5 Reasons We Still Need the Old Testament Today

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

God’s Word is alive and active. It meets us in our daily lives to encourage, teach, convict, and nurture God’s wisdom and truth within us. God’s plan, from the very beginning, was to rescue us from the imprisoning nature of sin. Jesus’ one time, perfect sacrifice, is forever enough.

Time in God’s Word is core curriculum. When we read the Old Testament scriptures with this in mind, it allows us to learn more about the character of our great God. “The Bible is relevant to all peoples, all cultures, all ages,” wrote Liz Kanoy for Crosswalk, “and it is relevant on its own accord.” 

What Is the Old Testament About?

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).

The Old Testament begins with the creation of the world and humanity. It tells the tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and how Eve’s sin sent humanity whirling into a curse we are still reeling from today.

Faith in what we cannot see does not mean God asks us to put blind faith in Him. The New Bible Commentary explains, “the very nature and character of God have been perfectly revealed in Jesus Christ; in him the invisible has become visible.” We read God’s repetitive restoration of His people, despite their consistent failure to follow His laws. Old Testament Scripture helps us understand humanity’s dire need for a Savior.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Jerry Grugin

1. The Old Testament Illustrates Our Need for Jesus

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The Old Testament reminds us of our need for a Savior, in Christ Jesus. The prayers of our Old Testament heroes and the miracles God performed in their lives, the stories of redemption and the compassion of our great God on display, all point to the coming of Christ Jesus.

In Christ, we get to read ancient prose still alive and active in our lives, today. Many of the New Testament authors refer to Old Testament texts as they began to make the connection between what they originally understood of the Scripture, to how it had changed their individual lives through Christ. 

2. The Old Testament Reveals God’s Faithfulness

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

The Old Testament accounts remind us our humanity and God’s divinity! God sits sovereign over the world as it spins out of control, but He is also present with us, personally. Old Testament Scriptures help us understand why Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross was both necessary and final. Humanity falls short of the glory of God. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love, grace, or forgiveness.

“Jesus fulfilled the moral law by His perfect righteousness,” wrote Dr. Roger Barrier. Our salvation is a gift. The choice is ours to receive salvation through Jesus Christ – a choice that didn’t exist in Old Testament times.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Rawpixel

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

The divine, supernatural power of the Word of God to remain relevant today was described by the author Hebrews as living and active. “When Jesus Christ came into the world as the long-expected Messiah of the Old Testament, a profound and dramatic change happened in the way we handle the Old Testament,” wrote John Piper. “This is 

because Jesus was the fulfillment - that’s the key New Testament word, the fulfillment - and the goal of so much Old Testament religion.”

God, who knit us in our mothers’ wombs, knows our hearts better than we ever will. King David wrote, “For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness” (Psalm 33:4). We can rely on the truth of His word, Old Testament and New, to meet us where we are at, each day.

4. The Old Testament Connects Us as God’s Family

“Know therefore, that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations” (Deuteronomy 7:9).

A thousand generations is hard to comprehend, just like the faithfulness and compassion of our great God. In the Old Testament, God’s family were a chosen people. Jesus came, not only for the God’s chosen people. “How could we understand the new covenant that God instituted with His people the Jews in Jeremiah 31:31, if we didn’t have the records of the prophets who wrote about it?” wrote Diane M. Hoffman for Belief Net.

Christ Jesus came to swing the doors wide open, to both Jews and Gentiles. Paul wrote to the Roman Church, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, besting his riches on all who call on him” (Romans 10:12). The rich history of the Old Testament reminds of the gravity of our freedom in Christ, who came for all of us. A thousand generations!

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Aldo Murillo

“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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-19).

Jesus came so we would have a complete understanding of our salvation. Neither the Old Testament or the New, alone, give us a complete picture of salvation. But together, we see the full scope of God’s gracious plan.

“If space says anything, the OT matters to God, who gave us his Word in a book,” wrote Jason S. Derouchie for TGC. “In fact, it was his first special revelation, which set a foundation for the fulfillment we find in Jesus in the New Testament.”

Biblical scholars still study prophecies of Scripture that have yet to come to pass! We can know they will, because of what has happened so far in the history of the world. God has never failed to keep a promise. Jesus will return again, as written in the pages of Scripture. 

Jesus Christ makes the Old Testament relevant today because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Paul wrote, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). God’s plan all along was to rescue His beloved, and when we read the Old Testament Scriptures in the context of the Father’s love, we get to experience the relevant wisdom of our great God.

Photo credit: Pixabay/Congerdesign