The Old or New Covenant? Scripture is Indivisible

IS IT OKAY FOR A CHRISTIAN TO READ THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES ONLY?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

I came across this question in Facebook. I have also heard it asked in some forums.

There's  a brother in Christ that I know of who has issues with some books of the Old Testament Scripture simply because their teachings fly in the face of his unbiblical doctrines.

He misinterprets some passages of Genesis 1-3 and outrightly rejects the doctrine of Christian suffering that is taught in the Book of Job. He teaches that Job is an outdated Book whose truths have been overtaken by the New Covenant teachings.

The man mistakenly believes that Christian suffering always has to do with the disobedience of the believer, arguing that a loving God cannot subject His children to suffering! Nothing can be further from the truth! The Bible is replete with illustrations that reveal that God tests the faith of His children in order to build them in the Faith.

This brother also rejects pastoral priesthood saying that all believers are priests. Again, this theology is informed by his unbiblical view of the Levitical priesthood taught in the Old Testament.

While it is true that all believers are priests in Christ, it is equally true that God has ordained priestly functions through biblical church offices. The church elder or overseer is in fact a priest! He takes charge of his flock (Acts 20:28-30; 1 Peter 5:2-4).

My view is that the Old Testament Scripture are the foundation of the New Covenant truth that is revealed in the New Testament Scripture. We cannot embrace one set of the cannons of Scripture and discard the other. The two are not only complimentary but they are indivisible in the articulation of divine truth.

God speaks across both cannons of Scripture and both are inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17). He is the author of the two cannons of Scripture.

For instance, Christ's coming and His atoning works of the cross are reckoned in the New Testament Scripture as God's response to the fall of Adam which is taught in Genesis 1-3.

If a believer ignores the Genesis account on the creation and fall of Man, they will inescapably fail to appreciate the efficacy and significance of the works of cross that Christ accomplished.

All the Old Testament Scriptures - narratives, wisdom literature or prophetic writings - point to Christ. The New Testament Scriptures carry several quotations from the Old Testament Books.

I am therefore pursuaded that any believer or Bible teacher who rejects the Old Testament Scriptures or sections thereof, effectively denies the voice of God to a dying world and invariably misrepresents the fundamentals and the foundations of the finished works of the cross that find their fulcrum in the Old Covenant.

We should either accept the authority, infallibility and inerrancy of the entire body of Scriptures or we reject it all. They are indivisible.

It is that simple.