Hi Steve. I pray that the grace and love of God abounds in you when you read my letters whether you agree or disagree. May you be filled with overflowing and may the Spirit give you wisdom and understanding according to His will.
" [Remember I came to faith in Jesus Christ without ever reading the New Testament! Thank you Father! So the Old Testament can stand on its own, without even introducing the New Testament!"
I will like to handle what I have to say very carefully since we are dealing with the work of the Holy Spirit. He chooses how to bring each person to a knowledge of Christ.
It is true that God reveals himself in Jesus to each individual in a unique way. The end product is always the same---our hearts can see and spiritually understand that Jesus is the Son of God who was Crucified for our sins and raised from the dead for our justification.
This is the New Testament, whether you read it or whether you hear it orally. The Gospel was first preached when there was no written New Testament, but only an oral New Testament. Tens of thousand of Jews were saved soon after the Apostles began preaching the Gospel from memory. The New Testament had not been written yet but it was alive in the hearts and minds of the Apostles and disciples who had "seen and heard." That is what the New Teatment is: 1. "the things the Apostles saw and heard; 2. and the enumeration of the promises contained in the new covenant Was it less of a New Testament before it was written? Was the Old Testament less before it was written? No and No. If the Old Testament could have stood alone, God would not have sent his Son to die on the Cross to establish the new covenaant.
Without the New Testament, the Old is dead! There is no more old covenant. The old covenant was a key in the Old Test. It has been replaced by the new covenant in Jesus's blood. You cannot open the promsies of the old without the key of Jesus. The Old cannot "stand on its on." Modern Judaism is a living and dynamic illustration of this point. They believe that the Old Test. " can stand on its on" without the revelations about Jesus contained in the New Testament. They say they honor the Torah and the Prophets, but without the New Testament a veil of darkness envelops their hearts. They reject the key of Jesus and cannot open the door to the Kingdom of God without it. After Jesus, the Old Testament cannot "stand on its on". Before Jesus it could because it was the total revelation of God up to that time. The new testament introduces the new and living way through Jesus's blood. Without the revelation in the New, man cannot be saved.
You said that you were saved by simply reading the Old Test. and that you did not read the New. Did you hear the message of the New Testament orally? Isn't that the same as reading it. Both Testaments are written to transmit God's thoughts to man. It can be down orally or in writing.
When you said that the "Old Test. can stand on its on', did you mean that it is just as much the Word of God as the New? I cannot believe that "stand on its on " could mean you do not need the New Testament or the message of Jesus to be saved. You have clearly demonstrated your faith and the Spirit of Jesus on this thread. |
