Bible is separated into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Jews accept the Old Testament as inspired, but not the New Testament. There are two primary reasons for this. First Jews do not accept Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. Second, Jews imagine that the New Testament does away with the law of the Old Testament. Many Christians study the New Testament and neglect the Old Testament because they imagine that the New Testament does away with the law of the Old Testament. Does it make sense to imagine that God would change His mind so drastically that in the Old Testament God would tell people that they must obey His commandments, but then in the New Testament tell people that they could obtain the resurrection to eternal life with Him, yet disregard the same law that that He wanted people to obey before the New Testament?

1. Does the New Testament teach that all of the Old Testament is inspired and useful? II Tim 3:14-17; Rom 15:4.

2. Are there examples of commanding people to obey laws in the New Testament that are from the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament? Eph 6:1-3 (Ex 20:12); Rom 13:8-9 (Ex 20:13-15, 17).

3. Are there examples of laws in the New Testament that are from the Old Testament, but not from the Ten Commandments? I Cor 9:8-10 (Deut 25:4); I Tim 5:18; Mat 4:4 (Deut 8:3); Mat 4:7 (Deut 6:16); end of Rom 13:9 (Lev 19:18); Rom 12:19 (Lev 19:18; Deut 32:35).

Comment: The expression “ten commandments” is not explicitly found in the New Testament. The word “law” in the New Testament is very general and includes the law from the Old Testament.

4. Does the New Testament teach that it no longer matters whether people obey the law of the Old Testament? Rom 3:31; I John 5:3; John 14:15, 21.

5. Does the New Testament indicate that the Sabbath law is still in effect? Mat 24:20; Mark 2:27; Acts 15:19-21.

Comment: Acts 15:19-21 shows that non-Jews who are in the process of turning to God must start out with a few basic laws, but they are expected to learn more laws to keep by going to a Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath. In those days there were no printing presses, so all copies of the Old Testament were written by hand and very expensive. In those days the only way to know the laws of the Old Testament was to visit a synagogue where the laws would be read out loud. These laws that they would hear would include the Sabbath and other laws. Today, Bibles are very inexpensive and there is no need to go to a Jewish synagogue to learn the laws.

6. Is keeping the commandments a test to show that we know God? I John 2:3.

7. What is one definition of the love of God? I John 5:3.

8. Does receiving answers to your prayers have anything to do with keeping God’s commandments? I John 3:22; Isa 59:1-2.

9. Did Jesus teach that He came to abolish the need to keep the law of God? Mat 5:17-19.

Comment: One reason that Christianity requires studying the Bible or listening to it being read is to know the laws of God. The Bible is God’s instruction guide on how to live.

10. What did the apostle Paul think of the law? Rom 7:12.

11. Does keeping God’s laws have anything to do with having a good understanding of the things of God? Ps 111:10.

12. Does prayer have anything to do with having a good understanding of the things of God? James 1:5.

13. Does the Spirit of God have anything to do with having a good understanding of the things of God? I Cor 2:11-14.