FAQ 304
Old Testament vs. New
NCW 69: August 2000 - January 2001
Q. Why does NCCG lay such heavy stress on the Old Testament teachings? As Christians we should be building on the New, not the Old.
A. Yah'shua (Jesus) said: "Every teacher, therefore, who is versed in the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old" (Mt.13:52, RBV). Teachers of the Kingdom of Heaven (the Kingdom of Yah'shua/Jesus) are therefore teaching "new things" (which Yah'shua taught) and "old" things (which Yahweh taught).
If there hadn't been an Old Testament (OT) there would not have been a New Testament (NT). Yah'shua also said: "...the Son [Yah'shua/Jesus] is not able to do anything by Himself, but only what He sees the Father [Yahweh] doing; whatever He does, the Son does in the same way" (Jn.5:19, RBV) and "I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which sent me" (v.30, KJV). Anything that Yahweh-God has said in the Old Testament must surely be confirmed in the New. The Father and the Son cannot present opposing instructions.
There is no way that you can surgically remove the OT and expect the NT to live. The NT is the completion of the OT, not its replacement. Of course, we have to read the OT through the lens of the New, and not vice versa, but read the OT we must. We stress neither the OT nor the NT but the whole Bible, for we will not divide the Father from the Son.
For a fuller treatment of this question, see our article, The Old Testament: Is it Necessary Anymore? (New Covenant Witness, No.4, May 1993, pp.16-31).
This page was created on 22 January 2001
Last updated on 22 January 2001
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