2 Timothy 3:14-17 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
For Timothy the “Holy Scriptures” was the Old Testament. The whole Bible is God’s inspired Word and is useful for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We must make sure to emphasize the whole Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament is important because it points to Christ, shows the unfolding purpose of God, instructs in salvation, provides examples of righteousness, warns of disobedience, gives hope, and reveals the nature of God.
There are some Christians who think that because God has given us a new and better covenant, there is no use to be made of the Old Covenant. The New Testament speaks of those who thought that observance of the Law of Moses was required for salvation (Acts 15:1-5). By the 2nd century, there were those who said that the Old and New Testaments were such contradictory propositions that the God of the Old couldn’t be the God of the New. In fact, Marcion (2nd century) rejected the Old Testament as being part of his bible. He saw the God of the Old Testament as a God of justice and the Messiah that the Old Testament prophesied was the warrior Messiah expected by the Judeans. Marcion taught that the New Testament on the other hand revealed a God of grace and love who was previously unknown to man. According to Marcion, Christ came not to fulfill the Law but to destroy it. However, these views are clearly not consistent with Scripture.
(1) Christ did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it. Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (2) God does not change; the God of the O.T. is the same God of the N.T. Malachi 3:6 I the Lord do not change… Psalm 55:19 God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change— (3) The God of the O.T. showed plenty of grace and mercy (David and Bathsheba 2 Samuel 11-12) and the God of the New Testament still judged people for their sins (Ananias and Sapphira Acts 5:1-10).
Some people, trying to bind a favored tradition, still go to the Law of Moses for their authority. Others, in a reaction to this, teach that since the law has been done away with, it has no practical value today. Many Christians do not see the proper continuity between the Old and New Testaments, and therefore, do not properly esteem the value of the Old.
Often when we study the Old Testament we study its history but not its laws. Many see purpose in studying the ancestors of Jesus, but see no correlation between the Law of Moses and Christian faith and living.
If Jesus did not come to abolish the law, does that mean all the Old Testament laws still apply to us as Christians? In the O.T. there were three categories of law: ceremonial, civil, and moral.
1. The ceremonial law related specifically to Israel’s worship. Examples include sacrifices, feast days and festivals. The primary purpose of these laws was to point forward to Christ. Since these were all fulfilled in Christ they are no longer necessary. While we are no longer bound by ceremonial laws, the principles behind them – to worship and love a Holy God – still apply.
2. The civil law applied to daily living within the nation of Israel. These laws include everything from restitution for a man gored by an ox to the responsibility of the man who dug a pit to rescue his neighbor’s trapped donkey (Exodus 21:12-36). Because modern society and culture are so radically different from that time and setting, all of these guidelines cannot be followed specifically. But the guiding principle behind the civil laws is love for neighbor and therefore timeless (see Romans 13:9; Galatians; 5:14; James 2:8).
3. The moral law (such as the Ten Commandments) is the direct command of God. Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder. The moral law reveals the nature and will of God and applies throughout time.
Why should we study the Old Testament? Answers to this question are found throughout the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament.
I: The Old Testament points to Christ.
- John 5:39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,
- John 5:46-47 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
- Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Jesus Christ. References to the Messianic passages in the Psalms and Prophets are scattered throughout the New Testament. John says Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus (John 12:41; Isaiah 6:1). In Hebrews 2:11-15, three different verses from the Old Testament are quoted as words of Jesus (Psalm 22:22; Isaiah 8:17-18). In Acts 8 Philip preached Jesus from Isaiah 53. New Testament writers even saw historical events in the Old Testament as picturing events in the life of Christ and the salvation that belongs to us through Him (Matt. 2:15; 1 Cor. 10:1-2; Hosea 11:1).
But these same writers also saw Jesus in the Law of Moses. The Israelites had the gospel preached to them in the wilderness. Hebrews 4:2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.
The shadows of the law, its sacrifices, feast days, and priesthood all pointed to Christ (Col. 2:14-17; Heb. 8:1-5). Colossians 2:17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
II: The O.T. shows the unfolding purpose of God.
1 Peter 1:10-12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Peter, inspired by God, said the prophets were not serving themselves but you. The same spirit responsible for the content of the N.T. inspired O.T. writers (see 2 Peter 1:21). God all along had a purpose and plan that was contained in the O.T. as a mystery, though this mystery wasn’t fully explained until the N.T. This is perhaps what Ephesians 3:3-5 is referring to.
Ephesians 3:3-5 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.
These clues were not only contained in the prophecies of later prophetic books, but were also hidden in the shadows of the ceremonial law.
III: The O.T. instructs in salvation.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Scriptures that Paul was referring to here was the O.T. Scriptures. Therefore, the O.T., including the Law of Moses, is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. This bold statement that Paul made to Timothy reminds us that “the Bible” of the early church was the O.T. It was the basis of teaching and preaching, understood in the light of the coming of Christ and supplemented by His teaching and that of the apostles.
While the Law of Moses is not the basis for our salvation, faith in Christ does not nullify the law. The apostle Paul, inspired by God, says in Romans 3:31“Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” The Law’s righteous principles are exemplified in the lives of those who have been forgiven in Christ.
IV: The O.T. provides examples of righteousness.
One use of the O.T. is seen in the way N.T. writers appeal to examples of virtuous living in the O.T. Hebrews 11 serves to document this point and remembers the deeds of many characters that were successful through their faith. James reminds us of the patience of Job and the prayers of Elijah. James 5:11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Peter brings up the righteous lives of Noah and Sarah to teach Godliness. 1 Peter 3:5-6 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. 2 Peter 2:5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
All of the O.T. men and women of faith were human beings like us. Therefore when they demonstrated loyalty to God under trying circumstances with victorious results, it helps us to do the same thing in our own circumstances.
V: The O.T. warns of disobedience.
Disobedience to God in O.T. times was severely punished. The O.T. is full of examples of man’s disobedience and its consequences.
Hebrews 10:28-29 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Paul, inspired by God, told the Corinthians and God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:11that “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” Paul used the fall and punishment of Israel in the O.T. as an example for the Corinthians. The principles of God’s dealings with people remain the same, so the Christians at Corinth and those of us today need to heed the lessons taught in the O.T.
VI: The O.T. gives hope.
Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
What was written in the O.T. was meant to give us hope, perseverance, and encouragement.
VII: Reveals the nature of God.
Finally, the Old Testament reveals to us the nature of God. What was true of God in the O.T. is true of God now. Our understanding of scripture and our walk with God will be made much richer by a better understanding of the Old Testament.