Sometime later this year, I will have the privilege of sharing a message with God’s elects. I am right now in the midst of preparing the message I am going to deliver unto them. What I am sharing with you here is a small section of this message. Due to the fact that the message I am preparing is already quite long, there is a chance that I might choose to remove the section I a sharing with you below. But at the present time I do intend to include it. I am sharing this with the audience at Sermon Index in light of some of comments that were made on the previous thread I started that was related to the doctrine of soul sleep. I hope it can be of some benefit to some.
From this point on you will be reading the words as I plan to speak them to my audience.
…..Before moving forward with the case I am about to make I need to make something clear. As I proceed with my message, I am going to use the term Old Testament and New Testament. However, I will only do this for the purpose of clarity and also because at this present time it is a habit that will probably prove hard to break.
I have just come to understand that calling the first 39 books of the Bible "The Old Testament” is a very careless and incorrect thing to do. Because the first 39 books of the Bible have been incorrectly titled "The Old Testament,” one gets the impression that those 39 books are less important, less inspired and less relevant than the section of scripture we call "The New Testament”. However, I am now convinced that this too is simply another lie inspired by Satan in order to create confusion and to diminish the true wisdom and power that is revealed the gospel.
The truth of the matter is this: with only the exception of their age, there is nothing "Old” about the 39 sections of scripture that we call "The Old Testament.” Those 39 books are no less important and no less inspired than the 27 books of the Bible we call "The New Testament.” The same Spirit of God who spoke through the Apostle Paul, Peter, John, and yes, even Jesus the Christ, is the same Spirit of God who spoke through the men who wrote the first 39 sections of scripture.
While there are some men today who do ignorantly and foolishly diminish the importance of the words spoken in the first 39 books of scripture, they certainly did not receive this example from Jesus or the apostles. Time and time again in the gospels and epistles you will see both Jesus and Paul quote from those first 39 sections of scripture in order to establish a doctrinal truth.
In Second Timothy 3:16 Paul said that - All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Now, what scripture was Paul referring to when he spoke these words? Was he speaking of the last 27 sections of scripture we call the "The New Testament?” No. We know this because at the time Paul spoke these words, the writings that make up "The New Testament” did not yet exist (Well to be technically correct, some of them did exist; however, they were not yet considered scripture.). So for that reason, we can be certain that when Paul spoke these words to Timothy, we know he was speaking of the sections of scripture that are currently referred to as "The Old Testament.”
In the first chapter of his second epistle, the Apostle Peter also affirms the fact that it was God’s Holy Spirit who inspired the words that are recorded in the early scriptures.
In verses 20 and 21 Peter says: (20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. (21) For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
With these verses now brought into the light, let me say once again that there is nothing "Old” about the 39 sections of scripture called "The Old Testament.” There is nothing less important about those 39 sections and they have no less authority than the scriptures we currently call "The New Testament.” If something is established as truth in the first 39 sections of scripture, then it will continue to be truth in the remaining 27 sections of scripture.
This is not a truth of my invention but it is a truth established by Jesus himself.
In John 10:35 Jesus is speaking to the Jews. While speaking to them he attempts to make a point. In the process of doing so he quoted a truth from the book of Psalms. Then to establish the eternal authority of that truth, Jesus went on to say: the scripture cannot be broken.
What Jesus was essentially saying was this: Here is a truth from the scripture, and as you know, if it was a truth when it was stated, it is still just as much a truth today, for the scripture cannot be broken.
For this reason, you can rest assured - if there is a truth that is clearly and firmly established in the first 39 books of scripture, you can rest assured that neither Jesus or the Apostles will ever say anything to contradict that established truth. If Jesus or the apostles were to say something that appeared to contradict a truth that is clearly and firmly established in the first 39 books of the Bible, one should not try to redefine that established truth because of that contradictory statement. That is what is referred to as getting the cart before the horse. Instead, one should use the truth that is clearly and firmly established in the first 39 books of scripture to recognize that a contradictory statement in the "New Testament” is either mistranslated or deliberately altered.
What I am telling you is the truth proclaimed by Jesus himself (John 10:35), but because of the influence of Satan, a great many people view the first 39 books of the Bible as something that is less important or as something that carries less authority than the last 27 books of the Bible. However, that is simply not the case. Not one time will you see such an idea promoted in the last 27 books of scripture.
All scripture is just that ”“ scripture. It is all God’s word spoken through men as the Holy Spirit led them. To refer to the first 39 books of the Bible as "The Old Testament” is a tradition and habit that I recommend you attempt to leave behind. Maybe begin referring to it simply as the early scriptures, or maybe start calling those 39 books "The Introduction to the Gospel,” for that description would then be fairly accurate.
If you read books very often, then it is likely that you have come across a book with a fairly important introduction. Now not all introductions are important, but on occasion you will come across one that is vital to fully understanding the material you are about to read. Some introductions you can skip and still get the gist of what is happening, but there are some introductions that simply can’t be skipped, because if you do, you will not fully understand what remainder of the book is about. And so it is with the first 39 books of the Bible. They are absolutely indispensable to understanding the full power of the gospel that is revealed in the last 27 books. The first 39 books are the foundation on which the glorious gospel stands. And if you don’t recognize the authority and importance of those first 39 books, you will never be able to understand the doctrines that are taught in the last 27 books.
So, call those first books "The Introduction” or call them "The Foundation” or call them "The Early Scriptures,” but whatever you choose to call them, try to break the habit of calling them "The Old Testament.” By calling those first 39 books "The Old Testament” and by then calling the last 27 books "The New Testament,” you are subconsciously feeding the notion that "The Old Testament” is worn out and irrelevant, and you are feeding the notion that it deserves less priority than "The New Testament.” So I strongly encourage you to begin breaking this habit now and begin calling it by a new name that establishes its place of relevance and importance.
Now, I want you to understand that I am not speaking in jest; however, I also want you to you to know that this is not something to be dogmatic about. While I think it is a really good idea to call the first 39 books of the Bible something other than "The Old Testament,” the reality is that that is what they are known as and the reality is that this will prove a very hard habit for many to break. So for simplicities sake, there will be times you will need to use the term. There will be times that you will be in the midst of a discussion with someone and will find it simpler and less confusing to call those books "The Old Testament.” However, outside of those circumstances, I would really suggest that you try not to call those first 39 books "The Old Testament.” By changing this habit and by simply referring to those books as scripture, you will open a door of learning that many others have shut. When you begin to see those first 39 books as scripture that is breathed by the Spirit of God, then you will begin to recognize the authority that is in those books. This will help you understand many truths that will in turn set a foundation for understanding the true glory that is revealed in the gospel.
Now, even though this may seem like a great contradiction, as I proceed now with my message, I will continue to refer to those first 39 books as "The Old Testament.” The reason for this is the reason I just stated. Since most of you recognize that portion of scripture as "The Old Testament,” I will continue to call it that in order to avoid any confusion. However, in my daily life, I am going to make a serious attempt to do away with the term "Old Testament” when referring to the first 39 books of scripture.
Before moving on, I should point out that there is such a thing in the Bible as an Old Testament, or a more fitting name might be an Old Covenant. However, the Old Covenant is not the first 39 books of the Bible. The Old Covenant was the covenant that God entered into with the children of Israel after that were delivered from Egypt. It was revealed and initiated in the book of Exodus and expounded upon throughout the next three books of scripture (Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). This is the covenant that was in effect with the children of Israel until Jesus initiated a better covenant. So yes, one could accurately say that the Old Covenant was in effect during the time the first 39 books of the Bible were written. However, that does not mean that those 39 books belong to that Old Covenant. Instead, nearly everything that was written in the pages of those 39 books was written for the benefit of us upon whom this great hour of history has come. (1st Corinthians 10:11, 1st Peter 1:12)
Let me again state, that this is not something to be dogmatic about or create division about, but it is something I say in seriousness. If you will begin to look upon the first 39 books of the Bible as simply scripture, it will certainly help you avoid a whole lot of confusion and it will help you establish sound doctrine. If a truth is firmly established in the early scripture, then you can be confident that that truth will remain consistent in the later scriptures.
On a final note: you do need to understand that I am speaking of truths that are clearly established and truths that are eternal in nature. Not everything spoken by God in the early scriptures are eternal truths. For example, there were many laws and promises given by God to the children of Israel in the context and confines of the old covenant. Those laws and promises cannot automatically be called eternal truth, for they were specifically given to those who were under the old covenant. You cannot take an old covenant promise or law and call it eternal truth unless God established that law or truth elsewhere in the scripture. But that is a whole subject on its own and one can be addressed at another time. Right now though, it is time to proceed with the message at hand…..
That ends that particular segment of my message.