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Introduction:
Last Sunday we learned that that God does have a standard
for us—the Bible (II
Timothy 3:16-17). However, nearly every “Christian” church
claims the Bible is their standard. How can so many groups use the
same standard, but be so different? While they use the proper
standard, they do not use the standard properly. We are told
repeatedly that as long as Jesus is Lord and folks are using the
Bible, how they use it does not matter. However, note what Paul
said in II Timothy 2:15—“Be
diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does
not need to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.” God has stated that there
is a right way to use His standard.
How must we use God’s standard? There are several aspects
of this question’s answer. We cannot deal with them all in one
sermon. During this lesson we will deal with rightly dividing the
two testaments. We will deal with the other aspects at different
times over the next several months. Discussion: I.
Begin with an overview. A.
The first thing anyone will notice about the Bible is that
it is not a book, but a book of books divided into two major
sections. The Old Testament contains 39 books, which are typically
broken down into 5 major sections: 1.
The
Law
– Genesis through Deuteronomy (5
books) 2.
History
– Joshua through Esther
(12 books) 3.
Wisdom
– Job through Song of Solomon
(5 books) 4.
Major
Prophets –
Isaiah through Daniel (5
books) 5.
Minor
Prophets –
Hosea through Malachi (12
books) B.
The New Testament has 27 books, which are typically broken
down into 4 major sections. 1.
Gospels
– Matthew through John
(4 books) 2.
History
– Acts (1 book) 3.
Epistles
(Letters)
– Romans through Jude (21
books) 4.
Apocalyptic
(Prophecy) –
Revelation (1 book) II.
Note several differences between the two sections. A.
The two testaments were written to two overlapping but
different groups of people. 1.
The Old Testament was written to the nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:1, 7-8). Take note that this was a physical nation.
People were a part of this nation by physical birth. 2.
The New Testament was written to the church of Christ (Hebrews 12:22-24; I Timothy 3:15). This is spiritual nation. People
are a part of this nation by rebirth (John
3:3, 5). B.
The two testaments promise that the coming Messiah will do
different things. 1.
The Old Testament promised that the Messiah would come to
be a sacrifice for sins (Isaiah
52:13-53:12) and to establish His kingdom (Isaiah
2:1-5). 2.
The New Testament promised that the Messiah will come to
bring judgment on the wicked and save His own (I
Thessalonians 4:13-17; II Thessalonians 1:6-10). C.
The two testaments promised different things to occur at
the closing of each. 1.
The Old Testament promised that there would be a New
Testament (Jeremiah 31:31).
2.
The New Testament promised that God will bring judgment,
destruction and salvation (II
Peter 3:10-13; John 5:28-30). D.
Consequently, the two testaments are different and produce
two different results. 1.
If we follow the Old Testament, we will be Jews (Romans
2:17). 2.
If we follow the New Testament, we will belong to Christ (Galatians 3:26-29). III.
The New Testament has superseded the Old Testament. A.
We have already noted that the Old Testament was written to
a particular people, the Jewish nation (Deuteronomy
4:1, 7-8). We must also note that the Old Testament was for a
particular time. According to Galatians
3:19, the law or Old Testament was put into effect until the
Seed should come. The Seed, having already come (vs.
16), the time of the Old Testament is over. B.
The Old Testament was given for a particular purpose.
According to Galatians
3:21-25, it was given to prepare the way for Christ, Who has
already come. The Law was not given to save anyone (Galatians
3:10-12), but to prepare the way for the one who would save
us. C.
The Old Testament promised a New Covenant, by which it
would be superseded (Jeremiah
31:31-34). This promise is brought up again in Hebrews
8:6-13. The Hebrew writer explained that this New Covenant
made the first obsolete and was ready to vanish away, which it did
when Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple lost and the priesthood
dispersed. D.
Today, many get hung up saying that since God is the same
yesterday, today and forever, He would not change His law. Note
two very important things. First, God being the same yesterday,
today and forever does not mean that His law was not allowed to
change, but that His nature never changes. Secondly, God actually
said that the Law had changed in Hebrews
7:12. This change occurred with Christ’s sacrifice. He
removed the Old Law, replacing it with a new and better one,
therefore we are not to be judged based on the Old Law (Colossians
2:13-17). E.
How does all this fit within our main heading—rightly
dividing the word of truth? If we are going to apply the word
correctly we must divide the Old and New Testaments properly. The
Old Covenant has been superseded by the New Covenant. The Old
Testament is not our law, the New is. We must not go to the Old
Testament to find our pattern for worship and service. We must go
to the New. The fact that something was allowed under the Old
Covenant does not authorize it under the New Covenant. Consider
polygamy, contrasting Exodus
21:10 and I Corinthians 7:2. Additionally, the fact that the Old Law
condemned something does not mean it is condemned under the New.
Consider the eating of certain meats, contrasting Leviticus
11:4-8, 10, 13 and Acts 10:12-16. F.
Many of the differences among churches that claim the Bible
is their standard are the result of not rightly dividing the Old
and New Testaments. While many of them rejoice that we are no
longer under the Law, they keep going back to it as a standard of
authority. IV.
How do we rightly divide the Old Testament? A.
The Old Testament is not our law. That does not mean we are
not to use it. The issue is how are we to use it? Romans
15:4 explains that the Old Testament was written for our
learning. We can learn from it even though it is not our pattern
for serving God. B.
Note four ways in which we can learn from the Old
Testament. 1.
In those areas in which the Old and New Laws coincide, we
can certainly still read the Old Testament to further understand
what God expects of us. For instance, the New Testament also
declares that we must honor our father and mother (Ephesians
6:2). We can read from the Old Testament and learn what
honoring our parents entails. 2.
As Paul did in I
Corinthians 10:1-11, we can learn from Old Testament examples.
We learn how God deals with His covenant people. We learn how He
expects us to interpret His will. We learn how He feels about
obedience and disobedience, etc. 3.
We can use the Old Testament the same way Peter did on
Pentecost, looking to the prophecies to know who is the Messiah (Acts
2:25-28; Psalm 16:8-11). Additionally, we can use it as James
did learning about the Messiah’s kingdom through prophecy of it
(Acts 15:15-18; Amos 9:11-12). 4.
In those places where the Old Testament wisdom literature
simply demonstrates how to live wisely in this world, the teaching
today would be the same. Wise living is the same today as it was
then. When the proverbs advise us against becoming surety for a
stranger (Proverbs 6:1),
we can bank that doing so is unwise even under the New Covenant. Conclusion: We are using the proper standard. We must make sure to use it properly, understanding the differences between the Old and the New Testaments. The Old Testament is for our learning, certainly, but it is not our pattern for serving God. That is the New Testament. We need to remember the ominous warning and glorious solution presented by Paul in Galatians 3:10-14. If we go back to the Old Law, we are cursed and must strive to live by it entirely. However, Christ has redeemed us from that Law. Why not live in Christ and submit to His better covenant based on better promises (Hebrews 8:6)?
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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